Noteworthy Issues: Dark Knights Of Steel #9 (January, 2023)

Well, that was something.  Secrets revealed and all that.  Secrets that both were and weren’t surprising.

Issue:  Dark Knights of Steel #9, January 2023

Writer:  Tom Taylor

Artist:  Yasmine Putri

The Plot:  War breaks out between three nations, but all is not as it seems.

Commentary:  Alright, a major mystery is settled, and the war between three countries may be over as soon as it began.  All it took was Queen Lara literally cutting Queen Hippolyta in half with her heat vision.  That was how the previous issue ended, and the resulting fight on the battlefield breaks out exactly the way someone might expect it to.  Diana suddenly wants to avenge her mother.  Kal tries to stop the violence.  Constantine questions whether or not he’s been scammed the same way he usually scams others.  There’s a prison break from the El’s dungeon, and yeah, there’s an explanation for why Zora, Kal, and now Lara have all been killing people that they had no memory of doing so.

Oh, and the Green Man’s role in all this is…still unknown, but he may not be the biggest problem these people are facing.

But yes, there’s an explanation for how all the Kryptonians, save Bruce (whose Kryptonian status may not be well known), have all violently killed at least one person while claiming not to know anything about said violence is out there, and it isn’t exactly surprising.  There aren’t a lot of established DC characters that could have done those things, and the ones responsible fit fine.

Oh sure, there’s another big shocker on the last page, but it’s the sort that has fit in well with this series so far.  Basically, this is Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri not just putting DC’s most recognizable characters into some sort of magical fantasy world, but also playing around with the way things are set up.  That has been one of the more fun aspects of this series.  It’s not enough to have Superman as a medieval prince.  It’s also his parents likewise survived the trip from Krypton.  It’s not just that Lex Luthor is now evil and crazy, he’s also the Joker and he got a Green Lantern ring.  And so on.  So the last page reveal here, well…it was just another great example of those sorts of things.

Grade:  A