The Dark Nights: Death Metal event has been making a profound impact on the DC multiverse, showcasing pockets of alternate Earths and characters that might not always get the spotlight. Of course, those spotlights have been set amid the backdrop of a pretty formidable war against The Batman Who Laughs, but the event has still found ways to deliver heartwarming or surprising moments. The most recent installment in the Death Metal event, Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Last Stories of the DC Multiverse #1, is certainly no exception, as one of its stories brought a few major status quo changes to an iconic DC couple — including the introduction of their child in another alternate Earth. Spoilers for the Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Last Stories of the DC Multiverse story “Dust of a Distant Storm”, from Gail Simone, Meghan Hetrick, Marissa Louise, and Travis Lanham below! Only look if you want to know!
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The fourth story in the anthology, “Dust of a Distant Storm”, chronicles Dinah Lance/Black Canary and Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on the night before the final battle against The Batman Who Laughs, as they talk about any regrets they might still have. This conversation sends the pair exploring throughout Themyscira (which, unfortunately, is in a somewhat-dire state due to the state of the multiverse) on their “first date”, which they didn’t actually get to have in the events of Green Arrow: Rebirth. After drinking Amazonian rations and getting into a run-in with Joker Megs, the pair end up on the beach. They then are approached by another refugee of the multiversal crisis — a young woman clad in a green and gold superhero suit and armed with a crossbow.
As the woman explains, she’s from one of the 46 Earths that were destroyed by The Batman Who Laughs. She then unmasks herself, revealing that her name is Laurel Lance-Queen, also known as the Black Arrow.
Dinah and Oliver are (understandably) shocked by the revelation, but embrace Laurel and ask more questions about her. Laurel tells them that she got the crossbow from her “Aunt Helena” – a reference to her Earth’s iteration of Huntress – and that her Earth also had a male iteration of Black Canary who fought alongside her. Dinah and Oliver quickly take Laurel under their wing, asking her to stay with them in the fight that’s ahead, and thanking her for introducing herself to them.
Laurel joins a long line of Oliver and Dinah’s children across the DC canon, most of whom have existed in alternate universes or stories. The first was Olivia Queen, a cybernetically-enhanced daughter of Oliver and Dinah who appeared in 1996’s Kingdom Come storyline, but was killed in the fourth issue. There’s also Connor Lance-Queen, the couple’s son in the Injustice universe, who was born shortly after Oliver tragically died at the hands of Superman, and went on to be parented by Dinah and an Oliver from another Earth. And while it’s unclear exactly which Earth Laurel is from (although the issue seems to hint at Earth-11, the universe where all of the heroes are genderbent), her appearance is definitely a pleasant surprise, especially in a story that’s full of other epic moments tied to Dinah and Oliver. Not only does the story see Dinah getting an official “superhero oath”, something she hasn’t had since the Golden Age, but it hints that Oliver does hope to propose to Dinah after the fight for the future of the multiverse is complete.
What do you think of Black Canary and Green Arrow’s new daughter being introduced in DC’s Dark Nights: Death Metal? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
