Tales from the Dark Multiverse II

Dark Nights Saga #2.5

by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Vita Ayala, Bryan Hitch (Writer / Penciller)

The gateway into the Dark Multiverse has been opened...what stories will come out?

The twisted timelines that showed the Dark Multiverse and all the devastating danger that it contains are collected in TALES FROM THE DARK MULTIVERSE II. What dark realities exist within the realms of the Dark Multiverse? Follow Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League as our heroes through these crumbling and shattered worlds!

Collects Wonder Woman #8; Batman #608; Flashpoint #1; Dark Nights: Metal #1; Dollar Comics: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1; Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Batman: Hush #1; Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Flashpoint #1; Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Wonder Woman: War of the Gods #1; Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1; Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Dark Nights Metal #1.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Horror, Fiction, Fantasy

408 pages, Hardcover

First published June 8, 2021

About the author

Phillip Kennedy Johnson earned a Master of Music degree from the University of North Texas, where he served as Teaching Fellow for the Department of Jazz Studies, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Eastern Kentucky University. SFC Johnson has performed with the Lexington Philharmonic, Dallas Opera, Washington Symphonic Brass, and the Moscow Ballet, and was a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra from 2004 to 2005. SFC Johnson remains active as a composer, arranger, teacher, and clinician, and also enjoys a second career as a writer of comics and graphic novels. His work has been published by DC Comics, Marvel Comics, BOOM! Studios, and more.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

To me, the story quality just wasn't as good overall as it was in the first one.

My favorite was the retelling of Hush. It was a twisted but fresh take on the original, and it lulled me into a false sense of security.



Flashpoint was ok, as well. A solid and interesting look at what would have happened if Reverse Flash had stopped Barry from fixing the timeline.



Wonder Woman: War of the Gods was a huge NOPE. It was a confusing story mostly because it's not really a well-known event. Or at least, it wasn't to me. And after reading the issue of the original they included, I'm not exactly gagging to go back and try to familiarize myself with it.



Crisis on Infinite Earths was a slog. They switched out the Justice League with the Justice Society and...
Well, imagine Crisis on Infinite Earths, but even more dark and boring.



And Dark Nights Metal was on par with its dopy counterpart in the regular DC universe. Why they included a retelling of a shitty not classic yet story is beyond me. When I re-read the DKM issue it reminded me of just how much of a weird turd it was and how much I dislike everything to do with that whole thing.



Bottom line, I wish I'd read the Hush story and then closed this book.

[A.J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tales From the Dark Multiverse II is a terrible collection of stories that basically boil down to “What if some pretty awful to middling stories were just horribly edgy and depressing?” just like the first terrible volume.

We follow DC’s terrible version of The Watcher, Tempus Fuginaut, through 5 more universes that are even more inconsistent than the last terrible volume. 1 okay story followed by 4 horrendous ones does not constitute a decent collection. This also comes with 1 issue of the original stories, and it’s just used to pad out this hardcover and overprice the book more than it already is. Skip this shit.

[Ben Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tales from the Dark Multiverse II is an anthology of five one-shot stories published by DC Comics. This series takes some of the most famous events in the DC Universe and puts a darker twist on them.

Batman: Hush (★★★★☆) has the Elliots are the ones who raise Bruce Wayne instead of Alfred Pennyworth after Bruce's parents are killed. When Thomas Elliot's parents die in a car crash, he grows up to become the Senator of Gotham and CEO of Wayne Enterprises thanks to connections from his girlfriend, Talia Al Ghul, the head of the League of Assassins. It is penned by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and penciled by Dexter Soy.

War of the Gods (★★★☆☆) has Wonder Woman was manipulated by Hecate to dominate the world while taking out her friends and family. She has become a weapon of vengeance ready to tear down any god or superhero that stands in her way. It is penned by Vita Ayala and penciled by Ariel Olivetti.

Flashpoint (★★★☆☆) has Eobard Thawne – the Reverse Flash, takes Barry Allen's place when he tried to get back his powers, and begins to reshape the world as he desires. After he blackmails the President to grant him authority by killing Aquaman to end the war, Thawne is nearly defeated by "Superman", only for Superman to be killed by Batman so that Thawne may someday bring Bruce back to life. It is penned and penciled by Bryan Hitch.

Crisis on Infinite Earths (★★★☆☆) has the Justice League that was forever trapped fighting Ragnarok, after the Anti-Monitor’s defeat. The Justice Society/All-Star Squadron came in to rescue the team but was outmatched by Surtur. Alan Scott then sacrificed himself by becoming the pawn of Surtur known as the Dread Lantern, leading Surtur to other worlds in exchange for his promise that he will always spare Earth. It is penned by Steve Orlando and penciled by Mike Perkins.

