Dark Nights: Death Metal - Atop the Fourth Wall

Welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn. In this episode, Event Comics Month 5 concludes with Dark Nights: Death Metal!
Robomats, Comicron One models, and other collectibles available at Storenvy: atop-the-fourt...
DVDs can be found here: kunaki.com/MSa...
Title Card Art by Viga: / vigasartroom
atopthefourthw...
/ at4w
Originally released September 7th, 2024
ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: Features a weapon that makes you tell the truth as it slices you apart!
#at4w #dc

[@DerrickWilson-fm7vc]

“Who would want to watch a Linkara video at 3 a.m.?” “Oh boy 3 a.m.!”

[@gracekim25]

me: *watching at 10 am* XD

[@AlexHarrison-zv4jj]

DON'T WATCH LINKARA VIDEO AT 3 AM

[@Pikatwig16]

There was an error that had to get corrected.

[@theruoc147]

I had to wait 8 hours. Damn me and my reasonable sleep schedule.

[@Gaia_BentosZX5]

@@theruoc147 Something about same wavelength, LOL!

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

"The chainsaw of truth." It's called that because when you threaten to cut off people's legs with it, they very quickly decide to tell you the truth.

[@briancoulombe4517]

“ maybe it’s a key all the time, and when you stick it in people, it unlocks their death”

[@psycher7]

@@briancoulombe4517 "I have no gate key." "Fezzik, tear his arms off." "Oh, you mean this gate key."

[@zexalbrony4799]

@@briancoulombe4517 "You know I would like to live in you're world for at least 5-minutes."

[@briancoulombe4517]

@@zexalbrony4799 “ I have really good time”

[@zexalbrony4799]

@@briancoulombe4517 "I'll bet. You know, I probably wouldn't get anything done, but I probably wouldn't care."

[@Kaltagstar96]

"Can you throw batarangs with those tiny arms?" "They're proportional and I'm working on it!" OK, I heard that exchange and instantly loved this event comic. I love that the banter in this event is genuinely quite funny, also Jarro is adorable and the fact he's not in more stuff is a damn crime!

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

kinda wish they kept jarro as part of the batfamily. if he is too broken op for the stories, at last say he "went through his rebel phase, just like his siblings (grayson, tim, jason, cassandra, damian) and is going solo trying to figure out if he wants t be only robin or something else, but that he is making sure he is honoring the mantle of batman" cue jarro just in an aquarium acting like a normal starfish thinking "the perfect disguise"

[@clarktooncrossing3975]

Say what you will about this event, but it gave us TWO cool things: 1) A tie-in CD with original music for the story. Sure, I myself wasn't totally fond of most of the tunes, but I really wish comic companies would do this kind of thing more often. It's just a really neat way to promote your book. 2) Wonder Woman wielding the Chainsaw of Truth. That'll never stop being badass! Also, are you okay Linkara? Your voice is sounding hoarse again.

[@nirast2561]

Yeah, I noticed that too. Though he had to do Batman, Superboy Prime, and The Batman Who Won't Shut Up for this one, so I can't blame him.

[@zigzackb2036]

I remember getting the soundtrack on vinyl mainly because one of my favorite artists, Gunship did a track for it. I love Greg Capullo's art, especially with the heavy metal style kind of art.

[@clarktooncrossing3975]

@@nirast2561 I was jokingly gonna say 'what, is Superboy Prime's return destroying your voice'?

[@clarktooncrossing3975]

@@zigzackb2036 Got it on CD. Heavy metal can be pretty hit or miss for me, but the fact that DC sold it at all kicks ass. And yes, Greg Capullo's art also kicks ass.

[@zigzackb2036]

@@clarktooncrossing3975 I actually couldn't find the CD copy at the time. Only the Vinyl, not that I'm complaining lol. I was on a vinyl collecting kick at the time and still kind of am. I agree that DC and even Marvel should do more stuff like this.

[@darkdreamer871]

love the title card Viga did for this one because despite his professed hatred of rock you know Batman would absolutely be a Babymetal fan, particularly in their early days. Brucie would take one look at those girls and immediately walk up like, "so...are any of you orphans?" while the Batdoption papers were already halfway out of his pocket

[@the4thwallkid132]

EvRy ThInG wAs BeTar On mY EaRtH!!

[@benjaythewhite]

…. OH DEAR GOD NO!

[@redjirachi1]

Since the tie-ins have Superboy-Prime return home he could legitimately be watching and commenting on Linkara's videos

[@Fluffkitscripts]

ur RuIniNG EvRYtHamG!!!!!

[@greenberry6019]

Hey, chill. Suoerboy got his redemption in this.

[@changvasejarik62]

@@greenberry6019true but frankly I was more a fan of how he was used in blackest night. Forced to confront all his emotions and what he has become in an ironically more black and white perspective.

[@myriadmediamusings]

DC has always had this weird convolutedness always hanging above it because of its endless universe-bending events, continuity changes, etc. Best example I can think of, and is relevant to this show & channel is Lian Harper with her death, resurrection, death again but not really, and character revelation and change that came about because of time travel shenanigans. Yeah it’s great she’s definitely alive again and has way more room to grow & change, but the road to get there was a lot more convoluted than it should have been.

[@gentlemanlygeeky4088]

Well said.

[@couldntpickausername4099]

I actually used to disagree with the 'endless universe bending events' take that people had because pre new 52 for the majority of characters you really only had 3 events that did major rewrites, coie, zero hour and infinite crisis. However man, the last decade? yeah they just keep throwing everything into a blender.

[@L1701]

The problem is simpler than that, DC WANTS to restart their universe, while keeping stuff from their old universe as well. They want to HAVE the continuity cake and eat it too, and then they wonder why readers find their universe confusing.

[@ShanaReviews]

I gotta say Linkara, this event is the first one that made me cry tears of joy. it really feels that for whatever flaws the event has, it was made with love for DC universe and its history and while it added to the retcons and was kinda being hypocritical with its statements to DC events while being like those events, it was trying to leave behind the cynical viewpoint and negativity that usually comes with these events and how it can affect both the stories and fans. it's probably one of the best push backs to negativity in comics. Kinda similar to what happened in Final Crisis with Mandrakk and how the fight with him was supposed to be a push back at cynical story telling. this one wants to let the DC universe be free and, well to pull in an old phrase, have its cake and eat it, damn if people criticize it or not, because it wants to tell a good story and help possibly bring good into the DC world. no better point than with it doing what was thought impossible and redeeming the one character who for years represented toxicity within fandoms and the company, Superboy Prime. in a way it's also trying to do what Superman did in Final Crisis's ending. Wish for a Happy Ending but also wish for a Great Beginning

[@troin3925]

It's actually Final Crisis that you're talking about, not Infinite Crisis.

[@troin3925]

I feel the exact same way, it has now become one of my new favorite event comics of all time. The way it embraces everything about the DCU with a positive outlook on everything. It's like a more fully realized and straightforward version of the ending of Final Crisis (which also made me almost shed a tear). I never expected them to bring up everything, explain the mysterious hand's origin, essentially make Elseworlds' an actual universe, redeeming Superboy Prime and giving him a happy ending and the dance party ending (even Batman embracing rock and roll is oddly touching for some reason). It felt like the perfect ending to the DC Universe with the start of a new beginning.

