Geoff Johns Says DC Comics Won't Make Superman A Nazi

DC's Doomsday Clock storyline will be full of the unexpected, but Geoff Johns did reveal one thing in particular that fans will never see.

Johns spoke at New York Comic Con about his anticipated Watchmen follow-up, explaining how the team is going to great lengths to respect the source material and yet bring something new to the Watchmen legacy. When asked how they maintain that balance, and what fans should or shouldn't expect, Johns crossed out one storyline possibility right off the bat.

"Well Superman's not going to be a Nazi or anything like that," Johns said.

He, of course, is referring to the recent Marvel storyline Secret Empire, which featured a Captain America aligned with Hydra. He was remade by the sentient cosmic cube Kobik and proceeded to do some pretty terrible things during his reign. By series end, Kobik brought the real Captain America back into existence, but Hydra Cap is still around, and it probably won't be the last time fans hear from him.

While this Superman won't become a Nazi, there technically is already a version like that in the DC archives. Overman is the Earth-10 Superman, who landed in Sudetenland in the 1930's. His abilities led to the Nazi's winning the war, but the character would eventually turn away from them years later.

A Nazi Superman clearly won't be a part of Doomsday Clock, but there will still be plenty of villains, including on particular dream scenario that many thought they'd never see.

"I can't write a book about the DC Universe without the villains because they're the best part, so yes you will see villains in there," Johns said. "The interactions will be very interesting and unpredictable I would say. There's like Ozymandias and Lex Luthor, that was a fun scene to write. When you have two guys in the room who think they are the smartest person, and they are, it takes a long time to write that scene."

From the preview, Johns and Gary Frank and going to great lengths to make sure they get this right and truly set it apart from what is currently out there.

"We're trying to put as much work into this book so that when you read it you go "this is not like anything else I'm reading right now," Johns said.

Doomsday Clock #1 hits November 22nd.