Dark Nights: Metal #6, or OMG WTF?

Dark Nights:  Metal #6:  [Sigh.]  OK, let's do this thing.

I initially wrote a rage-induced review of this issue, but I slept on it, wondering if I'd feel the same way the next day.  Upon re-reading parts of the issue, I can say I revised some areas where I had a more positive reaction the second time.  That said, my initial assessment of this issue, and the event itself, stands:  I can't remember a cross-over event that started with more promise that ended as spectacularly disappointingly as this one.

I'm going to try to address the events as clearly and neutrally as possible, but I'm going to admit upfront I fail at that several times.

Summary
Barbatos makes the disastrous (some would say "convenient") decision to gather Aquaman, Deathstroke, Green Lantern, and Mister Terrific on Challengers Mountain, where Kendra and Wonder Woman are fighting his Armies of Darkness.  (Martian Manhunter is nowhere to be seen, even though he was with Green Lantern and Mister Terrific on Thanagar Prime when they were defeated.)  At Kendra's suggestion, Diana clanks Hawkman's Ninth Metal mace against her Eighth Metal bracelets, allowing her to communicate with the guys.  The four men rally at Diana's urging to fight the Armies of Darkness, and Cyborg and Flash helpfully arrive with various Batmen to join the battle.  (Somehow, these Batmen are connected to the chimps from the 53rd Universe from "Dark Nights:  The Wild Hunt" #1, but I'm not sure how.)

As the guys take over fighting the Armies of Darkness, Kendra lowers Diana via her lasso into the portal through which the Armies of Darkness came, to find Bruce and Clark.  Instead, Diana encounters the monstrous Hawkman, and a surprised Kendra calls to him, waking him (somewhat) from his stupor and allowing him to land some blows on Barbatos.  Diana then returns with Bruce and Clark, though her discovery of them happens entirely off-panel.  They're all wearing Tenth Metal (a.k.a. Element X) armor.  Batman initially says he only has a drop of Tenth Metal left (presumably after forging their armor), but he's able to use that "drop" to build armor for Aquaman and Green Lantern.  (Bruce and Clark discovering the Tenth Metal also happens off-panel.  All we're told is Tenth Metal is the metal of the Forge and thus the metal of "possibilities."  One of those possibilities was apparently the ability for Bruce to craft armor at will.)

Hawkman continues to take on Barbatos, who orders the Batman Who Laughs to enact the final plan:  he'll combine the captive Over-Monitor (positive energy), the Anti-Monitor's "astral brain" (negative energy), and himself (dark energy) to destroy all universes.  (Is there not "light energy?"  I assume we've learn more in the sequel, "Light Mornings.")  But, Bruce and the Joker arrive in his Batcave under Challenger Mountain to kick his ass, because apparently the only thing the man who plans for everything wasn't expected was them teaming up.

Bruce rescues the Over-Monitor (leaving the Joker fighting the Batman Who Laughs in the cave as it collapses), and the Over-Monitor informs the League it doesn't need the Tuning Fork Barbatos destroyed to save Earth -- they just need to believe.  Everyone holds hands (I'm not kidding) and uses the Tenth Metal in all living things to create a frequency (I think?) that lifts Earth from the Dark Dimension.  Earth is not only saved, but it breaks through the Source Wall, which apparently was saving us from even worse stuff happening.  (Apparently, the known Multiverse was like a fishbowl that's now been poured into the ocean.)  But, Bruce is going to build the Hall of Justice, so it's all OK.

The Less Terrible
If I'm being charitable (hence the good night's sleep), I'd say Snyder was just too ambitious for the space he had.  He introduced too many concepts late in the game, from the chimps of the 53rd Universe in "Dark Knights:  The Wild Hunt" #1 to Barbatos and the Batman Who Laughs' "final plan" to destroy all reality.  As such, he's forced to drop promising threads from previous issues, like the Court of Owls' role as the Judas Tribe, Dream's intervention to help Batman and Superman save the day, or the Batman Who Laughs' secret agenda.  Moreover, he's forced to shift the series' focus on characters abruptly at the end.  The League so easily defeats the Dark Batmen -- even before they got their Tenth Metal armor -- that I don't think any of them even got in a line in the issue.  A great character like Bryce Wayne is essentially just cannon fodder.  Even the Batman Who Laughs -- who seemed to be the only really running the show as Barbatos merely screamed his scream -- is suddenly demoted to lackey.  Meanwhile, the Joker appears from nowhere, lands a few punches on the Batman Who Laughs, and, as far as I can tell, dies in the Batman Who Laugh's Batcave.  (I'm assuming he's not dead, but it goes to the point that Snyder just drops characters and plots right and left here.)

The Ugly
If I'm being less charitable, I'd say there's a point where an author is expected to go home with the person he took to the dance.  Snyder doesn't do that here.  Despite the chaotic battle sequences throughout the book and WTF moments like the chimps from the 53rd Universe (yes, I know, I'm still having problems getting past that), he had plenty of pages to try to impose a coherent narrative, even if retroactively at the end.  For example, he could've used Carter Hall to explain the sequence of events that resulted in Thanagar Prime's canon, Hawkman's mace, and King Arion's crucible becoming capable of dragging Earth into the Dark Dimension when used together.  After all, Snyder never really explains the dynamic of this arrangement; he also doesn't explain how Barbatos became aware of this possibility and used it to his advantage.  He also could've used Batman's final confrontation with the Batman Who Laughs to draw a line under Batman as the common theme of this series, doing a better job than he did in issue #2 of explaining why Barbatos chose Bruce as his doorway or why he chose Bruce's Dark Dimension analogues for his general and foot soldiers.  I could also see him using the Over-Monitor for some additional exposition, like how the events of this issue resulted in the Forge getting rekindled (which Snyder doesn't explain) or what it means.  (Does the Dark Dimension still exist as the proving ground of the Orrery now?)  But, he doesn't do any of that.  He pivots immediately to this idea of the Source Wall and what its destruction means for the Justice League.  In other words, it was all an elaborate sales pitch for "Justice League."  It was like when I went to a friend's birthday party expecting day drinking and shenanigans but discovered he had turned it into a political fundraiser with canapés and speeches.

The Conclusion
Scott Snyder used to be a thoughtful writer.  His "Black Mirror" story in "Detective Comics" is just about the most perfect character-based story I've ever read.  He had a clear vision for where he wanted Dick Grayson to go and he articulated his journey to that point brilliantly.  I honestly can't say what story he wanted to tell here.  I thought he was telling a story about how Bruce played a certain role in the Multiverse.  After all, the first few issues (including "Dark Days") were all about Bruce trying to solve a great cosmic mystery, only to discover he was the smoking gun.  But, we didn't really get that story in the end.  The best shot I can give at a summary is Barbatos' failed attempt at destroying reality inadvertently resulted in the breaching of the Source Wall.  Maybe he just wanted to tell a story where Batman rode a Jokerized dragon.  That's totally cool!  But, that's not the event we were sold.

There's a certain type of comic reader who loves this sort of event for being an event, and a certain sub-type of that reader who'd troll me by saying I just don't understand how brilliant Snyder (or Morrison or Hickman) is.  Fine.  I'm glad they enjoy it.  But, I am mostly a proponent of Chekhov's gun:  if an author makes a big deal about something, I expect it to be addressed at some point.  For example, if I'm supposed to be awed by how formidable the Dark Batmen are as they chase the Justice League through the Multiverse in issues #3-#5, then I don't expect them to be wordlessly dispatched in issue #6.  Snyder basically collects a suitcase full of Chekhovian guns throughout this series and, pressing his audience's patience by running long, just hurls the suitcase at us in the last scene.  I'm sore now, and I'm just glad it's over.