[@ShanaReviews]

@@troin3925 thanks, sorry about the mix up i could have sworn it was infinite

[@ShanaReviews]

@@troin3925 plus the idea villains and heroes qorking to protect earth is interesting. Yeah Lewis brings up valid points given who is managing the villain side, but knowing they are willing to put everything aside to defend against a cosmic threat, feels like an homage to how they won against the anti monitor because they worked together

[@Pikatwig16]

I remember there being some comic tie in to one of these events where Owlman was fighting some of the evil Batmen and won, though he was badly injured. He then mocked the evil Batmen, the one who laughs included, as being bad ideas that'll fade and be forgotten.

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

Owlman. AKA the only interesting part of the Crisis on Two Earths film.

[@loganwendigo937]

I loved that story. It’s the reverse of Owlman in the Two Earths movie. Instead of being all nihilistic about discovering the multiverse, he’s happy about the fact there’s been multiple iterations of him. That’s he’s such a good idea that he’ll never die so he doesn’t mind sacrificing himself to rid the world of a Bad Idea like Baby Batman

[@troin3925]

Going from other comments, one of the Flashes even called him, The Batman Who Tries Too Hard.

[@lightxz27]

I just realized that the Hands are called that because they are the hands of the artists and writers who create the comics.

[@nakenmil]

It's nice to know that Blizzard isn't the only company doing the reoccuring "ah, but you see there was a villain behind THAT villain, who is the REAL villain!" in lieu of actual writing. It's a sort of Dragon Ball approach to plotting: the only way to go is bigger, stronger, forever.

[@dominiqueodom3099]

1:00:33 i personally am just happy that Superboy Prime has gotten an actual happy ending as opposed to his original ending where hes just a computer typing incel at the end of Final Crisis.

[@knarrow0222]

1:43 O_O Is....is that Batman.....PLAYING ROCK AND ROLL?!!! WHAT NEW SPORE OF MADNESS ARE WE IN RIGHT NOW?!!!! XD

[@RabblesTheBinx]

I'm a simple man, I see a new Linkara video, I click. Even if I have to do it twice because the first time got taken down in under 5 minutes.

[@Gaia_BentosZX5]

And the more I listen to Event Comics Month V's theme, the more I think of Shadow Gens for some weird reason.

[@meowistforlife]

Damn, that just sucks

[@starkilr101]

Can we all agree that Diana commanding a legion of Lobo’s is just great!

[@Levitz9]

The blue highlights are a REALLY good look for Diana, gotta say... I appreciate a lot of the metatext stuff in Death Metal. I didn't expect this event to be like this (not with a name like "Death Metal"), but like Linkara says I appreciate that it's so reverent to DC's extensive history and understands what it is about that history that frustrates people. And I hope it led to good things in the DCU.

[@Mask0fFate]

To explain BWL got the Batmanhattan body, basically he found a universe where Bruce Wayne was attempted the same experiment that made Jon Osterman Dr. Manhattan, and the BWL intervened and made the same accident occur, destroying that Bruce’s body so he could reform like Jon in Watchmen. However, shortly after that Bruce reformed, the BTW hit him with some sort of paralyzing agent tailored to him before his cosmic awareness could kick in, and he pretty much put that Bruce on cold storage, removing his brain so the BWL could one day use it.

[@cje499]

Sufficient to say, Scott Snyder's Multiversal "Metal" epic was a nonstop roller-coaster of highs and lows. From Dark Nights: Metal to Dark Nights: Death Metal, Snyder gave us an interesting view of the Multiverse and its true purpose. Was it perfect? Of course not, certain plot points and character aspects went nowhere (like what was the point of the 7 hidden forces), and the tie-ins were a chore to go through. Yet despite that there are certain things I did like: 1) I loved the roster of the Justice League and the Legion of Doom (just wish they shook up the LoD lineup more) 2) While I wasn't a big fan of Perpetua, I did like the new origin of the Monitor brothers, as it gave Mobius the Anti-Monitor motivation for his actions in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (blaming Mar Nova the Overmonitor for robbing him of his purpose) 3) The Hawkworld storyline was cool, as we now have two Hawkgirls existing at the same time (Shayera and Kendra) 4) I may not like certain new characters like Perpetua, The Batman Who Laughs and the Robin King; however I do like Jarro and Shayne J'onzz, and I hope they return. 5) The Legionnaires Club was really interesting (considering it's members and associates included Vandal Savage, Lionel Luthor, Arion, Ultra-Humanite etc), I wish we saw more of this.

[@atlanime]

11:00 "...YOU ARE AMAZING..."

[@MetaSynForYourSoul]

1:00:50 😂🤣 Most of the time, Lewis, your jokes don't send me rolling laughing, a good chuckle usually. But this one, this got me.

[@stevenhedge2850]

It’s kind of weird how comedic this series is when it’s trying to be complicated with all of retcons

[@tifforo1]

Watching AT4W has made me think that DC Comics should rename itself to RC comics, the RC being for RetCon.

[@EmrysMerlin8807]

@12:17 that Convo between Diana and BatRex is genuinely funny. Wow.

[@gallifreyanknight1355]

I watched this while listening to the soundtrack of the event. It worked out perfectly!

[@iam9991000]

Bet that Doomsday Clock is gonna be the next hundredth episode.

[@markdailey4519]

44:08 Just to be “that guy” if u just bother to even look it up a “mallet is in fact technically a type of hammer” hammer just refers to a tool used to strike objects and a mallet is just a rubberized hammer meant to create a softer blow upon impact. So again a mallet is in fact a hammer like a ball peen hammer doesn’t look like normal hammer but it still is one.

[@michaeliv284]

Or he simply called it a mallet because Harley's use of one in general

[@AbraCadaveric]

I thought this was going to be Batman versus another genre of music 😢

[@l0stndamned]

So many things wrong with this story, but the inclusion of Cthulhu and robot-dinosaur versions of Batman improves things slightly. Hopefully they'll be clix at some stage. Anyone else feeling all the weird versions of Batman are becoming DCs answer to the Thor Core in the recent secret wars?

