Batman: The Red Death #1 Review

Writer: Joshua Williamson / Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico / DC Comics Dark Nights: Metal has set the stage and things are finally in motion. We start off getting a liiiitle better understanding of just where we’re going with this story. If you look at the big picture, you’ll see that this is the birth of the dark multiverse. The beginning of a new wave of evil that shouldn’t even exist. And if you look at the micro level, you’ll see that this story is about a man who has been tortured, manipulated and played his entire life. So yeah, if you couldn’t tell by the cover art or every synopsis about this Metal series, Batman has been the catalyst for this massive scale takeover. (You can get the backstory in our previous reviews…and you should because they’re fuckin’ great.) Now, Batman has transformed from the catalyst of this mass scale event to the vehicle mowing down Earth’s greatest team. I can’t even tell you how perfectly Williamson crafts Batman and The Flash to compliment each other. They are polar opposites with Bruce’s brooding, dark outlook and Barry’s compassionate, hopeful take on life. Yet, they are mirror images of men trying to serve the cities that molded them, honor those they lost and save the ones they love.

Maaaaannnnnn, when I tell you the artistry of this issue attains near God tier status, I kid you not. The Flash is drawn so beautifully amongst so much chaos that it feels almost kinetic. The hunt for Flash’s speed sees Batman resort to all kinds of t…