8 Theories About How Watchmen Fits Into The DC Rebirth Universe

DC Comics received a lot of flak for Before Watchmen, a run of limited series books which filled in some of the blanks in the histories of those characters without the involvement of creator Alan Moore. However, the reaction to the reveal that the characters are now part of the DC Universe thanks to DC Rebirth has generated an awful lot of excitement amongst fans - and it's not hard to see why. While the events of Watchmen didn't take place in the world of Batman and Superman, it appears as if Dr. Manhattan had something to do with The New 52 reboot, while there have also been numerous references to the likes of the Comedian and Ozymandias in recent months, which will soon be investigated by Batman and the Flash. So, with all of that in mind, how exactly will Watchmen fit into the DC Universe moving forward? For now, we can only speculate, though it's believed that Geoff Johns will return to writing comics later in 2017 to pen an event which finally brings all of these characters together for the first time. It's sure to be an epic story, whenever it ends up arriving, and here are our theories on how it all might go down. 8) Wally West Is Key Wally West's return was a huge part of DC Rebirth, especially as the fan-favourite speedster had been wiped from continuity as a result of The New 52 reboot back in 2011. With a new Wally taking his place and no one having any memory of his time as Kid-Flash (until he restores those lost years with a touch), the character has since made it his mission to find out what caused those five years of history to vanish and create a new DC Universe where the heroes are younger, less experienced, and have vastly different relationships. He's hinted again and again that the all-powerful Dr. Manhattan is somehow responsible, so when the time comes to take on that iconic Watchmen character, chances are it will be Wally who leads the charge. It could even be his knowledge of his interference with the timeline that leads to the reappearance of Dr. Manhattan, kicking off what's sure to be a blockbuster event. Also, something DC Rebirth has so far omitted is the time he spent as the Flash when Barry Allen died, so it'll be fun to see if that somehow comes into play as well here. 7) Superman Was Never Real The New 52 Superman always struggled to resonate with fans. More arrogant than his predecessor, he'd never had a romantic relationship with Lois Lane and the costume also often came under fire. Despite all of that, he was still the Man of Steel, and that made his sudden death a huge shock. Just like that, five years of adventures became pretty much meaningless as the Superman of another Earth (who we've since learned actually hails from the original DC Universe timeline) took his place. Since then, a lot of very strange stuff has been happening with the hero and chances are that all of this will come to a head when the world of Watchmen collides with that of the Justice League. With that in mind, expect some sort of big reveal to occur in regards to The New 52 Superman, namely that he was never truly the real Man of Steel. Will other heroes be replaced by their "doppelgangers" from the old DC Universe? It's hard to say and a little headache inducing to think about, but stranger things have happened, so don't rule it out just yet! 6) Ozymandias Is The Real Mastermind A mysterious figure known as "Mr. Oz" has been making his presence felt in the DC Universe for a while now. As well as imprisoning Doomsday and Tim Drake, he's also been keeping a watchful eye on Superman. It's no surprise then that the prevailing fan theory is that this is actually Ozymandias. He and Dr. Manhattan worked together in Watchmen to remake the world in their image, so why wouldn't the same be the case for the DC Universe? While fans expect Dr. Manhattan to make his presence felt in a big way, don't be surprised if "Oz" is somehow manipulating him and all of these heroes for his own mysterious means. Still not convinced that he's someone worth keeping an eye on? Well, bear in mind that he was first introduced by Geoff Johns, so you'd best believe the writer has something up his sleeve for him. Of course, there's obviously a chance that the whole "Mr. Oz" thing is misdirection, but who else he could be is literally impossible to guess at this stage. 5) Rorschach Returns In one of the most memorable panels in comic book history, Rorschach was obliterated by Dr. Manhattan when he threatened to expose his and Ozymandias' actions to the world. However, his diary found its way into the hands of the media, and while we never got to see what happened next, it's easy to imagine the world being thrown into an all-out war which may have left the Watchmen Universe completely ravaged. Perhaps Ozymandias tracked Dr. Manhattan down during his quest to create new universes in order to convince him that they should start again, with the DC Universe possibly one of their attempts. It's hard to say how it could happen right now, but it would be crazy not to see Rorschach show up in some form, even if he's only referenced. That being said, it's also entirely possible that a way will be found to resurrect the fan-favourite vigilante here, as not seeing him team-up with Batman would be downright criminal. 4) A Return To The Old DC Universe The DC Rebirth initiative has been a huge success and much of that comes down to the fact that the DC Universe now feels a lot more like the pre-New 52 version. It's highly unlikely that we'll ever see DC Comics return to that confusing and muddled continuity, but there are already signs that they're bringing back staples of that world, including the Justice Society of America and the Legion of Superheroes. As a result, it wouldn't be all that shocking to see this Watchmen crossover event ultimately bring the DC Universe back to a place which will be more familiar to longtime fans, as histories are restored and characters make their return. Providing the company keeps up the same quality level of storytelling, that will be no bad thing and is likely to appeal to readers turned off by how unrecognizable the Marvel Universe has become in recent years. After all, there aren't many fans who seem too pleased by Captain America being evil or Thor no longer being worthy, so if DC Comics restores key relationships and characters while also serving new readers, they'll probably be appealing to just about everyone. 3) What About Nite-Owl And Silk Spectre? There have been numerous nods (we think) to Dr. Manhattan, Ozymandias and even Rorschach during DC Rebirth, but no sign of Nite-Owl and Silk Spectre. There were theories for a while that they might be Gotham and Gotham Girl, but we've since realized that's highly unlikely, so their fate remains a mystery. While they were forced to accept the actions of Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias, it's easy to imagine that they would now rebel against the powerful duo and join the likes of Batman and Superman in what may be one heck of a fight between the two sides. How they'll factor into this story is honestly hard to predict at this stage as it could be handled in any number of ways, but they're bound to show up in some form. Perhaps they'll use a Boom Tube to enter the DC Universe at a pivotal moment? We can only hope, but it would be a great shame to leave these two incredible characters on the shelf. 2) A Return To The Watchmen Universe I mentioned earlier that it's possible the Watchmen Universe could have been ravaged by war following the reveal that Dr. Manhattan killed millions to forcibly bring peace among nations, but regardless of what state it's in, surely DC Comics will take us back there, right? The temptation to do a Watchmen 2 at some point must be huge for them, but before then, members of the Justice League finding their way to that world would be incredible to see play out. It would be such a strange world to them with vastly different heroes and rules that the culture shock of someone like Batman seeing the crime-ridden New York of that world (which is even worse than Gotham City) would actually be genuinely fascinating. And how would a world that mistrusted Dr. Manhattan perceive a powerful being like Superman? These are just a couple of the many scenarios we could see play out when the DC Universe collides with Watchmen, which is why it's so damn exciting. 1) The DC Universe Vs. Dr. Manhattan As has become clear, we can only really guess what shape this event will take, but common sense says that it will ultimately boil down to the DC Universe taking on Dr. Manhattan. For reasons unknown, he decided to steal five years of history from this world, but what does that mean? Did he do it for the extra power, or because he created the Multiverse and simply wanted to see what would happen? The changes to the timeline were previously blamed on Barry Allen's actions during Flashpoint, but that no longer looks set to be the case, so some big reveals are definitely on the way. Dr. Manhattan is damn near invincible, so how the heroes could combat him is hard to say, but they're going to want answers for what he did to them and that has to lead to a fight. For all we know, the powerful being might even resurrect all of the Watchmen characters (including the Comedian) for the two sides to square off with each other in one epic battle.