[@johnthai6188]

to that i would also say that Death Metal is the Secret Wars 2015 but for the Dc universe. the parallels are interesting. it shows that both universes are different to each other. the heroes and villains motivations are reverse to one another. both stories are about Old vs New. is holding onto the old better than embracing the new? the answers to this from both universe are in the opposite direction to each. for marvel, it's always best to embrace the New; Dc is about embracing the Old is always best. when it comes to comparing characters, that represent the idea of the Old ways, that comes to two characters: Wonder Woman and Dr. Doom. both characters represent the idea of holding onto old traditional values. which makes sense because Wonder Woman and Dr. Doom both have a background of tradition. for the reason why doom still hold's onto traditional values, because that means he becomes King of everything; everyone is under doom's boot and bidding. due to the fact that secret wars dr. doom is also a god, he's holding onto the traditional values of what gods are actually: not what they are Idealized to be. Doom is holding onto the ideals of medieval times and what gods from mythology actually are. Now for Wonder Woman's traditional values are the idealized idea, of what gods are suppose to be in mythology. it's about to use these gifts to protect the innocents. at the same time, it's about protecting the world from disasters. now there is an interesting line to be drawn with these ideas. the idea being how far to do you take of wanting to protect others, until you start to control others. it makes sense why the characters that hold onto the traditional values would be on opposite ends: on what is heroic. DC is always about holding onto their traditional heroes' values in their stories. now for Marvel, it's not about holding to traditions but to create new ones. on the other end you have characters like Reed and the other Darkest Knight / Batman who laughs. Reed wants to embrace the new, because he believes that discovering new ideas/traditions = a better tomorrow. reed doesn't want to break the old, but wants to go on the journey to find the new: like new solutions/answers to problems or new life. the fact that reed is a scientist and an explorer, hammers this idea even further. which, is reflected to what marvel as a brand is about. being new and different from the traditional way to look at things. with the character of the Darkest Knight, he is about breaking the old. he believes that holding onto tradition is ineffective. the only reason why he wants to embrace the new because it's not of a bygone era. it's not even the fact that he thinks the new is inherently "better", but just that it's not old. which this goes against what DC is about, holding onto tradition. the fact that, in a metatextual sense, the Darkest Knight / the batman who laughs is a new creation that is trying to tear down the past is inherently going against the ideals of the DC universe.

[@MatthewMoreau]

10:38 Oh, I love Deadpool Team Up #1. Can't wait for issue 2 😉👍👍👍

[@skullkidtiger4851]

Gonna miss the Event Comics V intro. Is such a banger like wtf

[@JennyBlaze253]

So... This is probably the 4th or 5th time rewatching this (what can I say, I like Linkara's voice and it helps me get through the day) and I noticed something... This came out during the 35th anniversary of Crisis... I have to wonder if there's some significance around the number 35, because Gokaiger was the 35th anniversary for its franchise and that is kinda the go-to example of an anniversary. ...or maybe I'm reading too far into this. Who knows. Sonic has its 35th in 2026, so maybe the trend of 35s being a really big year will continue.

[@0ButterBall]

Waited all video for that post-credits joke.

[@595moore]

Thank you for your hard work on these events l, linkara. I hope down the line you take a much needed break.

[@springsaber]

1:10:30 if i remember that kinda what infinite frontier is

[@goblinsrevenge]

13:03 Anti-life justifies my gains!

[@scottieburgess2197]

I don’t know why, but the voice you give TBWL reminds me of Betelgeuse…sorta fitting considering both the sequel coming out around this time and that he’s played by a Batman.

[@tomatoisjp]

... now I just want a Mashup of batman and jurassic park themes

[@michaelkeenan2307]

10:30 oorah, pumpkin pie!

[@jacklindsey8400]

In regards to your final Point of having all your memories from previous histories, Randy Milholland of Popeye and Something Positive fame did a Super Stupor kind of about this, someone going through a retcon and having suddenly a whole new family and life they didn't have before and trying to go through it all, not to mention this feeling both real and not at the same time, that part was good, not sure if the punch line aged well though...

[@jeffreybarrow9788]

Spot the Kitty!

[@Cdr2002]

Anti-Life justifies these gains!

[@hanzojapa]

This type of meta story takes me out of the imersion. Because is basically screaming, THIS IS A COMIC COMIC, REMEMBER THAT.

[@fireair100]

That was honestly really good event story. Wait Superior Spider-Man, is that one where-oh. Oh no.

[@aaronbourque5494]

"Making sense is not the purpose of this story." Yeah.

[@zexalbrony4799]

First, obligatory joke I have to get out of the way: 10:37-10:43: Okay where was 90s Kid, he would love this guy. Second, onto my actual thoughts about this comic and review. Overall, from what I've seen I would say this is a good story, flawed and convulted yes, but good none the less. Just like Convergence its a story that shows every aspect of the DC Universe to an extent and why it all matters and is important, again like DC Challenge. It's like Earth 2 Dick Grayson said in Convergence, one of the best bits from that story, they all matter in their own way, and many of them, even the really obscure ones, have their fans who want to see them more and see them treated right. And despite what you said at the end, the idea of all these characters remember everything I think is a good thing, now every incaranation of say Batman will be in one version, they can combind all the best parts from each, because each version has their fans and creative artist who think they are good and can offer something important, into one ultimate perfect version. Not to mention now they can all remember the past and not forget characters and important moments, finally giving that stuff respect in universe and allow everyone to learn and honor it to be better versions of themselves. You mentiond back in Convergance that DC being a company and bussiness it can't spend time on all these characters and stuff, but this here Dark Nights Death Metal and how it ends with everyone remembering everything is a good way to have you're cake and eat it too, now everythng is apart of this universe and remember and that is great. As I mentioned in my comment in the Convergance revivew, my biggest issue with the comics and why I prefer TV shows and movies I because the stories are never ending they have to keep resetting the status quo and prevent these characters from getting a happy and conclusive ending, which is why I prefer TV shows and movies, because they do have a definitive ending for these characters, finally giving them the ending they deserve. And while I still have issues with that, the ending with Wonder Woman allowing them all to remember everything thats every happened in the history of the DC Universe as well as you're great explaination of the concept from 51:08 to 52:22 as made me appriate the never ending story angle of the comics a bit more, I still prefer TV and Movies, but still the comics are nice despite my issues with it. Also, this story had a dinosaur Batman and a giant city robot Batman, that automatically makes this story pretty good. Also, also, Krypto the Superdog apparently played a big role in redeeming Super Boy Prime nad helping in this great story in the tie-ins and I like Krypto after watching his cartoon show back in the early 2000s so it's nice for him to get spotlight, like the story itself said everyone and everything matters. Overall, Event Comics Month 5 was pretty good. Not the best in my opionion. Event Comics Month 2 is my favorite, followed by Event Comics Month 1, but Event Comics 5 i a decent 3rd place. Only Secreat Wars 2 was a bad story and even then it wasn't extreamly awful like say Heroes in Crisis, Secreat Empire, or Civil War 2, while the other three were all good, they had flaws to them sure, but they were all still entertaing and fun and with how bad Event Comics can be as you've pointed out and reviewed in the past, having three solid decent and good ones is a very good thing. So thank you Linkara for sharing these great stories with us and the bad Secreat Wars 2, but still. I can't wait for Event Comics Month 6 and hopefully that one won't fall so far behind it ends in September too.

[@YourUncleBenis]

Come to think of it, is the Batman Who Laughs just the ultimate embodiment of Crazy Steve? Can't remember if you made that joke last time.

[@EnerKaizer]

yeah... this event lost steam completely when they basically just wrote off Superboy Prime. Unironically, I thought this all was a set up for his redemption. It should've been him to beat the darkest Knight, and Wondie felt basically just like a co-pilot in a story where she is supposed to be the lead character.

[@patrickderdul3218]

“I have… plans for doomsday clock” is such a harrowing line in the best way

[@PaceFilmsProductions]

I’ll bet it’ll be for one of the 100th episode anniversary episodes.

[@MasterGeek-mk5ne]

800th episode clearly. Speaking of which, in which episode we are?

[@shahzebhasan9995]

Yeah, either an anniversary or a "15 things wrong with" episode

[@nonspiderweb]

Calling it now… WATCHMEN MONTH.