Not-So-New Comics: The February 14 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1:  Honest to God, I have no idea what’s happening here.  I’ve read every issue of this cross-over event, but I still don’t get it.  [Sigh.]  Let's just get to it.

We start this issue focused on a detective chimp named Bobo.  (Seriously, if you think that part is excessively problematic, you might just want to check out here.)  His continuing loss of IQ as well as water now boiling at 106 degrees give his (human) scientist colleagues their first hints that something is wrong with...physics.  (It seems related to Barbatos’ scream to the Armies of Darkness, but I can’t be sure.)  Then, we move onto Cyborg, Flash, and Raven aboard a ship called the Ultima Thule, which music apparently powers.  (The authors present everything here -- from the Thule itself to Cyborg, Flash, and Raven being on board it -- as information I should already have.  In fact, I couldn't remember the last time I saw Flash in this series; in searching my previous posts, I discovered it was in "Justice League" #33, when Cyborg convinced Flash and Raven to join him on this "Hail Mary" pass of a mission.)  They’re looking for the frequency that will lead the Thule to the House of Heroes (whatever that is).  We learn the Thule is apparently the Monitor’s ship and it’s searching for him, but Flash can redirect it because of his ability to control frequencies (I think).  However, the Batman Who Laughs is on their tail in a ship called the Carrier, which is powered by a baby universe.  (Yeah, just go with it at this point.  It gets worse.)  The Drowned reminds us her goal is to recreate her Universe, which is the only reason she’s helping the Batman Who Laughs.  (I wonder if she's going to side with heroes at the end and get her Universe resurrected.  This comment seems too specific to be random.)

Cyborg and Flash somehow realize they might be able to get the Multiverse back on track if they un-cage the baby universe in the Carrier.  (I don't know why.  If you do, hit me up in the comments.)  Flash speeds onto the Carrier and frees the universe, and the wave of positive energy results in the Red Death expunging Bruce’s persona and thus freeing Barry from their cohabitation.  (Sure.)  Barry-the-former-Red-Death agrees to stay on the Carrier until the baby universe is too big to contain, and Barry-our-Flash flees.  However, it turns out the Batman Who Laughs wanted the Thule to escape so he could fire warheads equipped with baby dark universes at it, turning the ship into a poison dart aimed at the center of the Universe (presumably the House of Heroes).  Meanwhile, analogues from the 53rd Universe contact Bobo, though the Dawnbreaker reminds us the 53rd Universe doesn't exist.  It turns out it does; they come from 2067, and they apparently have the answer to save the Multiverse.

Yes, talking chimps from the future are going to save the DCnU.  And comic-book fans wonder why people make fun of us.

I'm not really sure where we go from here.  We only have one issue left, and it seems impossible for Snyder to accomplish everything he set out intending to do.  In theory, he was supposed to show how he had left all these Easter Eggs scattered through his run on "Batman," and they were going to reveal how Barbatos has been planning his assault for a long time.  After all, we learned all the random metals mentioned during Snyder's run -- like batmanium, dionesium, promethium, etc. -- were part of Barbatos' plan to turn Bruce into his gateway to our world.  However, the metals and Barbatos himself quickly faded into the background after 'Dark Nights:  Metal" #2.  Barbatos seems little more than a mindless pawn of the Batman Who Laughs, and the metals have been replaced by a random collection of objects -- Hawkman's mace, Plastic Man's egg, etc.  Now, it's simply a matter of a series of deux ex machinas inevitably helping our heroes defeat the Batman Who Laughs and his hidden agenda.  It's a far cry from where we started.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #42:  This issue is a perfect annual story:  the main story ties up a loose end from a previous event that would be difficult to do in the main title, the back-up story is charming, and the pin-up feature at the end is funny.  Even if you're not a regular reader of "Amazing Spider-Man," it's a great issue if you just want a casual Spider-Man story.  (OK, you probably are going to be a little confused by all the clone references, but otherwise it's pretty solid.)

The story involves the now-resurrected Enforcers informing a mysterious figure that Ned Leeds warned Betty Brant about something called "Blood Creek" during the period of time he was resurrected during "The Clone Conspiracy."  Peter is angst-ridden as he watches Betty consult a psychic to try to connect with Ned again, as he knows she's not crazy.  But, he's playing up his role as a skeptic in part to get her to put Ned's call behind her.  Of course, Betty also reasonably points out they live in a world with Norse gods and Dr. Strange, so it's not insane to think she could speak to her husband in the afterlife.  (Good point, Betty.)

After some sleuthing on both their parts, Betty and Peter realize Ned's original source works at Empire State University.  He informs Betty the supposed Battle of Blood Creek from the Revolutionary War never happened.  Dun-dun-DUN!  Before he can elaborate further, the Enforcers arrive and take them hostage.  (Ain't that always the way?)  Spidey helps Betty escape, and they later head to City Hall to talk to Glory, who apparently still works there despite the Kingpin now being in charge.  (Would I want a former investigative journalist on staff with access to classified records if I were the Kingpin?  No.  No, I would not.)  They learn the statue in the park outside the building dedicated to Blood Creek was commissioned for millions of more dollars than it should've been.  Before they can learn more, they flee when the Kingpin and his security guard arrive, after an alarm alerted the Kingpin someone was looking into the Blood Creek records.  Yet another source helps Betty escape into "hidden New York," the vast network of tunnels laid for various unrealized purposes.  He informs her the statue is made of pure tritium, a particularly explosive material.  But, the Enforcers arrive before he can tell her more.  (These guys' timing has really improved over the years.)

Thankfully, the villain -- Ernesto Karnelli, the "long-hidden leader of the shadow arm of the Maggia, the Undermob" -- narrates the tale.  The Undermob built the sculpture at a significant loss outside City Hall as the ultimate Doomsday device; if one of its leaders is poised to be convicted of a crime and go to jail, the Undermob could blow up City Hall and the courts.  Devious!  Karnelli takes the Enforcers with him and flees, planning on detonating the bomb from a distance, but Spidey hears Betty's screams and arrives on the scene to stop them.  (In a public-service announcement, Spidey tells us always to scream.  Now you know!  And knowing is half the battle.  G.I. Joe!)  Meanwhile, Betty escapes to stop Karnelli's right-hand man from proceeding with the detonation using a control panel in the statue, and she arrives to find a homeless guy trying to stop him as well.  Once the dust settles, it turns out the homeless guy was Ned Leeds, who fades into the crowd!

You can tell Slott has been wanting to tell this story for a while, as it not only makes it a little clearer who escaped from "The Clone Conspiracy," but also firmly establishes Ned Leeds as one of the clones who survived.  One of the more frustrating parts of "The Clone Conspiracy" was Slott's decision to leave who survived intentional vague, so this issue at least goes some way to addressing that.  Plus, it's some time well spent with a supporting cast we haven't seen lately, with some great Spidey zingers to boot!

