The DC Universe is full of powerful villains that can only be fought by several superheroes. Many of them have not been seen in the movies and series so far. One of the most dangerous resembles monsters like Cthulhu.
Which villain is it about? Many creatures in the DC Universe exceed even the abilities and powers of Superman. There are interdimensional beings capable of destroying entire universes. This includes Barbatos from the Dark Multiverse, who made his debut in 2017. With him came not only a new villain to light, but a whole new level with new threats.
They are so great that not only Batman and Superman are enough to save the Earth. A whole team and a specific new metal are needed. The major comic event about this is compiled in DC Events: Batman Metal by Panini.
DC Events – Batman Metal was sent to us by Panini as an editorial review copy.
Like Cthulhu, only in the DC Universe
What is DC Events – Batman Metal about? After a fierce battle in space, the Justice League returns to Gotham City. But the city is destroyed, and a huge mountain has suddenly appeared. There, the heroes find a strange machine, and a secret organization emerges.
They reveal to the League the existence of the Dark Multiverse. This is a kind of evil version of the known multiverse, for which the divine entity Barbatos is responsible, who has existed for billions of years and has only one goal: the destruction of all universes. As a cosmic entity, it thematically resembles monsters from the Cthulhu mythos.
This evil god is firmly intertwined with Batman, who must be used as a kind of door for Barbatos to enter the normal universe. Barbatos is already more powerful than heroes like Superman, but he doesn’t come alone.
From various universes, he snatches 7 evil Batman variants, who have nothing resembling a moral code:
- The Drowned is a fusion of Batman and Aquaman
- The Dawnbreaker is a fusion of Batman and Green Lantern
- The Merciless is a Batman with the abilities of the war god Ares
- The Devastator is a fusion of Batman and Doomsday, who has already been able to kill Superman solo
- The Murder Machine is an Alfred AI that has taken over Batman
- The Red Death is a Batman with the abilities of Flash
And the most famous and dangerous of the 7 is The Batman Who Laughs. This is a Batman who inhaled Joker gas and became a sadistic villain who has his Robins on leashes.
The Batman Who Laughs acts as the leader of the evil Batman crew and visibly enjoys the fight against the heroes. He is so dangerous that Batman even resorts to the Joker to fight him.
Barbatos has a weakness
How can the superheroes even defeat Barbatos? Barbatos has a major weakness. The Nth metal is a special substance that can be used to defeat the evil god. To find it, heroes and some villains embark on various missions to locate it.
Although the entire universe is in danger, not all villains work with the Justice League, and former allies also become enemies that must first be overcome.
A battle ensues that threatens not only the fate of one Earth, but all Earths in the multiverse.
Total nonsense that is still fun
What does MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes say about DC Events – Batman Metal? Batman Metal is not only a big event, it also tries to establish a new mythology that I think doesn’t fit that well and is total nonsense in many places. Scott Snyder has previously introduced better innovations into the DC cosmos with the Court of Owls.
The designs of the new villains, especially the evil Batmans, are cool, but Batman Metal has the problem that comic events always have for me: there’s no real focus, and many of the characters don’t get any real time to shine. Only Wonder Woman really appealed to me as a character; she has strong moments and acts like the leader of the Justice League.
But: Still, such things are fun. The fights are cool, and even though much of it feels like Power Rangers, this nonsense is entertaining. I wouldn’t read such comic events regularly, but it’s also good for switching off.
With Greg Capullo, they also found a good artist who has previously worked with Scott Snyder. All characters look cool, have a certain presence, and the action is nicely highlighted because of that. I particularly liked the designs of Barbatos and The Batman Who Laughs purely visually.
They create a certain cosmic horror atmosphere and especially the evil Batman variant resembles a Hellraiser film. Even though I didn’t like the new mythology surrounding Batman, the designs fit nicely into the style of the Dark Knight.
How can I read DC Events – Batman Metal? There are many collected editions of Batman Metal. Within the DC Events
series, Panini published a hardcover edition on 24.02.2026 that delivers the main event along with background information and alternative covers in the German version. It includes the issues Dark Knights: Metal 1 to 6. Panini also provided us with this collected edition for a review.
This is a good variant that is also quite nice, although I personally am not the biggest fan of the black bar at the top. Otherwise, there is also a softcover variant for the event, without the bar.
There is also a Deluxe Edition
as a complete edition for the event, which is significantly more expensive but offers many stories before and after the event if you want more background on the Dark Multiverse.
If you want the single issues, you have to revert to the English versions, which are also available digitally on platforms like Kindle or through the subscription service of DC Infinite. You can find out more about such subscriptions here: I’m tired of waiting for a movie from Marvel and DC – Thanks to two subscriptions, I can easily read the best comics on my phone
