Dark Nights: Metal #4: Unlike previous iterations, it’s not really worth laying out all the details of this issue, as we start to spin into nonsense on some level. I'll try to keep it short and focused.
The three teams seeking the Nth metal encounter their own unique challenges. Kendra is afraid to journey deeper into the Rock of Eternity because she knows the Nth metal there is in Hawkman’s mace and it will reveal...something to her. Aquaman and Deathstroke follow whoever murdered the guards at King Arion’s tomb through a portal in his coffin. Starro the Conqueror is working with the Thanagarians and their leader Onimar Synn to do...something with Plastic...egg. (Apparently Synn was an enemy of the Thanagarians, but now he’s their leader. He’s also consumed all the Nth metal, so he was the beacon that led the team there. Yeah, I don't know either. Also, the Thanagarians have some sort of “Phoenix Cannon” aimed at Earth so they can ensure it doesn’t fall into the Dark Multiverse, but I don't get why everyone thinks that's a bad thing. Is that a good thing?)
Meanwhile, two alternate versions of Superman arrive to take Batman deeper into the Dark Multiverse now that they have Superman to power the battery, and it gives Bruce a chance (apparently the first one in 30 years) to use his Kryptonite knuckles to free Clark. Bruce calls for Dream to help, and Dream creates a portal through which Bruce and Clark escape. Dream eventually reveals Barbatos was the engine of destruction that the master of the World Forge used to destroy worlds that weren’t stable enough to raise into the Orrery. Barbatos killed his master, allowing these worlds born of fears and nightmares to survive, for a time. However, because their energy is no longer being returned to the Forge, it's begun to go dark. (By the by, the Forge's master was the third being created at the start of existence - “a great spark of molten potential” - along with the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor.) We also learn there’s a tenth metal at the Forge; it’s “the last, bright pure metal of possibility.” Dream warns, though, Barbatos has a cosmic being in his pocket to tip the balance further in his favor. Dream sends Bruce and Superman to the Forge, because they have enough “hope and wonder” in their hearts not to get lost along the way. (I know, I know. Apparently Bruce’s wonder is his family’s ability to be better than he is. Gag me with a pitchfork.) But, they find the Forge is dark and Carter Hall is now Barbatos’ dragon, defender of the Dark Forge. (Does that mean the Forge is alive, but only spitting out "dark" worlds?) Meanwhile, Kendra tries to destroy the Anti-Monitor’s brain at the heart of the Rock of Eternity, but she’s transformed into Lady Blackhawk instead. (I thought it was Hawkman's mace that had the Nth metal?)
If you couldn’t tell, at least one of the wheels came off the bus here. Snyder had done such a great job previously in telling an ambitiously complex story that I could still follow panel to panel and issue to issue, but we lose that here. The story just has too many internal contradictions, like why the Phoenix Cannon isn’t the answer to everyone’s prayers, or random developments, like Black Adam revealing to Wonder Woman that he and Vandal Savage struck their own deal with Barbatos. I’m not saying all hope is lost, but I am saying it’s probably time we wrapped up things here.
Nightwing #35: This series has been cruising along pretty nicely lately, so I haven’t felt inspired to recap it for a while. Humphries starts his initial arc here, as Dick confronts an old enemy called the Judge who has apparently previously eluded him. The Judge gives golden casino chips to people that force (or help) them act out their allegedly greatest desires: an old lady stabs a croupier to death so her friends will be afraid of her, and Svoboda shoots Nightwing for some reason. Meanwhile, Dick has opened a CrossFit gym, which seems to mean we’re going to see a lot of his ass. Hurrah! I'm still not buying this idea of the Judge as some long lost archenemy (particularly after the Raptor business), but we'll see where Humphries takes us.