Avengers #680:  This issue is another solid installment, as the Avengers reel from the loss of Johnny Storm.  The authors do a great job showing everyone's emotions.  In fact, Voyager's speechlessness at the news (and particularly her struggle to convey her sympathy to Rogue) makes me feel like she may be a real character after all and not just some temporary plot device.  Voyager teleports Rogue and her team to Antarctica where the ice/water Pyramoid has appeared, and Rogue murders Corvus Glaive in a fit of rage and revenge.  Meanwhile, Sam has to address the fact he's not only down Johnny but also Red Hulk, as the General's "hour of power" expires.  Thankfully, Voodoo and Wanda use a spell with "difficult to source" ingredients to switch places with the General, bringing Sunspot and the Wasp with them.  (The "difficult to source" part is important, because Voodoo warns Sam -- and the reader -- he's not going to be able to do so again, complicating the Avengers' ability to arrive on time to meet the game's threats as they appear.)  Sam's team heads to Los Alamos via an awaiting Quinjet where the air Pyramoid has appeared.  (Separately, Toni has started to figure out the elemental connections.)  Meanwhile, Simon stops by the hospital where Hank and Nadia are caring for Jarvis.  Pushing his powers to the limit, Wonder Man confirms Jarvis isn't afflicted with radiation, undermining their "Avengers flu" theory.  Also, it seems pretty clear the Challenger's back-up guy is the Hulk.  In other words, it's bad out there, folks. 

Captain America #698:  This arc might've been OK if we hadn't just come from "Secret Empire," but Waid makes Cap way too over the top here when it comes to his fanboyish devotion to freedom.  We learn Rampart had Cap frozen so its leader -- now "King" Maximilian Babbington -- could set off a series of nuclear blasts that killed 90 percent of the population (i.e., "The Forty Minute War").  Earth's "do-gooders" all died containing the bulk of the radiation.  The remaining 10 percent of America's population is now forced to buy the necessities of survival -- treated water, hazmat suits, etc. -- from the new elite, who live in a castle floating above the ruins of Washington.  It's like "Elysium" meets "Hunger Games."  Cap awakens in 2025 after Liang, the rebel leader, liberates his statue from the castle, where he's been used as a symbol of America (but "America" now being defined as the elites themselves). They're surprised when it turns out he's the real deal.  A troop of "Rapidtroops" arrives to take out the rebels, and Cap is appalled when Liang has to sacrifice one of them because he didn't flee fast enough.  He then randomly lectures her about the Bill of Rights.  It's obviously tin-eared, given they're climbing through the ruins of Washington as he does so.  It's like Cap appearing in "The Road" and complaining the Father just had to have more faith.  Moreover, it comes after "Secret Empire" pretty extensively covered similar ground.  I thought he was still reeling from how easily everyone followed Captain Fascist.  Is his faith in freedom really that strong?  Does he really believe in the Bill of Rights, given how quickly it was discarded during "Secret Empire?"  After all, Captain Fascist made the point recently he never broke any laws; Congress gave him the power to do everything he did.  I thought the whole point of this series right now is to portray a shaken Cap trying to rediscover his faith, not a resolute one seeing freedom everywhere.  If I were Waid, I would quickly put aside the optimism we see in this issue and keep Cap focused on the challenge at hand, like in Remender's Dimension Z story.  

Detective Comics #974:  This issue is emotional, as Tim faces total collapse under the weight of the last few days.  He’s frantically trying to recreate the Belfry even though the team has decisively fractured:  Batman has expelled Batwoman, Azrael and particularly Batwing seem likely to go with her, and Spoiler leaves to get some time on her own.  Bruce tries to help, but Tim breaks into tears, feeling he can’t escape the curse of the dark Future Batman he now feels destined to become.  But, Tynion’s at his best when he pushes against comics’ most frequently cited tenet, that superheroes are supposed to be held to a higher standard when it comes to killing.  Kate justifies her actions as something any police officer or soldier would do (and be celebrated for doing), but Bruce, Cass, and Tim stress they’re supposed to be better than that.  Importantly, though, Kate points out they weren’t.  They don’t have a response to Kate’s assertion that they had already let Clayface kill a number of people, and they just sputter when she stresses he could’ve killed an untold number more while they were looking for an answer that allowed them to keep the moral high road.  Jake’s offer of a new outfit to Batwoman seems to presage the war between the Batpeople that Future Tim said was coming.  Tynion makes that an exciting prospect, given his commitment not to ignore the emotional undertones here.

Falcon #5:  First, I love the idea the personality Sam shed to leave Hell was Snap Wilson.  Unless Barnes is undoing the Remender ret-con of the Englehart ret-con, the Red Skull created the idea of Snap Wilson to strike at the heart of Sam’s perception of himself as a hero:  Snap is the man the Sam we know would never want to be.  But, even the possibility he could be someone like Snap has successfully worn down his spirit for years; shedding Snap in Hell is a sign he’s confident in himself in a way he hasn’t been previously.  Moreover, it creates a great antagonist, if Mephisto plans on resurrecting Snap as a real person to get revenge on Sam for bringing hope to Hell.  (He and Steve could bond over both having evil twins.)  Moreover, this arc wraps up nicely.  Barnes cements Sam’s relationship with his two protégés, building out the supporting characters who made his run as Captain America so strong.  In fact, Sam's ability to speak about his love for the boys seems a sure sign he's shed his baggage, embracing his role as a father figure in a way he hadn't previously (partly, I think, because of his conflicted feelings about becoming a father).  I love the three of them joining Daimon Hellstrom and Dr. Voodoo for a nice meal after everything.  I was skeptical when Barnes started down the supernatural road, but it’s hard to argue with his results.  Sam is the Falcon once again, with his baggage firmly checked.  It’s a great starting point for this next phase.

Marvel 2-in-One #3:  We learn in this issue that the Fantastic Four gets its powers by being tethered to one another, meaning the prolonged absence of Reed and Sue will soon leave Ben and Johnny powerless.  That’s some brilliant shit right there.

Also Read:  Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider #14; Bloodshot Salvation #6; Darth Vader #11; Ms. Marvel #27; Old Man Hawkeye #2; The Wild Storm:  Michael Cray #5; X-Men:  Blue #21; Youngblood #9

Dark Nights: Metal #5 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is well constructed, though I’m not entirely sure I enjoyed it.  This story has gotten so sprawling that Snyder is more focused on hitting all his steps than showing us the emotions the characters are feeling.  Only Diana’s scathing glare at Kendra at the end of the issue, when Kendra starts to tell her (and then wisely stops) that there is no hope, comes close to conveying any emotion that feels real.

Sprawled across the Multiverse, the teams are waging war on a number of fronts:

- In Gotham City, the Batman Who Laughs gets Barbatos to issue a war cry, which will apparently bring forth the Armies of Darkness.  Something about the Batman Who Laughs’ narrative implies he’s manipulating Barbatos, but it’s unclear to what end.

- At the Forge, Superman has lost all hope, while Bruce remains convinced the Forge isn’t dead.  As they drop further into the Forge, Superman continues to express doubt while Batman tries to goad the now-monstrous Hawkman into remembering who he is.  They find a spark at the bottom, and Bruce is convinced they have to leap through it.  (I have no idea why he comes to this conclusion, particularly since they're essentially leaping into magma.  But, I have bigger fish to fry here.)

- Aquaman and Deathstroke arrive at the center of the Earth to discover some sort of orb made of Atlantean and "other" technology.  Aquaman tells Deathstroke that legend holds King Arion saved Atlantis “through ancient magic spun at the center of the Earth.”  Deathstroke senses Nth metal in the orb, and for reasons that aren’t clear to me decides they should activate it.  (Just like in Bruce's case, I don't understand why they decide it's going to end well if they do.)  Aquaman frets King Arion might’ve saved Atlantis through some sort of dark deal, but Deathstroke encourages him to focus on the matter at hand.  The orb is apparently a centrifuge, and, now activated, it distills Nth metal.  However, at this moment of victory, Black Manta unexpected shoots both of them with harpoons.  (It’s a great moment.)  He reveals himself as another villain who struck a deal with Barbatos (or, probably more accurately, the Batman Who Laughs), and he tells Aquaman he’ll rule a vast underwater ocean where Atlanteans are enslaved.  Then, the Drowned, Murder Machine, and the Red Death arrive.

