The apparent culmination of the Game of Thrones-style struggle for DC continuity supremacy is here, and I worry that the least potent of the mix won out.

Tom King fell by the wayside, his Heroes in Crisis devolving into a critical disaster. His Batman couldn't recover from the post-Catwoman non-wedding storylines. Now, his Strange Adventures and his forthcoming Bat/Cat miniseries have been shuffled off to Black Label.

Brian Bendis came on strong ("Bendis is here!"), but his Super-books are losing circulation and his Wonder Comics line isn't taking off. He's now talking on podcasts about winding down on Superman and getting excited about Checkmate.

Dan DiDio was fired.

So who won? Scott Snyder, apparently. He now has free reign to trash the proposed "5G"/"Generations" event with its rethinking of DC continuity in a linear, historical perspective and replace it with the apparent capstone to his Dark Knights: Metal/Justice League run...the one that so many fans felt was a hot mess of baffling multiversal conflict where his heroes keep screwing up, making mistakes and losing. Where the once-almighty Monitor now has an even more-almighty mother in Perpetua and siblings (!) in the Anti-Monitor and World Forger. Because DC doesn't have enough bloat at the top of the multiversal pyramid.

But that's the backstory.

Death Metal #1 is a simple story - a silly story, perhaps a dumb story - but a simple one nonetheless all dressed up with "rock and roll!" dressing. Perpetua has awarded the Batman Who Laughs the Mr. Earth pageant sash and crown, beating out Luthor. (As I said, silly and perhaps dumb...but it is what it is.) But Perpetua doesn't really care about the Earth, she just wants to destroy stuff. So BWL sets up a hell on earth environment that has not been seen anywhere in recent continuity, providing a jarring transition from "same old, same old DC" to "Holy crap, it's a pop-up Hellscape!"

At this point, the story gets really small. Superman is off-page (of course he is, because he's so powerful that this story wouldn't get to happen otherwise), and Batman and Wonder Woman conspire how to fight back when BWL has them pinned down in a life of misery. It's a life that is nowhere reflected in any other DC book, but I digress.

Wally West, who unfortunately has the Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan juju wrapped up in him to become all seeing/knowing/powerful but is a pitiful prisoner in this title, shows up. He suggests a way for the superheroes to win, trying to explain the multiversal mess that is DC in a couple of pages. After having has character shellacked by Tom King in "Heroes in Crisis," Snyder gets to revive West's statue as a beacon of hope. Hero revolt slowly ensues. End issue 1. Seriously, that's it.

This was not a good story. This does not appear to be a good title. But it IS DC's tentpole title for 2020, so DC readers have to get it simply to understand what is going on in their shared universe. For that, I'm more than a little bitter. If you want to see what a GOOD event book is like for comparison's sake, go read Wolfman's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" #1. You'll see how far things have fallen.

Technically, DC's maddening decision to force BWL's word balloons to be red chicken-scratch against a black background continues. BWL's lettering is largely illegible as a result. That's right, it's nearly impossible to read what the lead baddie of this book is saying.

The sole high point of the book is Greg Capullo. He is a very talented artist, and his renditions of fire, brimstone, madness and everything else "rock and roll" are on point -- given the subject matter he has to work with. His characters look solid, his layouts are vibrant and exciting.

Scott Snyder, on the other hand, baffles me. He IS a decent writer, something I continually have to remind myself throughout this book. His Batman "Court of Owls" story is quite good. His "Undiscovered Country," co-written with Charles Soule for Image, is pretty good, too. His JL, however, was convoluted and a chore to read. That carries forward to this book. Perhaps he's just out of his league on stories of this nature. Very few writers can pull off a blockbuster event. He can't. Well, he hasn't so far. Sadly, I apparently will have to keep reading to find out.

Snyder won the Game of Thrones at DC. It's his universe to mold, to make everything count. And, with his first move as the prima dona of DC, he's fallen flat on his face. Maybe King was lucky to get banished to Black Label, and hopefully Bendis can continue to do his own thing. Me? I think I'll be spending a lot more time reading back issues if this is what we'll be getting from DC going forward.

2.5/10 on the basis of Capullo's art alone. I would go a touch higher but have to deduct points for the unintelligible lettering on BWL.

Do better, DC. more

Drivel. Save your money.

This was fine. Nothing great, but I wasn't really expecting greatness. It felt like a 90s comic, honestly.

Meh, a lot of filler with 1 maybe 2 decent stories. The worst was "Rookie" for over all story and worst for art was "Fore".

Tomasi / Blowback - This story was good. Art was great
Bendis / The Master Class - This story was good but could've used with a bit more humor added in. But it was great to have the gang all together. Great art work.
Fraction / Many Happy Returns - This one was good but could've been better. The art was mediocre at best.
Rucka /Rookie - Long and boring. Art sucked
Tynion / Ghost Story - This one is okay. The art was really bad
DeConnick / Fore - Okay but greatly forgettable. Art was great
Wolfman / Odyssey - Story was a waste of time. Art was okay
Morrison / Detective #26 - Dumb story with bad art work
King / Legacy - The story was good but could've been better. The art work is awful.
Snyder / As Always - Interesting story and good art.
Jurgens / Generations - Okay but not a complete story. Art was good
Tamaki / A Gift - Okay but forgettable. Art could've used with some more work on it


Over all it wasn't worth the price I paid for it. more

I thought it was an ok story. The issue didn't seem to build toward a bigger plot other than a random fight with hulk next issue. I also thought the story spent too much time focusing on the back and forth with d-cel.

