Originally Posted by
Hcmarvel
Okay, I followed y'all's advice and was selective on which tie ins to read. Read Speed Metal, Robin King, Trinity Crisis and Last Stories along with Death Metal 1-5.
Uh...this is really, really bad. Like....bad
Few qualifiers - I would consider myself a pretty big Scott Snyder fan. His Batman run was excellent. And I liked the original DC Metal series. it didn't make a ton of sense but it was a fun throw things at the wall series and the art was amazing. I will admit I had trouble with his Justice League, I truly hated the ending, but I understand it was setting up this series. But this series makes no goddamned sense. I've been reading comics since i was four years old (I'm 35 now). I think I've read every previous crossover at the Big Two I would like to think I have a decent grasp on the nonsense science, plot devices, crazy twists and energies of superhero stories. But this series has finally broken my brain. I have so many questions:
1. Do people actually like the Batman who Laughs? Is that what I'm missing? He's actually popular? Because he's just the worst. A horrible design (Cennobite meets Spawn meets Venom). But he's like..actually popular?
2. He's so popular that people now like this Robin King thing? With dead bodies being put in Flash rings? This is what DC Comics is now?
3. What did I miss in between the end of Snyder's Justice League and the start of issue one of Death Metal? How did Batman die? What the hell is going on with Flash having Dr. Manhattan powers? And why does the Mobius Chair matter? Why was Wonder Woman working with the evil Batmen? I got that she was being blackmailed with the Amazons at risk but where are they? Why haven't the amazons been killed if she's now trying to fight the evil Batmen?
4. What the hell Crisis/anti-crisis/dark multiverse energy? How are they different? How does it work? Who has access to it?. How is it wielded?
5. Why are there random pages in the main mini that have ugly, hard to see art with just text boxes over it?
6. Where did the Justice Society come from? Why does Jay say he'll never forget Wally "again"? Have we seen him in the Rebirth era and I missed it? Is this from Doomsday Clock? I feel like I would've known if they had reintroduced the Justice Society in the main books but I'll admit I may have missed it. But really, WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
7. Why is the Speed Force energy being used up? Who is doing that? The Batman who Laughs I assume? Is that in a Flash tie in or we're just supposed to accept that dropped bit of info as part of his machinations?
8. Who is the Dr. Manhattan Bruce Wayne the BWL puts his brain into? Just some other Dr. Manhattan character?
9. What happened to the big Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman robot that debuted after issue 2? In Issue 3 it's just destroyed on page one. We just didn't see what happened with that? That's how you end an issue cliffhanger?
10. Why are they all friends with Harley Quinn? Didn't she kill like...LOTS of children in her New 52 Villain issue that Matt Kindt wrote? Like...a lot? They're just cool with that now because she's popular?
11. How are all the characters getting to all the other earths in Multiverse's End? The Carrier I guess? When did they get that?
12. What exactly happened with Superboy Prime? How did he and Wonder Woman save Batman and SUperman from the Crisis of Infinite Earths or Final Crisis worlds? What Earths were those? I thought they were traveling to the past to those events but those were different Earth's where those events are just happening in perpetuity?
13. Why is Proxima not getting any development if she's the big bad?
14. If Wally West has Doctor Manhattan powers why isn't he more powerful?
15. Why has Wally West been forgiven for killing people in Heroes in Crisis? He's just a hero again?
16. What was that moment in issue five of Death Metal where Batman admits he's dead and Superman says there is no changing him back? What was the reveal there? What were we supposed to take away from that? Why was that played like a big confession scene? It didn't change anything
17. On a structural level, why are some of these tie-ins not part of the main series? What's the advantage of that? Trinity Crisis was an essential part of the story it seemed to me and yet it was its own one-shot at a higher price? Why wasn't the main mini just 8 parts?
I'll freely admit the answers to some of these questions might be in the mini and I missed them, or in tie-ins that I haven't read, but I find this just bewildering.
I. Hated. This. All the spectacular Capullo art in the world couldn't save this nonsense. I am shocked it's not a bigger story what a mess this miniseries is. Is this fallout of Didio's firing, DC changing their 5G plans and Doomsday Clock coming out so late and being such a dud? Is that why this is such a mess?