The dynamic duo of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are back, this time in DC’s newest event Dark Nights: Death Metal with inker Jonathan Glapion and colorist FCO Plascencia.
After the cracking of the Source Wall, the solid barrier protecting the multiverse, during the events of Dark Nights: Metal, Perpetua, the most feared being in the greater Omniverse, was freed by Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom. Upon meeting the Batman Who Laughs, Perpetua chooses him to be her second in command. Together, the two begin destroying entire universes, with only eight remaining at the start of Death Metal.
Dark Nights: Death Metal begins with Wonder Woman attempting to destroy her Invisible Jet with her Chainsaw of Truth. In this universe, Themyscira has been turned into a prison for super villains. She and Swamp Thing go to meet the alternate universe Batmen transporting the prisoner. Among them, I kid you not, is an actual bat-dinosaur. It is revealed that most of the Justice League of this universe is working with the Batman Who Laughs, or at least that is what he believes. In reality, the League was just waiting for an opportunity to defeat him.
The designs for this universe’s versions of Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the league are fantastic. If you thought The Batman Who Laughs was as edgy as it could get, guess again. The only thing this Batman needs is some more 90’s era pouches and he would be perfect.
The creativity of the alternate evil Batmen is just as great here as it was in Dark Nights: Metal. Aside from the bat-dinosaur, there are a Cthulhu-Batman, Batrigan the Demon and Clayface Batman. It is clear that the creative team had a lot of fun coming up with these crazy alternate Batman ideas.
This comic is filled to the brim with insane action, surprising guest appearances and some unconventional story-telling that all work way better than they should. Going into this Dark Nights: Death Metal, I expected some crazy comic book shenanigans and I got it in spades. There is one twist in particular that I thought might happen but never expected would be in the first issue.
Overall Dark Nights: Death Metal #1 is a fantastic start to what will hopefully be a balls-to-the-wall bizarre action-packed ride. I am excited to see what Snyder, Capullo, Glapion, and Plascencia have in store for us. Hopefully the rest of the event is just as fun as this first issue.
Rating: 8/10