[@benjamincook8479]

@@MasterGeek-mk5ne this is episode 769, so barring any schedule slips we'll get episode 800 next year

[@Lesbomarx]

“Bruce upload his consciousness into the robot dinosaur in the last moments before the cave collapsed on him and so on.” A sentence I did not expect to hear today.

[@ZC-Infinity]

Hi. You must be new to Linkara's show and the comics world in general.

[@jeremyadler9620]

When he read that part, I was reminded of Meet the Robinsons, where Top Hat Guy controls the T-Rex to get the hero ... and the dinosaur can't, because of his little arms. He even comments on how badly the plan was thought out! That'd be a fun Missed Opportunity for Lewis, even though I doubt he even knows what that movie is about! Fun to think about though :)

[@originalindigodingo]

@@Lesbomarx be thankful he didnt go into the Batman who merged his consciousness with all of Gotham, then became a transformer.

[@Lesbomarx]

@@ZC-Infinity No not really.

[@TheFormidibleDan]

Why do lines like that in this comic have the same energy as "He was in the Amazon with my mom where she was researching spiders right before she died"?

[@LittleZbot]

I actually really like the line about Superman being a shot in the dark. He's the embodiment of Hope, and what screams out "hope and pray" more than taking a shot in the dark?

[@Kharana]

I also like that it's physically what happened to him. His planet blew up and he, it's last son, was shot into the dark and come to our world as it's light.

[@lucyinchat]

YES

[@ZeroDeMighty]

given how much metatextual stuff is in this book, I was thinking how the "Shot in the dark" line was how Superman was, like many other golden age heroes, just another hero in an anthology comic that went on to become a breakout hit that still goes on to this day.

[@mediabaron2416]

Really shows how committed Linkara is to making fun of Fortunate Son. Since this show has probably accumulated more examples of Batman being IN FAVOUR of rock & roll than against it by now.

[@YourUncleBenis]

Tbh, the contradiction just makes the joke funnier.

[@mikegates8993]

I legit wonder if there's a percentage of the audience who weren't even born when he did that review originally and might not even know what he's referencing.

[@supersmashsoni]

Batman needs to know his enemy.

[@TheWizardLizard-pf7xh]

I do agree that Superboy Prime's redemption was rushed a bit, but I like that after TDKs whole speech about how humanity laughs at trying to appeal to their better angels, Superboy Prime delivers the punch that started the domino effect of TDK losing because Krypto managed to appeal to Prime's better angels. Showing that no matter how far we fall, we can always choose to be better.

[@EyeOfArgus]

"Lobo heads into some weird child's cartoon universe" The panels: "The fifth dimension" ...How did Lobo get *there?*

[@FixTheWi-Fi]

\_'-'_/

[@originalindigodingo]

Simple, he said oboL

[@lucyinchat]

@@originalindigodingoYes!

[@couldntpickausername4099]

same way Jelloman got into space.

[@TheJovian16]

Probably through the same dimensional rift that caused the photonic aliens to enter Voyager's Holodeck and get beaten up by Dr. Chaotica's army of evil.

[@daelen.cclark]

It can be easy to get disillusioned and bitter with modern comics, but I encourage you hold onto whatever stuff you find interesting.

[@Ironysandwich]

To me the answer is easy. Ignore Marvel and DC. Read comics that can actually tell a full story without breaking it up for tie-ins constantly and ending halfway through because the latest "crisis" invalidated everything they wrote before. There are plenty of other publishers who are better about this. There are plenty of independents. DC and Marvel are a lost cause, move on to greener pastures.

[@reymafias6404]

​@@Ironysandwich The event problem is exagerated. Comics have problems, but you have plenty of good reads if you look for them. Read the new Ultimate Universe, Immortal Hulk, X-Men, Birds of Prey or the current Wonder Woman series. There.

[@jeremyadler9620]

@@reymafias6404, I just end to stick to runs of characters, tie-in comics like Superman Adventures from the DCAU, mini-series, crossovers with other comics or just crossovers in general, like with DC and Looney Tunes. Or just other comic series not in the Big Two. Mostly seems to work :)

[@HeirofAzaran]

​@@jeremyadler9620from what I understand this is the best attitude to take toward modern comics. Buy into whatever storyline you find most interesting, and then let it go once you're not interested.

[@doctordoom85]

@@Ironysandwich And as someone who still enjoys plenty of Marvel and DC, this is not advice that works for everyone. Especially as someone who reads collections and not issues so I can wait to see what people say about a run when it’s finished. Telling people to ignore DC and Marvel completely just seems like an overreaction, like you do you, but there’s obvious ways to still enjoy them despite some problems. Like, if we choose to hyperfocus on shortcomings, the “greener pastures” bit quickly gets debunked as we can just nitpick ANY pasture. “Oh, you want to move to indie comics? Well, hope you enjoy Saga, yeah its fandom is really happy with the pacing of issue releases and the story direction! Oh, you want to move to manga? Hope you enjoy Jujutsu Kaisen slowly losing steam and ending in a rushed manner? Hope you enjoy My Hero Academia with its ending that made people go, ‘whatever’”. Now, is that choosing to be nitpicky and overly critical? You’re goddamn right it is! And I have the same issue when people over-generalize Marvel and DC’s faults. If somebody wants to move on, again that’s fine, but make it a possible suggestion for other people rather than stating it like it’s a fact that Marvel and DC are done and we should all give up on them. Maybe you didn’t mean for it to sound that way, but your wording could have been better. And sorry, I know this post is long enough, but sometimes I feel an event impacting a separate comic didn’t have to be a negative thing especially if the writer is clever about it. The 2000’s Cable and Deadpool run used the events tie-ins during that time quite well with their main story. Same with the 2014 Silver Surfer run. But then take the original Ms. Marvel (Kamala) run. Like, yes Civil War II happening meant it was inevitable Carol would show up and have Kamala temporarily on board with Carol’s side. BUT, unless it came out that editorial demanded the following, that did not necessitate what happened to Bruno and Josh and as such making Kamala’s life absolutely miserable for a while which contrasted the tone of the book up to that point. Sure, if they had just kept it to “Kamala joins Carol but eventually loses faith in her”, sure that would make Kamala sad for a while, but going as far as the story did with what happened to her friends? That felt like the writer’s choice and not a necessity of the event existing. I mean, if that’s what the writer wanted, by all means she should write what she wants, I just didn’t like it and felt like blaming it on the CW II event itself wasn’t accurate.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

It's honestly really nice to see Wonder Woman as a main character in a good event comic for a change give all the crap Donna had to be put through all the years

[@Gaia_BentosZX5]

Even if it's the one where it highlights everything wrong with current business practices in a zombified corpse of an industry.

