Superman is pulled into the mystery of the Dark Multiverse while the Justice League follows the trail to a weapon that could keep the forces of the Dark Multiverse at bay!

Dark Nights: Metal has been going strong so far so there had to be a dip at some point and this issue feels like it’s the one. But, this dip is still far more entertaining than a hell of a lot of what I’ve read this week.

Heroes have been gathered and Batman has been pulled into the Dark Multiverse but what are folks going to do to defeat these nightmare versions of Batman and save the universe? That’s what this issue is, the planning one.

Writer Scott Snyder takes a simple concept but fills it with a key thing, emotion. There’s two types here. The emotion of the heroes arguing about what the plan should be and whether they should save Batman. Then there’s dread and tension which I felt as a reader because each page feels like a clock ticking down until the nightmare Batmen discover the heroes. The issue is one that builds until those last pages ratcheting up fear and a little bit of hope… then Snyder sucks the hope from you. This isn’t a “happy” story, this is the thing of nightmares.

Snyder is helped by Greg Capullo with art that’s solid. The positioning of the characters is key as they argue and what should be pretty boring scenes are full of “action” and emotion played out in the movement. Those last few pages too become the stuff of nightmares in the way Capullo displays them as we get a better idea of the nightmarescape that awaits. I don’t want to give away too much but I lingered on the pages to look at the detail. The art at times feels like a metal album cover in comic form.

The issue isn’t quite as strong as the first two but it ends the first arc in a way and sets our heroes and villains off in interesting directions. What it especially does is sucks out the hope that has expanded through Rebirth and made the situation seem more desperate. The comic event lives up to its name, it exudes “metal” and rock and roll in many ways. Most importantly, it has me excited to see what comes next.

Story: Scott Snyder Art: Greg Capullo
Story: 8.05 Art: 8.45 Overall: 8.15 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review