Warning: The following article contains spoilers from Justice League #55 by Joshua Williamson, Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Romulo Fajordo Jr., and Tom Napolitano, on sale now.
The events of Dark Nights: Death Metal have been hard on the various heroes of the DC Universe, with many of them actually meeting inglorious ends against the armies of the Batman Who Laughs. Now, an entire team of heroes that had otherwise been MIA has been confirmed to be dead -- and now confirmed to have been turned into something else.
The remains of the Metal Men were left in the expansive Arkham Wasteland -- only to be found by Lex Luthor and converted into the core parts of the massive ship he constructed to traverse the seas of the Metal-Verse.
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After being cast out of Perpetua's service following the events of Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen, Lex Luthor found himself working with the remnants of the Justice League -- Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, Detective Chimp, and Hawkgirl. After venturing through the Starro Valley, Luthor brings the group to his means of transport -- a massive boat, constructed from the remains of the Metal Men. While the core of the boat is wooden, it uses the stretched Gold, Lead, and Mercury as a binding substance to keep the ship in one piece. Meanwhile, Iron, Platinum, and Tin have been seemingly stretched out into the three masts that help hold up the sails and give the vessel the ability to traverse the waters.
Although the Justice League is hesitant to trust Luthor, they have no choice when Starro continues to try and consume them. Christened the Lana -- seemingly in honor of Lana Lang -- the ship proves surprisingly useful for the group as they make their way through the waters of the metal-verse towards the Brimstone Bay. There, Luthor's former allies in the Legion of Doom are held, and with them a possible way to help save all of the multiverses.
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The Metal Men have been just some of the heroes missing during the events of Dark Nights: Death Metal. Their shape-shifting abilities would have made them invaluable in the conflict against the corrupted Batmen of the Dark Multiverse who invaded the core-DC universe alongside the Batman Who Laughs. Plenty of the heroes were wiped out in the early stages of the multiversal invasion (such as Captain Atom, who was detonated and whose death led to the Arkham Wastelands in the first place) while others like Jonah Hex have fallen in battle against his forces. The Metal Men weren't even among the ones who were captured and held within Dark Father's Red Sun, implying they died in the conflict. While their deaths were not shown in detail, their demises make a certain sense, given the brutality of Death Metal.
It's heartbreaking to see the vibrant and lively Metal Men reduced to simple building blocks, a fate the Metal Men feared at various points. But their ultimate use brings Luthor a step closer to helping restore the multiverse, which might help bring the group back in one piece.