WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Dark Nights: Metal #5 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, in stores now.
From the start, Dark Nights: Metal was advertised as a Batman story. Sure, it would feature the entire Justice League and explore the full scope of the DC Multiverse, but at its core, it was, we were told, a Batman-centric story. This didn't come as much of a surprise, considering that the now-iconic team of Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia were the creative forces behind this event, after delivering a character-defining run on the Batman title during the days of the New 52.
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The threat to the whole of reality is Barbatos, a demonic bat-like creature, as well as the Dark Knights, nightmarish and twisted versions of Bruce Wayne that hail from the Dark Multiverse, each more frightening than the last. Batman is at the center of this story, traveling through reality and Hell itself to save, well, everyone. But over the course of the event, there is another character who also received a bit of the spotlight. With issue #5, it's become obvious that Dark Nights: Metal is not just a crucial Batman story, but a character-defining event for Wonder Woman.
Diana has been a part of the book's core cast ever since the first issue. Unsurprisingly, given her role, she has been the subject of many of the series' variant covers, and even saw part of her mythology receive a Metal-related retcon. As the mysteries of the Dark Multiverse started to unravel, and as the Earth became under threat from the Dark Knights while the planet began to fall towards the dark, it became clear that this was an all-hands on deck situation, no matter how much Batman wanted to handle it on his own. Before long, every superhero of the DC Universe was involved in a search for Nth metal, in the desperate hope of defeating Barbatos and his minions, and leading that very charge was Diana of Themyscira.
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In Metal #5, we finally reach the end of this search. At the Rock of Eternity, the center of the Multiverse, Diana was blindsided, not just by an attack from a traitorous Black Adam but also by Kendra Sanders transforming into the evil Lady Blackhawk. With the deck stacked firmly against her, with hope nearly lost and defeat around the corner, Diana never acquiesces. She doesn't give up or give in. She believes, and she fights. She finds Carter Hall's fabled mace, and with a single swing, Black Adam is down for the count.
As Diana attempts to prove that she is not just defined by the strength of her muscles, but of her heart, once again, she gets blindsided, shot point blank by the most frightening of all Dark Knights. the Batman Who Laughs. The Joker-infected Batman tortures Diana with his words. He tells her that there is no hope. He tells her Barbatos' entire plan, and the crucial role the Justice League played in it. Basically, he tells her that they have been fighting a losing battle from the start, and that the outcome is inevitable. That she is a failure. And with the way things are, with the state of reality itself and Batman and Superman lost in the Forge, Diana would have every right to listen, and to believe. But she doesn't.
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Left alone at the mercy of Lady Blackhawk, Diana shows everyone how inspiring she is. Wrapping her magical lasso around her fist, she literally knocks hope and love back into Kendra Saunders' heart. Then, together, they risk everything by traveling to the Dark Multiverse, to take the fight to Barbatos. But there, they only find more horror. Once again, Wonder Woman faces a losing battle, this time against an army of dark and twisted versions of herself.
But this is where Diana shines most, and where the creative team delivers a single page that will undoubtedly become an iconic Wonder Woman scene. Before leaping into a battle she can't imagine winning, she asks Kendra to jointer in yelling as loud as they possibly can, to make sure that Barbatos and the Batman Who Laughs hear them -- yell not a scream, but a war cry.
The sequence is appropriately epic, and it makes every reader understand the fire that burns within Diana's heart. In retrospect, it seems like the entire Dark Nights: Metal series was building to this very moment -- a moment that boils Wonder Woman down to her purest form, in a way that no other comic has. Now, it all makes sense. Now, we understand why Diana was featured prominently throughout the series' promotion. This series was never just about Batman -- there was also another side to the Metal coin.
On the heels of a very successful movie, Diana has never seen such attention on the worldwide stage. She is a character defined by decades of successful, yet rarely epic runs, but Metal takes her further. It strips Diana down to her basics, and hoists her up as, possibly, DC's most important character. It highlights her strengths, and it shows us, beyond a doubt, that Wonder Woman is defined by her warrior spirit, by her capacity for love, and by her willingness to believe in good.
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As we head into the finale, there's no telling what will come of Barbatos and his league of evil Batmen. Things are dire for Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest of DC's heroes. But if they all listen to Diana, if they all unleash their war cry and allow hope to fill their hearts, they may emerge out of the dark yet. Years from now, when people list their favorite Wonder Woman stories, don't be surprised to see Dark Nights: Metal make the list.