[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Tyler Kirkham & Mikel Janin
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
A METAL tie-in! “BATS OUT OF HELL” finale! it’s the Justice League versus the Dark Knights! FIGHT! The Dark Knights have taken a fallen Justice League to the frightening castle of [REDACTED] inside the possessed Gotham City, where they will be prepared as a sacrifice! The Justice League’s only hope is Cyborg, whose return from the Dark Multiverse has changed him forever!
Positives
This issue wraps up the “Bats Out Of Hell” tie-in to Dark Nights: Metal, which has seen the Justice League beaten and captured by the Dark Knights – a group of alternate Earth Batmen. But one Leaguer manages to fight back and free the others: Cyborg.
In this issue, Cyborg gets his turn in the spotlight by saving his teammates. He does this by gaining a connection to the Multiverse from a Mother Box. This power raises some questions: what abilities does he derive from this power? Is this a permanent bump to his power set, or just a temporary development that will be reversed by the end of Metal?
As a bit of a surprise, Cyborg is helped by the Teen Titan Raven. Even though they have no shared history in the current continuity, seeing them greet each other like old friends was a nice homage to the old Titans continuity.
This issue also heightens the tension for the following chapters of Metal. Cyborg comes out of this issue with newfound abilities and a plan for dealing with Barbatos and his Dark Nights. But we also discover that the apparent victory of the League in this issue seems to be in accordance with the Batman Who Laugh’s deeper plans.
Negatives
Seeing Raven and Cyborg together does make me wish that Rebirth could at least restore some of Cyborg’s history with the Titans, but it seems that this is not the case, and that Cyborg’s New 52 origin still stands in the Rebirth era.
I wish that DC had not rewritten Cyborg into the Justice League’s origin story. I don’t feel that having him in the team is a mistake. He makes a great addition to the team. It’s just that having him in the League from its inception negates his entire history with the Teen Titans/Titans. However, this issue proves that he is undoubtedly an asset to the team.
There is also one minor point of confusion about the issue. Obviously the story has changed since the solicitation text was written, but I wonder if we’ll ever find out what was “redacted”. What and where is this castle, and why is it so frightening. Perhaps we will see this answered in the main Metal storyline.
Verdict
This and the previous issue of Justice League have proven to be an exciting interlude during the changeover of creative teams. I can hardly wait to see what the new creators have in store for us in the upcoming issues.