[@mcpics4448]

I like that too. Shame that her opponent had to be the BWL who I feel just doesn’t work as a foil but it work well enough for me

[@Carlos-bz5oo]

@@mcpics4448 I think it kinda works since he's a perverted version of Batman who is DC's breadmaker who often gets in edgy money grabs

[@Bezaliel13]

@@Carlos-bz5oo True. Pity that DC's idea to call out their obsession with Batman is to make more evil Batthings, the Gentry.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@mcpics4448 what i find weird is how "sudden and out of nowhere" it is for wonder woman to become the protagonist of scott snyder's (and to some degree james tynion's) works leading up to this. you read snyder's work and you would think the protagonists would be martian manhunter, lex luthor, or even hawkgirl, superman or batman (kinda funny that all this started in batman's books, and the villain is an alternate batman, yet bruce himself isn't realy the protagonist. more like "the lancer" to diana's "hero protagonist" role while clark is in a terciary role) I KINDA get it because turns out the first ever multiverse story at dc comics was a wonder woman story (about a mirror universe). but outside that meta reference, it feels out of nowhere. Also, funny anough at one point, randomly there is an "evil daughter of an alternate wonder woman and batman" that you would think would be minimum the main servant of the one who laughs but nope. instead we get the boring robin king.

[@NateDHWT2023]

I love how Linkara's Batman Who Laughs voice occasionally shifts into his Batman voice. It's a nice touch it took me a bit to notice.

[@GoldAxe64]

“Oh they have a mom who’s the real threat!” Wait so she’s Kronika from Mortal Kombat 11?

[@RabblesTheBinx]

Basically. Except I think Perpetua predates her by a few years.

[@michaeliv284]

​@@RabblesTheBinxand yet, Kronika doesn't feel as forced

[@PhantomRoxas]

The funny thing about Dark Crisis is doesn't actually suggest another force was behind Perpetua, it just attributes all the other Crises to that entity instead of her, and goes out of its way to mention everybody *except* Perpetua, so the whole event revolves around ignoring Momitor's existence and pretending she just didn't happen. I wouldn't worry too much about the schedule slip-ups. Certainly can't be worse than the ones Doomsday Clock had! I knew you'd love Jarro, he's wonderful. The beginning of issue #4 has always bugged me for the purposes of the trade, because you're basically *required* to have read Trinity Crisis going into it. As for the Anti-Monitor... no, he's telling the truth, it's the real version of him. Just as we had Baby Darkseid in the first Metal, that's a kid version of the New 52 version of the Anti-Monitor who died and went to, essentially, a "respawn point" that Perpetua has control of. So when the baby Anti-Monitor shows up, it's because he respawned *again*. I really dislike the revelation that the Hand at the Beginning of Time was Perpetua. It was revealed during Snyder's Justice League run, including Krona even looking into it, but I liked that it was an intentionally ambiguous idea that reconciled both scientific and religious ideas about the origins of the universe. Defining that with Perpetua, and, as you said, having a whole group of creators like her... cheapens that. While this story is about the heroes and villains accepting that they're a small part of something bigger, that makes the DC Universe feel *too* small. I think Sgt. Rock was the narrator because Scott Snyder was planning to do a Justice Society book after this. They also had appearances in Justice/Doom War, so there's a bit of a "backdoor pilot" feel to their appearances, but I think their role still works in this story even if that run never came to fruition.

[@Catalyst375]

It is more like a hypothesis from Doctor Multiverse (from Earth-8, the Marvel analogue) that wound up proven wrong. A tie-in (again), and the main series reveal that the Great Darkness ISN'T a malevolent force, but a neutral and elemental force, and it was Pariah who corrupted it for his own ends. I'd say it is quite a meaningful contrast with Marvel Comics and the Anti-All. Where the Great Darkness simply wishes to observe the story of the Multiverse and how it ends, to engage and participate with the Light, the Anti-All and various Darkness-associated entities seek to bring an end to creation and return all things to the Void. That said, the idea of Darkness and the Void being associated with entities and forces that want to erase reality is common in media, so it is a breath of fresh air when a primordial force of Darkness isn't painted as inherently evil, destructive, and in direct opposition to reality.

[@ZannacrossG1]

@@Catalyst375 Between Dark Crises going from Darksied being in charge to all of a sudden being about Slade having a midlife crises and dragging everyone in it it feels like they really did not plan tha tone out at all.

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

"In those boxes are the Death Metal." *opens box *rad electric guitar riffs start playing

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

So this is what happens if Batman listen to too much Cannibal Corpse

[@Someguywhocooks]

So, Batmetal?

[@mattofsmegpoop3027]

You can just hear him saying I'm edgy you just don't understand "

[@Awells89]

BATARANG! SMAAAAAAAAAAAASHED! FAAAAAACE!

[@PosthumanHeresy]

1:00:20 I think it works. Because of this specific panel. It's not just that like, a dog was nice to him. It's that the dog from the childhood stories that inspired him and everything was there and nice to him. It's like... imagine the most important work of fiction to your childhood self. Imagine you became a part of that work of fiction. Imagine you went evil desperately trying to return it back to what it was. Now imagine the dog was there. So like... a Whovian brought into in Doctor Who during the Chibnall era who idolized the Tom Baker days as a child encountering K9 and K9 being nice. It makes sense to me.

[@lancerutt9936]

I’m very down on most crossover events but this moment made me kind of emotional. There is something to be said about having a character aware that all of this is fiction and have it played for drama instead of laughs

[@PosthumanHeresy]

​@@lancerutt9936 Agreed, I absolutely love that. It's a very rare trope, the only example I can think of at the moment is Danganronpa V3, which does it wonderfully but in an entirely different way (the horror of discovering you're a fictional character who literally is here just to suffer and die for the entertainment of hundreds of millions of people). Superboy-Prime meanwhile does it in such a fanfiction way. While his original existence predates the online fanfiction tropes, it's a very standard classic self-insert isekai fanfic trope now, and while the writing could have been better in the past, the concept always made sense. He's a kid who grew up on the Silver Age, discovers it's real, and the process of discovering it's real also leads to the death of everything he loved and the corruption of all of his childhood. Of _course_ he'd react like that. His world is dead, the "fiction" is all he had left. If they'd let him go into New Earth and build a life there, he'd have been fine. He'd have lived in it, he'd have gotten to still be a person, he'd have handled it. But the combination of being locked away like he was and that trauma led to him lashing out at the corruption of the only thing he had left. This story, ultimately being about hope, fits for him being redeemed. It also harkens back to Infinite Crisis. Batman was almost ready to betray his world in Infinite Crisis, to work with Kal-L. It all came down to one question for Bruce: was _Dick_ better on his Earth? And he wasn't, New Earth Dick was as good a man as Earth-2 Dick. Kal-L and Superboy-Prime were saying the same thing: "Everything was better on my Earth". People don't give Kal-L the same flak for it, but Kal-L had the same reaction and perspective. For Bruce, the way to determine if that was really true was Dick Grayson. For Superboy-Prime, he realizes that there is still good and things worth fighting for here because of Krypto. _Krypto_ wasn't better on his Earth _or_ on Earth-1. It's the same armor-piercing question as Bruce to Kal-L.

[@couldntpickausername4099]

it's also a nice counterpoint to how Krypto attacks him in Infinite Crisis when he's being the villain.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@PosthumanHeresy i really wish more "person from "the real world" enters the fiction world, and the "real world" becomes more fictional to him while the "fictional world" becomes real to them". it could be an intersesting comment about what's important to us compared to what people think should be important to us. maybe a comment about "just because it matters to no one else, doesn't mean it doesn't matters. it matters to you, and sometimes that's enough" (and as a counterpoint, show that lesson in a positive and negative way)

[@jonathaneilbeck2263]

One thing with Scott Snyder's Metal period (Metal, his Justice League run and Death Metal) is that he feels like he's been holding in a lot of wacky stuff and letting be unleashed. Totally different from his Batman run which was more grounded in some respects but some weird elements just creaking in.

