DC has released the first official preview pages from Dark Nights: Death Metal #1 and, because the Metal franchise gets bigger and crazier every time we get a new look, it has introduced a T-rex Batman into the equation. Of course, the Dark Knight has always had a bit of a connection with the dinosaur, given that the Batcave has had a big robot T-rex in it almost as long as anybody can remember...but as far as we can recall this is the first time there has been an actual tyrannosaurus suiting up in cape and cowl. Unfortunately, it looks like he's a bad guy, hanging out with two guys who look like an evil, color-reversed Batman Beyond and a weird mash-up of Pirate Batman and the Flashpoint costume.
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo -- along with collaborators Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia -- are reuniting for the Metal sequel. The first issue of the long-teased follow-up will hit the stands on May 13 and, as you would expect with an event like this, comes with a variety of variant covers to choose from. Artists who will contribute variants to Dark Nights: Death Metal #1 include Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, David Finch, and Francesco Mattina. There will also be covers by Capullo, including black and white and pencil variants of the main cover.
"I will say one thing. One of the evil Batmen -- there's many evil Batmen in this story, just to let you know, and they come in all shapes and sizes," Snyder is quoted as saying by CBR. "Some are kind of ludicrous."
That...well, it's hard to debate it fits the dinosaur Batman. Bat-dinosaur? Something.
Dark Nights: Metal brought widespread changes to the DC universe and introduced fans to the Dark Multiverse and a popular villain, the Batman Who Laughs, who has been a featured character in almost every major story Snyder has written since. The series will also include several "Metalverse" one-shots throughout the summer months, expanding the vast world created by the Death Metal storyline (presumably similar to the one-shots that gave backstories for the Dark Knights in Metal).
"I've been waiting to do this story since we finished Dark Nights: Metal," Snyder said in a statement. "As much as it was a complete event, we left some threads hanging there for sure. I'd hoped that if people liked the first series enough, we'd have a chance to set up something bigger, and that's our plan for Death Metal."
The series spins out of the events of Scott Snyder's Justice League run and the Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen miniseries by James Tynion IV. The Earth has been consumed by Dark Multiverse energy, having been conquered by the Batman Who Laughs and his evil lieutenants, corrupted versions of Shazam, Donna Troy, Supergirl, Blue Beetle, Hawkman, and Commissioner Jim Gordon. Some heroes, like Wonder Woman and the Flash, have made compromises as they negotiate to keep humanity alive in this hell-born landscape. Others, like Batman, are part of an underground resistance looking to take back control of their world. Superman is imprisoned, cursed to literally power Earth's sun for eternity.
But a mysterious figure provides Wonder Woman with vital information she might be able to use to rally Earth's remaining heroes to resist the Batman Who Laughs. Can the Justice League break away from the Dark Multiverse and defeat Perpetua?
Dark Nights: Death Metal is a six-issue monthly series with issues #1-3 shipping in May, June, and July. The series will take August off, and then ship again in September, October, and November.
You can check out the preview pages below.