Dark Nights: Metal (★★★☆☆) has the Justice League banded together with Element X, the energy corrupted them and became the Dragons of Barbatos. Barbatos then conquered the Multiverse. All that was left to survive was Duke Thomas and assembles a new Justice League consisting of Detective Chimp, Barry Allen/The Flash, Hawkgirl with Hawkman, Nightwing, and the Joker who is now a Joker Dragon. They banded together and defeated the Dragons of Barbatos. Duke Thomas then absorbed the deathwave energy becoming The Last Knight and confronts Tempus Fuginaut. It is co-penned by Jackson Lanzing, Scott Snyder, and Collin Kelly and penciled by Karl Mostert.

For the most part, it was written mediocrity well with Batman: Hush shining above the rest. It was an interesting idea to take notable events from the DC Universe and twist them in such a way that originated from the Dark Multiverse, but the execution of these stories were much to be desired.

Included are the issues that inspired these dark interpretations: Batman #608 (Batman: Hush), Wonder Woman #8 (War of the Gods), Flashpoint #1 (Flashpoint), Dollar Comics: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 (Crisis on Infinite Earths), and Dark Nights: Metal #2 (Dark Nights: Metal).

For the most part, the pencilers complement somewhat well with each other. They have rather distinct styles – some more pleasing to the eye than others. However, the artistic flow is mitigated by having one penciler doing one story, which made a clear distinction of a new story.

All in all, Tales from the Dark Multiverse II is a mediocre collection of one-shot stories of what could have happened to notable storylines that happened in the DC Universe.

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some cool ideas wasted on bland stories. I liked the Hush one most but the rest were borderline boring or bad. Oh and the whole throwing issues of PART of the story that the Dark Multiverse is doing is so weird. You're only get a bit of it, feels so disjointed. Least the art is solid.


A 2 out of 5.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

DC's latest Elseworlds concept comes back around for a second go in this collection of one-shots, but it misses the mark a little compared to the first.

The Hush story that opens up the volume is probably the best of the bunch, even though it's kind of grimdark for the sake of being so. There are a few clever story beats from writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson, but I feel like we've seen this kind of story before. Dexter Soy's artwork's pretty great though, can't knock that at all.

Flashpoint's also not bad - it's told almost entirely from the point of view of the Reverse Flash, which is an interesting choice, and has an ending that's actually kind of hopeful, despite everything, which is a strange surprise. Bryan Hitch is on art as well as writing, and even with two inkers and two colorists, he does a good job.

War Of The Gods is where this volume starts to lose me. It's not a story I'm familiar with, but it relies far too much on more recent continuity in the form of Hecate in order to try and tell a story that's basically Wonder Woman going mad. Vita Ayala and penciller Ariel Olivetti aren't a bad combination, but this one's just pretty bleh.

Crisis On Infinite Earths is easiy the most depressing of the bunch. It has a very sweeping feel, and an epic scope to it, but it's so mired in depressing things going on that I'm loathe to review it any higher. I get that these stories are meant to have bad endings and such, but this is perhaps a little too far. If you need dark and gloomy, Mike Perkins does it well on the art front.

And then we end with Dark Nights: Metal, which is a reimagining of the already depressing Dark Nights: Metal from the point of view of Duke Thomas. This is also one of those stories that I expected to have a horrible ending, but it has a glimmer of optimism amongst the darkness. Karl Mostert pencils this one - I hope we get to see him on some more mainstream DC books, because after this and his DCeased work, he's definitely a rising star.

So, if grim and gritty is the order of the day, then you'll get your bread and butter here. This is definitely more of a mixed bag than the previous volume, and I do think this will be the last time we see this one-shots, mostly because all the big stories have been covered at this point.

[Rylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It really pains me to rate this 2 stars I absolutely adored the original and the concept but oof a lot of these stories were super meh. There are some interesting ideas but pretty bad execution and writing. It’s missing what made the original feel special. Art looked fantastic at least.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Marvel "What If" style stories. I didn't like it quite as much as the first volume, probably because the first volume was "fresher", but this was still a decent read. (In one story we see Green Lantern Alan Scott sort of cast into the Silver Surfer role which was interesting.)

Overall decent story and art, although very dark stories, as that's sort of a calling card of these type of stories.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best reason to read this collection is Bryan Hitch’s Dark Multiverse take on Flashpoint; it’s probably the best thing I’ve seen him do in comics as writer/artist, a pivot away from the intentions of the Dark Multiverse (everything’s darker! a lot more characters die!) and instead just Hitch telling a good story.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tales From The Dark Multiverse II collects the second wave of issues that reimagines major DC Comic events into dark new realities. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Bryan Hitch, Vita Ayala, Steve Orlando, Scott Snyder, Jackson Lanzing, and Collin Kelly.

