We’ve known for some time now that the fan favorite creative team of writer Scott Snyder and penciler Greg Capullo would be reuniting for the next major DC crossover event, with Batman serving as the core character. Given the recent announcement of two one-shots to be released under the umbrella of Dark Days – The Forge and The Casting – we were pretty sure that’d be the title of said event. Well, as it turns out, we weren’t far off, as DC Comics pulled back the curtain on Dark Nights: Metal this past weekend at Fan Expo Dallas.
According to Snyder, who will also be bringing former Batman collaborators in inker Jonathan Glapion and colorist FCO Plascencia along for the ride, this tale has been brewing for a while:
“I’ve been planning Metal for as long as I’ve been writing Batman. But this is bigger than Batman. Greg and I started dropping clues during ‘Court of Owls,’ we continued through our Joker stories and we placed our biggest hints in the run that culminated with Batman #50. And now we’re back to tell a story that breaks everything apart. This will be the definitive project of our careers. Metal takes us in an entirely new direction. Greg and I will dig beneath the surface of all the stories we’ve told to find a place of terror and twisted nightmares.”
Quite frankly, it might be easier to go back and look for the little hints after reading Metal in its entirety as opposed to scouring years worth of comics for clues about what’s to come, but that’s just my opinion. Despite lots of writers spewing such hyperbole all the time, I actually do believe what Snyder has to say because I’ve had a strong feeling that he’s yet to tell his final story involving the Court of Owls. Plus, there have been several threads left hanging that can be picked up on in the future.
Snyder continued:
“I want Metal to be built upon the stories happening now in Rebirth and create new material that feels really modern and different. And above all, it’s going to be fun. Even with terror and nightmares, it won’t be grim. DARK NIGHTS: METAL will be celebratory, huge and crazy. I’ve said it before: I am going for out-of-control dinosaurs and lasers.”
As for what “Metal” means, well, word on the street has pointed toward it having to do with Thanagarian Nth Metal and, as luck would have it, co-publisher Dan DiDio told SyFy Wire (check out the video at the top) that Hawkman will return to the land of the living, but the details surrounding this are still obviously shrouded in secrecy. Aside from him, expect Wonder Woman and Green Lantern to play big roles as well.
Dark Nights: Metal is set to kick off sometime this August.
