The multiverse-spanning Scott Snyder miniseries finally comes to an end, as DC Comics prepares to take a trip to the future, and then back to the present for an INFINITE FRONTIER.
But any look at a big week of new releases can only start in one place…
Dark Nights: Death Metal 7
Written by Scott Snyder
Pencils by Greg Capullo, Bryan Hitch and Yanick Paquette
Inks by Jonathan Glapion, Bryan Hitch and Yanick Paquette
Colors by Nathan Fairbairn, FCO Plascencia and Alex Sinclair
The final battle between the heroes (and villains) of the DC Universe and the Batman Who Laughs and his creations proved to be an eventful – and even enjoyable issue. While I frequently take issue with some of Scott Snyder’s craziness, the man can write one hell of a packed story. Dark Nights: Death Metal has been a sprawling story, stocked with numerous tie-ins as supplements to the 7-issue miniseries, adding emotional weight and even more backstory to something that has been building for years.
With most of the heroes and villains taken out, Wonder Woman and the Batman Who Laughs went into a final battle to determine the fate of the multiverse. The laughing Batman tried to tempt Diana to his side, to allow him to finish things off so he can wipe out the god-like beings who were on their way to wipe out the worlds. But Diana held firm, finally weakening the Batman Who Laughs and taking him down.
Wonder Woman’s final victory over the Batman Who Laughs had some interesting consequences. The Hand, the group of god-like beings who planned to unmake the multiverse, saw Diana’s sacrifice as noble enough that they would reshape and remake the multiverse, they would bring the fallen back to life and they would create an “Infinite frontier” for these worlds to explore. But it comes with a price, of course. They claimed Diana as one of their own.
Of course, the ending leaves us with a lot of interesting possibilities once we move past FUTURE STATE, the two-month event that will bridge the gap between the end of Death Metal and the “Infinite Frontier,” which begins in March. Of course, the hope for a brighter version of the DC Universe is one that builds with the end of every big event. That hope is apparent in the final pages of Death Metal, too, offering up fun scenes that include a celebration party where members of the Justice League were on stage as members of a band.
Of all the crazy scenes in this story – Joker working with the Bat-family, Lex Luthor saving Superman – that panel is maybe the craziest. Superman singing. Batman and Black Canary on guitar. Flash drumming. Batman can play the guitar?!?!
That reshaped multiverse is going to be a crazy place.