10 Comics Fan Theories Confirmed By The Creators
6. Dr Manhattan Was Responsible For The New 52
The New 52 was a much-maligned reboot of the DC Universe, one that divided fans straight down the middle. You either loved it or hated it. For every masterpiece, like the Court of Owls, there were serious missteps, such as the Trinity War, so when DC decided to finally hit the reset button - again - not a lot of people were sad to see it go.
With Rebirth, they looked to right the wrongs of the previous five years and to do that, someone had to take the blame.
As always, the internet was the first place to come up with an explanation, joking that it must've been someone like Dr. Manhattan messing with the timeline. It was a joke that DC would eventually take seriously, as was confirmed in Doomsday Clock.
First planting the seeds of the idea in DC Universe: Rebirth #1, they were eager to establish that, yes, it could very well have been tall and blue who was indeed responsible. This was something that they went all in with Doomsday Clock #7, with the explanation that Dr. M had been messing about with history since the 1940s.
This, in turn, caused the whole New 52 experience, and nobody at DC had to hold their hands up and say "Sorry, my bad".