Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #4

Writer: James Tynion IV Artist: Steve Epting Publisher: DC Comics Release Date: March 18, 2020 Cover Price: $4.99 Critic Reviews: 11 User Reviews: 31
7.4Critic Rating
6.6User Rating

This is it! Lex Luthor has gathered a strike force of villains he's leveled up to be the baddest bad guys around-Captain Cold, Oracle, Solomon Grundy, Black Manta, and Lobo, each and every one a recipient of one of Lex's dark gifts.
But the Batman Who Laughs has his own army of infected heroes. Six hundred sixty-six of them, all transformed into their worst selves.
It's a final showdown between two of DC's most iconic villains, all to curry the favor of Perpetua. Whoever wins will take over the Multiverse alongside her. Does Lex ascend, or does he get laid low? Does the Batman Who Laughs finally remake the DC Universe in his own image more

  • 9.5
    Lyles Movie Files - Jeffrey Lyles Mar 18, 2020

    This actually makes for a stronger cliffhanger to Death Metal than the somewhat abrupt final issue of Scott Snyders Justice League run. If youre not hyped for Death Metal after this one youre just never going to be ready for whats poised to be a crazy in a good way event for DC. Read Full Review

  • 9.2
    Comic Watch - Matt Meyer Mar 19, 2020

    The last step on the road to Death Metal is here at last!Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #4 ramps up the stakes in every conceivable way, hitting a home run on all fronts. DO NOT MISS THIS COMIC! Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Geek Dad - Ray Goldfield Mar 18, 2020

    It's exactly how you do a self-contained mini-event comic that counts. Read Full Review

  • 8.8
    GWW - Deron Generally Mar 17, 2020

    Steve Epting does amazing work with the art in this issue. Everything is big and beautifully detailed. The characters are well done and the action is great. There are moments where the Batman Who Laughs looks a little off, but the rest of the heroes and villains are done brilliantly. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Dark Knight News - Bryant Lucas Mar 20, 2020

    As always, superhero comics seemed to be perpetually trapped in Act 3. There's always another chapter in the story. Love it or hate it " that's exactly what Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen has been: another Act 3. Nevertheless, it's been a good one. Tynion has once again proved himself a capable writer when dealing with a large cast, and Epting's pencils were a perfect match for this bleak tale. Overall it's been a fun ride, and Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #4 delivers. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    ComicBook.com - Adam Barnhardt Mar 18, 2020

    All things considered, "Year of the Villain" sticks its landing"and it sticks it hard. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    DC Comics News - Carl Bryan Mar 31, 2020

    If this is missing from your shelf, as you are collecting anything dealing with Dark Metal and The Batman Who Laughs, you will regret it. Read Full Review

  • 6.0
    But Why Tho? - Charles Hartford Mar 18, 2020

    When all is said and done,Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #4serves as a lackluster finale to its tale. Read Full Review

  • 6.0
    Forces Of Geek - Lenny Schwartz Mar 18, 2020

    It is all very bland served with a side of bland. This ended up being weak, when it could have been amazing. Read Full Review

  • 5.0
    Batman-News - Michael Escalante Mar 19, 2020

    Hell Arisen #4 features some great art from Steve Epting with fantastic colors by Nick Filardi. Unfortunately, James Tynion IV's script doesn't do enough outside of its action sequences to justify the lack of consequence the storyline ultimately entails. It's a common problem for most of DCs "event" style books and Hell Arisen #4 is no different. Taken on their own, there's a few good scenes in Tynion's script, but he is betrayed by the books' placement within the DC Universe as a whole. Tynion and Epting do what they can I suppose, but it's hard to get invested in a "world changing" book that can't afford to shake things up too much. Read Full Review

  • 4.0
    Weird Science - Jim Werner Mar 18, 2020

    After a year of setup and so many books being hijacked, we get another non-ending.  In a couple of months, though, we can start all over again, aren't we lucky?  No...no, we are not! I just don't get it anymore. Read Full Review

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