The end of the multiverse is here and The Batman Who Laughs has seemingly won. But that won’t stop the Justice League from fighting to their dying breath. Spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal #6 follow.
Well, the penultimate issue of Dark Nights: Death Metal is here, as is what seems like the final battle between the Justice League and The Batman Who Laugh’s forces. This series, as a whole, has been incredibly bombastic while also containing a lot of heart, but sometimes by the end of an event series, it begins to lose what was there in the beginning. However, this isn’t the case with this issue. In fact, this issue exemplifies everything that Dark Nights: Death Metal has been. It’s crazy, but it’s driven by heart.
What’s so great about this issue isn’t anything crazy that happens in it. In fact, this is probably the tamest issue of the series. What’s great about this issue is the focus on the heart of everyone involved. This is an issue about the entire DC universe, hero, villain, anti-hero, and everyone in between, coming together to fight until their inevitable end. It’s an extremely satisfying and hopeful look at these characters amidst a terrifying plot. There’s no reason that this juxtaposition should work and yet, it does. It does so incredibly well.
Like so many issues of this series though, the best part of this issue is when it focuses on Wonder Woman. This issue really is the culmination of both her character journey and the thematic journey of the series. This series, beneath its utter insanity, has always been about finding the truth. Both the truth of who they are and what the universe is and who better to be the focus of that than Wonder Woman. I mean, she was the Goddess of Truth at one point. How she has been used in this series is one of the biggest reasons why this series has worked so well. Plus, the final page of this issue has an incredibly epic Wonder Woman splash page.
This issue isn’t perfect though, especially in the sense of its battle scenes. While what’s in this issue is fun, it doesn’t really live up to the pay-off of the previous issue. It’s all too quick and leads to an ending that is almost exactly the same as the previous issue. It almost feels like filler to a point. The fight scene that actually has an impact is the fight between Perpetua and The Batman Who Laughs, which is suitably cosmic. Again, it feels a bit too short, but there’s impact to every panel that the other fight scene mostly lacks.
Even when scenes do fall a bit flat though, the impact that does come across is all thanks to Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, and FCO Plascencia. Once again, they have put together a stellar looking issue that manages to balance spectacle and emotion incredibly well. The art elevates the writing immensely and is arguably the biggest reason why this issue, and series, succeeds. That’s not to say Scott Snyder’s writing has been bad, far from it, but this art team’s work elevates his writing to another level.
From the smallest moments in this issue, such as Superman and Lois saying their goodbyes, to the largest, such as Wonder Woman bursting forth from the Earth, every moment feels perfectly captured. As mentioned, sometimes the pacing is too quick for its own good, and even though some pages feel like filler, the art never does. Every panel looks like it was given it’s all by this art team and it really shows when looking at this issue as a whole.
[…] CHECK OUT: Dark Nights: Death Metal #6 Review: The End is Nigh […]