Thursday, August 17, 2017

Dark Nights: Metal #1

   I was planning to skip this event, for two reasons: it looks very dark, which gets a big "eh" out of me; and I'm definitely feeling event fatigue.

   But then I saw the spoilers about a certain character showing up, one who hasn't been seen in quite a few years - and I caved. (Since we don't do spoilers on this site, I won't be naming that character for you - but the rest of the Internet is happy to fill that need.)

   So I can tell you that Dark Nights: Metal lives up to my expectations - and exceeds them in some ways.

   Yes, it's certainly dark, as Batman continues to explore an ancient mystery around the threat of a Dark Universe and the Metal that is somehow connected to it and the superpowers in the world.

   On the plus side, the story references (or includes) quite a number of characters who've been largely ignored for some time now, including Hawkman, the Blackhawks and the Challengers of the Unknown (though they only play small parts so far).

   The story also offers some new insights into the DC Universe, with threads about immortals, Hawkman's Ninth Metal and competing tribes dating back to the dawn of mankind.

   But it's also a bit muddy, as we get flashes of story without a clear idea as to where it's all going. What did the opening adventure with the Justice League have to do with the rest of it? Since when do the Blackhawks involve themselves with mysticism? What's up with the mysterious new landmark in Gotham?

   We trust, of course, that we'll get answers in the issues to come, but the series isn't giving us much to go on - I have to think that new readers would struggle to make sense of this.

Grade: B+

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