- On Thanagar Prime, Green Lantern and Mr. Terrific are stuck in prison, and Terrific explains to Hal that Plastic Man is important because he’s a super-conductor of cosmic energy.  Before “Dark Nights” began, he was helping Terrific, but he eventually reverted to egg form when the nightmares of every living being that were suddenly running through him became too much.  To everyone’s surprise, Martian Manhunter reveals he has been posing as a guard, searching for answers to the same questions as everyone else.  He busts Hal and Terrific free, and they take on Starro off-panel.  Synn relents, allowing them to take Plastic Man, and they make their way to the Phoenix Cannon.  However, Terrific realizes the polarities have been reversed. Then, the Dawnbreaker, Devastator, and the Merciless arrive.  (Notice a pattern?)

- Diana fights Black Adam, whose deal with Barbatos makes him believe he’ll rule Khandaq in a dark world where it thrives.  (At one point, Black Adam tells Diana there are only reasons to comprise, and she punches him, telling him she’ll give him “five reasons not to.”  She’s really on fire in this issue, the only one who seems to be feeling any emotions.)  Adam tells Diana Hawkman's mace isn’t here, but, after blasting her through a wall, she (very conveniently) discovers it.  She reminds him it stores and absorbs energy, like the kind he’s using, and then bashes him over the head with it.  However, in her moment of triumph, the Batman Who Laughs shoots her in the head.

At this point, the stories converge.  The Batman Who Laughs helpfully narrates the plan.  The three remaining pieces of Nth metal were too “dangerous” for the Dark Batmen to approach by themselves (which I totally don’t get, but whatever), so the Justice League had to lead them to them.  They activate the Phoenix Cannon thanks to Plastic Man's egg, and it darkens the Earth’s core, allowing Hawkman's mace to pull the Earth fully into the Dark Multiverse.  (I’m really not entirely clear on how a mace is going to pull down the planet, but we seem to long ago have given up the attempt to explain the physics behind the dark metals.  Also, was the Phoenix Cannon really necessary to darken the Earth’s core?  Someone couldn't have figured out another way to to do so that didn’t involve a cannon on a distant planet?)  Batman and Superman take a leap of faith through the spark, but the Batman Who Laughs says it’s too late, since the Earth is now low enough for the Armies of Darkness to hear Barbatos’ war cry.  Superman begins to lose faith (yet again), but Bruce pushes him forward as Wonder Woman uses the Lasso to remind Kendra who she is.  She and Kendra go through a portal and arrive on Earth, where the Armies of Dark Wonder Women have gathered.  Diana falters for a minute, but then emits her own war cry, leading Kendra into battle.

I can’t say I’m really enjoying this series all that much.  I’ll give Snyder credit:  I’m not sure how the heroes are going to save the day in just two remaining issues. That said, that’s usually not a good sign.  In fact, I’m not really sure what the goal is anymore.  For most of this series, we seemed to be trying to prevent Barbatos from dragging the Earth into the Dark Multiverse.  But, we failed at that, so now it seems to be more about defeating the Armies of Darkness.  Even if the heroes do so, it’s not clear to me how we move the Earth back.  Hope?   Hugs?  Bruce and Clark making sweet, sweet love?  Given we know they’ll save the day, I liked the focus on Bruce and Diana’s steel wills here.  But, we either need more of that or more focus on the mysteries at hand, like what all the metals mean.  (That was a major focus of the first few issues, but now we seem to have put it aside, as more and more mysterious metals are added to the list.)  Without the emotions or revelations, we’re just sort of spinning our wheels, listlessly hitting our marks and getting a paycheck.

Not-So-New Comics: The December 20 Everyone-but-Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman #37: Honestly, every issue of this series is practically an issue of the year.  Along those lines, I love everything about this issue.  King just gets the dynamic of each couple - Bruce and Selena, Bruce and Clark, Clark and Lois, Selena and Lois - so perfectly.  Lois and Selena are obviously my favorite, as they fail to explain why they love Batman and "Kansas" so much but have a good time (with a flask) exploring the question.  The girls are more comfortable embracing the fact they don’t have good answers to this question than the boys are, who also fail to answer it.  Bruce points out Clark’s secret identity is his greatest secret but he’s married to the world’s best reporter, and Clark points out Bruce fights criminals but Selena is one of the world’s best criminals.  Meanwhile, they argue over whether Bruce can hit a ball Clark throws (he can).  It all happens against the backdrop of everyone switching costumes to get into superhero night at the fair.  Awesome, right?  (Yes, the scenes of the boys in their underwear in bathroom stalls was amazing.  “The bat stands for a bat.” Heh.)

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

Not-So-New Comics: The November 15 DC, Image, and Valiant Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Dark Nights:  The Batman Who Laughs #1:  Not surprisingly, this issue is grim.  The Batman Who Laughs is created when Bruce finally snaps and kills Joker.  He does so after Joker not only dissolves Commissioner Gordon in acid but seems to have his minions lining up families so he can kill the parents in front of their children and Batman.  (This part is inspired in its evilness.)  But, Bruce doesn't go to the dark side just because he killed Joker.  Joker brilliantly has a toxin release the moment he dies, and it slowly but surely rewrites Bruce's brain patters so his moral code is in line with Joker's.  Before he dies, Joker tells Batman it was time for them to evolve together.  You'd think the darkest moment would be when Bruce tricked Barbara, Dick, Jason, and Tim into the Batcave's training room so he could kill them all.  This moment is chilling, and Tynion builds to it well.  Bruce confesses to the four of them the virus has him in its grips, and they think Bruce is telling them he wants them to kill him.  Instead, he reveals he needed them distracted while the virus took full control of him, since they would've noticed the change had they not been distraught.  He then shoots them with automatic weapons.  (Did I mention this issue is grim?)  But, no, the darkest moment is when Bruce infects Clark and Jon with black Kryptonite so they are driven to rip apart Lois.  Yup.  Every terrible device is a perfectly constructed nightmare for each character, showing how well Tynion really understands them.  The only mystery we're left pondering is who the figure wrapped in bandages is; Bruce has been narrating the story to him.  Presumably we'll learn more in "Dark Nights:  Metal."

Justice League #33 ("Bats Out of Hell" #4):  This issue reads like a bad after-school special.  Cyborg and the Justice League spout a never-ending series of clichéd sports metaphors to cover up the fact the plot makes no sense.  We learned in a previous issue that Cyborg’s Mother Box is comprised of “Element X,” apparently the holy grail of all these metals and something the Batman Who Laughs needs to achieve his goals.  (It seems to be distinct from Nth metal, but I'm not entirely sure.)  The Mother Box itself asks Victor to surrender to it completely so it can take out the Dark Knights, but Victor refuses, deciding to hold onto his humanity.  He does so partly because Raven encourages him to do so telepathically, but I honestly have no idea when she appeared on the board.  Is she even a character in the DCnU?  No idea.  The script here is so cheesy you actually find yourself wishing he’d have surrendered.  I’d rather endless “pings.”  At any rate, this new Victor (“Cyborg One Million, baby!”) is apparently connected to the Multiverse and he now can do anything, like free the Justice League.  They then free Dr. Fate, Deathstroke, and Mister Terrific, who were apparently also captured when the Justice League was in "Flash" #33 (though I don’t think that was made clear at the time).  Everyone then makes a tactical retreat, and the original teams resume their missions to collect the Nth metal while Victor takes Flash and Raven on a “Hail Mary” pass mission.  In other words, we end exactly where we started this mini-series, except for Victor being free.  This issue is really the only miss in “Dark Nights:  Metal” so far, but, man, it is seriously a miss.

