DC is underway with the crossover series of the year, Metal, spearheaded by Scott Snyder. Within issue #2, Barbatos reinterpreted as an evil god, has arrived in the DC Universe. Barbatos has become a fearsome threat, and he would do well on the big screen in the inevitable Justice League sequel.
Spoilers for Dark Days – Metal #2 below:
What Happened:
After a few months of teasing during Dark Days: The Force and Dark Days: The Casting earlier this summer, Barbatos is here. In issue #2 of Metal, the Court of Owls who had assumed they were heralding a return of a demigod had tricked Batman to open the door for Barbatos to enter the DCU.
A monstrous bat-god, Barbatos is accompanied by 7 “Batmen,” who are from different worlds in the Dark Multiverse. Metal is not intense, it is huge, and in the final pages of Metal #2, Barbatos and Batmen are free.
What It Means:
Based on the figure in medieval Jewish folklore, Barbatos has been around in DCU before. In 1990, in Peter Milligan and Kieron Dwyer’s Batman storyline “Dark Knights, Dark City,” flashbacks show that Barbatos was terrorizing America’s Founding Fathers who had visited Gotham. The Riddler tries to free him, but Batman learns of Barbatos’ control on Gotham.
Barbatos returned during Grant Morrison’s run on Batman in which Batman is taken back in time.
What’s Next:
Metal is the culmination of Snyder’s Batman run going back to 2011 and is also an epic crossover of Batman and his mythology. This makes Barbatos a villain for what will become Justice League 2.
The upcoming film will have the League form together for the first time against Steppenwolf, Barbatos is a personal villain.
Whether he is with our without the 7 Nightmare Batmen, Barbatos must make his presence known in the DCEU.
DC’s Dark Knights – Metal #2 is available now. Metal #3 will be released on October 11. Justice League will be release in theaters on November 17.
