After the big success of the Dark Nights Metal event, writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo are back with Death Metal, the 2017–2018 massive follow-up with the help of James Tynion IV, Marguerite Bennett, Joshua Williamson, Peter J. Tomasi, Garth Ennis, Daniel Warren Johnson, Frank Tieri, Tony S. Daniel, Jamal Igle, Joëlle Jones, Daniel Warren Johnson, Riley Rossmo, Francesco Francavilla and more.
Here is the official synopsis: When the DC Universe is enveloped by the Dark Multiverse, the Justice League is at the mercy of the Batman Who Laughs (see the reading order dedicated to the character). Humanity struggles to survive in a hellish landscape twisted beyond recognition, while Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman have all been separated and must fight to survive.
Along the way, Wonder Woman roars across the horrifying Dark Multiverse landscape in the world’s most demented monster truck, with Swamp Thing riding shotgun! And when the Justice League launches its assault on New Apokolips, the team’s goal is to free Superman from his solar prison—but it all goes off the rails when they learn that the Man of Steel is gone for good thanks to the Anti-Life Equation.
What to read before Dark Nights: Death Metal?
When the Earth is enveloped by the Dark Multiverse, the Justice League is at the mercy of the Batman Who Laughs. But how did we end up in this situation? The following is a short guide through the Dark Multiverse to help you better understand the events taking place in Death Metal:
- Dark Nights: Metal – Obviously, the previous event is a must-read. Here is the full reading order.
- Justice League: No Justice – A miniseries dealing with the consequences of the Dark Nights: Metal Event.
- Justice League by Scott Snyder – Most importantly, the last storyline (Justice League #27-39), aka the “Justice/Doom War” storyline.
- The Batman Who Laughs – Discover what happens to The Batman Who Laughs and what he’s up to after Metal. For more, see our Batman Who Laughs Reading Guide.
- Batman/Superman Vol. 1: Who are the Secret Six? – Part of The Year of The Villain. Batman teams up with the Man of Steel to track down and help those who have been infected by a ravenous, mutated Joker virus.
- Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen – Conclusion of The Year of The Villain. Spinning out of the “Justice/Doom War” in Justice League and the epic “Infected” arc from Batman/Superman, DC’s two top villains face off in a battle royal.
Dark Nights: Death Metal Comics Reading Order, the Collected Editions
Dark Nights Death Metal in One Big Omnibus
Join Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman and they make one last stand against Perpetua and her army of Dark Knights! 968 pages!
- Dark Nights: Death Metal Omnibus
Collects Dark Nights: Death Metal #1-7, Dark Nights: Death Metal Guidebook #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal Infinite Hour Exxxtreme! #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal Legends of the Dark Knights #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal Multiverse’s End #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal Rise of the New God #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal The Last 52: War of the Multiverses #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal The Multiverse Who Laughs #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal The Secret Origin #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal Trinity Crisis #1, and Justice League #53-57.
Dark Nights Death Metal in Deluxe and Absolute
The main event has also been collected in Deluxe Edition (an oversized hardcover comic reprint format, the height of an Omnibus but slimmer) and in Absolute Edition (a larger, slipcased edition with a few extra content).
- Dark Nights: Death Metal Deluxe Edition
Collects Dark Nights: Death Metal #1-7. - Absolute Dark Nights: Death Metal
This oversized Absolute edition collects the seven-issue Dark Nights: Death Metal series and features behind-the-scenes art from Greg Capullo, original pencil pages, and a brand-new introduction from Scott Snyder!
Dark Nights: Death Metal, all the trade paperbacks
- Dark Nights: Death Metal (paperback)
Collects Dark Nights: Death Metal #1-7. - Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Darkest Knight
Collects Dark Nights: Death Metal: Legends of the Dark Knights #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal: Guidebook #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal: Trinity Crisis #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal: Speed Metal #1, and Dark Nights: Death Metal: Multiverse’s End #1. - Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Multiverse Who Laughs
Collects Dark Nights: Death Metal Infinite Hour Exxxtreme! #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal Robin King #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal Rise of the New God #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal The Multiverse Who Laughs #1, and Dark Nights: Death Metal The Secret Origin #1. - Dark Nights: Death Metal: War of the Multiverses
Collects Dark Nights: Death Metal The Last 52: War of the Multiverse #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal The Last Stories of the DCU #1. - Justice League: Death Metal
Collects Justice League #53-57.
Dark Nights: Death Metal Reading Order, An issue by issue Reading Order
Find all of the issues in digital here.
- Dark Nights: Death Metal #1
- Dark Nights: Death Metal #2
- Dark Nights: Death Metal – Legends of the Dark Knights
- Dark Nights: Death Metal #3
- Dark Nights: Death Metal Guidebook
- Dark Nights: Death Metal – Trinity Crisis
- Justice League #53 (Doom Metal Part 1)
- Dark Nights: Death Metal – Speed Metal
- Dark Nights: Death Metal – Multiverse’s End | to end in Dark Nights: Death Metal – Rise of the New God.
- Justice League #54 (Doom Metal Part 2)
- Dark Nights: Death Metal – Robin King
- Dark Nights: Death Metal #4
- Justice League #55 (Doom Metal Part 3)
- Dark Nights: Death Metal – Rise of the New God. The follow up the Multiverse’s End tie-in.
- Justice League #56 (Doom Metal Part 4)
- Dark Nights: Death Metal – Infinite Hours Exxxtreme!
- Justice League #57 (Doom Metal Part 5)
- Dark Nights: Death Metal #5
- Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Multiverse Who Laughs
- Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Secret Origin
- Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Last Stories of the DCU
- Dark Nights: Death Metal #6
- Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Last 52: War of the Multiverses
- Dark Nights: Death Metal #7
After Dark Nights: Death Metal
Once you finish reading Dark Nights: Death Metal #7, it’s almost the end. Two one-shot issues pick up on threads from this event:
After Dark Nights: Death Metal, the DC Universe goes into the future, not the Dark Universe, with the “Future State” (full reading order here), then to the Infinite Frontier era!
