'Dark Nights: Death Metal': 5 of the most intriguing locations on the new, warped DCU interactive map
Spoilers for 'Dark Nights: Death Metal' #1
'Dark Nights: Death Metal' has seen the DC Universe transform into a nightmarish world ruled by hundreds of variant Batmans from the Dark Multiverse. It is a world where the familiar is warped into the worst possible versions of itself, and split into three continents shaped recognizably like the Bat-symbol. DC has released an interactive map of this new world, revealing significant details about this strange new DCU. We take a look at the top 5 most intriguing places and what they might mean for the series going forward.
1. Castle Bat
At the head of this Bat-shaped DCU lies Gotham. This area is ruled by the Batman Who Laughs, who transformed the entire continent into a Gotham of his own making. The city stretches on for "hundreds of miles" and contains no human life. Joker Dragons patrol its skies, burning anyone who comes close. At the heart of this continent is Castle Bat — a version of Batman that became a sentient city, and now serves as the headquarters for the various Dark Batmen under the Batman Who Laughs' control. According to the map, "This is the beating heart of the Metalverse."
2. City of Mystery
Just below the continent of Gotham is the Hellscape, where the Batmage tore open the gates of Hell to introduce what is "literally Hell on Earth." There is one pocket of safety, however — the City of Mystery. With the Tower of Fate at its center, the city is described as being "haunted by the ghosts of generations of the world's most powerful magicians, and untouched by hellfire." It may be the one point of refuge for the remaining heroes of the Metalverse — assuming they can make their way there.
3. Valley of the Rainbow Rings
A graveyard for thousands of Lantern Corpsmen, from across the emotional spectrum. Green Lanterns, Yellow Lanterns, Red Lanterns, Blue, all buried together with thousands of rings hovering uselessly above their graves – in this world, no one is worthy enough for the rings to seek out. Once the heroes of the Metalverse escape their prison on New Apokolips, however, that might be a different story. We have already seen Batman wield a Black Lantern ring. What other rings might the released heroes come to wear?
4. Brimstone Bay
At first glance, it's just a hellish beach on a hellish continent. Filled with ash, fire and demonic monsters, the map notes that it is also "secretly the resting place of the...." Presumably, that's not a typo on the map — the final word has been removed from that sentence. It is the map's biggest secret, and that alone makes it immediately one of the most intriguing spots in the Metalverse. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have reveled in reveals in their 'Metal' saga, and whatever Brimstone Bay is hiding, it is sure to be epic.
5. New Apokolips
Speaking of the DCU's heroes, where have they all gone? We've seen a handful of them, and apart from the original Batman himself, the rest have been forced into the employ of the Batman Who Laughs. The rest of Earth's heroes have, according to the map, all been imprisoned on New Apokolips. The solar prison is represented on the bottom right corner of the map, and is powered by Superman who, last we heard of, had succumbed to the Anti-Life Equation. The prison is under the control of the Darkfather, which we can only assume is a version of Batman who took over as the New Gods' Highfather. Releasing the heroes from that prison will be the first major battle to win back the Metalverse.
You can find the map in more detail here. Additional stories that further explore this world can be found in the 'Dark Nights: Death Metal Guidebook,' which is set to release on August 18, wherever comics are sold.