DARK NIGHTS: METAL
Bats Out Of Hell
released OUT NOW! Publisher dC Comics Writer scott snyder Artist Greg Capullo
Out of all of DC’s extensive New 52 relaunches back in 2011, the one outright success was their new take on the Batman mythology. Helmed by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, the rebooted title delivered an impressive run of Gotham adventures that only came to an end in 2016 with DC’s latest (and far more stable) relaunch, DC Rebirth.
Now, however, Snyder and Capullo are back for one last hurrah, with a Batman-centric event comic that also involves appearences from the entire cast of the Justice League, and which once again sees the DC Universe teetering on the edge of total destruction.
It all starts when Bruce Wayne discovers he’s potentially at the heart of an aeons-long conspiracy connected to a reality-altering metal and a “Dark Multiverse”, a sinister flipside to DC’s already-established 52 alternate universes. Unfortunately, Batman’s attempts to solve the mystery go terribly wrong, resulting in a catastrophe that replaces him with seven evil alternate versions of Batman, all of whom are soon conquering the world on behalf of their master, a demonic entity called Barbatos.
The core six-issue miniseries is the kind of lurid fare that Snyder and Capullo specialise in, embracing comic-book ridiculousness from the start. In the first three issues Snyder cranks up the pace, pulling off dozens of references to previous Batman sagas – including his own “The Court Of Owls” and “The Return Of Bruce Wayne” by Grant Morrison – and building the story to a universe-shattering crescendo.
There’s a gleeful sense of energy and abandon here that’s hard to resist, although Snyder hasn’t entirely avoided some of the flaws of his previous crossover events, with certain aspects of the story (like the alternate Batmen) acting too much like a set-up for the extensive tie-in issues. It also doesn’t help that much of the story was established in the recent Dark Days prologue issues “The Forge” and “The Casting”, making this feel even less like a properly self-contained and satisfying Batman adventure.
Still, while the sprawl of the story may get a little out of Snyder’s control, he does pull off a wild and unpredictable ride that’s based around some interesting concepts, and this is matched with typically well-crafted and inventive art from Capullo. It remains to be seen whether the relentless pace and invention of the first half can be maintained, but so far Metal is turning out to be the comics equivalent of an extended guitar solo – energetic, intricate and shamelessly loud. Saxon Bullock
Batman is replaced with seven evil alternate versions
Snyder is working on Batman: Last Knight, a post-apocalyptic ‘"final” Batman story, with artist Sean Gordon Murphy.