Batman #35:  If there's a moment that encapsulates Batman's relationship with Talia, it's her crawling to him to tell him she like Catwoman after Catwoman stabbed her in the back with a sword.  Catwoman and Talia may fight over Batman in this issue, but it's not by any stretch of the imagination a stereotypical catfight.  They might be using swords, but they're actually having a conversation.  Talia tells Catwoman the story of how harsh her father was in raising her, giving her a sword the day she took her first steps, and Catwoman tells Talia she never met her father, so no one ever gave her anything.  Talia tells Catwoman Bruce is her (Talia's) only equal, and Catwoman laughs at the pedestal on which Talia has placed Bruce.  She shows her unique insight into him by telling Talia he is broken and cracked.  Moreover, he's obsessed with a childish vow he'll put above all other vows, including the one he eventually makes to her.  But, she loves him, so she's stuck with that.  Talia really legitimately accepts that.  King and Jones really make that clear.  Talia realizes she not only doesn't see him the same way Selina does but also that Selina probably sees him more clearly.  She basically gives them her blessing.  Selina manages to defeat her and makes her way to Holly, asking her (and not demanding from her) that she return to Gotham and confess that she murdered 237 people so Selina can be happy.  Meanwhile, Dick and Damian sit vigil outside Khadym, and Dick correctly posits that Bruce wants to be happy, but that requires asking something of someone and it's hard for him to do that.  By the time Bruce and Selina meet the boys outside Khadym, the Batfamily really feels like a family.  Jason and Tim aren't Dick and Damian.  Bruce's sons are essentially picking up their father and step-mother from the airport after their honeymoon and, man, am excited.

Bloodshot Salvation #3:  Lemire has always been a guy with a plan, and he proves that again here.  Project Omen comes online and deactivates all operating nanites just as Bloodshot is ready to kill Daddy; he suddenly becomes human again, and Daddy sees it as divine intervention.  However, we know this “turn-off” period doesn’t last, since Soviet Man and Viet Man save Magic and her daughter from Rampage in the present.  They then take her to a woman named Punk Mambo who connects her with Ray’s consciousness.  It turns out he’s not dead, as everyone thought:  he’s stuck in 4002.  It's obviously unclear how he goes from seemingly getting beaten to death on Daddy's farm to physically transported to 4002, but I’m sure Lemire will get there.  In the meantime, he’s keeping us guessing as he always does.  I shook my head as Daddy proclaimed God had saved him from Bloodshot and set his followers on him, a brilliantly timed moment Lemire has clearly been planning from the start.  Jeff Lemire, everyone.

The Realm #3:  Jesus, every time you think this issue can’t get darker, it does.  First, the most interesting part of the story is our various groups all seem to be converging on the same spot.  The teenager from last issue, Eli, leads the group to safety on the surface, and Will and Molly debate whether they can trust him as they search the area for “locals.”  At camp, David plays with some glowing rocks, which seems to imply he has some magical powers.  Meanwhile, the bearded warrior from the last two issues attacks the goblins who survived chasing the party underground.  (The creature that appeared at the end of last issue attacked them just as they were close to catching Will and company.)  Will and Molly find the kid who awoke in the ring of fire last issue, and we learn he’s been on his own for weeks.  He’s then hit full in the chest with a spear.  It looks grim, but the cover for next issue shows him stitching up his own chest so...maybe it's not.  The only group that doesn’t seem to be converging on this spot is the team of orcs Eldritch “helps” in their fight against an unknown enemy.  The lead orc, Redjaw, dismisses his assistance (he threw some spells from his dragon) and later complains to his human lover that Eldritch has found favor with their master.  Based on these comments and the goblins’ chatter at camp before the bearded guy attacks, it’s clear the mystical forces that came to Earth follow not only the same master but also the same religious beliefs.  At any rate, the authors seem to be building to a major conflict as everyone makes first contact.  It's early for them to kill off everyone, so we'll see how that goes.

The Wild Storm #9:  We continue to get more information about Marlowe's home world in this issue.  We learn it was hierarchical:  the more syllables in your name, the less important you were.  John had eight syllables with a “u” sound in the middle, meaning he was an individual of no particular value; Kenesha had three syllables in her name, making her an exalted servant of the ruling class; and someone called “Emp” (“one syllable, ruling class”) was the head of their expedition.  At some point in long-ago Japan, John had to kill a bunch of samurai to retrieve an important artifact, “the old technology” Emp apparently kept under his bed.  (Said item appears on one of the work benches in the shop Marlowe prepared for Angie.)  Meanwhile, at IO, Ivana makes Miles aware Jackie’s “air gapped red team with event shielding” exercise is happening, and, under questioning from Miles, Jackie confesses she’s securely trying to see if she can extract data from Skywatch station.  Miles warns her not to do anything without his authorization.  They also discuss something called Project Thunderbook, a “Directors Eyes Only” exercise the previous director, John Lynch, ran that was so secretive a dozen people killed themselves the week after he quit and three buildings mysteriously caught fire.  Even Miles doesn’t know what it was, but Jackie informs him Cash was part of it.  Also, Jackie’s assistant Mitch previously made Jackie aware John (but known to them as third-party contractor “Wilson Flowers”) escaped Hightower.  Mitch isn’t too bright, because he uses all sorts of location-tracking software despite Jackie telling him not to do so.  It probably means Zealot is going to kidnap him next issue after Skywatch ordered her to keep a closer eye on IO.  As I frequently say about this series, curiouser and curiouser.

Also Read:  Nightwing #33

Not-So-New Comics: The November 8 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman:  Lost #1:  Long-time "Batman" readers will probably do a better job of picking out the meaningful nods to his history that pepper this issue.  But, Snyder manages to make his point clear even without that.  Bruce is stuck floating through his own past, and Barbatos foils his every effort to escape by telling him he's nothing special:  Barbatos has been the driving force behind his entire existence, setting up every moment in history that brought about his creation so he could serve as the doorway.  Barbatos makes Bruce doubt everything, even convincing him Barbatos has really been the detective, not Bruce. This attack at his will leaves him unable to break free of his history, doomed to constantly repeat it and face the fact Barbatos has allegedly been directing it from the start.  Snyder has been painting such a dark picture over these last few months that you almost begin to believe Barbatos, and it's this belief that makes you realize how full of despair Bruce must be for believing it as well.