[@L1701]

DC FINALLY allowed him to snort cocaine and spend several hours jerking off in the back issue archives.

[@justanotheranimeprofilepic]

If there is one thing I will never take away from Scott Snyder's events, he's great at making meta, empowering stories even if they don't make a ton of lore Sense

[@Gaia_BentosZX5]

A linkara missed oppertunity: having spongebob's laugh grow louder and louder as we reach the end to the video, to the point it's loud enough that it's the end credits theme. Then... Boom. The panel that dunks on Free Comic Book Day from Freestyle Funnies.

[@Pikachu2Ash]

@@Gaia_BentosZX5 Sir this is a Wendy's

[@Gaia_BentosZX5]

Squidward: "Who watches Linkara in 8AM in the morning?!" Patrick: "OH BOY, 8AM!" [immediately turns on his TV to watch his favorite show]

[@michaeliv284]

Pft, 8am. Try 4!

[@TechnicalJimActual]

Bat-Rex: "I have an urge to get a rubber ducky and say 'Yeeeeees' in an elongated way a lot, but I don't know why..."

[@chrisdonovan9872]

And to kill a robot ape I have issues yeeeeessss

[@NODNS_n_M.ORD11630]

"Bat-Rex doesn't yield! Bat-Rex conquers!"

[@N0b0dy1.0]

The ma hunkle bit was kinda smart, for those who don't know she was a character from a comedy centric comic, and when her comic had a crossover with DC comics back when the justice society was the primary super hero team for DC comics she teamed up with them. Ma hunkle is the original red tornado, but when the crossover was over DC still had the rights to the red tornado but not ma hunkle so they created the version of the red tornado history( ies ) that we know today, I don't know if her being the red tornado is canonical to the DC multyverse anymore but it would be kinda interesting if it is.

[@gentlemanlygeeky4088]

Don’t forget her granddaughter became Cyclone!

[@crapshot321]

They (DC) tied her into the Justice Society as the caretaker of their museum/ HQ I think? Also, her granddaughter became the heroine Cyclone.

[@talk2myself315]

That's close, but not quite the case. Ma Hunkel originated as a supporting character for Scribbly, a semi-autobiographical humor strip about a boy cartoonist, written by Sheldon Mayer, a legend and one of the "founding fathers" of what would become DC. The Scribbly series was published in All-American Comics, the anthology series that also eventually included the Alan Scott Green Lantern, Al Pratt Atom, Dr. Mid-Nite, Sargon the Sorcerer, the Black Pirate and Hop Harrigan among others. When superheroes began to rise in popularity, Mayer gave her the identity of the Red Tornado as a superhero parody. This lasted for quite a while until Mayer eventually got bored with the concept and the series ended. A few years later he would revive Scribbly as a teen comedy series, and then later the character appeared in his Silver Age series Sugar & Spike. At the time, All-American Comics was published by its own company, called All-American. They eventually formed a sort of partnership with National Publications, and together they decided to publish a joint anthology called All-Star Comics, featuring an equal amount of characters from each company. In issue #3 of All-Star Comics, the Justice Society was introduced as a framing device. In that story, the Red Tornado was invited to their meeting, but had to leave due to ripping her pants. This was her sole appearance with the JSA in that era. Later on, a rift developed between All-American and National, which resulted in the companies temporarily breaking up their partnership, and National's characters getting pulled out of the JSA. I think this might be what you're referring to when you say that "they didn't have the rights to Ma Hunkel." National didn't for that time. A short time later, however, things were smoothed over, and the companies wound up merging. The merged company eventually became DC Comics. Years later, during the Silver Age, DC revived a number of their old Golden Age characters, both with newer versions of them and with the same characters appearing. Gardner Fox, a writer who had been with both companies since the beginning and created or worked on a number of their characters, was wrapping up his run as the writer of Justice League. To do this, he'd write a team-up of the JLA and JSA to battle T.O.Morrow, a villain he had introduced a few years earlier in the Flash. As part of this, he also did his final character revival: the android Red Tornado. I have no idea what Fox originally thought of Mayer's character. But based on the dialogue in that issue, the characters were written as having very little respect for Hunkel. The android would be written as a more serious character who inherited the name. However, Ma Hunkel did appear in her Tornado garb in a vision on that issue. She would also be included in a portrait of the full JSA lineup published shortly afterwards, looking at her android successor. So, as far as I know, DC never went through a "rights issue" with the Ma Hunkel character. The original creator just stopped using her, and people didn't like touching Mayer's works out of respect for him. Then they created a successor to carry on the name. Other commenters have already covered what's been done with Hunkel's character since then. I apologize if this comment seems rude or overly direct, I am currently stressed out at work and very hungry. If you do have any written sources on the Ma Hunkel rights issue, I would like to see them. If not, I'm just sharing what I know as an avid comics historian and collector since the Silver Age. :)

[@N0b0dy1.0]

@talk2myself315 I appreciate the corrections and extra information, I am not too proud to admit that I was wrong, I was just posting what I remembered so I probably misinterpreted the real reason for the switch to using an android as the red tornado as a rights issue because of how long it had been since I originally found out about it. Thank you for clarifying this for me and others.

[@EspanolBot]

The "remembering past lives" thing does in fact come up again, both with Cass Cain and Stephanie Brown now having their pre-52 back stories once again (with them getting a glimpse first in the James Tynion Detective Comics run, with it getting incorporated into their actual memories here), and with one of the plots in Greg Rucka's Lois Lane mini-series involving several people having to deal with two sets of memories... Including Renee Montoya's Question meeting a now living version of Vic Sage who now remembers both his past friendship with her AND his dying of cancer on the side of a mountain with Renee. It's a good story. :)

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

so they didn't forget it.... or i guess "depends on th writer" as i remember tom taylor almost stubbrnly ignoring jon's birth during convergence to stick to the post superman reborn version of his birth

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

Learning that this series released during the absolute height of COVID also recontextualizes the importance it puts on hope in the face of destruction and every life being important.

[@Rocketboy1313]

Is it weird that the thesis of this book seems to be very similar to the thesis of "Deadpool and Wolverine"? That the endless reboots have left so many characters stranded in the void rather than appreciating them as part of the greater story.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

to some degree it is. although i guess deadpool & wolverine does the critique to the higher ups better by saying "they just pick whatever they think it works and leave everything else or rot" (while also sharing the problem of doing so much problems that in-universe lore makes no sense, while make sense from a meta perspective) the ony thing missing is criticizing the audience who keep insisting "they should just give them a definitive end once and for all" yet happily hop to the newest version of the character where somehow they want to change everything yet don't want anything to change (make a reference to transformers and teenage mutant ninja turtles who are in that area)

[@PosthumanHeresy]

48:02 Blue Streak...speeds by, Wally West! Too fast for the naked eye, Wally West! Wally! He can really move! Wally! He's got an attitude! Wally! He's the fastest thing alive!

