WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal - Robin King #1 by Peter J. Tomasi, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia and Rob Leigh, on sale now
The Robin King has proven to be a personal favorite of the Batman Who Laughs. The demented Bruce Wayne from the Dark Multiverse chose his young counterpart to lead in his stead as he began the transformation to become the Darkest Knight. While this twisted version of Bruce Wayne already had plenty of kills under his belt -- including just destroying Jonah Hex once and for all -- he just upped his kill count in a major way.
In Dark Nights: Death Metal - Robin King, the Dark Multiverse villain just turned his attention to the heroes of the core DC Universe, and he was even able to kill three established heroes all on his own: Animal Man, Blue Beetle, and Red Tornado.
After being felled by the Darkest Knight while he constructed his Final 52-universe version of the multiverse, the trio of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman find themselves targeted by the Darkest Knight's most dangerous champion, the Robin King. But the monstrous young man is confronted by a group of surprising heroes -- Animal Man, Blue Beetle and Red Tornado. The trio was among the heroes liberated along with the other core universe DC heroes, and they try to make a last stand against the Robin King to keep him from hurting their allies. At first, it appears that the three heroes might be capable of bringing him down. Although the Robin King is a fast and clever foe, the heroes are able to land some hits, with Animal Man even sending him through a wall.
However, the Robin King has spent years perfecting his utility belt, filling it with all the tools and deadly weapons he would need to bring down the various heroes of the DC Universe. For Animal Man, the Robin King pulls out three miniaturized beings, restoring them to size -- and revealing them to be Animal Man's lost family. However, the Robin King had previously experimented on them with a form of the Anti-Life Equation, turning them into ravenous zombies that quickly attack Animal Man and eat him alive.
When Blue Beetle tries to help his unlucky friend, it's revealed that during the initial brawl, the Robin King planted something on Blue Beetle that attracts a massive scarab from the depths of the ruined Earth. It quickly attacks and kills Blue Beetle, by biting him in half.
However, the worst fate of all though befalls Red Tornado. The robotic hero has long sought to experience life as a human, and the Robin King makes sure to give him that in the worst way possible. During the fight, the Robin King exposes Red Tornado to a firey "fragrance" called "Mortal Coil." After a few moments, the robotic hero realizes he can't stop speeding at full power. It soon becomes too fast for his body to account for, and the vortex begins to rip Red Tornado apart. Simultaneously, Red Tornado effectively becomes a human and experiences sensation and emotion for the first time, just as the centrifical force he created rips his body apart. Robin King even makes sure to use what remains of Animal Man as a human shield from the bits of Red Tornado ripping off and shooting out at high speed.
The Robin King has repeatedly been shown to be one of the most nefarious enemies of Death Metal. His schemes and plans for the various heroes of the DC Universe left most of them on his homeworld dead at his hands, and now he's turned his attention to the few heroes left still fighting against the Darkest Knight. While we've heard of his lethal skill, this is the first time we've truly seen it in action in all of its horrifying glory. It's genuinely frightening to see him use those weapons against established and beloved heroes like Blue Beetle and Animal Man, and the sheer brutality of his attacks on the likes of Red Tornado prove that no hero is safe in battle against the Robin King.
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