Detective Comics #968:  Tynion wraps up this story well by essentially not providing us a definitive conclusion.  The tension in the issue comes from Future Tim using the suit Ulysses is holding at the Colony helicarrier to re-activate the drones, sending them after Batwoman.  He takes down the guys in the Cave in pretty quick succession and then takes Tim with him to the Belfry to finish off Batwoman himself.  But, he's misunderestimated his control through Brother Eye.  Apparently, in his world, Batwing didn't take over the Belfry, so Tim was able to run his routines through Batwing's servers, buying them a window of time.  Plus, some of the equipment in the Batcave was running off older servers, allowing the guys to fly Batplanes to take out the drones.  (Jason is needless to say thrilled, and the moment Bruce has to end his squabbling with Damian with a simple, "Boys, focus," is hilarious.)  Brother Eye knows it's defeated, so he prepares to return Future Tim to his time.  He never reveals what Batwoman does, and Tynion doesn't really give us a reason for it.  Presumably, if he really wanted to "save" Tim by removing the threat Batwoman poses, he'd tell him.  Of course, it's possible he did off-panel, and we'll learn that later.  If not, I'm not quite sure I'd buy it.  Even Nightwing at one point asks if they could all just talk, and I don't get why Future Tim doesn't go that route.  (Per pet peeve #3, I'm not giving Tynion credit for having one of his characters point out a illogical part of the script.)  At any rate, he leaves begging Tim to enjoy the time he has before everything goes wrong, and the last panel shows how upset Tim is by this entire arc.  I'm certainly excited to see where we go from him.  We still haven't really explored Tim's return, since he was so busy fighting Future Tim, so I'm hoping Tynion takes some time to do that over the next few issues.

Falcon #2:  Barnes seems to be playing Blackheart for a fool, and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about that.  We learn Blackheart has decided to take over Earth as a way to earn a seat at the table where the most powerful beings in the Universe gather once a year to tell their best stories.  Apparently when he asked his father Mephisto for a seat he banished him to the seventh circle of Hell for a millennium.  Maybe take the hint, Blackheart?  But, he doesn't, and he's decided Dray is going to rule Earth once he conquers it, earning him said spot at the table.  But, Dray seems an...odd choice for a ruler, as he makes it pretty clear he's only there to get paid.  You may also be asking what anything here has to do with Falcon, and you'd be asking the right question.  The disappointing part is Barnes' script is so solid when he focuses on Sam, particularly in his interactions with Dr. Voodoo and Shaun.  The conversation flows so naturally you feel like you're actually watching the conversations.  But, these nice moments are overshadowed by Blackheart's chaos, and it leaves me still wondering how I feel about it all.

Moon Knight #188:  Whoa.  I mean, holy fucking shit.  I can't remember a series that started without the main character actually making an appearance, but that sense of anticipation just helps add to the tension of the issue.  But, it's not the only source of tension.  The story focuses on a psychiatrist, Dr. Emmett, who previously treated Marc Spector but who I don't recognize from the Lemire/Smallwood run (the only one I've read).  She's treating "the Nameless One," a patient who served in the Army but burned several soldiers to death after they tortured him (stripped him naked, forced him to drink urine, etc.).  He claims to have experience a religious awakening in doing so, and Emmett recognizes the parallels between his story and Marc's.  She decides to introduce him to Egyptian mythology as a way to help him process his trauma.  She tells him the story of Amon Ra, with the sun often representing the "sovereignty of masculinity," and Khonshu, with the moon representing femininity and the power of insubordination.  At this point, it becomes clear Bemis is creating an archenemy for Marc, and the issue becomes chilling.  Emmett visits the military hospital where the Nameless One was originally treated, and a patient there accosts her.  Before the orderlies drag him from her, he tells her he was in the same platoon as the Nameless One when the incident happened and that he managed to burn those soldiers with his hands still tied.  Emmett is called to Ravencroft for an emergency, and we learn the Nameless One attacked one of the nurses, ripping off her nose because she didn't believe he was a god.  When he asks Emmett his name, she offers Khonshu, and it's a reflection of her hope he's accepted the redemption she was offering.  Instead, in her words, he accepted Amon Ra's power as the abuser, and he sets her and the institution on fire, pleading to destroy Khonshu.

Star Wars: #38:  Something Gillen does surprisingly well here — even for someone with his considerable talents — is get the mood of the series right.  As a new author getting his shot at working with such iconic characters, I’m sure it was tempting to go balls-to-the-wall here, to tell a story reminiscent of Aaron’s opening arc.  But, he’s more subdued, because the characters are more subdued.  They’ve had all sorts of experiences in the last few months:  they destroyed the Imperial weapons factory on Cymoon 1, they’ve escaped Grakkus on Nar Shaddaa and Darth Vader on Vrogas Vas, they’ve been stalked on Sunspot Prison, they steal a Star Destroyer to rescue Tureen VII, they saved Luke (again) from the Screaming Citadel.  In this issue, they’re still trying to find a base, and you can tell they’re tired.  Leah may be indomitable, but everyone else has an edge.

Titans #17:  I haven't been a huge fan of this series for a while, but Abnett delivers one of his better issues here.  We learn future Diana Troy, calling herself Troia, has traveled to the past to kill the Titans, saving herself 80 years of heartache.  WTF, you ask?  Diana is apparently immortal; as Karen dies of natural causes in 2091, Diana loses the last of the Titans and wonders why she bothered caring in the first place.  Abnett makes it pretty clear Troia is insane here; it's a much different conversation than the one Future Tim has with his counterpart in "Detective Comics."  She goes on a murder spree after Karen's death, killing everyone from Darkseid to Wonder Woman (for telling the lie in the first place).  My only real problem with this issue is the question why it took Diana so long to get here.  Abnett has been advancing this story through Psimon's grim warnings for months, and it seems to me like Abnett had a number of more straightforward ways to go here.

The Wild Storm:  Michael Cray #2:  OK, the art is terrible, but the story is solid.  First, Michael has Trelane hire him a team of three support staff to help him with his missions; he auditions them in a steampunk VR game.  We've got Hector Morales the trap-builder, Leon Carver the strategist, and Victoria the assassin.   He then poses as a Afghanistan vet to get transported to Queen's island, where Queen immediately IDs him.  They're in hand-to-hand combat before you know it, and Michael disintegrates Queen's arm.  Queen advances on him. but Victoria has apparently followed him and takes out Queen.  It's a surprising moment; I thought this story was going to last longer.  But, when Trelane reveals Michael's next target is dirty cop Barry Allen, it appears Hill and Ellis have a bigger story planned.  Is Michael going to kill his world's versions of the Justice League?  We'll have to wait and see.  Meanwhile, throughout the issue, Michael is examined by Dr. Shahi, who reveals he's not dying of brain cancer.  Instead, he has some sort of secondary brain (a "second layer" of "normal synaptic processes") coming online, but she refuses to tell him more.  She wants to cure him; he wants to be able to use the power to take out the bad guys.  We'll see how that goes.

Also Read:  Captain Marvel #24; Generation X #8; Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #32; Uncanny Avengers #29; X-Men:  Gold #15

Not-So-New Comics: The November 1 DC Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman #34:  OMG, this issue is the best issue ever.  I’m almost loathe to review it, because it feels like ruining it’s magic (the second time, I believe, I’ve said that about one of King’s issues).  It just has all sorts of amazing moments between Bruce and Selena, where her personality in particular shines like a diamond.  It reminds you why he’s attracted to her, why she’s a challenge for him.  She seems to treat Talia as simply a rival for Bruce's affection in her banter, but King makes it clear she understands the threat Talia poses perfectly well.  Moreover, Bruce’s detective work is spectacular as he deduces the gunless, tongueless ninjas Talia sent after them were just there to tire them.  We're also treated to more excellent Dick and Damian interactions, with Damian actually thanking “Richard” for coming with him, and Dick telling him he’s with him all the way to the end.  (I think I have some sand in my eye.)  King's Damian is just a damn treat:  he tells Superman (who prevents him and Dick from entering Khadym) he’d simply sell his soul to a demon (“blah blah blah”) and use magic to kill him instead of kryptonite like everyone else tries. Supes wisely tells him he believes him, but also that Jon probably wouldn’t want to go adventuring with him anymore.  In other words, this issue is a tour de force of characterization and everyone should read it right now.  #issueoftheyear

Batman:  The Devastator #1:  These tie-in issues have really been much, much better than I expected them to be, and this one is no different.  Like the other authors, Tieri makes this Batman’s pain palpable, and he had a rougher road than pretty much all the others:  he had to turn himself into Doomsday to take out a crazed Superman.  He talks about the moment as building a wall of bone around his heart so he could do what he never thought he would have to do, and Tieri does a great job of reminding us how hard it is for Bruce to trust someone in the first place.  Unlike the other issues, though, this one is also directly related to the main plot, as Barbatos has this Batman steal the tuning fork from the Fortress of Solitude and place it on the mountain in Gotham.  It seems pretty clear it’s going to interact with the battery Superman is powering in the Dark Dimension (per "Dark Nights:  Metal" #3), and that doesn’t seem to bode well for our gang.

