The comics event of the summer is still shrouded in great mystery, but one thing is certain as the FORGE begins for DC Comics there are DARK DAYS ahead indeed!
Though still knee deep in the midst of it “Rebirth” a publishing-wide initiative that more closely reintegrates its more than 75 year legacy back into its storylines DC Comics has gone a step further and thrown its readership into “Dark Days”. The latest summer event launched this month in June with a premiere edition one-shot entitled Dark Days: The Forge and is the first act leading to a series of events that will have repercussions throughout the DC Comics universe.
Yes — we’ve all heard that before, more than once or twice, but with the advent success of the “event” storyline this is the publishing giants way of producing a blockbuster in print. The story will involve major players in the DC Comics universe and is propelled by a mystery at the Earth’s core that has Batman investigating, and keeping secrets from the rest of his colleagues in the Justice League, which is especially troublesome to Aquaman.
There is also an evolving threat that will be reestablishing Hawkman, Carter Hall back into the mainstream continuity. The Winged Avenger’s origins, dating back to his reincarnations as an Egyptian prince are being reexamined in the course of this story, as is the re-entry of another old favorite Plastic Man — or at least that’s who it looks like the Batman and Mr. Terrific (back from his exile to Earth-2) have been keeping “on ice” on the moon.
The covers to the first arc leading into the epic event METAL from DC Comics, DARK DAYS: THE FORGE on sale now.
Forging the Mystery
All this is going on as much of the DC Comics universe is piecing itself back together, reestablishing its legacies, after the reboot controversy of “The New 52” that wiped out and/or retconned much of the 75 year history of the heroic pantheon. Since that initiate which relaunched many of the main titles back in 2011, plenty of other historic moments in DC Comics timeline have been rudimentarily erased including the first Crisis on Infinite Earths.
When “Rebirth” was announced as the latest continuity “reboot” it began with the revelation that 10 years had been misplaced from the DC Comics continuity, but not all the characters are aware of it. Until the return of Wally West / The Flash many of the main players were completely in dark of that fact, and only recently did Barry Allen / The Flash and Batman embark on a mystery that lead them back to the “FlashPoint” that stared it all.
Now events are beginning to coalesce for our heroes, and the Batman has uncovered a new mystery that strikes at the heart of the very multiverse — the core of the very Earth in fact. Whatever is going on, it’s affecting metal — and is having a distinct affect on metals with certain mystical or supernatural properties. It’s also triggered something that Batman has kept hidden inside Superman’s Fortress of Solitude — something that looks very familiar.
The Batman convinces Mister Miracle to trip the lock to a seal compartment underneath the fortress and inside resides a pillar — a antenna of sorts — used by the Monitor to prevent his evil alter-ego the Anti-Monitor from unleashing his anti-matter wrath on the multiverse during the first Crisis. While Batman investigates the device which has come online, deep beneath the Batcave, Green Lantern follows a path that leads him to non-other than the Joker!
How all this comes together is anyone’s guess for the moment, but scribe Scott Snyder has revealed that he’s been laying down the framework for “Dark Days” ever since he started his work on Batman. Now collaborating with James Tynion IV the pair are opening the gates of what is being dubbed the “Dark Multiverse”. How our heroes will fare against what’s in store? We’ll just have to grit our teeth as the prelude to Dark Days: “Metal” begins with “The Forge”!
Dark Days: THE FORGE #1 written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV and is out now published by DC Comics.