The end is here and Wonder Woman must defeat The Batman Who Laughs for the final time before the multiverse dies. Spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal #7 follow.
Well, the end of the largest story that DC has done since Final Crisis is here. Dark Nights: Death Metal has been a rollercoaster of a story that brings 10 years of storytelling for Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo to a close while also setting up the future of the DC Universe. While doing both, does this issue still manage to stick the landing? In my opinion, it does so beautifully by bringing the story presented in Death Metal to its end while also setting up the new DC canon in an exciting manner.
Probably the best thing about this final issue is that it lives up to the tagline of Death Metal being an “anti-Crisis.” This issue purposefully feels like a direct, self-aware inverse of Crisis on Infinite Earths, which isn’t a bad thing by any means. Crisis on Infinite Earths is one of the best DC Comics stories for a reason and by creating a direct correlation to that story is why the ending of Death Metal is as interesting as it is. Where Crisis on Infinite Earths brought all of DC’s various stories and characters onto a singular Earth, Death Metal does the exact opposite. It makes the multiverse, or as stated in the issue, the Omniverse, sprawling and larger than any multiverse has gone before. Who knows how long this will last, but it gives this series lasting implications.
Beyond what this issue means for the DC Universe going forward, this is just a solid issue with a lot of great action and character moments. Like every other issue of the series so far, the best moments all pertain to Wonder Woman, with there being several points in this issue that are just phenomenal for her, but several other characters get their moments to shine too. Obviously, Batman and Superman have their moments in this issue, both of which are great, but the Bat-family has some great banter throughout and the Rogues, even just for a panel, have a great scene. With so many characters to juggle, not everyone has time to make a proper appearance, but that’s to be expected.
As mentioned though, Wonder Woman is truly the star of this issue, and the series as a whole, and her final fight with The Batman Who Laughs perfectly captures the essence of her character. She represents the ideals of truth, love, and, dare I say, hope more than any other character in the DC canon and that’s exemplified in this issue. She’s willing to give whatever she needs to give, including her life, if that means saving everyone else, but she isn’t willing to sacrifice others, even if that may seem foolish at the time. It’s a wonderful representation of her character and the ending for her here is beautiful.
Onto the art though, every issue of this series has been phenomenal on all levels. From Greg Capullo’s pencils to Jonathan Glapion’s inks to FCO Plascencia’s colors, everything has worked in tandem to create this bombastic, insane, and silly series. Yet, somehow, they blew themselves out of the water with this issue, making for the best-looking issue of the entire series. Their art here takes every bit of crazy that the series has had up until this point and expands on in such a great way, making it both grounded and ethereal at the same time. And then, somehow, the art manages to be incredibly emotional at the same time. It’s a balance that is incredibly difficult to pull off and yet, Capullo, Glapion, and Plascencia manage to do so wonderfully.