Two regular subscriptions this week: things get dark and confusing in Metal and in a one-shot Detective Comics we learn the tragic origin story of Clayface.
Dark Nights Metal #5
I love the concepts behind metal but I’m not sure the execution is particularly good. The cast of characters is just too big, the scope too huge. The cover of this issue signals darkness and death, but it doesn’t really deliver. Batman and Superman are together, heading into the Forge in the hope of stopping Barbatos. Wonder Woman does battle with the One Who Laughs And Aquaman (bizzarely allied with Deathstroke) discovers some ancient Atlantean tech that…does something. In other words, not much happens, but it’s all very overblown and confusing. A pity, because the early issues showed so much promise.
Detective Comics Annual: The Curse of Clayface
This one, on the other hand. Is beautifully done. We take a break from the main title in which Clayface was driven mad by Batman’s enemies and went on a rampage through Gotham. He was stopped, finally, by Batwoman using a weapon that will supposedly kill him. We don’t know yet if he wil survive. So here, we go back to his origin story, how he learned about the chemical that could create amazingly realistic masks, the tragic accident that led him to use it for the first time, and the role Batman played in the events that turned him into Clayface. So, at last we know why Batman recruited him and why he is trying so hard to save him.