This is a collection of preludes of things to come in Dark Knights: Metal, which I'm total stoked to read. This however was a real mixed bag. I did enjoy the Road to Metal stories the Forge and the Casting, but the other back issues in this collection were a bit confusing out of context. These stories include FINAL CRISIS #6-7, THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1, plus (from the New 52 era) BATMAN #38-39, NIGHTWING #17 (current series). In short, most of this volume feels unnecessary and collects superfluous material. You could probably dive right into Dark Knights Metal and be fine. ( )

A bit of a mixed bag. ( )

Dark Days: The Road to Metal
Author: Scott Snyder (Author), James Tynion IV (Author), Tim Seeley (Author), Andy Kubert (Illustrator), Jim Lee (Illustrator), John Romita (Illustrator), Scott Williams(Illustrator), Klaus Janson (Illustrator), Danny Miki (Illustrator), Javier Fernandez(Illustrator)
Publisher: DC Comics
Date: 2018
Pgs: 256
Disposition: Hoopla e-book
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
For years, Batman has been tracking a mystery. He's quietly been pulling a thread, conducting research in secret laboratories across the globe and stowing evidence deep in the Batcave, hidden even from his closest allies. Now, in an epic story spanning generations, the heroes and villains of the DC Universe, including Green Lantern, The Joker, Wonder Woman and more, are about to find out what he's discovered—and it could threaten the very existence of the Multiverse!
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Genre:
Comics
Graphic Novels
Superheroes
Science Fiction
Fantasy

Why this book:
Comics, they’re a drug, they’re my youth, and, though I escape for a period of time here or there, they do suck me back in.
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Favorite Character:
Has to be Batman. He’s all over this.

Mandarkk is a wicked design. A creature who eats the carrion in apocalypse’s aftermath.

Least Favorite Character:
Darkseid. Darkseid laughs...really? Ugh. Then, Darkseid as a zombie/Borg-ish virus that takes over people, to me, cheapens a great villain.

Favorite Scene / Quote:
The image of The Signal kicking Hal in the chin is awesome. After their fight, Signal and Green Lantern in the Batcave is a great part of this story. Flying a plane inside a cave...yeah...yep...Hal Jordan.

Talky Tawny gutting Tiger Kalibak is badassed. And love the Tiger Who Would Be King scene.

A journey through the death of worlds. It’s awesome seeing bits and pieces of historical parallel universes. Shame we get to see them, just to watch them die, over and over. We are Pariah, doomed to witness oblivion. Well done.

The Flashes outrunning Death is a cool visual.

Superman using the Controllers’ Miracle Machine to wish a happy ending for all is sweet.

Wow! Crazy Quilt’s big finish was disgusting...and awesome.

The Joker carnival parade is an awesome visual.

Loved that visual of Dick looking up at other versions of himself with the multiverse spread out behind them...him.

Plot Holes/Out of Character:
Don’t like Hal played as such a narrow focus character.

The plotting isn’t as tight after you get passed the first issue.

The God Bullet is an odd concept. Batman with a gun, despite his earliest adventures having him use one on occasion, is a no-go for me. That alley with his mother and father and Joe Chill shaped too much for him.

The hopscotching back and forth through continuity is a bit unfullfilling. The Bat-Savage caveman showdown especially.

Batman saying he doesn’t have a plan yet flies in the face of everything they’ve built him up to be the last twenty years or so.

The bits and pieces of backstory contained here are a bit schizophrenic.
Calling BS on the Joker getting at Alfred. Considering Alfred’s past, if he had a shotgun trained on the Joker, there is zero chance that he doesn’t blow that bastard away before he manages to attack him.

Hmm Moments:
Love the Outsiders returned to continuity.

Wonder if this impacts the Three Jokers thing? It should. It’s too good a setup.

Dubbilex, The Challengers, and the Blackhawks: This is reaching into DC history and grabbing some great threads and pulling, instead of the New 52-ish everything that never really worked for me.

Diana isn't going to be happy with Bruce and this blithely trading away Hephaestus’s gift to the al-Ghuls. Obsession is one thing. He’s written like he’s addicted to the Nth metal. Which put in context with how Hawkman acts with the stuff in all his incarnations makes sense.

And following out of that, the reason that Hawkman is so f’ed up is because of his ongoing multi-lifetime exposure to and obsession with Nth metal/Ninth metal. Sure...what could go wrong? When you recognize warnings and your own sense of foreboding, and still walk directly into the helicopter blades. Of course, he is an archaeologist in a world of superheroes. He goes around and opens ancient tombs and sticks his head inside. He picks up ancient, possibly, cursed relics and tries to figure out what they do, did, and were made of. From that perspective, the Hawks continuity being a massive discontinuity makes sense.

I wonder if this was always where Duke’s arc was leading since We Are Robin.

The Judge of All Evil has a nice ring to it. Behind our backs, in front of our faces, DC has been expanding their cosmic environs.

Okay...damn...they made Crazy Quilt into a true threat. That’s cool. This is why I say that even the silly villains and characters in the hands of a skilled writer and artist can be made serviceable.

Professor Pyg and his Dollotrons were awesome additions to the Gotham villains gallery.

WTF Moments:
The Bat Lava Walker may be the coolest, most overly specific Bat tool/device/vehicle I’ve seen in many, many years.

Dammit, what did Terrifc and Batman do to Eel?

Wait a minute? Was that Cthulhu? If not, whatever DC calls it is doing a decent impersonation.

Meh / PFFT Moments:
So, everyone is hiding something. Well, at least Batman and Aquaman are. And the Blackhawks.

A lot of the Hawkman stuff, though beautifully rendered, is a twice told, at least, tale.

Gosh, Batman is sneaking around and hiding what he’s doing! I, for one, am shocked.

Artistic license is part and parcel of comic book image interpretation. But Superman doesn’t look right when Batman visits him at the Fortress of Solitude.

Birds and Bats at war forever. :/ Really? Shouldn’t they be fighting over mosquitoes? Sorry, I’m a dick. Bygones.

The Unexpected:
Mister Miracle, DC Universe locksmith, for when when the key to your ultimate macguffin was shot into the sun, by you, to keep anyone from ever opening it.

I suspected who the mysterious voice was at the end of the first chapter. But still, great reveal.

And, an explanation, of sorts, for the split between Carter/Katar/Khufu and Shiera/Shayra/Chay-ra. He walked into the darkness alone...when everything about his character’s history has been linked with her as his foil and Hath-Set as their opponent. Explains why her continuity has, though convoluted still, has become more coherent in the later modern era of comics.

Missed Opportunity:
Everyone asks how could Batman not kill the Joker after all that he’s done. What is he’s killed the Joker a hundred times, but that Joker keeps getting back up again, every time.
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Last Page Sound:
A long trek for Bruce to ultimately be blind.

Mission accomplished. This made me want to read the rest of Metal.

Author Assessment:
Excellent.

Editorial Assessment:
Excepting the bits and pieces that were included to flesh out the backstory and the hopscotching affect this engaged, this was well put together.

Knee Jerk Reaction:
really good book
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Unfortunately this was almost as confusing as I thought it would be. I guess it’s sort of the Blackhawks (and Hawkman?) against Batman, or maybe Ra’s al Ghul? As I said, even after 128 pages I was still pretty confused.

After those main stories there were a couple that I’d read in Batman, Vol. 5 or 6 I think. And then there were a couple with Nightwing and Robin going after Shawn to save her ang going up against something called Deathwing.

And, yeesh, the ending. And those last two stories had the added thing of making sense too.

So, onto Metal proper I think.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to DC Entertainment. ( )