Written by: Frank Tieri
Art by: Riccardo Federici
Published by: DC Comics
The second standalone issue of Dark Nights Specials is doing what Red Death set up. It is another origin story; and that is a good thing!
Since these characters are looking to shape up the Earth our heroes inhabit it is important to know where these dangers are coming from. And yes they come from a different dimension and a different world; but where they truly come from is from the anguish and despair of one’s heart. It is that internal that drives the antagonists of the Metal story and it is a way to humanize them.
Frank Tieri uses Batman as a catalyst here as he is truly one that suffered the most in DC universe, first from the loss of his parents and then the further physical and mental anguish that has been applied to him. In this issue Batman loses Alfred as well and goes on a mission to bring him back in any shape or form that he can. Other members of the League assist him especially Cyborg with creation of an AI version of Alfred. Things take turn from there as it is all playing on Batman’s psyche.
Riccardo Federici’s art is sufficient here, never really pops as much the previous One-Shot with Red Death, but there are several fantastic moments between Batman and Cyborg that elevated this to a book worth reading. It is not that Federici’s art is bad; far from it it just did not fit the narrative as some other artists could have fit in.
Murder Machine is a fun story and most importantly it does not feel boring as some of the fill ins can sometimes feel. Ultimately it does feel like an important story tied to Metal and in that sense it succeeds in what it is trying to accomplish. One can hope that all of these iterations of Batman are not going to end with Metal; or at least will be important crossroads in Bruce Wayne’s view of the situations that he faces in the future.
As it stands it is a fun book and it is recommended, even though it did not have a same type of impact as Red Death standalone.
