Review: Metal Men #9
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Dan Dido
Artist: Shane Davis
Colorist: Jason Wright
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Reviewer: Tony Farina
Summary
Back at the pit the Nth Metal Man came out of, something strange is happening! Is this a portal into the Dark Multiverse—or something worse? It’s up to Tina, Gold, and Nth Metal Man to go investigate, and along the way, they run into the Phantom Stranger! Back in Manhattan, the other Metal Men have to figure out how to defeat Chemo and get him out of the city before there’s a radiation reaction that could melt through more than just metal.
Positives
Metal Men #9 features art work by Shane Davis everyone. I know, I know, you are saying, so has the whole series right? Yes, and it has been special. I can’t gush enough about how much I love what he does in this issue. The Phantom Stranger shows up and well, as you can see from the image above, it is pretty awesome. Now, go back up there and look away from the focus of the page and take a peek at the other three characters’ facial expressions. If that is not expert visual storytelling I don’t know what is. I mean, the whole book is just full of visual cues. You could give this entire series to someone, without any of DiDio’s brilliant dialogue and you could understand the entire story. Sure, there would be some minor touches missing, but overall, Davis is just doing a wonderful job.
Negatives
The story telling in Metal Men #9 takes a turn and I am not sure if it is a good turn. Sure, I am a mere mortal so who am I to tell Dan DiDio what he can or can not do. Still, I wasn’t expecting this turn. It is not as though I need all of my stories spelled out for me. I love a good twist and honestly, this book has been full of them. Still, a twist that comes a bit out of nowhere is less fun and more like too much like cramming ten pounds of ideas into a five pound bag.
Verdict
Metal Men #9 is a bit of a step back compared to the rest of the series. This has been a deep look at what it means to be human, but this month, it is more about setting up for an epic finale and a trip to or cross over with the Dark Universe. Sure, seeing Phantom Stranger is awesome, but I just didn’t expect to see him here. Still, this is the last thing DiDio did for DC comics, so I am going to ride it out.
