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Dark Knights of Steel (Single Issues)

Dark Knights of Steel (2021-) #4

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The arrival of the Els by spaceship 19 years earlier was a pivotal moment for the kingdom, and a prophecy was born! But what were those early years like for the Els, and how did they come to be monarchs of the kingdom? And what catastrophic event triggered everything that was to follow?

25 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2022

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About the author

Tom Taylor

1,288 books1,077 followers
Once a professional juggler and fire eater, Tom Taylor is a #1 New York Times Bestselling, multi-award-winning comic book writer, playwright and screenwriter.

Well known for his work with DC Comics and Marvel, Taylor is the co-creator of NEVERLANDERS from Penguin Random House, SEVEN SECRETS from Boom Studios and the Aurealis-Award-winning graphic novel series THE DEEP. Taylor is also the Head Writer and Executive Producer of The Deep animated series, four seasons of which is broadcast in over 140 countries.

He is perhaps best known for the DC Comics series, DCEASED (Shadow Awards Winner), NIGHTWING (nominated for 5 Eisner Awards), SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL (GLAAD Award Nominee), INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, SUICIDE SQUAD, EARTH 2 and BATMAN/SUPERMAN as well as Marvel's FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, ALL NEW WOLVERINE, X-MEN: RED, DARK AGES and SUPERIOR IRON MAN. Taylor is also the writer of many Star Wars series, which include STAR WARS: INVASION and STAR WARS: BLOOD TIES (Stan Lee Excelsior Award winner). Taylor has written for Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Boom Studios, Wildstorm, 2000 AD and Gestalt Comics.

He can be followed on twitter @TomTaylorMade.

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5 stars
162 (46%)
4 stars
127 (36%)
3 stars
53 (15%)
2 stars
4 (1%)
1 star
4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for Jenny.
1,239 reviews102 followers
February 8, 2022
Okay, so this didn’t have the banter I was looking for…but it does have important backstory and reveals who the Green Man is. I can see how this will be important to later issues. I do wish this was addressed in the issue where we found out the truth about Bruce because it feels anticlimactic after the last issue’s killing spree, but it’s still good. This is still one of my favorite comic series, and I think, depending on how it ends, the graphic novel could become a favorite book altogether!
Profile Image for Loveland.
133 reviews3 followers
July 7, 2023
whatever they're paying alfred, it's not enough
Profile Image for Hilary "Fox".
2,154 reviews69 followers
February 10, 2022
Dark Knights of Steel continues to be a rather good read.

Yes, it is a Batman story - but we knew that from the start and the title, didn't we? This issue, as the cover implies, revolves entirely around learning Bruce's hidden history. We learn how he came to be in the kingdom of Jor-El and what transpired between his parents. We learn more about how the Els came to this planet and established themselves.

We also get a Joker reveal that is positively unhinged and baffling.

Not a bad issue by any means, but I missed all the other characters something fierce.
Profile Image for RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez.
Author 8 books32 followers
February 3, 2022
Ha alcanzado unos niveles de ñoñería que pues para un número totalmente dedicado a la exposición de la revelación de la paternidad de este Bruce Wayne (lo de este "Joker", pues tampoco me lo ha hecho tragar demasiado) pues me ha roto bastante el ritmo y emoción generado en el anterior capítulo.

Profile Image for Marty.
136 reviews
September 6, 2023
Questa serie mi sta piacendo molto, questo volumetto non era iniziato al top ma poi si è totalmente ripreso. Vogliamo parlare dell'ambientazione della festa di Ognissanti?? Tavole pazzesche.
April 22, 2022
This is pretty amazing, the way the world is woven into a medieval one, with Pennyworth retelling the story of Superman's parents, and the way Taylor weaves in why the Els and the Wayne's and Pennyworth himself all know each other.

It's all pretty detailed, and spectacular, although my one complaint would be the Robins. In the first issue, all were featured, and I'd love to see more background on them, especially since Jason was written so spectacularly. I'd love to see more of him, as the hope of that was why I subscribed and I kept going because this was so good, even without him.

I'd also love to see some of the alternator universes of the past in either Marvel or DC tackle, say, Vision or Red Hood, something truly out there that would feel harder to do in a lot of ways. It's been explained to me by other comic geek friends why they, say, wouldn't try to incorporate Wolverine into 1602, which was also excellent, but given Gaiman and Taylor's vivid imaginations, I think they could do it if they wanted. Even going farther, hell, something like Robotman, which given the need for advanced surgery, but I'm a huge robot fan so all the robot examples.

