Dark Nights: Metal Tie-Ins To Spotlight Evil Batmen

If the quality boasted by the freshly released one-shot Dark Days: The Forge #1 is any indication of how good Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s much publicized reunion, Dark Nights: Metal, will be, then I think it’s safe to say we’re about to bear witness to a story that’ll be talked about for decades to come.

So, aside from already receiving hints at how deep Snyder is willing to go when it comes to utilizing the rich history DC has to offer, in addition to knowing how this is set to be the vanguard of the new Dark Matter imprint, it should come as no surprise that a slew of tie-ins are slated to arrive this fall.

Not long ago, Snyder himself hinted at a “dark multiverse” that would no doubt be a vital cog in this tale, something the publisher is now confirming by spreading news of several evil Batmen showing up. Here’s what Patrick McCallum, DC Entertainment Executive Editor, teased us with:

“With names like The Red Death, The Murder Machine, The Dawnbreaker, The Drowned, The Merciless, The Devastator and The Batman Who Laughs, it’s pretty clear that these creatures mean business and prove just how dangerous the Dark Multiverse will be for DC’s heroes.”

If you were to peruse the gallery at the top, then you’d see hints of several of those warped reflections of the Dark Knight having powers of various Justice League members. And despite only silhouettes being offered at the moment, you can take solace in knowing that each will star in their own one-shots this fall, with top tier creators being assigned to each.

Here’s the rundown:

• BATMAN: THE RED DEATH #1 by Joshua Williamson (W) Carmine Di Giandomenico (A) (September 20)
• BATMAN: THE MURDER MACHINE #1 by Frank Tieri (W) and Ricardo Federici (A) (September 27)
• BATMAN: THE DAWNBREAKER #1 by Sam Humphries (W) and Ethan Van Sciver (A) (October 4)
• BATMAN: THE DROWNED #1 by Dan Abnett (W) and Philip Tan (A) (October 18)
• BATMAN: THE MERCILESS #1 by Peter J. Tomasi (W) and Francis Manapul (A) (October 25)
• BATMAN: THE DEVASTATOR #1 by unnamed creators (November 1)
• THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 by unnamed creators (November 15)

In addition to that awesomeness, expect reverberations to be felt in various ongoing titles as the mere presence of these evil Batmen will further corrupt the supervillains we’ve come to know. As such, it’s recommended that you pick up the following books taking part in the “Gotham Resistance” arc: Teen Titans #12 written by Benjamin Percy with art by Mirka Andolfo (on sale September 13), Nightwing #29 by Tim Seeley and Paul Pelletier (on sale September 20) and Suicide Squad #26 by Rob Williams and Stjepan Sejic (on sale September 27).

One more detail worth sharing is that each of these books orbiting Dark Nights: Metal will retail for $3.99 and ship with a special foil stamped cover featuring a protective UV coating, with art by Jason Fabok. Come to think of it, this may be the secret project he teased in our recent interview with him.