Originally published on Patreon
Dark Knights of Steel has been a great new version of the DC Universe, transporting characters we know and love into a medieval fantasy setting, and doing some interesting new things with them; the Green Man was a triple combo that I was not expecting!
And whilst we're waiting for the next chapter of the regular series we get a new one-shot to tide us over, delving into the history of this world and taking a look at some of the unseen adventures.
The first story deals with Arkham Orphanage, and we get to see some child versions of this worlds Two-Face, Penguin, Killer Croc, Man-Bat, Riddler, and Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy getting adopted by Perry White and his wife to work at the printers press is a great choice, and him and a young Kal-El making friends when Jimmy goes up on the roof at night to look at the stars is lovely. I really like that even in this completely different world the two of them are still good friends, and that when Kal learns that Jimmy has gone missing he immediately sets out to help him.
Despite turning Arkham into an orphanage, the story still includes some of the dark history that comes with the name, as the head of the orphanage experiments on the children there to try and make magically powered beings; creating Man-Bat and Killer Croc. The fact that General Waller takes her into custody, and tells her that she's going to be working for Waller from now on does make me think that perhaps this is a story thread that could come back in the main series; especially with the kingdoms on the verge of war and more powered people being needed.
The second story jumps forward in time to a point that doesn't seem too far removed from the main story, where Kal is sneaking out of the palace with Harley Quinn to get to see a bit more of his kingdom. Going out in disguise, they hope to blend into the Halloween festival going on. However, Bruce catches them in the act and insists on going along with them. The three of them come across a group of young thieves, the Robins, whilst trying to enjoy their evening.
This is a really cool story for showing us how Bruce ends up with his gang of Robins working for him, and feels like something that the main series definitely doesn't have the time to really delve into. The Robins have some important roles in the plot, so getting to see how they ended up with Bruce feels like a good use for this book. It also gets bonus points for including Haley too.
The final story goes back in time, and focuses on a young Bruce. When travelling through the forest with some royal guards Bruce and his soldiers come under attack from a huge, armoured figure; Bane. Bane kills his guards, but instead of trying to harm Bruce, swears fealty to him. Bane reveals that he loved Bruce's parents, and sees Bruce as the true heir to the kingdom, not the El's.
Bruce agrees to train with Bane, learning how to fight and how to get the better of your foe, and the two of them eventually travel to the castle so that Bane can use his magic weapons to kill the El's. However, Bruce betrays him, immobilises him, and has his taken away to be locked in 'the pit'. Bruce swears loyalty to the El's and promises to forever protect them from the dangers of magic.
This story gives a little insight into how the characters fear magic, and have a hard-line stance against it; as well as showing the sheer cunning of Bruce. It's also really cool to get to see this worlds version of the Secret Six. Bane and Ragdoll in particular have absolutely great designs.
As I've been enjoying the main series so much I'm absolutely happy to see the world expand with books like this. I hope that we get the next issue of Dark Knights of Steel soon, but if we have to wait give us more stuff like this whilst we do.
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