Warning: contains spoilers for Dark Knights: Death Metal Trinity Crisis #1!
The Batman Who Laughs, aka The Darkest Knight, just rewrote the events of DC’s three major Crises in the Dark Multiverse, and Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman have a front row seat to these horrible new realities. Through the events of Dark Knights: Death Metal, the Batman Who Laughs gained the powers of Dr. Manhattan and created three worlds wherein DC’s major Crises (Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, and Final Crisis) are constantly taking place, generating endless “Crisis Energy.” With all of this power, the Batman Who Laughs hopes to recreate everything in his own demented image.
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In the past, DC’s Crisis events have each been huge crossovers that were used to alter DC continuity. The first of the three, Crisis on Infinite Earths, created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez in 1985, saw DC’s heroes come together to defeat the Anti-Monitor, a being of immense power who wanted to destroy the universe. The gigantic battle resulted in the collapse of the DC Multiverse into a single DC Universe. The second event, Infinite Crisis, created by Geoff Johns and Phil Jimenez in 2005, again saw DC’s heroes come together to foil the evil machinations of Alexander Luthor and Superboy-Prime. Through the actions of these villains, however, DC’s Multiverse was reestablished. Lastly, in 2008 came Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis. This event saw Darkseid try to take control of everyone on Earth and eventually allowed for the heroes to begin traveling through the Multiverse.
In Dark Knights: Death Metal Trinity Crisis #1, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman split up and enter each of the “Crisis Worlds” in an attempt to harvest energy from them. Wonder Woman tells Batman and Superman that they have to get close to the events’ major villains in order to collect their crisis energy. Batman is the first to see what the loss of a Crisis Event looks like as he enters a world in which the Anti-Monitor has won Crisis on Infinite Earths. He is quickly captured by a gray liquid which materializes into the Anti-Monitor, a being which – in this reality – has destroyed the universe and consumed all matter.
As this happens, Superman and Wonder Woman run into similar situations. Superman arrives in Final Crisis to find that the heroes have fallen to Darkseid and that he rules the world with an iron fist. Wonder Woman is attacked immediately upon entering Infinite Crisis and she comes face to face with Superboy-Prime. Although Wonder Woman puts it together fairly quickly, Superboy-Prime decides to explain anyway, saying that on each of these Crisis Worlds, the heroes lose again and again. Things are looking fairly grim for DC’s Trinity as any chance of escape looks slim. If anyone can survive these worlds though, it’s these three heroes. As the other heroes are out on their own quests to save the world, Dark Knights: Death Metal Trinity Crisis #1 certainly ramps up the stakes, and Snyder is sure to keep the surprises coming.
Dark Knights: Death Metal Trinity Crisis #1, by Scott Snyder, Francis Manapul, and Ian Herring, is available now.
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