Warning! Contains spoilers for The New Golden Age #1!It seems that Watchmen's sole super team is going to live on in quite an interesting way in the DC Universe. The New Golden Age #1 reveals that several heroes inspired by Watchmen's Crimebusters are on a collision course with one another, and one group is trying to stop it.
While Watchmen has mostly been an independent tale since its inception, the beloved superhero deconstruction has seen itself become a much larger part of the DCU. During DC's Rebirth era, major hints began dropping that characters from Watchmen were coming to interact with DC's most notable characters. The release of Doomsday Clock made good on those tantalizations and had the heroes of the DC Universe have a one-on-one confrontation with Doctor Manhattan and Ozymandias. However, newer heroes began to rise up and assume the identities of other Watchmen characters, such as Reggie Long, the next generation version of Rorschach.
But these new heroes aren't just stopping at taking on the personas of Watchmen's most well-known heroes. Their future was hinted at in The New Golden Age #1 by Geoff Johns, Scott Kollins, Jerry Ordway, Brandon Peterson, Gary Frank, Steve Lieber, and Viktor Bogdanovic. The DC Universe’s premier time-traveling team, the Time Masters, are in a precarious state after the tachyon trail they've been following goes cold. The team is attempting to track down Clark Dreiberg, the young man Doctor Manhattan infused with his power before departing existence altogether. Unfortunately, others are looking for the powerful lad, such as his birth parents, the costumed criminals Marionette and Mime. But the Time Masters seem far more concerned that "Ozymandias' fangirl", aka Nostalgia, or the new Rorschach Reggie Long will find him before the time travelers can get to Clark first.
What A New Watchmen Team Means For DC Comics
While Reggie Long was the first new Watchmen hero, Cleopatra Pak has established herself as the new Ozymandias. Combine those two with the Watchman, aka Clark Dreiberg and heir to Doctor Manhattan’s power, then that’s three members of Watchmen’s original Crimebusters team with legacies. All that’s missing is a new Comedian, Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre. But considering Clark’s adoptive sister is the daughter of the latter two heroes, there may be a fourth member taking on a Watchmen hero's identity. Before long, DC could have a new generation of the Crimebusters team in its universe.
The New Golden Age #1 kicks off a new chapter for DC, one that emphasizes the importance of legacies and younger heroes. While Watchmen had heroes that carried on the identities of older costumed adventurers such as Nite Owl, there hasn't ever been a crew of heroes inspired by the Crimebusters. Some fans might take issue with DC creating a new team so blatantly modeled after Watchmen's cast, but they may find it more preferable than the original team being used as traditional superheroes. A new generation could be an interesting avenue separate from the original Watchmen while continuing DC’s spotlighting of younger superheroes. Fans can see for themselves what else DC may have planned for Watchmen in The New Golden Age #1 available now.