Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Dark Nights: Death Metal #2 introduces a new Justice League-inspired Batman before brutally killing him.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal #2 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia and Tom Napolitano, available now.

Among other things, Dark Nights: Metal brought the Dark Knights who hail from the Dark Multiverse into the DC Universe for the first time. These characters are alternate versions of Bruce Wayne, and they were each of them a Batman who had the powers of another member of the Justice League. For instance, the Red Death had the Flash's super-speed; the Merciless had the powers of Ares, the God of War; the Murder Machine was a Bruce Wayne with Victor Stone's cyborg-enhancements; the Drowned was an Aquaman-like Batman; the Devastator was infected with the Doomsday Virus; and the Dawnbreaker, was a Green Lantern Bruce Wayne who corrupted his power ring with darkness.

These six evil Dark Knights were led by the Batman Who Laughs, and they operated as his generals in Metal. And now, in the event's sequel, Dark Nights: Death Metal, the Batman Who Laughs is back, and he's brought more evil Batmen with him than ever before. We met most of those Dark Knights in Death Metal #1, but the latest issue of the series introduces another Justice League-inspired Dark Knight. However, he doesn't last very long.

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Dark Nights: Death Metal #1 introduced plenty of new versions of Bruce Wayne from the Dark Multiverse. We met Dark Knights such as the robotic dinosaur Batman B-Rex, the magic-powered Batmage, the Batman Beyond-inspired Beyonder, the Darkside-like Darkfather, and the final Bruce Wayne, who possessed the abilities of Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan, among many others.

The second chapter ofDeath Metal keeps that going by opening with the introduction of another new Batman who was inspired by a member of the Justice League. In this case, this Dark Knight is a twist on Ray Palmer, the Atom. Appropriately named Batom, this new Batman appears on the page in a microscopic size. Using the skin of a lizard to hide, the Dark Knight eventually drops this costume to reveal himself.

Instantly, the character looks like a cross between the Atom and Batman: he wears an Atom armor that is similar to what Ray Palmer wore in the Arrowverse, and it's got the appropriate blue and red colors of the size-altering hero. However, the suit also features a Bat-logo on its chest, and the helmet comes with the obligatory bat ears and the Atom's atomic symbol.

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The origin story of the Batom isn't revealed, but it seems likely that he hails from a Dark Multiverse world where Batman developed (or stole?) Ray Palmer's shrinking technology and used it in his own personal quest to destroy his enemies. While he appears to be an effective covert operative here, it doesn't look like we'll see him join the rest of the Batman Who Laughs' League, since he is killed in the very page that introduces him.

Before he can even make a move, the Batom is run over by the Batmobeast, Bruce Wayne's new, monster truck-like vehicle, which is also another Dark Multiverse Batman. Since he's no bigger than an insect, the vehicle's massive tire squishes him like a bug, and he's left as nothing but a small splatter of blood.

KEEP READING: Dark Nights: Death Metal Set Up A Green Lantern Mystery

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Ian Cardona has written for CBR since 2017. He is a Feature, Comic Breakouts and News writer. He's been in love with comics for a very long time, and believes there is some good to be found even in the industry's more difficult times. His favorite Avenger is Captain America, and that was long before the character starred in a very successful film franchise. He is an avid statue and Funko Pop! figures collector, and he's rapidly running out of shelf space. With CBR, he has been able to write about his favorite subjects, from the MCU to Doctor Who. You can follow him on Twitter at @ian_c1701 (yes, that is a Star Trek reference) for discussions, debates or pictures of really cool collectibles he probably doesn't have room for.

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Death Metal Introduces a New Dark Knight (and Then Kills Him) - CBR - Comic Book Resources