Dark Nights Metal #5
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artists: Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion
Cover Artists: Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion
Publisher: DC Comics
Review by Stacy Dooks
In the interests of full disclosure this review is one I’ve been struggling with, largely due to my own frustration as I struggle with maintaining enthusiasm for this particular crossover. Why? Because Dark Nights Metal has been plagued with delay after delay after delay to the point where my enthusiasm for the material has gone from raging wildfire to smoldering embers. First Dark Nights Metal #4 was delayed a week and came out alongside Hawkman Found, which I let slide. Then Dark Nights Metal #5 was delayed an additional three weeks to January 31st, and we come to learn that the the sixth and final installment will be held off until March. Yeah, let’s just say I’m a bit salty about that. I’m as understanding as the next guy when it comes to the vagaries of publishing and how circumstances can change, life happening while we make other plans. But while once is alright and twice is forgivable, three times is pushing it ever so slightly. If you aren’t ready for your product to hit the street on an established schedule then maybe wait until it’s complete and then release it is all I’m saying.
Okay, here endeth the rant. All annoyance and vitriol put aside how did Dark Nights Metal #5 hold up? Actually not too badly. Our heroes are facing some long odds as the hunt for the Nth metal that can defeat Barbatos and his Legion of Evil Batmen from the Dark Multiverse. Superman and Batman are trapped in the Forge itself at the mercy of the Balrog a very corrupted Hawkman, while the rest of the Justice League scrambles to combat the forces aligned against them who want to see the universe fall into chaos. The art by Capullo and Glapion is excellent, and the writing by Snyder is still as bombastic and over the top as ever. I mean, any issue where I can see Wonder Woman throw down on the scale of this issue, and as uniquely as the issue depicts it, is no bad time. Maybe my feelings of weariness stem from having had so much of a blast with the earlier issues and the one-shots that I’m a bit burnt out, but I can’t deny that Metal still delivers when it comes to big, fun comics.
The Verdict:
Buy it. While my experience has been a bit bittersweet, Dark Nights Metal #5 is very enjoyable and worthy of your time. And, unlike me, you get to have access to the first five issues and the spinoffs to tide you over until the finale in March. Dark Nights Metal is superhero comics the way they’re meant to be: bold, big, and so over the top they loop around ludicrous and zoom right back to awesome again. Recommended.
