I haven’t been the biggest fan of Dark Nights: Death Metal. The event as a whole has been uneven with an inconsistent voice. In an “anything can happen” sense, the comic has been fun for its insanity. That could have been part of the point and concept. As it begins to wrap up, we begin to get the big hits and moments. The heroes rally to take on the Darkest Knight and his nightmare worlds in their last stand. Dark Nights: Death Metal #6 is a combination of the night before the final battle in Les Miserable and Steve Rogers saying “I can do this all day”. The heroes rally to take on the forces against them as Wonder Woman attempts to succeed in her mission.

Writer Scott Snyder puts together an interesting mix of over the top imagery and touching moments in an issue that has a focus of that “last stand”. While gods battle above them, the remaining heroes and villains of Earth draw the line against the nightmare Batman gunning for them. Where Snyder hits it is his “grouping” of heroes putting an emphasis that these are families. While they may oppose each other at times, there’s something touching seeing the various pockets of the DC Universe standing together. Heroes and villains taking a stand of survival knowing their battle is likely a lost one with the slimmest of chances of success. Those moments are far too short but they deliver some heart to the bombastic issue that also sees a fight at a cosmic scale.

Part of the fun of the comic is its over the top visuals. Greg Capullo continues to deliver events on a grand scale. Characters are packed into pages or deities battle it out in space. Dark Nights: Death Metal #6, and the series as a whole, is one that’s very much a “show”. The comic seems to love going over the top in its imagery knowing its popcorn level of entertainment. This isn’t one about body language or facial expressions, this is about massive battles and tons of characters. Capullo is joined by Jonathan Glapion on ink and FCO Plascencia on color.

Tom Napolitano handles the lettering which stands out with such characters as Jarro. The slightly different lettering brings character to “Batman’s son”. The series as a whole has been gonzo in its designs bringing to the page some of the craziest ideas DC has presented in years and doing it all with the glee of a kid playing with their toys.

While Dark Nights: Death Metal #6 hasn’t won me over on the event, it does have its moments. There’s some of those that bring the good schmaltz. There’s far more that are popcorn worthy summer blockbuster visuals. It’s a turn off your brain and enjoy the ride of a comic and at times that’s a good thing.

Story: Scott Snyder Art: Greg Capullo
Ink: Jonathan Glapion Color: FCO Plascencia Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.95 Overall: 7.15 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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