The Realm #4: We establish a few things here that continue to build the world around us. Will and Molly decide to bring the kid they encountered last issue to camp with them once he resurrects himself and all. We learn he knows he’s done it (resurrect himself) previously (as we’ve seen), but he can’t remember any details about his life. (My guess is he loses that information every time he resurrects.) Rook is against taking him with the group, but Will and Molly overrule her, uncomfortable with leaving a kid on his own. Eli takes the kid under his wing, and they head to a small city. A guy named Everett runs it, and he and Will are friendly. (How friendly? I know I keep pushing for Will to be down with guys, so deal.) His city is trying to start civilization going again, and the team is impressed by what they’ve accomplished towards that goal. They have dinner, but the orc war band we’ve previously seen arrives at the gates and interrupts it. On the way to the city, one of the orcs tells the leader he's concerned his “brothers” have gone missing on the march. The woman with the bunny mask asks if it’s "him," and it’s clear the bearded guy we’ve seen a few times has been killing enough orcs to become their boogieman. As the band arrives, the team throws its (considerable) support to the city’s militia, but they’re surprised when a many-tentacled creature appears above them. Notably, we learned along the way that several party members are at least magic sensitive. Rook and the kid had previously sensed a dark cloud coming over the party, and Eli and the kid both saw a black dog briefly appear in the woods. At dinner, Will’s demon arm starts to hurt, and the kid gets a headache right before the many-tentacled creature appears. Curiouser and curiouser.
The Wild Storm #10: Okee-dokee, we have a lot going on here:
— Cole’s team is trying to figure out a way to take out an underground installation at IO. (I’m assuming it's the room hosting Lynch’s simulation exercise, but I’m not entirely sure, because I’m not sure how the Wild C.A.T.s would know about that.) They initially plan for John and Kendra to jump into the HQ to hack into IO's security systems and take down the event shielding so Adri can then jump Cole into the HQ with a bomb to destroy it. (Cole ensures they’ll use some sort of environmental scare to evacuate the building, minimizing casualties.) But, they realize they’re never going to get John and Kendra onsite without IO knowing, so Cole instead suggests they use the drones Angie threw at the Razor-3 team to hack into the systems.
— At the Skywatch satellite, Bendix (i.e., the Weatherman) tells Lauren (his aide-de-camp) that Trelane has reported that Cray doesn’t have a brain tumor, but instead something “reptilian”-related. However, Lauren apparently doesn’t believe in “reptilian aliens” or “alien metamorphs,” even though, as Bendix says, they’re part of Skywatch’s core mission. (According to Bendix, this mission includes creating an off-world breakaway civilization, colonizing space, and Bendix becoming Vice-President of the Universe.) However, Bendix refuses to brief her, so they switch to the plans for getting their stealth tech from IO. Bendix wants “punishment killings” since stealing is against the treaty, but Lauren suggests it would tip them into open conflict. She confirms Lucy Blaze is handling the increased observation of IO, and Bendix is pleased. He then takes some sort of drug and proceeds to manage all outer space from the deck.
— The Doctor has Jenny take her to her place for a drink, and she encounters, in her own words, Jenny's "serial killer" bulletin board. Jenny says it’s her way to understand the state of the world; she was alive for part of the war between IO and Skywatch, but then she disappeared. The Doctor tells Jenny she checked on her after accessing her vision and informs her the Daemon created the machine that created Jenny as the world’s defense mechanism. (Jenny previously hadn’t been able to confirm the Daemon were real.)
— We’re introduced to the Mayor, a seemingly homeless guy who travels from city to city through manholes to check on whether shop-owners are doing OK. (The shop-owner who tells Kendra this story says the Mayor often shows up just when he’s feeling like he doesn’t matter.) As the Mayor runs up a wall and dives into a manhole, Voodoo sees him doing so and tells her friend it means “it’s all real” and a war is coming.
At this point, the only real nagging question I have about this series is how the Wild C.A.T.s learned about Lynch's operation (if they are in fact trying to stop it). It's really remarkable if you think about it. Ellis is telling a complicated story going back ten months, but I feel like I understand where we are and where we're going except for that one small detail. In other words, man, it's a great series.
Also Read: Quantum & Woody #1
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