Dark Knights of Steel is a great “what if?” story that provides a different take on well-known heroes!
TOM TAYLOR ROCKS SORCERY!
Tom Taylor is always quite the busy guy! He’s working on Nightwing and Superman: Son of Kal-El for DC, among other things! As much as I enjoy these books, my favorite that Mr. Taylor is making is the aforementioned Dark Knights of Steel!
So what is the 12-issue mini-series about? Taylor describes it as “the smashing together of high fantasy, epic fantasy, and superheroes in a way that I don’t think has ever been done before.”
It takes place in a medieval setting that gives Taylor the chance to tinker here and there with the status quo in the DC Universe.
Of course, Taylor has experience along these lines from when he did the comics version of the Injustice videogame.
So, how did Taylor approach this comic?
“This isn’t just transplanting the DC Universe and sticking it in a place with castles and horses. This is an entirely new spin on the origins you know. These origins are completely different, these people are different. Their soul is similar, and their mannerisms are similar. Superman and Batman, I think, are still Bruce and Clark in a lot of ways, but their roles are different. Batman is essentially a witcher. His job is to find magic users and lock them up. That’s his quest. Instead of crime, it’s fighting against magic. What he sees as magic is anyone with powers, because magic is the one thing that can threaten Superman. That’s his role, and Superman doesn’t like that Batman is always trying to protect him. Especially when axes break on his skin, he wants to be out there, he wants to help, and Batman won’t let him. It’s a different dynamic, but it’s still a fairly recognizable dynamic with recognizable characters.”
Issue #5 recently came out, and the mid-point of the mini-series, #6, will be in comics shops on April 26, 2022. Here’s the description for the upcoming issue:
“Kingdoms are divided. Monarchs have fallen. Families have been torn apart. The Kingdom of Storms, the Amazons, and the Els are on the brink of all-out war. Can Constantine, Lois Lane, and Harley Quinn stop what’s coming? Or is the prophecy correct? Do Superman and his family have to die to save the world?”
Of course, magic makes things somewhat more unpredictable, so Dark Knights of Steel varies some of the storylines in somewhat unexpected directions!
SCIENCE VERSUS SORCERY
Most comics seem to be based in science, that superpowers and the foes heroes face came to be due to scientific theory.
I always like it when that rug is pulled out from under the characters, when magic, which has very different logic involved, requires heroes to change the way they reason and win battles.
I remember when Mark Waid wrote a Fantastic Four story where Doctor Doom decided he had tried science and lost so many times that he switched to magic.
Reed Richards was baffled!
Eventually, he realized that magic has a logic of its own. Once he figured that out, Doom was in big trouble! It was fun, though, to see him out of his comfort zone and had to think and figure out a whole different way of thinking.
A lot of the same kind of thing is happening in Dark Knights of Steel. They have all different kinds of powers and magics involved, and it takes several of the characters some time to figure out what to do!
MORE COMING?
Given Mr. Taylor’s track record on selling comics for DC and Marvel, among others, it’s very likely, now that he has pretty much set up this new universe, that we’ll see more of these characters and this situation.
We could even see spin-offs of popular characters soon! DC has many versions of the big Bat-Guy around, so could we also see a medieval version as well? I wouldn’t be at all surprised!
I might even wonder, given the success of Injustice in both the gaming and comics worlds, that we might see a videogame based on this series as well. Stay tuned!
CHARACTERS I ENJOY
In Dark Knights of Steel, I particularly enjoy Bruce Wayne and Alfred. I even like Supergirl, who I continue to think need someone to develop her own rogues’ gallery.
Of course, Harley Quinn straddles the line between good and bad even in this book. Her costume more resembles the original outfit she wore in Batman: The Animated Series, but we’ll see if she continues to wear it during the entire mini-series.
Then, too, the Wayne family has secrets of their own. We also see that the El’s are not completely honest about all they can and cannot do, and it makes for some interesting twists and turns.
I like that both DC and Marvel are doing “What If?” style storytelling. It gives them a chance to experiment with different characters, and I enjoy it! I particularly get into the recent Catwoman book in which Batman is dead. I’ve never seen Catwoman without Batman before! Good stuff!
What do you think? Do you like seeing characters in different situations than we’re used to? What other setups would you like to see the Justice League or the Avengers in? Whatever your opinions, be sure to share your thoughts below!
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Wayne Hall creates the Wayne's Comics Podcast. He’s interviewed Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, John Layman, Kyle Higgins, Phil Hester, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, David Petersen, Christos Gage, Mike Grell, and Matt Kindt. On this site each week, he writes his "Comics Portal" column (general comics comments and previews) and reviews comics.