Page 45 Review by Jonathan
""D.C." You wondered what it means, but think about it Bobo... brother...
""Detective Chimp."
"We've watched your life. Immortality has its rewards. We got this fixed back in 2067. The 53rd world is here to help. So... ready to save the Universe, Bobo?"
So that's what DC means... And obviously Bobo is, now he's not losing his marbles. The concluding issue in this collection, DARK KNIGHTS RISING: THE WILD HUNT #1, is a glorious rip-snorting ruckus of MULTIVERSITY-inspired madness featuring everyone's favourite simian Sherlock. Errr... what do you mean you've never heard of him? You'll be telling me you thought DC stood for something else next.
As I was reading this, I thought it felt very much like a Morrison-penned portion of malarkey, so wasn't remotely surprised to find him co-credited on this issue. No idea of precisely how much he was involved, or if it is purely to acknowledge the use of several of his concepts and characters, but it has the feel of being touched by Morrison at least... which is the typically rum and uncanny sensation you would expect.
The other seven issues: BATMAN: THE RED DEATH #1, BATMAN: THE DEVASTATOR #1, BATMAN: THE MERCILESS #1, BATMAN: THE MURDER MACHINE #1, BATMAN: THE DROWNED #1, BATMAN: THE DAWNBREAKER #1, THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 are essentially mad What If? - or perhaps I should say Evil Elseworld - mash-ups each featuring a Batman, and in one case a Batwoman, from an Earth in the Multiversity already lost to the dark, who has somehow merged or blended or become corrupted with someone else, those unfortunates being: Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aqua Woman, Green Lantern and just for good measure, the Joker.
So, in other words, these are the origin stories of all the bad guys deployed by the demon Barbatos in the main DARK NIGHTS: METAL series. These creation cameos are all, I must add, fabulously good fun and tortuously and frankly quite sadistically well thought out. So whilst you absolutely do not need this volume to help you understand the metallic mayhem, I can certainly recommend it.
