Written by: Peter Tomasi
Art by: Francis Manapul
Published by: DC Comics
What happens when you have the power of a god at your fingerprints?
Tomasi explores this and more in a very terrifying chapter of Dark Night: Metal with merciless. Here we get a different tone than the previous tie ins. There is a backstory for sure, but a lot of it really takes place in the here and now. The best part of this book is not the carnage that is left behind; it is the parallels that show how humans are not that different than monsters.
It is that parallel that Tomasi toys with and is ultimately what elevates Batman: The Merciless #1 from a traditional fare. He shows us that he is a master storyteller as he is able to use the current world events and intertwine them into a fantasy world in such meaningful way that sometimes it is hard to differentiate between human and monster. What makes a monster a monster? What are the limits of human endurance for injustice? Those are the key questions of this book that are answered and more.
Francis Manapul’ art is top notch. He truly is able to capture the horror that is on display, from terrified faces to the sheer demonic power Merciless wields. It is one of the main reasons why the book works as well as it does. Panels, especially in the war room where the generals are trying to decide the future of Gotham, are done so well that a sheer difference in opinion is not just seen through the word bubbles but expressions and body language. It is an extraordinary level of immersion.
Batman the Merciless continues the tradition of really good tie-ins that really give us a perspective in the minds of these nightmare versions of Batman. They are slowly getting darker and darker until we finally get to the Batman who Laughs, who if all hints are pointing at, is going to be a wicked fun ride.