For a 1st issue it could have made more of an impression...D-Cell was underwhelming to say the least. I'm a little concerned that the book doesn't think it's strong enough to sustain interest for a 2nd issue so they feel that having a cameo of another major character is really necessary. "Hey, kids we have the Hulk!" Great so where does it go from there? So over all weak start for a number 1 issue. more

I really don’t understand how these two are still employed at DC after turning in crap after crap.

This better be a joke, the continuity was already screwed and now to complicate it more Bendis adds an unnecessary subplot out of nowhere, I hope it is a joke. On the other hand, I feel like he's been saying "this guy from the 31st century" since Jon came back.

DC gave up on this title. All I can say.

I wish this comic wasn't such a mess.

This is hands-down the most frustrating issue of this run yet. This issue is filled with wonderful moments — the space diner at the beginning is the sort of thing I'd actually hoped for from a Bendis Superman, the "profits?" twist made me laugh out loud, and the climax is suitably exciting — but the pacing is leaden and the art looks like it was done by a 9-year-old rather than one of the medium's most beloved artists. Honestly, I wish Bendis was less famous so they could let him just play to his strengths and do a Daily Planet focused spinoff. Instead, this run has been a disappointing mess and I'm relieved that it'll be over soon. more

Really bad writing and art.

The series continues to be the worst book in my pull list, month after month. The seven paragraph recap of the story was a nice nod that no one is really paying attention and requires a recap because the story is that uninteresting. Honestly it has become a chore to read this book. The art continues to be ridiculously horrible as well. In one panel no one has legs they are just morphed into one big leg that comes out from their upper body. It's beyond a lack of talent the art has moved into the realm of completely not caring. Bendis promised he was going somewhere and it turns out he had no idea of where he wanted to take the reader and just shoehorned all his 1/2 baked SJW cause characters into the story and called it day. more

A new villain for the speculators, nothing for the Superman fans typical Benfis

I want to drop this so badly, but I can't because it's Superman.

Meh. Seems to little too late to be starting a story when we know Bendis is going to be leaving in December. Anyone know what happened to Rogal Zaar? Wasn't he to be a big time villain in the Superman universe? Guess not, so we get Synmar? I guess he's supposed to be interesting although Bendis kills that really quick with dialogue bubbles everywhere so you have to spend a few seconds each page figuring out who is speaking. Then you have the return of Lana Lang remembering when they gave her super powers? Anyone enjoy that story? Nope, I didn't think so but Bendis is going to Bendis and reintroduce a powerful female character that no one really cared about. If they really wanted to improve this book they would make it about Superman and leave the supporting characters as just that supporting to enhance the story that is about him. I know it's his book, it would be crazy to think they should allow him to be in the book the majority of the time. more

So an entire book for a fight that simplistically resolved, Wonder Twins shoehorned in there because they are characters that are not "over" with readers on their own, and a ridiculous amount of speech bubbles that over shadow the artwork. Poorly paced story that results in an really bad comic book. December can't come fast enough, hopefully whoever takes over the book has an idea of what works. more

This series jumped the shark 5 issues ago. Save your money, go buy Archie and Jughead or something anything but this drivel.

It's official, i'm dropping this book. Or as Glenn from Comic Book Palace on Youtube would say, "firing it".

Why? Because the issues 1-4 had little to no writing. And i get that sometimes less is more, but not with this book. And then here in issue 5 the dialogue is poor and stilted. The antagonist group "Scorn Army" is lame, generic, and forgettable. Are we really to believe Batman doesn't see all the thugs with similar scars? It of been one thing for him to have gone along to see what reveals itself. But for him to be caught off guard and then explain classic tropes to Gordon? Was this supposed to be an homage issue?

Anyhow, save yourself the remaining 7 issues and spend that $28.00 elsewhere, jumping off point is now. Actually 3 comics ago... more

Another Crapfest issue of Action Comics. This comic is horrible, from the art to the over use of speech bubbles it's just bad. The art is little more than rough sketches on some pages. I mean draw the picture or don't, this isn't an art style it's a half ass effort just to collect a pay check. On one page an FBI agent has no nose or mouth...WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? The only good thing I can say about this book is that they killed of Melody Morre. What a completely useless character, almost as useless and uninteresting as the Red Cloud or Leviathan. I can not wait until they bring in a writer who understands the balance between dialogue and pictures to tell a story as well as an artist who can actually draw. more

Crap.

The return of a character no one asked to return. This issue falls flat.

Bendis strikes again!

I feel that they are giving red clud more importance than she has, do we really have to remember everything that happened before in all the chapters? It seems that action comics only serves to promote his other series and that he makes no effort to write this.

There’s some semblance of plot here. I don’t think the story arc is over all a terrible arc until Bendis’s bad dialogue and JRJR’s rushed/poor artwork.

I didn't like this at all. Action Comics is going nowhere with this boring plot and horrible art from JRJR.

Now THAT was one terrible comic book. I'm not sure the pages were even in the right order.

You know what I miss? Reading Superman comics. Please get Bendis off Superman and also JRJR either needs to just start doing covers or do a limited series where he can get tons of time to finish his art. This is some of the worst writing and art I've seen in a Superman book in a while. I didn't care for Bendis Superman, but now I think I'm starting to loathe it.

This is a slog. I think the story is just... All over the place. I can't bring myself to care about what's happening. It seems like Bendis has so much that he wants to tell, that he can't figure out how to tell it. The art, as always, is mostly terrible aside from one or two bright spots... An inverse of JRJr in his prime. This is just a terrible comic and DC really needs to let Bendis go to a book that may be marginally more suited to him. more