Monday, August 10, 2020

Dark Nights: Death Metal #3 Review


Jarro Redemption

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 12, 2020

I have enjoyed Death Metal enough, but after two issues, I need a little more.  I know that nothing is official, but we can all agree that this is a big book that will determine the direction of the entire line in some capacity if not all.  It's felt big, but incomplete, with Scott Snyder holding the cards close to his chest.  Maybe a little to close. I want and need some answers so that I can start enjoying the ride.  Do we get some answers in this issue?  Let's find out...


The issue opens with some more Dark Knights (a Silver Surfer one in the mix!) as they walk into an explosive trap.  Snyder skips to the chase as we see the shell of the Justice League Build-a-Figure in pieces and Diana, Batman, and their team already deep in enemy territory.

Before they get a chance to save Superman, we see what's up with him.  Darkfather is destroying his Kryptonian cells to replace them with anti-life while he waxes poetic about what a Dark Multiverse Superman is all about.  If you've read any Injustice, you will get the gist right away.



When Bats and Wonder Woman (and Harley with a Swamp Thing mallet) show up, the fight is on, and Darkfather ends up looking like a dolt.  All signs continue to point to Batman being dead as a doornail, but nobody says it entirely out loud just yet.

After a brief, but cool looking interlude with Lobo in the Fifth Dimension (do you think Up Up & Away , My Beautiful Balloon or 𝐀𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐔𝐒 || 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐈𝐧 plays on a continual loop there?) we get some Robin King and I don't know why everyone keeps just standing around, letting this kid talk his nonsense. 

After the Flash's take off to be chased by the Darkest Knight, we get my favorite part of the issue.  Superman frees a ton of heroes, and there are enough favorites here to make most fans smile.  With all the heroes saved, Wonder Woman tells them her plan to make this madness end.  The best part is seeing who the lynchpin is, and I am glad he made it to Death Metal!  The issue ends with Lobo still shrouded in mystery about what he is gathering, but the cliffhanger is huge, crazy, and has me fired up! 



I liked this issue, and while it didn't quite explain everything I was hoping it would, it has me back on board a bit. Scott Snyder is showing "Everything Matters" by giving us an amalgam of all of the big DC Comics Events and while I think he will get flak for having those elements here, it is more than even just an homage, let alone a straight-up ripoff.  The whole story is based on Crisis and if he can meld these elements in and stick the landing, this could be something special, a reminder of the greatness from before leading us, hopefully, into good times in the future.  In the here and now, though, seeing a bunch of great characters and the awesome cliffhanger had me excited for the next issue, though it sucks we have to wait until October for it.  The art is good, but for some reason, nothing is wowing me like Greg Capullo's art usually does.

Bits and Pieces:

Death Metal is the big book going at DC Comics right now, and this issue feels like it.  I still am waiting for some big answers, but I can deal with a ton of guest stars in the meantime.  Hopefully, after the planned month off, Snyder and Capullo will really kick things into high gear.

7.5/10

1 comment:

  1. Definitely agree, this book is a lot of fun. I not only enjoy but respect Scott Snyder for committing to the notion "Everything Matters" concerning DC. For a while, it seemed like DC wanted nothing to do with their classical roots and spirit, and now he wants to bring it all back in a big way. Also, the big character reveal at the end was amazing. I feared that after a certain miniseries had ended, they would be pushed to the curb never to be seen until Death Metal ended. Instead, Scott brings them back in a big way and hopefully makes them significant to the plot.

    ReplyDelete