In the Dark Multiverse, readers have seen a glimpse of Batman turned evil for a variety of reasons.
Red Death is a Batman who has lost everything stole the Flash’s speed force to return what was once lost. Death Machine is a Batman that lost Alfred to the criminals of Gotham, and with the help of Cyborg created an A.I. program that would help preserve Alfred, only the A.I. goes rogue, takes over Batman and slaughters all of the inhabitants within Gotham. Now, readers can finally witness how a version of Batman gains the possession of the Green Lantern ring and becomes the infamous Dawn Breaker.
In the world of Earth -32, Bruce loses his parents in the fateful alleyway murder. But, he gains a lantern ring that was sent to him. Instead of using it for good, he takes his rage out on Joe Chill. Time passes and the question remains, what became of this Batman? How did it all go so wrong?
Much like the other Metal Tie-ins, this issue focused on one of the Dark Knight’s that Batman and DCU are up against currently within the event. This issue focuses on the Green Lantern member who is one of the many Dark Knights of the Dark Multiverse that is wreaking havoc within the DCU. It’s another welcomed interpretation of a Batman if he overcame fear, gained a lantern ring and then abused his ability to dish out justice for personal gain.
Humphries does a fantastic job at showcasing the events that unfolded leading to the what becomes of the Dawn Breaker. Much like the other prior Tie-ins, it’s a good Elseworlds story that kind of runs like a nice parallel to the other Elseworlds stories that exist within the DC Multiverse. What’s interesting is that readers have had a glimpse of a Batman that became a Green Lantern and used it for good. Readers have also seen in main continuity when Batman was invited to join the Sinestro Corps only to use his willpower alone to reject the Yellow Ring. In some cases, I felt that instead of a Green Lantern ring, it would have been cool if Dawnbreaker used the Green Lantern ring, and then sought out a Yellow Lantern ring, so he could unleash unholy fear as a Sinestro Lantern tends to. It only makes sense that Dawnbreaker is much better suited with a Sinestro Lantern ring. But I’m not the writer of the comic, yet despite my personal opinion, the book itself is pretty good. Personally, the Death Machine issue is my favorite of the Tie-Ins that feature the rise of the Dark Knights, due to the cohesiveness and believable progression of Batman’s descent into madness. But Dawn breaker manages to be a nice, dark, but fun tie-in.
Ethan Van Sciver is synonymous with Green Lantern ever since his work with Geoff John’s on the entire Green Lantern run from the early to mid-2000’s. His work on this book is to no surprise, fantastic. It’s nice to see his rendition of Dawn Breaker and his constructs have a very energetic, but creepy, alien aesthetic that helps set the tone of the character and the issue itself. It’s a joy to see him illustrate the Lantern Corps, Hal Jordan, and the Guardians, but it’s also fun seeing his interpretation of Dawnbreaker pummeling through the universe with malicious power (as only an evil version of Batman would). Jason Wright’s color work fits perfectly with Sciver’s art, giving it some Alien vibes in the appropriate places.
This is another solid tie-in that is enjoyable and makes readers want to see what happened to the other Batmen that turned evil. Hopefully, the main Metal event remains good and is executed as good as the Tie-Ins when all is said and done. Pick this issue up!
Newsdesk