Publication history
DC Comics first announced the details of "Dark Nights: Metal" at Fan Expo Dallas in April 2017. The company revealed that the event would feature the reunion of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo after their widely acclaimed New 52 Batman run.[2] The series, which debuted in June 2017, is the culmination of their Batman story arcs, which includes The Court of Owls, Death of the Family, Zero Year, and Endgame. Snyder stated, "I've been writing Metal as long as I've been writing Batman."[2]
The idea of creating a dark multiverse came from Snyder, who was inspired by watching the science documentary television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey with his five-year-old son. He became fascinated with the concept of dark matter, prompting him to question "What if the Multiverse essentially has these 52 universes, but has almost this ocean of possibility, this ocean of almost reactive matter beneath it that's like a Dark Multiverse".[1] Aside the seven featured Dark Knights in the finished comic book, Snyder planned more dark Batmen that got ultimately cut; these included a Punisher-esque Batman, a dark magic-wielding Batman, a Batman who grew up as a patient in Arkham Asylum after being accused of his parents' murder, a Batman who merged with his whole rogues gallery and one who merged with Gotham City itself.[3]
Dark Nights: Metal also marks the first appearance of Dream of the Endless from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (1989–1996) in the post-New 52 DC Universe.[4] According to Snyder, he wanted to make the story unforgettable and have a character help guide the superheroes through the unknown. When he realized Dream would be a good fit, he reached out to Gaiman for permission to use him. "I was so excited... [Gaiman] couldn't have been more generous", he said. "It's literally one of the best moments of my career, to be able to get to write a character that meant so much to me growing up and still does".[5]
In June 2017, DC announced seven one-shot comics that tie into the story of "Dark Nights: Metal": Batman: The Red Death, Batman: The Murder Machine, Batman: The Dawnbreaker, Batman: The Drowned, Batman: The Merciless, Batman: The Devastator, and The Batman Who Laughs. DC stated, "Each one-shot story spotlights a different, corrupted version of Batman spawned from the Dark Multiverse to wreak havoc on Earth."[6]
The following month, DC announced Batman: Lost written by Scott Snyder with art by Olivier Coipel and Bengal. Snyder states, "the single issue story will strand Batman alone in the Dark Multiverse, where he will face his greatest fears."[7]
At the 2017 Comic-Con International, an additional tie-in one-shot was announced called Hawkman Found written by Jeff Lemire with art by Bryan Hitch and Kevin Nowlan. As the title implies, it focused on the connection between Hawkman and the events of "Dark Nights: Metal" and it is positioned as a sequel to Batman Lost. Lemire revealed that it "re-positions one of DC's oldest, most iconic and most confusing characters ahead of a possible new ongoing in the new year."[8]
In September 2017, DC announced, without a specific reason, that issue #4 would be delayed by a week.[9] This led to the one-shot comic, Hawkman Found, being delayed by a week as well.[10]
DC announced another delay without reason in October 2017 and issue #5 was released three weeks later than the originally scheduled date.[11]
The series' sequel, "Dark Nights: Death Metal" by Snyder and Capullo, was announced for May 2020.[12] "Dark Nights: Metal" and "Death Metal" have collectively been dubbed "Metal Wars" by reviewers.[13]
