Doomsday Clock #6 (2018)

In the sewers of Gotham City, Marionette and Mime are escorted by the Joker and his henchmen, following his attack on the GCPD Headquarters. Along with them is an unconscious Batman, who's been temporarily paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. As they walk, Marionette remembers her past, and her first encounter with Mime: Erika Manson was raised by her immigrant father, who moved to America to open a doll-making shop. Across the street lied "Maez Glass", a store run by a Hispanic family. The son, Marcos Maez, was a mute, and verbally abused by his step-father. Marcos enters the Manson store one day, and is shown around by Erika. While treading through the sewers, they encounter a group of henchmen belonging to Mister Freeze, who seem to be lost. Coincidentally, the henchmen happen to be attending the same event the Joker is: the formation of a new coalition of villains dubbed the "League of Villainy". Joker coerces the henchmen into joining his ranks, branding them with his signature "J". Mime and Marionette rebuff Joker's offer, attacking his men, ending with Joker accidentally shooting one of his own. He laughs, and the group proceeds towards the meeting. One day, while Erika walked with her Marionette puppet, she was confronted by a group of bullies. The bullies insulted Erika's father, accusing him of being a "child molester", as well as taking her puppet. She attacked the leader, but her cronies pinned Erika down, preparing to cut her hair. The bullies were then stopped by Marcos, who assaulted them with glass bottles. Erika tackled the leader, and happily asked Marcos for more bottles. Joker leads the group to the meeting, where a large group of villains have gathered, all led by the Riddler. Following the controversy over the "Superman Theory", the villains have banded together in order to determine a safe way of operation. Numerous rumors have arisen; Green Lantern's adversaries leaving for the stars, the Amazons of Themyscira kidnapping Wonder Woman back to Themyscira, and the only potential safe haven for villains being in Kahndaq. Joker then announces his arrival, much to the dismay of Riddler. After showing Marcos around his shop, Erika's father offered to make Marcos a puppet of his choosing. However, two police officers enter the shop, offering their "grievances" for Marcos' mother. As Marcos ran out of the store, Erika's father gives the officers a Leprechaun puppet for the officer's "daughter". A minor Firestorm villain, Typhoon, is accused of being involved with the "Theory", prompting the League to turn on him. As he prepares to attack, Typhoon is shot through the head by none other than the Comedian, who proceeds to open fire on the villains. Mime distracts Blake, allowing him and Marionette to escape while the Comedian blows up the room. Later that day, the officers return, wondering which puppet Erika's father "used" this time. When he tries to refuse the officers, they assault him, stating that their "boss" brought him to this country thereby owning him. These corrupt cops had been bringing in immigrants and allowing them to open shops, so that they could use them to smuggle drugs. The cops are implied to have killed Marcos' mother, and threaten to kill Erika if he doesn't comply. He accedes, revealing the delivery to be inside a Nite Owl puppet. After the encounter, Erika comes to the shop, only to find that her father has committed suicide, as he believed that she was safer with him gone. The corrupt officers arrive at the scene, prompting Erika to stab one in the neck with a pair of scissors. The other prepares to shoot her, but Marcos stops him, allowing Erika to strangle him with a cord. The two run away and live on the streets, eventually assuming the persona's of Mime and Marionette. Following their encounter with Doctor Manhattan, Erika gives birth to their child, while Marcos remained trapped in prison. Their baby was taken, never to be seen again. As Mime and Marionette resolve to find their baby, they are caught by the Comedian. Blake believes he only needs one of them alive to find Ozymandias, but he is electrocuted by the Joker, who joins them in their quest to find Manhattan.