Anyway, I think in general there's a little safety net in not going after the weirder characters and it bothers me, so half that, half no Robins - especially one - after they featured in issue one equals four stars. Still loving this series, though.
Profile Image for Annemarie.
1,476 reviews23 followers
April 15, 2022
Backstory time! I really enjoyed reading this backstory as it helped a lot with the worldbuilding. The art was pretty good too.
I did not like the concept of a baby suddenly making everything okay, because so often couples have children when really they should be breaking up, and a child is not a band aid to put on your relationship. I wish this wasn't so common in media, because there's a lot of people who actually think it works, and a lot of children suffer because of it.
The villain is a bit confusing to me. Since we're talking about a ring, I guess it's Green lantern mixed with some other things? I'm not a fan of mashing characters into one.
Profile Image for Riana (RianaInTheStacks).
384 reviews24 followers
May 30, 2022
I did not know that I needed this. It’s like Justice League set in the Middle Ages but Superman’s parents came to earth with him and that caused other things in this timeline to change as well. So well done! I love how Batman and Superman are separately and their relationship considering the changes to their origin stories. The way other characters like Lois, Luther, and Alfred are brought into this story is really cool too. The art is fantastic. I really can’t wait to see what happens next.
7 reviews1 follower
February 4, 2022
Cada número mejora más

Excelente historia, que se pone más interesante con cada número. En este número se revela el origen de Bruce. Altamente recomendada. Espero pronto salga el siguiente número
Profile Image for som ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱₊˚⊹.
529 reviews69 followers
April 6, 2022
الجوكر؟؟؟ وحقيقة إني ما توقعته أبدًا لسبب ما؟؟ بصيح مسنسمسمسم + الرسام لهالاشيو مختلف عن الرسام الأصلي (واللي رسم الكڤر) وما عيبني ستايله وايد؟؟ بس الفلاشباك كان ستل ممتع وعيبني :]
باقي إشيو وحدة بس للأسف .. الأشيو السادسة بتنزل ٢٦ ابريل واحسه أبعد شيء >:[
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for James Rodrigues.
972 reviews9 followers
August 10, 2022
The backstory to this world is revealed, as the Wayne's fate, the El's arrival, and the identity of The Green Man are revealed in thrilling fashion. Another excellent issue to this alternative take on the DC Universe.
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,211 followers
December 13, 2022
Little backstory to find out how everyone fit into place in terms of Bruce and Clark being brother. It's fine, and the art is still great, but nothing super different or interesting happened in the backstory.
Profile Image for Burton Olivier.
2,055 reviews13 followers
February 4, 2022
More fleshing out of this cool world. Mixing Luthor and Joker when you've already mixed the Wayne's and the Els families together is a nice touch.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for James.
471 reviews5 followers
February 9, 2022
This is mainly a flashback/talking issue but it gives us so much more of an insight into Bruce Wayne's character that you really don't mind the brief stall in the ongoing story.
Profile Image for Em.
312 reviews6 followers
February 11, 2022
Wow man, just like, wow! This is one of the coolest and most unique villain ideas I’ve ever seen and I absolutely fell in love with it! I’m so hyped to see more!
Profile Image for K.
531 reviews1 follower
March 1, 2022
Loving how in depth the lore is.
9 reviews
January 9, 2023
Creo que de todos los números fue el que menos me encantó, pero aún así sigue siendo enganchante
Profile Image for alia.
70 reviews2 followers
April 26, 2023
| "They will not except a bastard as their monarch."

Jor-El is just Zeus...men are evil! Men are so terrible! Bruce <3 is the only man ever. When will they let him have loving living parents??
Profile Image for Amber.
3,299 reviews43 followers
December 28, 2023
Bruce gets some backstory from Alfred about his biological dad. (hint: green stones hurt)
Profile Image for Pams Portilla.
52 reviews
August 30, 2025
Luthor being also joker AND green lantern is nuts
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Bethany Phillips.
483 reviews27 followers
June 27, 2022
I really enjoyed this issue.

It was fun to read this one. It was a great read and seeing all that happens in the story.

I really enjoyed the characters and all that they are dealing with.

It was great and can read more about this story.

It was a good read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews