DC’s first big event in the Rebirth world is from the minds and talents of Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo. Here’s a quick take on the first issue.

 

This issue seems a bit familiar. It reminds me of Grant Morrison’s The Return of Bruce Wayne. That’s a good thing, even if its the same character. Doing the same thing is frowned upon, sure but its the things that Snyder does differently when playing with the history of Bruce Wayne that makes this a lot more interesting than just another potential flashback heavy story.

This is certainly the most ambitious DC story Scott Snyder has written since his tenure with the company began. And considering this story has a finite amount of issues (excluding the tie-ins), I’m anxious to see how the normally self contained writer stretches his creative muscle to run wild through the DC Universe.

I’ve gone too long without mentioning the art, from the consistent team of Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO. Not their best. Capullo’s style is certainly not the typical house look of most superhero comics at DC, and while I certainly embrace being different (especially in event series like this), some pages feel more rough than I’ve come to expect from these folks.

Right from the start, we see the Justice League in a foreign setting with the typical power inhibitor tropes but somehow Snyder makes it feel fresh. Maybe its the combo of finally seeing Greg Capullo draw these characters or just how well and how quickly Snyder creates the atmosphere of this War World. Mongul feels like a threat and he doesn’t do a damn thing! In fact, he runs like a coward and yet, I loved it. Snyder seems to have a good grasp of every member and that’s confronting, because now the ball can get rolling and we won’t have to worry about him learning as we go along. The problem with this scene is just the weird angles Capullo takes on some of the fighting. If it weren’t for the fantastic dialogue, I’d be really confused as to what was going on.

Scott does kill this scene, but he does the typical first issue (and typical Scott Snyder) problem and hits you with way too much exposition. Thankfully all that Hawkman talk leads to Batman escaping a crazy Red Tornado on the back of a Dino-Ostrich. Hilariously cool. That cliffhanger though? That cliffhanger that will surely set the internet ablaze? Meh. I have no attachment with Neil Gaiman’s Vertigo work and thus any intended excitement that was to be gleaned from that is lost on me. C’est la vie. Five more issues of this series and I’m really looking to see the true scope of this multiverse spanning story.

 

Dark Nights: Metal #1 earns a 3.5 out of 5