The time has come and the Justice League is starting their final attack against The Darkest Knight. However, he has already planned for all eventualities. Spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal #4 follow.
So, after taking a month off, Death Metal has returned to the stands and well, if you’re a bit lost going into this issue, there’s probably a reason for that. Last month, several one-shots (Trinity Crisis, Speed Metal, and Multiverse’s End) came out that bridged the gap between Death Metal #3 and #4 with the bulk of this issue being the fallout of Trinity Crisis. So, if you want to get caught up, Trinity Crisis is a must-read, but the other issues are very solid as well. Beyond just sowing a bit of confusion for those that didn’t pick up the tie-ins though, this issue does a decent job of moving the series forward and it’s a great Superboy Prime issue.
The fact that this issue is such a great Superboy Prime issue is an understatement though. The character, as presented here, feels like a natural continuation of the character post-Infinite Crisis and it’s the first time he’s been interesting in a long time. He’s not the whiny brat that he was in Infinite Crisis, but his motivations are the same. He’s still hellbent on returning his heroes back to what they were, which is really a commentary on a certain segment of “fans” who decry anything new or changed. However, he’s not as cruel as he was. He feels more like an adult who is willing to listen, so it’s nice to see Diana work her way into his heart for even just a little bit.
As for the rest of the issue though, it’s good enough to keep story momentum moving forward, but there’s nothing incredibly interesting happening, except for the Robin King tormenting Harley and Swamp Thing. That scene is just pure sadistic glee on the page and while some might, rightfully, be turned off by that, it’s an incredibly fun thing to witness if you’re into that type of character. However, that’s about the most interesting the character interactions are in this issue. This may seem like a bad thing, but the attention given to Wonder Woman/Superboy Prime and Robin King/Harley is great.
The ending of this issue is where it falls apart though. Wonder Woman and company have done everything in their power to fix the world, they think they’ve beaten The Darkest Knight, and then, lo and behold, he messed with the Morbius chair and actually won. We don’t actually see him doing this though, it just happens. I guess, you have to chalk it up to his Dr. Manhattan powers, but it still poor storytelling toward the end of this issue that feels like it’s supposed to shock more than it’s supposed to make sense.
Even if the story falls a bit flat, the art of this series continues to be superb. Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, and FCO Plascencia continue to be one of the premiere teams in comics and it shows in every issue. Every panel of this issue seeps with power, but the team manages to convey that in different ways depending on the characters. If it’s Wonder Woman and Superboy Prime fighting, it feels like their actions have weight to them. Whereas, Robin King taunting Harley, there’s a horrific power dynamic that is accentuated by the framing and layouts of each panel. These are small details, but they contribute greatly to the overall quality of the art and the issue as a whole.