As the fate of the DC Multiverse hangs in the balance during Dark Nights: Death Metal, Superman’s greatest foes can save the day.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal – Infinite Hour Exxxtreme #1, by Frank Tieri, Becky Cloonan, Sam Humphries, Tyler Kirkham, Rags Morales, Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Arif Prianto, Andrew Dalhouse, Chris Sotomayor, Dave Sharpe and Rob Leigh, on sale now.
The DC crossover event Dark Nights: Death Metal puts the fate of the entire DC Multiverse in the balance, as reality unravels in the face of a cosmic duel between the Darkest Knight and Perpetua. With the heroes far outclassed, things are looking exceedingly grim for the heroes. And now, it looks like the Multiverse’s salvation might not come from its usual heroic icons but from a much different source: Three of Superman’s most powerful villains. And more than just a shot at redemption, each of these figures has a very specific reason for wanting to topple the Darkest Knight and Perpetua to save the day.
For Lex Luthor, a strong sense of revenge is fueling his drive to join up with the Death Metal iteration of the Justice League and assist them on their mission to dismantle Perpetua’s throne. Prior to the crossover, Luthor had been Perpetua’s loyal vassal, helping her rise to power, before being betrayed and replaced by the Batman Who Laughs. Beyond helping the Justice League free the Legion of Doom from the throne and cut off Perpetua’s major power source, Luthor is secretly working with Lobo to obtain the mythical Death Metal from the far reaches of the cosmos.
Luthor’s plan appears to also involve his Legion of Doom teammate Brainiac, who had been imprisoned in Perpetua’s throne since the start of Death Metal. Similar to Luthor, Brainiac is also driven by revenge after being betrayed by Perpetua, with his technology repurposed to construct her throne as he became a significant part of it. Now, the newly free Brainiac tracks down Lobo and briefs him not only the importance of Death Metal — after being quickly humiliated by its reality-shaping powers — but also how the key to saving the Multiverse may lie in Lobo’s Czarnian blood, setting the stage for an unlikely team-up between the Coluan and Main Man.