Doomsday Clock #3: Who Is Rorschach? Gary Frank Teases Unmasking

Who is Rorschach? Ahead of the Jan. 24 release of Doomsday Clock #3, artist Gary Frank teased fans with a preview of the new Rorschach seemingly removing his mask. Though we are not convinced this is actually from the third issue of Doomsday Clock, it certainly reinforces the importance of one of the story’s many looming mysteries.

Doomsday Clock #1 brought back the favorite, presumed dead, character first introduced in Watchmen, but series writer Geoff Johns immediately informed readers this version is not Walter Joseph Kovacs. We really only know four things about Rorschach 2.0: He’s not white, the name ‘Reggie’ means something to him, he likes pancakes, and while he appears to have at least a little bit more of a conscience than Kovacs (as seen as the scene in the Batcave from the second issue), his motivations are certainly suspect.

Fans have a couple theories about Rorschach's identity. The strongest educated guess is that Rorschach is the offspring of prison psychiatrist, Dr. Malcolm Long. There’s a panel from Watchmen that proved Long owns a mug that says, “Dad.” That doesn’t seem like a lot to go on, but Johns and Frank are one of the most detail-oriented creative teams out there. We can’t put it past them.

Then there’s Bernie, the kid obsessed with the comic within the comic, Marooned. However, simply connecting this new Rorschach to one of the only people of color in Watchmen seems like a cop out. Not to mention, they are both presumed dead. Perhaps Dr. Manhattan didn’t exactly kill Rorschach or the new Rorschach is orchestrated by Manhattan? Best case scenario, this is an entirely new character.

And for those who anticipate the conclusion of this series, it’s going to be a little longer wait than expected. Doomsday Clock is switching to a bi-monthly release after issue #4. Last month, Gary Frank informed readers of a longer gap between #4 and #5, but it seems DC still needs a little more time. This means #5 arrives in May, #6 in July, #7 in September and so on.

As one of the top-selling books, this may seem like a setback. However, it’s important to consider Doomsday Clock will link up the DC Universe by the final issue. It’s possible the delay has more to do with the rest of the DC Universe and less to do with Doomsday Clock itself. There’s a lot at stake and we can’t blame Johns and Frank for taking extra time to to get it right.

Check out our reviews for Doomsday Clock # 1 and Doomsday Clock #2.