3/5 TFTDM: Batman: Hush - On that fateful night, what if Thomas Elliot’s family was with the Wayne family when the Wayne’s were shot and Bruce grew up with the Elliot’s? This was a lot to pack into one issue, but it was interesting. And it’s a pretty cool Batman design.

2/5 TFTDM: Flashpoint - Instead of Barry Allen regaining his connection to the Speed Force while working with Thomas Wayne, what if Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash, is brought into the Flashpoint universe where he can reshape the world without Flash being able to stop him? Depressing and ultimately uninteresting.

1/5 TFTDM: Wonder Woman: War of the Gods - What if Hecate was able to overpower Wonder Woman and shape the Earth as she sees fit? I haven’t read the comic this was based off but this was horrendous. It was incredibly boring.

2.5/5 TFTDM: Crisis on Infinite Earths - What if Earth 2 was the primary Earth that the multiverse patterned off of instead of Earth 1, leaving the Justice Society to be Earth’s greatest superteam? I love the JSA but there was way too much exposition here.

3/5 TFTDM: Dark Knights: Metal - What if Barbados succeeded in taking over the multiverse with only a handful of heroes remaining as a rebel force? I weirdly liked this more than the actual Metal event.

This second volume was not near as interesting as the first volume. I found myself struggling to get through three of the five stories contained. The book is again artificially inflated by cherry picking original issues from the comic events they are changing. DC should be embarrassed by the way it has done both of these collected editions.

[Dave Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

These tales are DC's answer to Marvel's "What If?" series. In terms of quality, this collection of stories is a mixed bag. Hush is only loosely connected to the original story and not impressive in its own right. War of the Gods and Flashpoint are the strongest entries. Meanwhile, Crisis on Infinite Earths and Dark Knights: Metal are fine without being great. I'd recommend anyone who is interested in reading one of these tales to do so, but to seek out a library copy of the collection or track down the originally published solo issue(s). I have a touch of buyer's remorse for having bought this volume myself.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

not my favorite but I'm all in on metal and death metal so i had to pick this one up. i really loved the last dark multiverse story in this and the hush one (but tbh Hush is my favorite batman story). the others were just ok or good.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The follow-up to Tales from the Dark Multiverse, featuring five more DC worlds gone wrong:
- Batman: Hush: Unlike the other stories, this doesn't diverge directly from the Hush storyline. Instead, it presents a Gotham City influenced by Thomas Elliot rather than Bruce Wayne. This standalone approach might be why it's the strongest story of the set.
- Flashpoint: The Reverse Flash takes over the world of Flashpoint. There are some interesting ideas here, but it feels a little undercooked.
- War of the Gods: Wonder Woman is taken over by Hecate. The story is OK, though at least the fate of this alternate Wonder Woman is an exception to the usual Dark Multiverse fare.
- Crisis on Infinite Earths: Earth-Two, not Earth-One, becomes the single remaining Earth after the Crisis. Instead of focusing on the implications of that very interesting idea, the so-so story is a series of fights with Surtur plus an out-of-nowhere ending.
- Dark Nights: Metal: Weird conceptually - a victorious Dark Multiverse within the Dark Multiverse? But surprisingly satisfying, considering the somewhat chaotic source material, with an unexpected main hero.

As with the first volume, the book is padded with single issues from the original storylines, which are hard to read without the larger context. However, it didn't appear to raise the cover price, so it's more pointless than annoying. (B)

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other than the Flashpoint story, which was the second one, this wasn't that great. The War of the Gods and Crisis on Infinite Earths (really Last Stand of the Justice Society) were too obscure for more casual fans like me to really know about the originals. The Hush one wasn't that great at tying into the actual Hush story and had a lot of unnecessary stuff. The Metal one was probably fine if you liked Metal--which I didn't.

The stories only take up about 60% of this. The rest is made of issues that correspond to the stories, which in some cases might have been helpful to have read first.

And something I wrote about in a future blog entry: why do these stories always seem to kill or otherwise neutralize Superman? Except the Death of Superman one none of them are really from his mythos and even in that one he dies--twice! It's kinda weird.

[Joaquin Escudero-Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always been a huge fan of all things DC and especially anything having to do with an Elseworld storyline. While the Dark Multiverse isn't exactly an Elseworld comic it has a very similar feel and I was excited to read the second volume of tales. This one didn't hit me as hard as the first one did, it was okay, but it felt very much like a quest for more money. As with the first collection they pad out the page length by offering the originial comic that the Dark Multiverse is based on, which is a little weird to me. Overall not a horrible read, just a lot of meh.

