Review: Dark Nights: Metal #4 (of 6)

OK, with one thing and another, the constant flood of Batman related tie-ins have finally abated and we get to see a whole issue of Metals without it being tarnished by a multitude of multiverse books.

Things are looking, well, dark, for the heroes.  Superman is the making like a Duracell and powering Barbatos’ world drawing Earth closer.  Batman is feeling the pressure of his culpability and the rest of the heroes are on “missions impossible” of their own.  Still, armed with the “Five Fingered Death Punch” gauntlet and with a little help from an unusual source, Batman and Superman have a glimmer of hope in turning the tide against the dreaded World-Ender.

Scott Snyder again, throws in everything including the kitchen sink.  With the team split across different worlds, each has to have a piece of the focus, in order to help drive things forward.  Snyder is great when focussed on the main element of book, in this case Batman and Superman, whereas it feels like lip service to the other teams, one of which doesn’t even appear in the book.  Of these sojourns I was looking forwarded to Thanagar Prime, although, the Rock of Eternity is the stand out set piece.  Here Wonder Woman is in full force with Doctor Fate in full mystic mode.  Kendra, who may well be one of the keys to the book also has stand out moments.  Over on Thanagar Prime, a revitalised enemy returns, although with the attitude and dialogue of a teen, which is a little of putting to say the least.  In addition, a switcheroo with powers screams convenience, as if Snyder just didn’t have the time or page count to do this villains return any real justice.  That leaves Aquaman and Deathstroke as the unlikeliest of odd couples, but at least some of my podcasting cohorts on The Definitive Crusade will be pleased to see Storm!

In very much in the same way that Snyder’s writing strengths ebbs and flows, so does Greg Capullo’s art.  There are pieces and panels that are pure quality, interspersed with small panels that lack any real focus, as if he himself wants to get back to the main story as quickly as Snyder.  For example, his cover looks great, but on closer inspection, Superman looks off, especially around the midriff.  During the battle on The Rock of Eternity, Doctor Fate’s frame looks flat and Wonder Woman has no eyes.  Still, despite this, Capullo pulls out all the stops with the Superman and Batman elements and towards the end, shows how fantastic Wonder Woman can look, despite the various changes in her physique during this issue.  Capullo’s work has always been dynamic and in a book that is all about energy and movement, it seems that his work can suffer a tad without the quieter moments of the story.  Speaking of which, the interlude that Superman and Batman have is fantastically paced and panelled.  Jonathan Glapion is on hand with inks as is long time colorist FCO Plascencia who both add to the quality, with the latter really shining with the various environs to depict.

I was really looking forward to this book. Sure it had “eye roll” moments, but there were by no means as jarring as Batmanium.  I still feel that both Snyder and Capullo have given us a story in which they knew the big scenes and have thrown all their energies into those, with the stuff in between lacking the sort of cohesion I have come to expect, instead relying on contrivance and convenience to aid/hinder the heroes.  The sudden appearance of certain characters in this book, not counting the climax as that in some way was always on the cards, alludes to this very point.  Cynically, this series is mainly about creating new books to spin out of it.  I don’t really have a problem with that; comic companies have been doing that for years and we are still hooked enough to buy them.  I just hope that when the dust settles and when the DC universe is back to normal, (sorry guys it will be, the tie-in books have already reverted to their regular scheduled programming, with only Teen Titans showing any sort of nod to these events), that we have been given a great story in its own right.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors -5 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by: Scott Snyder
Art by: Greg Capullo with Jonathan Glapion
Colors by; FCO Plascencia 
Publiched by; DC Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network

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