- See it for what it has become. See what my actions have made it.
Dark Nights: Death Metal Guidebook #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of October, 2020. It was published on August 18, 2020.
Synopsis for "The Fall of Earth"
Lex Luthor, standing by himself on the Moon, remembers the day when his world was transformed, an apocalypse triggered by the invasion of a squadron of Dark Batmen, led by the Batman Who Laughs. As the Justice League was missing, transported in an adventure to save the Multiverse by the Quintessence, the other heroes fell quickly. First, the west coast was destroyed by the death of Captain Atom, planned in detail by Dr. Arkham, the maddest of the scientists the Batman who Laughs found in the Dark Multiverse.
Then, the Batmage decided to darken the doors to Themyscira, and transform all the world of magic into Hell. And even if antagonized by the heroes of magic, they were not able to stop him. The Titans and the Teen Titans united, trying to stop the Darkfather, a Batman who killed Darkseid and took his power for himself. The Suicide Squad battled Bathomet, a chtonian elder beast who woke inside one of the Dark Universes. And while this battles happened, the city of Gotham changed with Castle Bat, a living Batman inside a building, appeared out of nowhere.
Then the League came back, with failure on their faces. They wanted to talk about what happened, because some parts of the story were not clear, but there wasn't enough time. And so they committed a fatal mistake: they separated, each of them to protect their own city. And so the Batman who Laughs, who predicted this, already had specific Batmen to take down all the leaguers. The Martian, Hawkgirl and John Stewart were the first three to fall. Of course, Batman understood that they could win only together, and he escaped more than twenty Dark Batmen, giving up Gotham to the enemy. Together with Flash, he prepared to make a final stand.
But they still failed: the Batman who Laughs won, and crowned himself king. He changed the world in his image, with the heroes giving up to save what was most dear to their heart, Atlantis for Aquaman, the Amazons for Diana. Superman then was trapped in the center of the sun, to fuel it as it extinguished during the clash between Wonder Woman and Perpetua.
So now Lex stands, with a mysterious book in his hands: reported on it there's the current history of the universe, but also something forgotten by Wonder Woman. Something that, together with the Death Metals Lobo is searching in the Multiverse, will give Luthor a chance to answer back. And he will do it once he takes his Legion back alongside him.
Appearing in "The Fall of Earth"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters
- Justice League (Flashback only)
- Aquaman (Arthur Curry) (Flashback only)
- Batman (Bruce Wayne) (Flashback only)
- The Flash (Barry Allen) (Flashback only)
- Hawkgirl (Flashback only)
- Martian Manhunter (Flashback only)
- Superman (Clark Kent) (Flashback only)
- Wonder Woman (Diana of Themyscira) (Flashback only)
- Lobo
Antagonists:
- The Batman Who Laughs (Earth -22) (Flashback only)
- Groblins (Earth -22) (Flashback only)
- Dark Knights (Dark Multiverse) (Flashback and main story)
- Bathomet (Flashback only)
- Batmage (Flashback and main story)
- Demonic Batmen (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
- Batman/Firefly Mashup (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Flashback only)
- Batman/Hawkman Mashup (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Flashback only)
- Batman/Sinestro Mashup (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Flashback only)
- Batmobeast (Flashback only)
- Beyonder (Terry McGinnis) (First appearance chronologically) (Flashback and main story)
- B-Rex (Bruce Wayne) (Flashback and main story)
- Castle Bat (Flashback only)
- Darkfather (First appearance chronologically) (Flashback only)
- Pararobins (First appearance chronologically) (Flashback only)
- Dr. Arkham (First appearance chronologically) (Flashback only)
- Joker Dragons (Dark Multiverse)
- Perpetua (Sixth Dimension) (Flashback only)
Other Characters:
- Amazons of Themyscira (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Queen Hippolyta (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Batgirl (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Captain Atom (Dies in flashback)
- Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond) (Flashback only)
- Martin Stein (Behind the scenes)
- Green Lantern (Guy Gardner) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Green Lantern (Jessica Cruz) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Green Lantern (John Stewart) (Flashback only)