[Will Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a sad follow up to Tales of the Dark Multiverse. I love me an elseworlds book, but the only one I even kind of enjoyed was the Hush one. The others seemed to either not really change much in the timeline (Crisis on Infinite Earths- JSA experiences what the JLA experienced...ok) or it was just horribly boring (War of the Gods- nothing happened?) Anyway, this wasn't good but you know I'll read another one.

[José Miguel (TheHudson) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Concuerdo con aquellas opiniones que consideran.este tomo bastante flojo.

De alguna manera sentí estar leyendo un especial bastante raro de halloween, que una colección de relatos como los de primer tomo (Historias del Multiverso Oscuro).

En el fondo es como "cuentos de la cripta", versión DC Cómics.

Esperaba mucho más.

[Brianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a letdown. Tales from the Dark Multiverse had far more interesting stories, whereas this had a lot of reused and boring plot points.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

These weren't nearly as good as the first go-around. I think mainly due to the creators involved. Outside of Phillip Kennedy Johnson this is a murderer's row of overhyped writers who just aren't very good. I give props for DC rewriting some of their biggest events but this was some weak sauce.

[محمد التميمي · Rating 4 out of 5]

good

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure why I do this to myself. Dark, dark, dark. Would prefer some what if or else world vibes and a little lightness over the constant doom of heroes turning bad. Skip it.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good if you're stuck in a depressive state.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

DC’s What If part 2…complete with a Watcher!

[Kole · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this and the stories inspired brly them in one collection.

[ISMOTU · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of stories exploring alternative versions of DC comics storylines. Some were interesting. Not necessarily to my taste.

[Kurt Lorenz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hush, ☆☆☆☆
Flashpoint, ☆☆☆☆
War of the Gods, ☆☆☆
Crisis on Infinite Earths, ☆☆☆
Dark Nights: Metal, ☆☆☆

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 52/101 for 2024. Not bad, but not great, and a bit of a ding for turning Alan Scott into the Silver Surfer, like, word for word.

[Victor Orozco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I browsed around the library for this, and while I have not read many comics after the end of the New 52, I know what is known as the Dark Multiverse. A massive event in the DC Universe doubles the multiverse with universes that are all evil and corrupted by the decisions in DC's Prime Earth. I have seen images of those Dark Multiverse characters like The Batman Who Laughs and Batwoman, but I never read them before. But I don't need to read them to enjoy this collection that expands upon worlds that weren't a part of the major story, as Tempus Fuginaut, the Monitor of the Dark Multiverse, tells the stories. Having finished the first volume and enjoyed it, I was eager to read this second volume.

Dark Batman Hush. It is a universe in which Bruce Wayne's parents were killed by Thomas Elliot, the supervillain who originally was Hush. Still, the greedy young man, eager to claim his inheritance, kills the only man who could save his parents from a car accident he plans to take with his friend, who later, via his butler, takes him in. Gotham City becomes a cesspool of crime, and its underground is supported by Thomas Elliot, only as Bruce Wayne is himself the victim of another attempt by his best friend to put him out of the picture, a vengeful, dangerous version of the Caped Crusader is out for vengeance.

Dark Flashpoint. It is a universe in which Barry Allen's attempt to regain his powers in the altered universe he created ends in his death. This caused his rival, the Reverse Flash, to take the opportunity to manipulate events in the Flashpoint Universe. Eobard finally gets to fulfill his greatest wish, to become a superhero.

Dark Wonder Woman: War of the Gods. It is a universe in which Wonder Woman falls victim to the machinations of the Greek Goddess Hecate as her home, Themiscyra, and all her fellow sisters-in-arms are displaced from it as its queen is killed and the island destroyed. All this as her friends work their hardest to make things right.

Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. It is a universe in which Earth-2 becomes the new Prime Earth instead of Earth-1. All this as a great threat attempts to destroy the Earth as a deal is made when not just one hero falls to darkness, but several other worlds.

Dark Dark Nights: Metal. It is a universe in which the heroes of the DC Universe fall to the dark God Barbatos, and a former ally of Batman takes up the cause to defeat these monsters.

This was awesome. In many ways, reminiscent of Disney+ Epic What If? Series. I must also say it was great having a collection of the original stories that these Dark Multiverse stories were based on. It reminds you that no matter how bad it got, it was way better than the Dark Multiverse version. The stories weren't as great as the first volume, and truth be told, I imagine more hopeful multiverse stories, but at the same time, I'm glad other universes didn't meet darker ends.