Dark Nights Death Metal The Last 52 War of the Multiverses #1
DC Comics
Written by: Joshua Williamson, Scott Snyder; Magdalene Visaggio; James Tynion IV; Kyle Higgins; Regin Sawyer; Che Grayson; Marguerite Bennett; Matthew Rosenberg; Justin Jordan
Art by: Dexter Soy & Scott Koblish; Paul Pelletier & Norm Rapmund; Alex Maleev; Scott Kolins; Alitha Martinez & Mark Morales; Pop Man; Inaki Miranda; Rob Guiilory; Mike Henderson
Colors by: Veronica Gandini; Adriano Lucas; Matt Hollingsworth; John Kalisz; Emilio Lopez; Chris Sotomayor; Eva de la Cruz; Marissa Louise; Adriano Lucas
Letters by: Tom Napolitano; Carlos M. Mangual; Rob Leigh; Troy Peteri; Andworld Design; Dave Sharp
In case you couldn’t tell by the number of people involved in the production of Dark Nights Death Metal The Last 52 War of the Multiverses #1, there’s a lot going on with this Death Metal one-off.
While Joshua Williamson and Scott Snyder handle the main story in the issue — which is focused on Wonder Woman and furthering the greater Dark Nights: Death Metal story — the other eight writers involved provide us with glimpses of the battles within the greater battle. Of the eight short stories, three are outstanding, three are good and two were forgettable. Combine those with some more Wonder Woman as she leads the War of the Multiverses, and you get another quality Death Metal one-off.
As for whether or not this is mandatory reading for Death Metal readers: you can get away with skipping Dark Nights Death Metal The Last 52 War of the Multiverses #1 if you’re trying to keep things simple. Dark Nights Death Metal The Last 52 War of the Multiverses #1 adds more depth to the story, but there’s no new addition or revelation. This one-off more about giving readers a greater look into this epic battle.
Having said that, if you’ve been skipping all the one-offs because Snyder has made it easy to stick to the main line and nothing else, Dark Nights Death Metal The Last 52 War of the Multiverses #1 is a good one-off to get.
First off, you open up the book and get smacked with 10 pages of Dexter Soy’s artwork. That alone makes the book worth your time. After that, you see what Lois Lane, John Constantine and Batman are dealing with, among others. (The three “outstanding” short stories I mentioned earlier may or may not be centered around those three characters.) We also see an alternate universe Teen Titans group that will definitely leave a lasting impression.
There’s a short story in here for everyone. You won’t regret picking this up if you’ve enjoyed most of what Dark Nights: Death Metal has had to offer so far.