Dark Nights: Metal #6 – Scott Snyder, Writer; Greg Capullo, Alvaro Martinez, Pencillers; Mikel Janin, Artist; Jonathan Glapion, Raul Martinez, Inkers; FCD Plascencia, June Chung, Brad Anderson, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Corrina: Decent Finale For This Drawn-Out Miniseries
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: The second of two event comics out of DC this week, Dark Nights:Metal #6, the jumbo-sized conclusion to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s epic fantasy adventure through the darkest corners of the DCU ends with thunder, explosions, and a surprisingly hopeful tone. As the heroes of the DCU come under assault from their twisted counterparts of the Dark Multiverse, and Barbatos prepares to complete his corruption of the entire universe, Wonder Woman takes the helm and leads the League into battle while Plastic Man is finally summoned out of his egg and delivers one of the best moments of the issue. Kendra Saunders, who had previously been corrupted by the dark metal, manages to find herself again and helps Wonder Woman to descend into the Dark Multiverse, where she confronts Carter Hall – now the Dragon of the Forge. I could try to describe some of the coolest visuals of this issue, but it would honestly be impossible. This comic never stops throwing them at you.
There are shades of other events in this comic, of course – when the heroes emerge with shiny new armor forged from the mysterious Tenth Metal, it definitely feels like the conclusion to Blackest Night or Forever Evil. But what sets this series apart is the way it’s such a deep dive through the strangest levels of the DC continuity. And Capullo’s art, of course – few artists are better at depicting the strange and spectacular. The scene that will get the most people talking, though, is probably my least favorite. Batman and Joker teaming up to take down The Batman Who Laughs is a great, brutal fight scene, but I’m still not quite vibing Snyder’s take on the odd relationship between Batman and Joker. The takes that show them as essentially codependent and linked aren’t for me. However, the series as a whole hits the landing in spectacular style with the final pages, which show Batman gathering the Justice League at his home in the aftermath to plan for the future of the League, setting up the revamp of the League come No Justice. The DCU never stops, it just reloads, and it seems like Snyder has plans for expanding the mythology for years to come.
Corrina: Note, before I talk about the content of the conclusion to Dark Nights: Metal, I have to say something that’s been bubbling up since we started receiving digital review copies here at GeekDad. While I’m grateful for the digital review copies, I cannot see myself turning into a digital comics readers. Comparing the art on the screen to the visuals as they reach my eye in the print is simply an inferior experience. Digital isn’t terrible but it’s never going to measure up to an issue in hand for me. That’s particularly clear in Dark Nights: Metal #6, which contains eye-popping visuals from the entire art team, from the pencils, inks, and colors, especially the white armor (10th metal) that glows as it surrounds our heroes.
Onto the story. I’ve been hard on Dark Nights: Metal because, well, I’ve been bored for the most part by it. It’s yet another multiverse big event where the universe is being destroyed and must be saved. Also, not impressed wit the sixty zillion evil versions of Batman. (Okay, it only felt like sixty zillion to me.) Plus, look at all those tie-ins issues with evil Batman killing everyone, so unnecessary to the story–except the tie-in co-written by Grant Morrison, in full insane story mode.
This ending, however, is generally good, with a few great moments that showcase what I love in superhero stories, namely that hope wins. Had this been a three or four-issue story, had this not had all the tie-ins, had the storytelling not been so drawn out and, well, taken itself less seriously, I might have even loved this ending.
As it is, it puts a nice bunch of yummy whipped cream on top of a sub-par sundae that forgot to include the hot fudge.
On the Joker/Batman team-up, I know it’s Snyder’s idea that the two are connected, opposites, etc., but any scene that even slightly redeems the Joker is never good or fun to me. He’s not Batman’s opposite, he’s….well, he’s the guy that crippled Barbara Gordon, sexually assaulted her by taking photos of her lying, half-naked, in her own blood, and then tortured and kidnapped (raped?) Jim Gordon. After that, since DC keeps reminding me that The Killing Joke still exists and is a thing, if I never see the Joker again, that would make me so happy.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
