Batman Writer Tom King Teases Watchmen Connection in Upcoming Issues

Following the release of DC Universe: Rebirth #1 back in May, fans braced themselves for news that the heroes of the DCU would square off against Doctor Manhattan and Ozymandias from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's seminal miniseries Watchmen.

It didn't come.

In fact, DC creators and executives have so far seemed to be pretty determined not to actually acknowledge the fact that, yes, characters and concepts from Watchmen are going to invade the DCU eventually.

Some fans, of course, believe we've already seen an infiltrration in the form of Mr. Oz, a mysterious supporting character from Superman who online conspiracy theories have been speculating might turn out to be Ozymandias, secretly manipulating the DC Universe from within.

"It starts in Batman #9 [coming out next week]," King told io9 when they asked about DC Universe: Rebirth's apparent use of Watchmen characters. "It'll hit there. This is a new continuity, so a lot of stuff is happening in Batman that affects the spine of the universe. It's been going on, you just haven't noticed it. For example, they just announced Suicide Squad vs the JLA— that's coming out of the Amanda Waller stuff that we did in Batman."

"It's a long-term plan, so that spins out of the 'I Am Suicide' arc. And then in Batman #9, you'll see the first hints of how the Watchmen storyline will play throughout the Batman universe," King added.

That "long-term" plan seems to be on about a two-year timetable from the initial launch of DC Universe: Rebirth. Several interviews with various people involved with the relaunch have mentioned a two-year timeline, often with vague hints that it's all building to "something."

There's no official word on what that "something" is, and since both Marvel and DC tend to keep a lid on their event storylines until right around the time they're ready to start soliciting the issues, it could still be about a year before fans start to get major clues.

But after all the speculation surrounding Action Comics and Detective Comics, the action seems to be moving to Batman.

Of course, there's another element of King's comments -- the idea that there have been things going on in the background that will make sense later -- is something he's said before. With the Psycho-Pirate -- a major player in Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis -- on the table in Batman, it could be that a close eye on seemingly-minor details will be rewarded.