- The Joker (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Justice League Dark (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Detective Chimp/Nightmaster (Bobo T. Chimpanzee) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Doctor Fate (Khalid Nassour) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- John Constantine (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Kent Nelson (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Man-Bat (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Swamp Thing (Alec Holland) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Zatanna (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Legion of Doom (Cameo)
- Brainiac (Cameo)
- Cheetah (Cameo)
- Gorilla Grodd (Cameo)
- Sinestro (Cameo)
- Mister Miracle (Scott Free) (Flashback only)
- Nightwing (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Plastic Man (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Suicide Squad (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Captain Boomerang (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Deadshot (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Harley Quinn (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- George the Hyena (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Killer Croc (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Supergirl (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Teen Titans (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Crush (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Kid Flash (Wallace R. West) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Red Arrow (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Roundhouse (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Titans (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Beast Boy (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Donna Troy (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Miss Martian (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Raven (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Steel (Natasha Irons) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Apex Predators (Mentioned only)
- Batman of Bathomet's Earth (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Darkseid of Darkfather's Earth (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Multiverse (Flashback only)
- Earth 0/Metalverse
- Earth
- Arkham Wastelands (Flashback only) (Origin)
- The Hellscape (Origin)
- "Hell"/Themyscira (Destroyed) (Flashback only)
- Megapokolips (In picture only) (Cameo) (Origin)
- United States of America (Destroyed)
- Central City
- Flash Museum (Flashback only)
- Coast City
- Warriors (Flashback only)
- Gotham City (Flashback only)
- Metropolis (Destroyed)
- Daily Planet (Destroyed) (Flashback and main story)
- Washington, D.C.
- Hall of Justice (Flashback only)
- Atlantis (Mentioned only)
- Central City
- The Moon (Destroyed) (Flashback and main story)
- The Sun
- New Apokolips (Origin)
- Earth
- Sphere of the Gods (Behind the scenes)
- Earth 0/Metalverse
- Dark Multiverse (Mentioned only)
Items:
- Bathomet's Trident (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Bat-Flamethrower (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Batman's Spear (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Batman's T-Rex (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- The Batman Who Laughs' Visor (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Bat-Signal (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Batsuits
- Bracelets of Submission (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Chainsaw of Truth (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Death Metal (Mentioned only)
- Green Lantern Ring (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- The Guidebook (First appearance)
- Hawkgirl's Mace (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Harley's Mallet (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Helmet of Fate (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Lobo's Hook
- Nth Metal (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Sword of Night (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Trident of Poseidon (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Ultraviolet Power Ring (Flashback only)
- Yellow Power Ring (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Wonder Woman's Tiara
Vehicles:
- Bat-Truck (Flashback only)
- Black Fleet (First appearance; unnamed) (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Death Drive (First appearance chronologically) (Flashback only)
Concepts:
- Anti-Life Equation
- Justice/Doom War (Mentioned only)
- Magic
Synopsis for "Queen of the Desert"
Harley Quinn is on patrol inside the Arkham Wastelands, which once were the West Coast of the United States of America, forever changed because of the death, and subsequent explosion, of Captain Atom. Amanda Waller sent his Suicide Squad there, but they are missing and Doctor Arkham, the Dark Batman acting as supervisor for the area, wants them for his experiments. While searching, Harley meets a mutated hyena. Soon though, Harley gets attacked by Captain Boomerang, mutated thanks to the radiations which spread everywhere in the area. Harley is saved by the hyena, who kills Boomerang. Harley so decides to adopt him, calling him George.
