Wonder Woman is ready to take the fight to The Batman Who Laughs, but she’s going to need troops first. Your Major Spoilers review of Dark Nights: Death Metal #3, awaits!

DARK NIGHTS: DEATH METAL #3

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo & Jonathan Glapion
Colorist: FCO Plascencia
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Editor: Marie Javins
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 12th, 2020

Previously in Dark Nights: Death Metal, the Justice League launches its assault on New Apokolips, the team’s goal is to free Superman from his solar prison.

Apparently A Black Lantern Ring Can Do That

Dark Nights: Death Metal #3 opens with the team of Wonder Woman, Batman, Swamp Thing, and Harley Quinn storming the home of the Batman/Darkseid hybrid The Darkfather, who’s in the middle of torturing Superman with new kryptonite colors. After a brief confrontation with a swarm of Pararobins, the team is able to overcome with help from Batman’s black lantern ring being able to stop Superman’s cells from being affected by the Anti-Life Equation. With the threats dealt with the team frees the rest of the heroes who are still alive. In the 5th Dimension, Lobo is murdering coloring book characters in search of a small box. Back with The Flashes, The Robin King appears and announces the arrival of The Darkest Knight. The Flashes do what they do best and run. Back with Superman and the other heroes, Diana formulates her plan and sets the rest of the heroes into motion. Back with Lobo it’s revealed he’s been hunting down The Death Metals.

Just Barely On The Wrong Side of A Thin Line

So far this series has been a silly romp but in a good, fun, way. This issue though strays over to the ridiculous side of things and at times things come off as being a stream of consciousness. Not to say some of this isn’t enjoyable, I particularly enjoyed the sequence that brought the return of Jarro, but a lot of this lacks consistency and feels more like “hey, this would be cool” without having a decent explanation for it’s inclusion. One moment in particular stood out as being guilty of this approach and that’s how Batman uses the black lantern ring to nullify the Anti-Life Equation. There’s a hint that this sequence is due to something important to the larger plot, but because apparently Scott Snyder wants to hold some cards to his chest, this moment just comes off as deus ex machina-y. Also, after so much hype being built up around The Robin King, I felt like his gleeful villainy to be redundant especially with The Batman Who Laughs still being in the mix.

The Bottom Line: Some Fun, A Lot of “Wha-?”

There’s no denying that this series has been a pretty wild time with a lot of moments that exist just to be cool. But, this issue takes it one step further and applies this approach to pivotal moments, making a lot of this book feel low-stakes and lacking impact. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

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