Another week, another chapter in the Dark Nights: Metal story. However, unlike the last few chapters I have covered, this tie-in covers something unrelated to the invaders. It focuses on the Dark Knight we know and love! Since the evil Dark Knights appeared on the main DC Earth, Batman has been missing. To allow the invaders to come in, the Court of Owls sent him into the Dark Multiverse. Since then, the League has been searching for him, but when Superman finally found him, he was different. He was an old man, ravaged by time, his will broken. Bruce became a shell of his former self. This left many with the question: What happened to him? In this week’s tie-in, we find out.
**SOME SPOILERS BELOW**
Story
This tie-in opens up to an old Bruce Wayne, who is relaxing as his grandchildren play. One of the children asks Bruce to tell her a story–a Batman story. She chooses “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” his first case, which Bruce obliges. What happens from there can only be described as an amalgamation of different stories in Batman’s history. Throughout this retelling, we have Bruce trying to break free but is stopped by Barbatos, the Bat God, and leader of the Dark Knights.
This tie-in is not for a casual comic book fan. We get a lot of insane imagery and ties to other stories spanning decades. It can be quite overwhelming for someone who doesn’t know what exactly they are getting into. The story draws heavily on the style of Grant Morrison where we get bizarre and horrific scenarios to peel back the psyche of a character. For this reader, it was a bit too much. I’m all for having deeper meanings in my comics, but the mass confusion of what was real and what wasn’t, threw me for a loop.
By the end of the story, the reader might question what has happened, and I cannot blame them. A lot gets thrown at the reader in 31 pages, some of which makes you question the origin of the hero. Was this all some dark, demented game since the creation of the Bat or just a trick by this dark god? It’s truly left up to the interpretation of the reader.
Art
While the story might be a confusing attempt at showing the dark multiverse, the art gives us something fantastic. Using the nightmarish themes that the multiverse is built on, we get creepy pencil work. One moment, we get an updated version of Batman’s first case, only to get it twisted into something akin to what Metal has been known for.
The colors of this issue help this twisted feeling as well. With each dark twist, the colors change to reflect the time period. The colors are subdued in the Chemical Syndicate story, but then bright and colorful when we turn the page to find Bruce in the midst of a tribal war. It’s imaginative and sets the tone for each scene.
Conclusion
If you are just looking for a fun time in the Dark Nights: Metal story, you might want to avoid this. On the other hand, if you want something to challenge you to interpret, then go out and pick this up. While the story itself is all forms of insane, the art takes advantage of this trip and gives us something nightmarish yet delightful to look at. It’s not for everyone, but for the minority who enjoy such bizarre tales, they will certainly enjoy this one.