[@TheJacobG]

One thing I will give to this event: the gradient in Wonder Woman's hair looks good on her.

[@KMmouse20]

The Batman who became Manhattan like was called Dr. BATMANHATTAN wasn't he?

[@michaeliv284]

95% certain Not sure about the Dr part Edit; looked it up, just Batmanhatten

[@DataSnake88]

I absolutely love the fact that not only is Diana the one to save the day, but the way she does it is an excellent showcase of who she's supposed to be as a character: she's the best fighter in the DC Universe, which she demonstrates by defeating the literal embodiment of the "Batman could defeat anyone with enough prep time" meme, but she's also someone who would rather make peace than war. She handles Superboy Prime by convincing him to do the right thing, and she stops the Hands from destroying everything not by killing them, but by showing them that the world is worth saving.

[@michaeliv284]

Eh, I think it would've been more thematically satisfying if Prime was the one who beat the Dorkest Knight. The worst of Superman redeems himself by beating the worst of Batman

[@BartmanBegins]

59:15 Given that William Moulton Marston was really into bondage and made it a huge part of the Wonder Woman comics he wrote, this line is perfectly fitting AND funny.

[@MasteroftheZ]

I don't really follow comic events any more, but one consequence of this event that I really like is for the Flash book. Wally West ends up becoming the main Flash as Barry goes off to explore the new omniverse, but before that happens in earnest there is a short storyline of undoing the deaths from Heroes in Crisis. Good stuff all around.

[@gregdeandrea1450]

This wasn't for new readers.... And that's fine. I think Scott Snyder knew that no one was going to jump on with this event. He may have known it might not change things. He just wanted us to know that the writers are TRYING. They'll stumble, they'll fall, they'll absolutely screw up again... But they're trying. And it's appreciated. Especially since Marvel comics, especially 616 Spider Man, has nothing but SHEER CONTEMPT for its readership.

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

Secret Wars 2015 could have served as a Crisis like reboot but nope! The All New All Different line was marketed as an entry point for new readers to jump into, but all the comics directly followed up on the lore and stories of previous runs. The problem with comic book relaunches and reboots is that only people who are already reading comics know about them unless you did an internet deep dive, and the fact that the comic book industry is still this bad at basic marketing and repeating the same mistakes is mind-boggling!

[@someonewhocommentsonyoutub3779]

That's why ultimately I find it very hard to get mad at comics nowadays. Now that I'm older and a bit wiser, I've come to realize that I seriously doubt that any comic writer actively sets out to make a bad story, in their heads I'm sure they're working on an idea they're passionate about or thinks it'll be something genuinely brilliant or game-changing. Editorial letting them do it however, is another thing entirely.

[@gregdeandrea1450]

@@someonewhocommentsonyoutub3779 No, no some of them are worth getting mad at. Legitimately everything that's happened to spiderman since 2018.

[@someonewhocommentsonyoutub3779]

@@gregdeandrea1450 Fans have every right to be mad at any story they want, I'm just saying that *I* don't have it in me anymore. Though to be fair I'd probably have contempt for my readers the way Spider-Man editorial does if I got death threats for years on end the way Slott, Wells etc have. But in all seriousness, the best way to voice contempt for a story I dislike is to simply just not buy it and not devote my time or energy to it

[@thewolfofgallifrey5961]

So weird thing about this story that I like and wished would have continued...Wonder Woman's hair. I like the blue she has in her hair, I kind of wish she'd kept it. But overall, good story, and I REALLY hope that death sticks for the Batman Who Laughs. He had Wolverine-levels of overexposure for a while, and it got really old really fast.

[@smashers6971]

Well he’s not good for good, he recently is fighting beetlejuce, Tom and Jerry and Ultra instinct shaggy in MVS

[@thewolfofgallifrey5961]

@@smashers6971 As a skin for Joker Let's not mince words, as far as the mainstream comics where all this comes from is concerned, he extra-dead. And good riddance.

[@MagiTailWelkin]

Hyper-time is back? Quick! Load the spaceship with the rocket fuel!

[@PosthumanHeresy]

1:01:07 Tengen Toppa Wonder Woman. Actually crap, that is _way_ too accurate to this story. The Darkest Knight is the Anti-Spiral.

[@jadenbryant9283]

Wonder womanand every other dc hero:WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE! [btw I know this is about Diana but Gurren lagann is one of the best green lantern adaptations everkzbin.info/www/bejne/oYetp3Vpfq9slZI]

[@EmperorSeth]

You know what could have been an interesting alternate ending? If, instead of punching He Who Laughs into a sun, she punches him to the point where he became who he was, showing that ultimately, he was just another mortal who had a bad day, and with the right positive response to it, he could have been saved and connected just like anyone else.

[@Cdr2002]

39:31 I guess they’re going with the idea that this dark Anti-Monitor only destroyed his local multiverse. For those confused, DC has this idea where basically there’s actually tons of smaller sub-multiverses that are only affected by crisis events which occur within their bounds. Examples include the main comic DC multiverse, the Arrowverse, the DC animated multiverse, and so on. To the inhabitants of these “local multiverses” this is everything they know, but in reality they’re inside a larger everything multiverse

[@lukelandis3090]

That’s kinda confusing, but it makes sense. According to IRL Multiverse Theory, infinite new timelines are always being created, so it’d be impossible to destroy them all, since you’d also paradoxically be creating a timeline where you didn’t.

[@Cdr2002]

@@lukelandis3090 good point yeah

[@tifforo1]

For a review that opens with Linkara complaining about failure to explain by the comic, Linkara really seems to just assume that everyone watching knows who The Batman Who Laughs is. I don't think that character has ever appeared in live action or in a TV show or in any of the Linkara's most commonly referenced episodes like the ones in the theme song, so that seems like a big assumption.

[@Cdr2002]

@@tifforo1 he assumes people know him from the review of the event that this is a sequel to that he posted on this very KZbin channel.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@lukelandis3090 that's what i was saying and i wish writers finally acknolwedged that. especially whenever they create "this singular special character unique to current multiverse" and cue to a joke where a variant of that character in another multiverse says the same. and cue to another multiversere where there are infinite versions of the character saying that. maybe say "of course you believed you destroyed infinity just because you dstroyed a microscopic part of it because infinity is still infinity"

[@maxscarrow4547]

It was not perfect but it was a massive help for the comic Industry as it sold really well during covid releasing in June of 2020 ending in January of 2021 basically a life preserver for dc comics at the time

[@originalindigodingo]

21:21 not really, its pretty Gnostic. Perpetua is the Demiurge, Yaldabaoth, who created the physical world, but is alone and ignorant of goodness, while the Monad, the one true god, sits above and seeks to free us.

[@mikegates8993]

I was about to comment that it sounds similar. Persona games lead to interesting rabbit holes for research. Wonder if it was intentional or a coincidence.

[@mavericklysander]

I don't remember if you were doing it in the Dark Nights Metal, but the Batman Who Laughs voice is really good. Love the cycling between your Joker voice and your Batman voice, it's very creepy.

[@AT4W]

In rewatching the review, I still did it but it was more restrained than how I did it here.

