Since Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Dark Nights: Metal ended, DC has continued exploring the fallout of the crossover and hinting at its sequel. As DC's Year of the Villain starts winding down, we finally got a peek at what was to come in the form of a Capullo drawing showing a ferocious Wonder Woman holding the Chainsaw of Truth, with the skull of the Batman Who Laughs hanging off her belt.
"I’ve been waiting to do this story since we finished Dark Nights: Metal," Snyder said in a statement from DC that announced the event. "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."
Now, two years since the end of Dark Knights: Metal, the long wait is almost over, and Dark Nights: Death Metal will be released later this year. Now, here's everything we know about Snyder and Capullo's follow up to the crossover that changed the DC Universe forever.
This Is The End Of Snyder And Capullo's DC Story
While this likely won't be the last time Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo work together Dark Nights: Death Metal is the culmination of their work that started in 2011 when they took over Batman with the start of DC's New 52 reboot. Snyder and Capullo's run was a huge success that added new pieces to the mythology of the Dark Knight, including the Court of Owls, "Zero Year," and James Gordon taking on the mantle of the Bat for a short time. The duo handled Batman's story throughout almost all of the New 52 era, setting up their run as one of the best the character has ever seen.
Snyder and Capullo next teamed up on Dark Nights: Metal. Picking up on elements from their Batman run, Dark Nights: Metal saw the Justice League battling the dark god Barbatos and his team of evil versions of Batman from the Dark Multiverse. In the final battle to save Earth, the Justice League shattered the Source Wall, releasing Perpetua, the evil creator of the universe who served as the main villain of Snyder's Justice League run.
While Snyder worked on Justice League, he and Capullo teamed up again to create their final Batman story with Batman: Last Knight on Earth. The 3-issue series saw a future of the DC Universe where the world has been devastated by the villain Omega, who carries Darkseid's head and knows the Anti-Life Equation. The only hope left in the world is a clone of Batman. How, and if, Batman: Last Knight On Earth will connect to Dark Nights: Death Metal remains to be seen.
Death Metal Links to Justice League & Year of the Villain
Snyder's 39-issue run on Justice League, which he co-wrote with Jame Tynion IV, focused on the team dealing with the aftereffects of Dark Nights: Metal and the destruction of the Source Wall. Throughout the series, the Justice League faced off against Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom as both teams battled over the soul of the universe, culminating in DC's Year of the Villain and the "Justice/Doom War." While the Justice League may have lost the war in a shocking upset, they were given one more chance to correct their mistakes by The Quintessence, a tribunal of powerful cosmic beings.
Meanwhile, Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen also connects to Dark Nights: Death Metal. The series follows Luthor as he deals with the Batman Who Laughs, a menacing figure who emerged from the Dark Multiverse during the original Metal, and a small group of heroes he corrupted and turned into his powerful generals.
Wonder Woman Is The Main Character
While Batman was the main character of Dark Nights: Metal, Wonder Woman will take the spotlight for Dark Nights: Death Metal. In the story, everyone's favorite Themysciran has given up her mission of peace and taken on a new position as the Queen of Hell.
While Diana runs Hell, Batman is leading an underground resistance against the Batman Who Laughs, who's seemingly take over the world. Meanwhile, Superman has been captured and is being used to power the sun.
This Is The "Anti-Crisis"
Although Death Metal might seem like it has all the makings of the kind of Crisis that threatens all life in the DC Universe every few years, Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter that this wasn't the average crossover. Snyder made it clear that while Dark Nights: Death Metal builds on all that has come before, he intends for this to be very different, saying "If everything before this was a Crisis, then this is an anti-Crisis."
Give that stories like Crisis on Infinite Earths famously shrank the DC multiverse, that could mean that Death Metal could see the expansion of the DC multiverse. Given its release window, Dark Knights: Death Metal could also be connected to Generation Zero and the rest of the revised timeline that's started seeping into the DC Universe.
Dark Nights: Death Metal will follow a similar format as Dark Nights: Metal. It is a six-issue series that will be supplemented with a number of "Metalverse" one-shots that will expand the world of Death Metal.
Dark Nights: Death Metal #1 is set to be released on May 13.