Full spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal #7 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, FCO Plascencia, Jonathan Glapion, Yanick Paquette, Bryan Hitch, Nathan Fairbairn, Alex Sinclair, and Tom Napolitano
The final battle that takes place in Dark Nights: Death Metal #7 is an epic and brutal affair, but there is still plenty of time for some humor along the way, especially in the fight to take down a particularly nasty version of Superman. A powered-up Wonder Woman takes on the Darkest Knight. The real Dark Knight, now a Black Lantern, leads the Bat Family and villains like Joker and Deathstroke against an army of feral Robins. All the while, Superman fights an incredibly dark version of himself with the help of some odd allies like Bizarro, Lex Luthor, and Brainiac.
Seeing such unlikely team-ups between hated enemies is a common sight in the last few issues of Death Metal. But given just how dire the stakes are, they are more than appropriate. "Kill-All," the Dark Multiverse version of Superman who shows up for the final battle, certainly warrants a team of heavy hitters to be taken down. Part of the reason Superman is so powerful is because of his exposure to Earth's yellow sun, which acts almost like a battery to his Kryptonian physiology. Kill-All is what happens when a solar-powered being ends up melding with a literal star, as he passed through a cosmic storm as his escape pod headed to Earth. This creates a Superman with a hunger for burning human flesh.
Kill-All is a grimdark villain born out of a grimdark event. And while a god-like cosmic cannibal is certainly no laughing matter, that doesn't stop Connor Kent from getting a laugh in at his expense. As Kill-All has the core of a literal star inside of him, Superman makes a point to hit his evil counterpart with hydrogen and helium, as that would collapse the star. Kill-All shrugs off the attack, making a rather unfortunate comment that leads to one of the more disgusting one-liners to come out of superhero comics. As he faces down the heroes, Kill-All proclaims, "Now I exist to reclaim all matter. I am the final star. Come into me!" This prompts Connor to reply, "Uh, gross?"
It makes for some pretty disturbing imagery and for a raunchy moment of levity in the midst of the one of the most intense battles in an already intense storyline. Unfortunately, it doesn't last, as Kill-All only gets stronger. Superman quickly tackles the monster into space when the situation starts looking particularly dire for his allies. Ultimately, Kill-All is finally defeated by an unlikely act, a heroic sacrifice on the part of Lex Luthor, of all people.
Cosmic Cannibal Superman and his unfortunate phrasing aren't the only moment of levity in Death Metal's final battle either. When instructed to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to Harley Quinn, Jarro responds, "I don't have a #$%* mouth, I only have a—." Before he gets a chance to finish his undoubtedly disgusting sentence, he is cut off by Harley, who desperately shouts, "Alive! I'm still alive!"
Little pieces of humor can be a godsend in stories that are heavy on doom and gloom, which is something Death Metal has dealt out in spades. It just goes to show how important a throw-away line, like Connor's dirty quip or Jarro's anatomy joke, can be in establishing a tone. As much as MCU flicks get flack for having lots of jokes, they're an important part of why those movie are so successful. Overly dark tones can make some stories a slag to read through. As fun as Death Metal is, it's probably a good idea that the brakes are being pumped on a third entry to the series.
January 10, 2021 at 08:45PM
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DC’s Apocalyptic Superman Battle Includes Death Metal’s Grossest Joke - Screen Rant
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