DARK KNIGHTS: METAL DELUXE EDITION

By Nikos Michalopoulos

(First and last warning of serious spoilers, in everything to do with the series)

DARK KNIGHTS: METAL is a limited series published by DC in 2017-2018. The author is Scott Snyder and project manager o Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia. It consists of 6 main issues (those released by Oxy publications), 2 preludes and 17 tie-ins: 7 one-shots, 3 interludes and 2 extra storylines.

As you might have guessed, she is one huge history. According to Snyder, the story was on his mind while he was writing his main series Batman in 2011. During this run, he dropped small elements into each story he wrote, which all tied together in Metal. I'll be honest, for this very reason, I have no idea where to start…

Let's start with the main plot. The story begins when Batman's curiosity gets the better of him and he unwittingly opens the door to a dark Multiverse, characterized by dying worlds made of the worst fears of the people of the regular Multiverse and connected to it through mysterious metals. A dark deity of this Multiverse, the Barbatos gathers the most twisted Batmen from various of these worlds and launches an attack on our own universe, with the intention of making it the same as theirs.

Who are these Batmen though? Let's analyze them here, since there is no indulgent analysis in the main series. In each of these worlds, then, Batman has somehow gone mad, lost touch with his principles, and, among other things, created the following scum:

• The Red Death: A Batman who decided to steal his speed Flash in order to fight crime more effectively.
• The Devastator: A Batman with his powers Doomsday, which he acquired in order to kill Superman.
• The Merciless: A Batman with the powers of the god of war, Mars, which he obtained in order to kill him during a battle between the heroes and the god.
• The Murder Machine: A Batman with his powers Cyborg, which he used to avenge his death Alfred and kill all his worst enemies.
• The Dawnbreaker: One Green Lantern Batman, who used his power to corrupt his ring and kill all the criminals in town, after his parents died.
• The Drowned: A female Batman who mutated her physiology and gained powers like his Aquaman, in order to avenge the death of her lover.
• The Batman Who Laughs: A Batman who killed him Joker and in the process was poisoned by him, transforming him into a Batman with the Joker's madness.

However, various heroes from every corner of the DC Universe also make an appearance such as: Doctor Fate, Mister Terrific, Steel, Plastic Man, Kendra Saunders (Hawkgirl), Nightwing, Martian Manhunter, Cartell Hall (Hawkman), Daniel Hall (The Dream from the queue The Sandman of Neil Gaiman).

https://brainfood.gr/proion/dark-knights-metal-deluxe-edition/

The importance of this series is great, and this is because it paved the way, indirectly or directly, for other small and large events that followed, such as: Justice League: No Justice, New Justice, Batman/Superman, DC's Year Of The Villain, etc. which in turn changed the universe of heroes.

The size of the series, however, is perhaps one of its biggest flaws. This means that, at times, it feels like it is collapsing under its own weight due to its complexity. However, this is something that usually happens with huge events in comics. Its other flaw is that Snyder has a weakness for the climaxes of his stories. Sometimes they can be a bit disappointing, compared to the rest of the story. That's true here, too, in a way. It feels like it ended somewhat abruptly. This does not mean, however, that the momentum or the pace of the rest of the series is spoiled.

As expected from the names alone, the illustration team did an amazing job. Being used to the quality of Capullo's work (Spawn, Batman, Haunt etc.), we knew what to expect and he delivered it to us with more. The antagonists do look like they came from a nightmare place, the colors are blurry regardless of the part they are portraying, but at the same time vivid and realistic.

Overall, the DARK KNIGHTS: METAL is one amazing sequence of destruction, by an author who understands very well the heroes he uses, combining old and new elements in a very nice way. In development since 2011 and making references to even earlier events, this is a series that requires a fairly good knowledge of the DC Universe. Therefore, new readers are advised to do their research before starting.

We note that for a full understanding of all the reports being made, one should have read the following:

• Final Crisis. When Batman's time travel began
• Batman: The Return Of Bruce Wayne. Time travel and the return of Batman. Barbatos saw him there for the first time.
• Batman: The Court Of Owls. His first appearance Court Of Owls and of the first metal mentioned in Metal.
• Batman: Death Of The Family Reappearance of Leads to Endgame and to Prelude of Metal.- also from the Acid Publications in GREEK.
• Batman: Endgame. Appearance of second metal mentioned in Metal – also by Oxy Publications in Greek.
• Batman: Superheavy. Showing the third metal mentioned in Metal.
• All-Star Batman: End Of The World. Show her Black Hawk Team
• Dark Days: The Forge Prelude. Essential to understanding the event because it offers important explanations for what led up to it.
• Dark Days: The Casting Prelude. Essential to understanding the event because it offers important explanations for what led up to it.
• Dark Nights: Metal – The Dark Knights Rising. Collection of the backstories of all the dark Batmen, as well as history Wild Hunt which fills the gap between issues 3 & 4, explaining what happened to the heroes in that time.
• Dark Nights: Metal – The Resistance. The attempt of some heroes to take back Gotham. the Justice League's battle with the Batmen, a story of what happened when Batman was trapped in the Dark Multiverse, and an issue explaining the whereabouts of Hawkman.

https://brainfood.gr/proion/dark-knights-metal-deluxe-edition/