Appearing in "Queen of the Desert"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Dr. Arkham (Voice only)
- George the Hyena (First appearance chronologically) (Real name revealed) (Origin)
Antagonists:
- Captain Boomerang (Mutated) (Dies)
- Mutant Gang (Mutated)
Other Characters:
- Lex Luthor (Behind the scenes)
- Amanda Waller (Mentioned only)
- Suicide Squad (Mentioned only)
- The Batman Who Laughs (Earth -22) (Mentioned only)
- Dark Knights (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Starro-commanding Batman (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Starros (Mentioned only)
- Starro-commanding Batman (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Dark Knights (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Captain Atom (Deceased) (Mentioned only)
- Poison Ivy (Mentioned only)
- Toymaster (Hiro Okamura) (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Multiverse
- Earth 0/Metalverse
- Earth
- Arkham Wastelands
- Arkham Asylum (Mentioned only)
- Blackgate Tower (Mentioned only)
- Junglelands (Mentioned only)
- Slaughter Swamp (Mentioned only)
- Bludhaven (Mentioned only)
- Toymaster's Vault (Mentioned only)
- Valley of Starro (Mentioned only)
- Arkham Wastelands
- Earth
- Earth 0/Metalverse
- Dark Multiverse (Mentioned only)
Items:
- The Guidebook
- Harley's Mallet
Vehicles:
- Trinity Rocket (Real name revealed) (In picture only) (Cameo)
Concepts:
Synopsis for "The Umibozu"
Aquaman encounters the Umibozu, releasing him after removing his curse. He also tells Bathomet that Aquaman won't work for the Batman who Laughs, and him, anymore.
Appearing in "The Umibozu"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- The Umibozu (Single appearance; dies)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Lex Luthor (Behind the scenes)
- Pararobins (In picture only) (Cameo)
- Superman (Clark Kent) (In picture only) (Cameo)
- The Batman Who Laughs (Earth -22) (Mentioned only)
- Dark Knights (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Batmanhunter (Mentioned only)
- Manhunter Army of the Batmanhunter's Earth (Mentioned only)
- Batman/Sinestro Mashup (Mentioned only)
- Darkfather (Mentioned only)
- Batmanhunter (Mentioned only)
- Solaris of the Dark Multiverse (Mentioned only)
- Dark Knights (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Ghosts (Mentioned only)
- Mister Miracle (Scot Free) (Mentioned only)
- Sinestro Corps (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Multiverse
- Earth 0/Metalverse
- Earth
- Megapokolips (Mentioned only)
- Coast City (Mentioned only)
- Machine City One (Mentioned only)
- Metropolis (Mentioned only)
- Daily Planet (Mentioned only)
- Skyport (Mentioned only)
- Valley of the Rainbow Rings (Mentioned only)
- Warworld (Mentioned only)
- The Seven Seas
- Atlantis (Mentioned only)
- Megapokolips (Mentioned only)
- The Sun (Mentioned only)
- New Apokolips (Mentioned only)
- Earth
- Earth 0/Metalverse
- Dark Multiverse (Mentioned only)
- Batmanhunter's Unnamed Earth (Mentioned only)
- Biot (Mentioned only)
- Batmanhunter's Unnamed Earth (Mentioned only)
Items:
- Alfred Box (Mentioned only)
- The Guidebook
- Lantern Rings (Mentioned only)
- Yellow Power Ring (Mentioned only)
- Trident of Neptune
Vehicles:
- Black Fleet (Real name revealed) (First full appearance)
- Death Drive (In picture only) (Cameo)
Concepts:
- Anti-Life Equation (Mentioned only)
Synopsis for "Seeds of Hope"
Poison Ivy suffers, being caged inside the Batman who Laughs' own version of hell. She wants to see her plants, and the sun on her face. Diana, the unwilling warden of Hell, tells her she should not wish for freedom, as she's safer here, in the cage. Diana though lets her go, so that she can learn by herself why she wanted Pamela to stay caged. Coming out to see the free world, Ivy discovers that the Green is constantly burning and suffering, and comes back to her cage in tears. To make her feel better, and to promise her a fight will come to free the world, Diana brings her a surviving plant in need of caretaking.
