“Metal,” Part 2
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo
(Spoilers ahead)
As mentioned in our Metal recap, having Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo team up again, to tell the story they hinted at in their New 52 run, is wonderful news for Bat-fans. With a run as well received as their previous, it’s a lot to live up to—if any team can do it, it’s this dynamic duo.
Batman, while still on the run, is doing whatever it takes to hide from the Justice League. He has that piece of pure Nth Metal and the League is afraid what may happen with him off on his own. The search for Batman brings in League members from various iterations, allowing for some neat cameos. In the Amazon rainforest, he has the entire Bat-family disguised as himself, giving us some amazing visuals—several Batmen riding jet skis and Robin driving the Bat-hog just to name a few.
One of the best scenes in the book takes place between Superman and whom everyone believes to be Batman. It’s a heartfelt conversation between two men who have been through everything together. You can actually feel the betrayal that Superman feels when he realizes it’s just another trick, but emotions quickly turn around when Superman discloses how scared Batman actually is. During the conversation, we see the seeds that Snyder planted in his Batman run with Capullo—the moments when the Dark Knight was exposed to the different metals.
IMMORTALS
Kendra arrives at Finnisterre for a meeting with the other immortals. They want to destroy the dark multiverse, but Kendra insists that they keep looking for Batman. Ra’s al Gul, the youngest of the immortals, offers his thoughts on Batman’s whereabouts, which triggers Kendra. Batman is heading for the tomb of Prince Khufu. As he arrives there, he has a brief, cryptic, conversation with Dream, quickly followed by the arrival of Superman and Wonder Woman. The try to talk him out of using what’s in his bag, which turns out to be baby Darkseid, but Batman refuses. As Batman explains his plan—to go back where it started and destroy Barbatos, the bat god, once and for all—Kendra calls in to Wonder Woman. She warns that they are in the middle of a trap; Kendra destroyed the tomb of Prince Khufu decades earlier—they are in the tomb of Hath Set.
DARK NIGHTS
The Strigydae, the ancient priests who serve Barbatos, trap Superman and Wonder Woman, while the Court of Owls stun Batman. They explain how they’ve been preparing Bruce for the bat tribe, so they could expose him to the final metal, forged beneath Gotham City, Batmanium. The door opens and Batman disappears And the Batmen from the Dark Multiverse, along with Barbatos, have entered Prime Earth. I won’t spoil the final pages, but there is a lot to unpack in those final four pages.
Dark Nights: Metal #2 is everything you want it to be—fun, action-packed, and emotional. After two issues in this event, Snyder and Capullo are living up to the hype of their previous work and then some. Building not only on their past work, but also on work from Grant Morrison, Snyder is telling this story in a way that new readers can jump in and old readers will love the continuity links. Not only are we seeing how events in the past are linked, we are seeing the future of the DCU change as the story continues—Metal is going to change the DCU forever. For the good or the bad, only time will tell.
All seems right in the world with Capullo running art for Snyder once again. The way these two work together is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Capullo knows how to lay everything out in such a way that makes you feel like you’re part of the action. His work on the more supernatural characters, like Swamp Thing and Clayface, is impressive and proves that he can draw everything from capes and cowls to monsters. Capullo being able to amalgamate Batman with other DC characters, in the darkest of ways, really makes this issue shine.
CONCLUSION
Dark Nights: Metal #2 picks up the pace from issue one and continues to deliver the promises made about Metal. Fun dialogue, Batman on a jet ski, and heart pounding moments help shape this comic event to be one of the best ever produced. Snyder and Capullo continue to be a dream team in the industry, proving that their styles mesh very well together. Batman is gone and the nightmares have been released, can the multiverse survive? While we have to wait a month for the next installment of Metal, we will have two tie-ins a week until then.
Images courtesy of DC Entertainment
