Dark Nights: Metal books in order

Q: "How many books are in the Dark Nights: Metal series?"

"There are 21 books in the Dark Nights: Metal series, published between 2017 and 2019."

Q: "What is the first book in the Dark Nights: Metal series?"

"The first book in the Dark Nights: Metal series is Dark Days: The Forge #1, published in 2017."

Q: "Do I need to read any DC comics before Dark Nights: Metal?"

"Some familiarity with DC continuity helps, but the event is largely self-contained. The Road to Metal collects the prelude issues, including Dark Days: The Forge and Dark Days: The Casting, which set up the mystery and lore behind the Dark Multiverse. Reading those first is recommended. The core Metal series by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo then follows, with the one-shot tie-ins for each Dark Knight (such as The Red Death and The Murder Machine) running alongside the main story."

Reading order

#	Title	Published	Author	Buy on Amazon
1	Dark Days: The Forge #1	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
2	Dark Days: The Casting #1	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
3	Dark Nights: Metal #1	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
4	The Road to Metal	2018	Dan Abnett	Buy
5	Dark Nights: Metal #2	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
6	Metal	2018	Dan Abnett	Buy
7	Batman: The Red Death #1	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
8	Batman: The Murder Machine #1	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
9	Batman: The Dawnbreaker #1	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
10	Batman: The Drowned #1	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
11	Batman: The Merciless #1	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
12	Batman: The Devastator #1	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
13	The Batman Who Laughs #1	2019	Dan Abnett	N/A
14	Dark Nights: Metal #3	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
15	The Resistance	2018	Dan Abnett	Buy
16	Batman: Lost #1	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
17	Dark Nights: Metal #4	2017	Dan Abnett	N/A
18	Dark Knights Rising	2018	Dan Abnett	Buy
19	Dark Nights: Metal #5	2018	Dan Abnett	N/A
20	Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1	2018	Dan Abnett	N/A
21	Dark Nights: Metal #6	2018	Dan Abnett	N/A

Dark Nights: Metal is a major DC crossover event written by Scott Snyder with art by Greg Capullo, running from 2017 to 2018. The story reveals the existence of a Dark Multiverse beneath the main DC universe, an unstable realm of failed realities that has been hidden for millennia. Batman’s actions inadvertently allow Barbatos, an ancient dark god, to use him as a doorway to drag the DC universe into darkness.

The series introduces seven Dark Knights, corrupted alternate-universe versions of Batman who have merged with other DC heroes. Each received their own one-shot issue detailing their origin. The Batman Who Laughs, a fusion of Batman and the Joker, proved the most popular and later received his own ongoing series. The collected reading order presented here includes the prelude material, the main event issues, and the tie-in volumes. Snyder and Capullo’s run on Batman leading up to this event provides useful background, though Metal is accessible to general DC readers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Dark Nights: Metal series?

There are 21 books in the Dark Nights: Metal series, published between 2017 and 2019.

What is the first book in the Dark Nights: Metal series?

The first book in the Dark Nights: Metal series is Dark Days: The Forge #1, published in 2017.

Do I need to read any DC comics before Dark Nights: Metal?

Some familiarity with DC continuity helps, but the event is largely self-contained. The Road to Metal collects the prelude issues, including Dark Days: The Forge and Dark Days: The Casting, which set up the mystery and lore behind the Dark Multiverse. Reading those first is recommended. The core Metal series by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo then follows, with the one-shot tie-ins for each Dark Knight (such as The Red Death and The Murder Machine) running alongside the main story.

Reading order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Reading order