Appearing in "Seeds of Hope"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Lex Luthor (Behind the scenes)
- Swamp Thing (Alec Holland)
- Amazons of Themyscira (Mentioned only)
- The Batman Who Laughs (Earth -22) (Mentioned only)
- Brimstone Bay's Monsters (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Captain Cold (Mentioned only)
- Etrigan of Batmage's Earth (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- The Joker (Mentioned only)
- Justice Society of America (Mentioned only)
- Mister Freeze (Mentioned only)
- Modru of Batmage's Earth (Dark Multiverse) (Deceased) (Mentioned only)
- Parliament of Trees (Mentioned only)
- The Riddler (Mentioned only)
- Seven Deadly Sins (Mentioned only)
- The Spectre of Batmage's Earth (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Zatara of Batmage's Earth (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Multiverse
- Earth 0/Metalverse
- The Hellscape
- "Hell"/Themyscira
- Tartarus Pits (Mentioned only)
- Avalon (Mentioned only)
- Brimstone Bay (Mentioned only)
- The Burning Green (Mentioned only)
- Central City (Mentioned only)
- City of Mystery (Mentioned only)
- Tower of Fate (Mentioned only)
- Fawcett City (Mentioned only)
- Rock of Eternity (Mentioned only)
- Fortress of Sorrow (Mentioned only)
- Gemworld (Mentioned only)
- Skartaris (Mentioned only)
- Washington, D.C. (Mentioned only)
- Hall of Justice (Mentioned only)
- Valhalla Cemetery/Crypt of Heroes (Mentioned only)
- "Hell"/Themyscira
- The Hellscape
- Sphere of the Gods (Behind the scenes)
- Speed Force (Mentioned only)
- Earth 0/Metalverse
- Dark Multiverse (Mentioned only)
- Batmage's Unnamed Earth (Mentioned only)
- Earth (Mentioned only)
- Batmage's Unnamed Earth (Mentioned only)
- Hypertime (Mentioned only)
Items:
- Batmage's Wand (Mentioned only)
- Bracelets of Submission
- Chainsaw of Truth (Mentioned only)
- The Guidebook
- Lasso of Truth
Vehicles:
- Wonder Woman's Invisible Plane (Mentioned only)
Concepts:
Synopsis for "Dragonlance"
Batman is in the Batman who Laughs' own version of Gotham, resurrecting Jonah Hex with the Black Lantern Ring. He selected Hex to be his guardian, arming him with a White Lantern bullet. If the Ring takes control of Batman, turning him into a Black Lantern, Hex must free Bruce from the Ring's influence.
Appearing in "Dragonlance"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Jonah Hex (Zombified)
Antagonists:
- Unnamed Joker Dragon (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- B-Rex (In picture only) (Cameo)
- Lex Luthor (Behind the scenes)
- Robin King (In picture only) (Cameo)
- The Batman Who Laughs (Earth -22) (Mentioned only)
- Army of Alfreds (Mentioned only)
- Alfrood (Mentioned only)
- Dark Knights/Dark Council (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Batmage (Mentioned only)
- Batmobeast (Mentioned only)
- The Batom (Mentioned only)
- Dr. Arkham (Mentioned only)
- Army of Alfreds (Mentioned only)
- Martha Waynes of the Dark Multiverse
- Perpetua (Sixth Dimension) (Mentioned only)
- Sgt. Rock (Mentioned only)
- Thomas Waynes of the Dark Multiverse (Mentioned only)
- Woodson Hex (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Multiverse
- Earth 0/Metalverse
- Gotham
- Castle Bat (Mentioned only)
- Crime Alley (Mentioned only)
- Monarch Theater (Mentioned only)
- Sgt. Rock's Bunker (Mentioned only)
- Wayne Manor (Destroyed) (Mentioned only)
- The Hellscape
- Crypt of Heroes (Mentioned only)
- United States of America
- Nantucket (Mentioned only)
- Gotham
- Earth 0/Metalverse
- Dark Multiverse (Mentioned only)
Items:
- Batsuit
- Black Lantern Ring
- The Guidebook
- White Lantern Bullet
Vehicles:
Concepts:
- The Seven Forces of the Universe (Mentioned only)
Notes
- The flashback events of the The Fall of Earth story take place just after the events of Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #4.
- The The Fall of Earth story continues in Justice League (Volume 4) #53.
See Also