Batman:  White Knight #2:  Murphy really is telling a sprawling (in the best way) story here, as Jack tries to stay on track in his push to save Gotham.  Hilariously, we learn cheerleader Harley replaced original Harley at some point without Joker noticing.  This revelation comes as cheerleader Harley refuses his proposal (because she loved him for the chaos), and original Harley knocks her on her ass and accepts the proposal (because she loved him for him, but left him after she realized he loved Batman more than anyone or anything.)  It’s remarkably clever, not just as a joke but as a sign of how completely demented Joker had become.  Original Harley (or Harleen) also serves the role of psychiatrist for us, explaining the pills are working because Jack has a chemical imbalance that exacerbates the personality traits that made him the Joker in the first place.  It means all those traits are still there, and Murphy makes it clear Joker is stalking Jack every step of the way.  All that said, perhaps the most intriguing part is the revelation that the fate of Jason Todd is unclear.  In the past, Harleen fled to Batman as Joker was beating Jason to death, but, when they arrived on the scene, Jason was gone.  If I had to guess, Jason will return, revealing he left because he couldn’t stand the violence any more.  That would strike a blow to Bruce.  Murphy also does a great job of showing Bruce rattled as one of his peers admits he (and pretty much everyone else) has used Batman’s war on crime to rake in profits (in this guy's case, flipping real estate in the poor neighborhoods where Batman is active).  Murphy showing Jack/Joker as a hero of the 99% is particularly topical, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see the themes he develops here appear in the mainstream Bat-books soon.

Also Read:  Justice League #32; Nightwing #32

Not-So-New Comics: The October 25 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

For some reason, I didn't really have a lot to say about the October 25 releases.  It's not necessarily a bad thing; they were all really solid issues.  "Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider" #9, "Bloodshot Salvation" #2, "Detective Comics" #967, and "Nightwing:  The New Order" #3 all significantly advanced their plots, and I thoroughly enjoyed "Quantum and Woody! #0.0001½.  But, I guess not much seemed particularly noteworthy.

Dark Nights:  Gotham Resistance (Teen Titans #12, Nightwing #29, Suicide Squad #26, and Green Arrow #32):  I finally had to admit I was enjoying “Dark Nights” so much I decided to go back and buy these issues.  (I read "Nightwing" #29 when it was released on September 20.)  The authors do a great job in keeping the story connected issues to issue as some members of the Suicide Squad and Teen Titans get possessed by the Batman Who Laugh’s Damian while the other members join with Green Arrow, Mister Terrific, and Nightwing to get to the heart of Challengers' Mountain in the middle of Gotham.  It actually helped reading these issues after reading "Dark Nights:  Metal" #3, since it's clear the music and voices Dick is hearing is Bruce telling him not to come rescue him.  Dick doesn't exactly hit the nail on the head in interpreting that message, deciding instead Bruce is dead or lost.  (That said, he was a helluva lot closer to interpreting the message correctly than Clark was.)  The main outcome of this cross-over event in terms of the larger story was Damian seemingly mortally wounding his counterpart with Nth metal.  Mister Terrific arrives to whisk the remaining team members — Damian, Dick, Green Arrow, and Mister Terrific — to the Oblivion Bar, as we saw in "Dark Nights:  Metal" #3.  Here, Green Arrow reveals what they've learned about the Nth metal, setting the ball rolling for the rest of the series.  Beyond just advancing the larger plot, the authors really show the despair the characters are beginning to feel, particularly Dick and Harley; you understand why Dick is such a mess in “Dark Nights:  Metal” #3.  The only criticism I have of this mini-event is I didn’t really buy Harley and Killer Croc feeling some sort of patriotism for Gotham, but it’s a minor complaint.  All in all, it's a solid event that anyone reading "Dark Nights:  Metal" would benefit from reading.

The Flash #33 ("Dark Nights:  Bats Out of Hell" #1):  This issue starts immediately after Superman enters the Dark Dimension, as Murder Machine and Devastator arrive to steal the tuning fork (as seen in “Batman:  The Devastator” #1).  Interestingly, Devastator destroys the fork, saying he’ll bring it to Barbatos only after he rebuilds it.  Why would he need to rebuild it?  Is that going to provide the loophole the League needs to defeat Barbatos?  Meanwhile, Barbatos kidnaps the various League members from their missions to lock down more Nth metal, separating Arthur, Barry, Diana, and Hal from their partners and sending them against their Dark Dimension counterparts.  This entire event has been building to this moment, and I can see why these issues were sold as essential to the overall story.

Amazing Spider-Man #790:  OK, first, I have to say, I could overlook a lot here just given how beautiful the art is.  Honestly, in 35 years of reading Spider-Man comics, I can't remember them ever looking as good.  (Yes, I'm not a McFarlane fan.)  As mentioned in the letters column, Immonen really has an amazing (heh) ability to convey motion; at certain points during Peter's fight with Johnny and later Clash, it really felt like I was watching a movie.  But, the good news is I don't have to overlook anything.  Slott is telling a really bang-up story.  I love the idea of Peter committing to going on an apology tour, showing how solid of a guy he is; as Harry says, most companies would've just sent some lawyers to sign the settlements on their behalf.  I'm also glad Slott is continuing to keep the Robin Hood version of Clash here.  I even liked Peter continuing to somewhat uncharacteristically look the other way when it comes to Clash, as he does here when Clash steals back the tech he developed for Parker Industries.  It was a little questionable previously, but something about it now feels like it reflects Peter's new worldview after the fall of PI.  Is he really going to sweat Clash stealing back the technology he himself created?  He has bigger fish to fry.  Meanwhile, I wonder if the developments in "Uncanny Avengers" means Johnny is going to buy back the Baxter Building.  (Are the Avengers going to live there?)  It seems too perfectly timed for it not to be true.  In other words, Slott and the art team have really hit a home run when it comes to a Legacy story that feels and looks like the Spider-Man stories of my youth, and I hope it lasts as long as possible.

Also Read:  Batman:  The Merciless #1; Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider #9; Bloodshot Salvation #2; Detective Comics #967; Nightwing:  The New Order #3; Quantum and Woody #0.00011/2; Rebels:  These Free and Independent Starts #8; U.S.Avengers #11; X-Men:  Blue #14

Not-So-New Comics: The October 11 DC Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Dark Nights:  Metal #3:  Snyder tries to do too much here, but I understand why he does so.  He clearly has big plans -- even bigger than the ones we've already seen -- and he needs to move us quickly to where we are at the end the issue.  As a result, this issue is a little rushed, but I think ultimately it'll be worth it to see where Snyder takes us.