[@limozeen61]

"Barry Allen states that there's not much Speed Force left, due to him going back in time numerous times to fix this." Me: "BARRY!!! STOP GOING BACK IN TIME!! YOU KEEP MAKING MORE AND MORE FLASHPOINTS!!!"

[@RabblesTheBinx]

Say it with me, folks, "Damnit, Barry!"

[@Psykolord1989]

13:15 "Anti-life justifies these gains!" (Alternatively, "cardio justifies my hate!")

[@michaeliv284]

OK, now I wanna see what kind of exercise tapes they have on Apokalips

[@TheGrayMysterious]

I can't remember if it was here or in a tie-in (or even a different event entirely) but one of the Flashes calls BWL "The Batman Who Tries Too Hard" and gives him the devil horns, and it's Perfect with a capital P

[@MTdaBlacking]

I thought Wally gave the BWTTH the middle finger. Maybe it got edited out...

[@mikegates8993]

I love his interaction with Owlman. Even literal evil Batman hates BWL.

[@Mask0fFate]

Honestly, I love Death Metal. It’s probably one of my favorite comics of all time. And I mainly like it because the overall message of it is essentially… Hope. To face insurmountable odds, to be told time and again there’s no use fighting, to be at the end of everything where no matter what happens, you could lose… And yet you still keep going. And that’s what happens in Death Metal. The story we’re presented is one where the bad guys have already won. The world is theirs, the multiverse is screwed, and the big bad has stacked the deck so thoroughly in his favor that the beat him could result in the end of everything… And yet the heroes look at all this darkness and decide to keep going, on the hope that, once the dust has cleared, the world they’ll be left with will be a brighter place than what they had before. It’s inspiring, and I liked how this story implemented the pathos. Hell, even the ending, with the heroes regaining their knowledge of all previous canons and promising to go forth and make a better future despite the mistakes of the past… I thought was beautiful. And also one of the only aspects of this story that annoyed me because I knew, despite their talks of looking to the future and NOT repeating the mistakes of the past… This is comics. And sadly, if their track record through the years is any indication, they WILL make the same mistakes, and all this talk of looking to a brighter future will feel hollow. Still though, what makes me like the story overall is that, despite the name and dark setting, it’s a story of hope and building a better future. I think it’s inspiring, and despite my cynical feelings about the ending, it still makes this one of my favorite comics.

[@johnthai6188]

I also love Death Metal and i see this event as scott snyder's version of a secret wars 2015. the parallels and differences between the two stories are really interesting. in one of snyder's interviews he did for his justice league run, he stated that he was doing a hickman type story. and from what snyder was doing on justice league - death metal, they parallel each other. anyways, the parallels between Death Metal and Secret Wars 2015 are the ideas of holding onto the old vs looking forward to the new. also how both universe are opposite to one another. when it comes to comparing characters that represent the idea of the Old ways, that comes to two characters: Wonder Woman and Dr. Doom. both characters represent the idea of holding onto old traditional values. the reason why doom still hold's onto traditional values, because that means he becomes King of everything; everyone is under doom's boot and bidding. due to the fact that secret wars dr. doom is also a god, he's holding onto the traditional values of what gods are actually: not what they are Idealized to be. Doom is holding onto the ideals of medieval times and what gods from mythology actually are. they are imperfect beings that aren't idealized. Now for Wonder Woman's traditional values are the idealized idea, of what gods are suppose to be in mythology. it's about to use these gifts to protect the innocents. at the same time, it's about protecting the world from disasters. now there is an interesting line to be drawn with these ideas. the idea being how far to do you take of wanting to protect others, until you start to control others. it makes sense why the characters that hold onto the traditional values would be on opposite ends: on what is heroic. DC is always about holding onto their traditional heroes' values in their stories. now for Marvel, it's not about holding to traditions but to create new ones. onto what the new represent to for these universe. on one end you have characters like Reed and the other Darkest Knight / Batman who laughs. Reed wants to embrace the new, because he believes that discovering new ideas or traditions = a better tomorrow. reed doesn't want to break the old, but wants to go on the journey to find the new: like new solutions, answers to problems or new life. the fact that reed is a scientist and an explorer, hammers this idea even further. which, is reflected to what marvel as a brand is about. being new and different from the traditional way to look at things. with the character of the Darkest Knight, for him it's just about breaking the old. he believes that holding onto tradition is ineffective. the only reason why he wants to embrace the new because it's not of a bygone era. it's not even the fact that he thinks the new is inherently "better", but just that it's not old. which this goes against what DC is about, holding onto tradition. the fact that, in a metatextual sense, the Darkest Knight / the batman who laughs is a new creation that is trying to tear down the past, is inherently going against the ideals of the DC universe.

[@thegayghost872]

The Batman Who Lives in a Society is back

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Gotta say thank you Linkara this was a amazing month and i can't wait to see what Event Comics Month 6 has in store for us but until then thank you Linkara for all you give us

[@tyrongkojy]

"People experiencing death but are now alive again." Okay, now, TO BE FAIR, who in DC hasn't this happened to? Who HASN'T died at least once and come back, with knowledge of what it is like to die? Like, legitimately. I'm sure there's SOME, but, like... dying isn't necessarily the worst thing, apparently, right?

[@TheGolux]

The robin king might have a hard time telling bludgeoning instruments apart, but I'm sure there's no mallets intended.

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

EEEHHHHHHH

[@Foreverred97]

Does 15:26 count as a "Because poor literacy is KEWL!" moment?

[@joshuaingobo1559]

Yes

[@AshuraH]

"Almost as if it was playing out as the final story of the DC Universe, trying to tie together as many events and aspects before it..." And guess what? THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS MEANT TO BE. Dark Knights: Death Metal, under Dan Didio's original "Generation Five" plan, was meant to be the last hoorah of the original DC Universe at that point in time. Clark and Bruce were supposed to be aged up, Diana disappearing and Jon Kent, Jace Fox and Yara Flor becoming Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Then, Didio got fired and COVID-19 happened.

[@SilimSavertin]

Blue Wally West does look neat, but next time let's just make him a Blue Lantern instead of the stupidity of Dr. Manhattan powers...

[@NightRunner2099]

6:03, wasn't Dc going through a rough time due to things like the pandemic and the AT&T stuff when this came out with the future of the company being unknown? I think that somewhat justifies it feeling like it wanting to be a conclusion to all came before and wanting to celebrate it. Not saying it worked 100 percent, but it was admirable imo.

[@DoomMomDot]

one thing I have noticed about all of Scott Snyders work - he LOVES the DC universe and its characters. He may make stories that look like something made by Micheal Bay, but the love is real.

[@Gaoknight]

I always saw the dark multiverse as the flip side of the multiverse, where the multiverse was rooted in the scientific and the physical, the dark multiverse was rooted in the mystical and metaphysical

[@JohnnyElRed]

59:48 "... but I still feel like she should be riding on a triceraptops for maximun effect like last time." Honestly, now that you mention it... that would had been the perfect moment to show her riding T-Rex Batman.

[@chwenhoou]

Please upvote if you believe Jarro is the best. Much love to that cutie.

[@leephillips4402]

Sgt. Rock was DC's Nick Fury before Amanda Waller was. Which is a weird sentence but only for a specific audience.