Dark Nights: Metal

"Dark Nights: Metal" is a 2017–2018 monthly crossover comic book storyline published by the comic book publishing company DC Comics, which consisted of a core eponymous miniseries, and a number of other tie-in books. Premiering in June 2017 and lasting until April 2018, the plot was written by Scott Snyder, with art by Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia. The story closely links with Snyder and Capullo's run on Batman during The New 52 DC relaunch.

The story involves Batman discovering a Dark Multiverse that exists beneath the core DC multiverse. It is revealed that both multiverses are connected through mysterious metals that Batman has encountered over the years. His investigations eventually result in him releasing seven evil versions of himself from the Dark Multiverse, led by the dark god known as Barbatos, who plans to unleash darkness across every Earth.

A soundtrack featuring songs inspired by the graphic novel was released as an exclusive vinyl picture disc on September 28, 2018. The six-track EP features heavy metal songs by Jerry Cantrell, Chino Moreno, Brann Dailor, Maria Brink, Alexis Krauss and Jason Aalon Butler.

DC Comics first announced the details of "Dark Nights: Metal" at Fan Expo Dallas in April 2017. The company revealed that the event would feature the reunion of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo after their widely acclaimed New 52 Batman run. The series, which debuted in June 2017, is the culmination of their Batman story arcs, which includes The Court of Owls, Death of the Family, Zero Year, and Endgame. Snyder stated, "I've been writing Metal as long as I've been writing Batman."

The idea of creating a dark multiverse came from Snyder, who was inspired by watching the science documentary television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey with his five-year-old son. He became fascinated with the concept of dark matter, prompting him to question "What if the Multiverse essentially has these 52 universes, but has almost this ocean of possibility, this ocean of almost reactive matter beneath it that's like a Dark Multiverse". Aside the seven featured Dark Knights in the finished comic book, Snyder planned more dark Batmen that got ultimately cut; these included a Punisher-esque Batman, a dark magic-wielding Batman, a Batman who grew up as a patient in Arkham Asylum after being accused of his parents' murder, a Batman who merged with his whole rogues gallery and one who merged with Gotham City itself.

Dark Nights: Metal also marks the first appearance of Dream of the Endless from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (1989–1996) in the post-New 52 DC Universe. According to Snyder, he wanted to make the story unforgettable and have a character help guide the superheroes through the unknown. When he realized Dream would be a good fit, he reached out to Gaiman for permission to use him. "I was so excited... [Gaiman] couldn't have been more generous", he said. "It's literally one of the best moments of my career, to be able to get to write a character that meant so much to me growing up and still does".

In June 2017, DC announced seven one-shot comics that tie into the story of "Dark Nights: Metal": Batman: The Red Death, Batman: The Murder Machine, Batman: The Dawnbreaker, Batman: The Drowned, Batman: The Merciless, Batman: The Devastator, and The Batman Who Laughs. DC stated, "Each one-shot story spotlights a different, corrupted version of Batman spawned from the Dark Multiverse to wreak havoc on Earth."

The following month, DC announced Batman: Lost written by Scott Snyder with art by Olivier Coipel and Bengal. Snyder states, "the single issue story will strand Batman alone in the Dark Multiverse, where he will face his greatest fears."