With Death Metal reaching its climax, the Darkest Knight’s plans for the multiverse callback to the events of a classic Joker storyline.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia & Tom Napolitano, on sale now.
Originally, it seemed that the Justice League and the heroes of the DC multiverse would be at the mercy of Perpetua. However, following Wonder Woman’s decision to kill the Batman Who Laughs, the door was opened for a much more heinous evil known as the Darkest Knight. Using a defunct body of a Dr. Manhattan from the Dark Multiverse, the Batman-Joker hybrid gave himself the power to control the forces of nature. Now, as he battles Perpetua to decide the fate of the multiverse and a glimpse into his own vision for reality, it seems his plan shares many similarities with a classic storyline featuring a madman with the powers to manipulate reality: “Emperor Joker”.
Hailing from the Dark Multiverse, the Batman Who Laughs is the ultimate realization of Batman’s worst fear, his complete and utter corruption by his most feared enemy. When Barbatos attacked with his Dark Knights, the heroes learned the Dark Multiverse was the manifestation of all their fears and greatest nightmares. However, this dark reflection lacked the reality of the brighter multiverse. In attaining the powers of a god, the Darkest Knight plans to ensure that the only multiverse is one of evil, horror and despair, creating the Multiverse Who Laughs.
Back when the multiverse still had some semblance of order, Mister Mxyzptlk had become tired of his usual routine with Superman. Deciding to raise the stakes, he attempted to give a small portion of his powers to the Clown Prince of Crime, interested in the jokes that could be unleashed. Unfortunately, the fifth-dimensional imp was tricked into giving the Joker almost all of his power. Declaring himself “Emperor Joker”, the Gotham villain rewrote reality in an instant, transforming classic heroes into mere jokes and imprisoning any that could stop his reign.
With all this power, Joker’s most horrific action was his repeated murder of Batman in a variety of ways, resurrecting him immediately after he was killed. With such havoc, Joker’s actions threatened to break reality, leaving only an empty void in its place. Ultimately, it was Joker’s innate desire to continue his never-ending battle with Batman, therefore having to keep him alive, that led him to inadvertently return the powers of Mister Mxyzptlk. Yet, for a short time, the DC universe was changed into the plaything of a madman.