Warning: this article contains spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal #5!
When writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo decided to create a sequel to their apocalyptic epic Dark Nights: Metal, the duo knew they would have to crank up the level of chaotic whimsy even higher than before, and that’s exactly what they did in Dark Nights: Death Metal. Introducing a whole new army of Nightmare Batmen from the Dark Multiverse, Dark Nights: Death Metal forces DC’s heroes and villains to battle against of the scariest (and strangest) incarnations of the Batman, including one whose soul is fused with a city-sized castle!
First appearing in the pages of Dark Nights: Metal, the Dark Multiverse is described as an ocean of possibility, an “anti-reality” comprised of the greatest hopes and worst fears of those living in the real world. It’s a menagerie of nightmare Earths, and in many of these twisted timelines Batman not only exists, but is often the core cause of whatever evil has befallen the world. And in one particularly bizarre hellscape, an elderly Bruce Wayne decided to become the ultimate guardian of Gotham city... by becoming the city itself. With all his allies dead and his son Damian failing in the role of Batman, Gotham devolved into total anarchy. Using ancient blood magic, Batman sacrificed Damian to perform a ritual that would bind his soul to the very foundation of his beloved city.
Brought to Earth Prime by the Batman Who Laughs, this especially creepy Dark Knight served a unique purpose for the invading forces from the Dark Multiverse - he would act as their very base of operations by transforming his brick and concrete body into the massive "Castle Bat." Up until Dark Nights: Death Metal #5, Castle Bat was the ultimate defensive measure against the surviving members of Earth Prime’s resistance fighters. But when the Batman Who Laughs (now imbued with godlike power) needed to distract the Justice League, he ordered Castle Bat to go on the offensive, and the living city transformed into a kaiju-sized monster.
Utilizing every material and element found within Gotham City, Castle Bat easily took down each member of the League. For Superman, it was red sun particles courtesy of Gotham's astrophysics lab. For the true Batman, it was a cell made of inertron, a durable metal kept in the Batcave. Even Wonder Woman and Swamp Thing weren't immune to Castle Bat's attacks, since Batman's Golden Age supernatural villain, the Mad Monk, once had a lair full of magical items hidden within the streets of Gotham. Ultimately, it took a fortress to kill a fortress, when Lex Luthor arrived in the Hall of Doom. Blasting Castle Bat in the heart with a modified Brainiac weapon, Lex transferred the corrupted Batman's consciousness into a snow globe, which was promptly smashed by Harley Quinn.
In an industry saturated with huge, world-ending events, it can be hard for comic book publishers to make their massive, line-wide story arcs stand out. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo know how to draw in an audience, especially when it comes to stories involving Bruce Wayne. Even though Dark Nights: Death Metal can get pretty heady, its constant barrage of alternate universe Batmen not only serves to showcase visual and narrative flair, but also offers insight into all the different facets that make up who Batman is as a character. Every Dark Batman is a critique of the Dark Knight - in this case, suggesting his love for Gotham is so pathological he could conceivably choose it over his own son. Who knows what other exotic Batmen readers will get to see before the event's finale?