It starts really, really well:  we get an adorable scene where Damian and Jon are playing guitars in a field in Smallville as Bruce, Clark, Diana, and Lois watch.  It's the most warmth I've ever scene displayed in a DC Comic, to be honest.  Bruce tries to thank the group for all their support after he was forced to confront his darkest fears during the recently concluded war, and they all make fun of him for how bad he is at expressing emotions.  But, then it turns out it's just another nightmare:  Barbatos evolves from Bruce's form to attack Superman, and we learn Clark has been fighting these nightmares for lifetimes.  But, Diana saves him by putting her Lasso of Truth around him to get him to see the "real" world.  He awakens to a scene that combines "The Matrix" with Scientology:  Clark and Diana are attached to the outside of a skyscraper along with thousands of other people.  (Capullo goes for broke with these scenes, as the people are basically Day of the Dead skeletons.)  Clark leaves Diana to take on Barbatos, but gets his ass handed to him.  Flash saves him just in time, taking him to the Oblivion Bar, a safe space in a pocket dimension where all the other heroes are located.

Everyone is significantly worse for the wear as we learn they've all failed in their attempts to displace the Dark Batmen from their cities.  (Dick is particularly shaken, and I may need to read "Gotham Resistance" now.)  The towers are really generators, and Superman realizes Barbatos wants to pull our world into the Dark Dimension.  At this point, Green Arrow reveals the Nth metal can hurt them.  Dr. Fate and Mr. Terrific are able to locate three stashes of Nth metal through its connection to the other reactive metals in Steel's hammer, Fate's mask, Plastic Man's egg, and Deathstroke's armor.  Diana starts splitting up everyone in teams to go mine the metal, but Superman dissents when Mr. Terrific reveals the last signal is coming from the Dark Dimension.  Clark says Bruce used a code word in his last dream that he and Superman developed to signify trouble, and Dick confirms he can also feel Bruce trying to reach him.  Superman realizes Bruce is sending the signal from the Dark Dimension, but Dick says they shouldn't go after him.  Dick argues they should fight Barbatos as Bruce would've wanted them to do.  However, Dick is also shaken by how dark Bruce's soul is, something they've all seen through these perverted forms of him.  Damian is outraged, attacking Dick.  One of the most crushing scenes is Damian clinging to Superman after he informs the group he'll save Bruce.  Dick and Damian's sense of hopelessness conveys just how overpowering Barbatos' ability to kill hope is.

At any rate, the teams are forced to flee the bar as Batman Who Laughs and his Robins find them.  (Kendra made it clear she was against saving Superman exactly for this reason.)  As the other teams arrive at their destinations and start hunting for the Nth metal, Flash and Steel accompany Superman to the Fortress of Solitude.  Superman reveals the coordinates for the Dark Dimension were close to the ones for the Phantom Zone, and he thinks the Phantom Zone might be, as Flash says, a "permeable membrane" between our dimensions.  Steel attaches himself to the Antenna and Flash supercharges it, creating an energy link to the Dark Dimension.  (Just go with it.)  Superman travels there, only to realize he was wrong.  Bruce was sending songs in the dreams, not words:  the two chords of the song the kids were playing were D then C:  "don't come."  Superman is the battery, and with his arrival in the Dark Dimension the circuit is complete.  Shit is going down, y'all.

Detective Comics #966:  This series has dragged lately, but it isn't now!  This issue is one of the most gripping I've ever read, particularly when you consider it's also a time-travel story.  Tim and Future Tim talk while occasionally fending off Doomsday, though Future Tim doesn't reveal anything too specific about how he got this way.  In fact, our only real hint before the issue wraps is a flashforward to his timeline, where Anarky comments to Spoiler about an event involving Clayface setting everything in motion.  Instead, Future Tim lays out his road to Batman and strikes a theme in doing so, saying certain patterns are set.  For example, Dick's reality is as a circus kid, so he eventually leaves Gotham and starts a family.  Jason's reality is as a tragic story, so he winds up losing an eye and a leg and living as a homeless drunk.  Damian's reality is a violent arrogance, so it's heavily implied Future Tim has to kill him after his "Batman" #666 iteration practically burns Gotham to the ground. Tim refuses to accept he's going to become Future Tim, but Future Tim agrees to use his technology to travel to Tim's present.  As he departs, Future Tim encourages Tim to make peace with Conner, but Tim doesn't know who Conner is.  Future Tim is shocked, and he reviews the present timeline thanks to his Batcomputer (who he creepily calls "Brother").  He realizes this timeline has been tweaked (heavily implying he's from the DCU timeline), and he cuts Tim's arm.  When he realizes he, too, has a scar, he realizes he can save Tim from his future by killing the person responsible for it:  Batwoman.  Although this issue is super-talky, you get the sense Tynion has laid the groundwork he needed to lay and we're about to see some honest-to-God fireworks as Future Tim goes after Batwoman.

The Wild Storm:  Michael Cray #1:  Right off the bat, I’ll say the quality of this issue is notably different from “The Wild Storm.”  Not that the issue is bad, but everything about it — the writing, the art, etc. — feels like a copy of the original.  Michael gets his first assignment from Trelane:  he’s to infiltrate Oliver Queen’s “Sanctuary” and steal his technology.  Wait, The Wild Storm has its own Green Arrow, you ask?  Apparently.  He seems to be a variant of the television version, as all the details don’t exactly match:  for example, both his parents (not just his father) died in the shipwreck that left him stranded.  What’s the Sanctuary, you ask?  Well, I’m glad you did.  It’s a version of the island where he was stranded, where he plays “The Most Dangerous Game” to keep his skill sharp.  It’s not the only sign he’s insane.  His font is notably different:  rather than the regular font everyone else uses in The Wild Storm, he speaks in all-caps, italics, and quotations.  Trelane stresses she wants him for the technology, but notes Michael is a better person than she is, so he’ll probably want to stop Queen from killing veterans.  Along the way, we get a hint of Cray’s supernatural powers; whereas he destroyed Marlowe’s spur in “The Wild Storm’ #1, here he blows up a mouse living in his new house.  He's as sad as we are.

Youngblood #6:  Bowers advances the plot significantly here, though we don't really have any more answers than we did at the start of the issue.  The kids battle the Byrne gestalt while Badrock and Shaft (well, mostly Badrock, since Shaft is missing his arm) take on Diehard.  The kids realize they're in trouble when the gestalt eats one of the Chapel twins (though I'm not really sure if they're twins now, because the one getting eaten refers to the other one as "Chapel").  Badrock winds up throwing Diehard into the room where the gestalt is, and he's appalled when he sees the seemingly dead kids.  Badrock sacrifices himself to the gestalt, claiming he knows how to beat it after it connects to him and he's able to see its thinking.  The gestalt explodes, and Badrock emerges as a normal teenage boy.  Nine days later, we discover Man-Up is slave labor for some paramilitary leader in Morocco, and the team - comprising of Dolante, Supreme, Vogue, and the speedster whose name I can't remember -- arrives to rescue him.  I'm really enjoying this series, and I'm intrigued to see what happens with Badrock.  Is he now a cyborg like the Byrnes?  But, I also feel like I'm struggling to get a grip on everyone, because Bowers is more or less writing for the trade here.  I complained in a previous review that the extensive use of flashbacks in the first five issues made it difficult to follow the team coming together, and it's a problem I still can't remember one of the team members' names after six issues.  But, I was also excited by the advertisement announcing "Bloodstrike" coming in January 2018, so it's a limited complaint.