Dark Knights of Steel #9

I know this is planned to be twelve issues long, but I'm already hoping that won't be the end of this interesting take on the DCU. Read Full Review

I have been very pleasantly surprised with this book. The innovative looks at classic DC characters in a medieval time has been great. Some, like Harley and Lois, have been phenomenal. The mysteries and feints have been great to follow and try to unravel. Read Full Review

This issue largely calls into question everything we've seen so far, making us wonder exactly who was in charge in every scene. It's definitely not what I expected to see when I opened this issue, but it's another issue moving this closer to being an all-time classic. Read Full Review

This story walks the bloody knife blade between raw gore and pure heart. It would be a shame to miss out on it. Read Full Review

It's Dark Knights Of Steel #9, we're almost at the end! Also, there's Batman riding a Dragon a fantasy somewhere, now come to life with eye-catching art-work! That's something I'll never get tired of Read Full Review

Dark Knights of Steel #9 doesn't hold back, making for an action-packed issue with shocking moments. Twists and turns abound too, and while the characters can't catch a break, it's exciting to see the plot move forward so quickly. Read Full Review

Dark Knights Of Steel #9 delivers on the big twist this story needed. Now with the major big bad of the story revealed everything changes for the better. It all set-up for the final three issues for Dark Knights of Steel to be even more highly anticipated than before. Read Full Review

Tom Taylor continues to surprise with how much fun this is and how twisted and weird it can get along the way. If it's a twist with what's really orchestrating things then it's one I didn't see coming and I like being surprised like that. Now I just have to see if it really makes sense once we know all of the trick and a revisit to it. What we get here is a mostly brutal fight going on as the bodies pile up and the anger increases. It's definitely a lot of fun even as it tries to juggle a lot of characters and their plots while also having just enough character moments to make it work. Pour one out for King Shark, though. Read Full Review

The comic moves a step away from the dark fantasy genre it had embraced up until this point and I think that may turn some readers off. Read Full Review

The story this week is a visual treat, complete with great layout and decent twists. This feels like what Tom Taylor had in mind when plotting this series from the beginning. Although the ineptitude of the characters is annoyingly convenient, I think the book is very effective. Now that we are close to a big third act turn, I wonder how the characters will handle the new information. Solid issue. Read Full Review

daspidaboy

Jan 04, 2023

I liked the issue and hte pacing and the plot twist. It was very good and exciting.

Psycamorean

Feb 26, 2023

This is a step up.

Avanvolk

Oct 19, 2025

Moved far too quickly, but we finally get some answers as to what's been going on.

fzanca

Jan 06, 2023

I agree with everyone that the plot twist was telegraphed a mile away. I still like the book overall, but I wish Taylor had stayed with the present cast of characters and not added the Martians in act 3. It feels completely out of place and out of left field. Even though the white martian was able to kill one of the leaders, it really accomplished nothing except to have everyone team up against the invaders. We will see where Taylor takes this, but I'm less excited now than before this issue. I did enjoy the Green Arrow/Black Canary stuff.

Hex

Feb 20, 2023

My criticisms from last issue still stand. There are too many story lines, too many characters that won't get the proper amount of attention and are just used for a scene or two so people will be happy and do the Leo point. The book remains beautiful but seeing as this was "the big battle" even though I'm pretty sure we're getting at least one more likely in issue 11, there was not a lot of substance here. Bruce rides in on a dragon, cool we only see it in one panel, Kal is confronted by Bruce 5 panels, the Green Man 4 panels, introduction of the Martians 5 panels. These are all crucial points in the story but they aren't being given enough time in each story surrounded by some pretty lame action set pieces. One army charges, the other arm y charges, someone with superpowers lands and says, "STOP!". They do, then they fight again. It happened like 3 times in one issue outside of those panels I mentioned. The plot is gone and needs to be reined in. more

Mout

Jan 03, 2023

yeah taylor is really having fun playing with his toys

Jawsh

Jan 18, 2023

Something's off, the art is great and the character beats are still very cool. But I'll be honest folks, I have lost the PLOT. Few more issues to go!

ZONS9

Jan 03, 2023

Ooof. This was... Rough. I generally don't like to be negative (specially because started lining this series) but this reveal felt simultaneously too predictable (many people had figured out that the prophecy involved imposters, hence the "they'll look like us") and completely disconnected from the narrative this story was *seemingly* presenting. Spoilers ahead: It was aliens. The war has really little to do with any of the factions involved, they're being impersonated by aliens. Which to me, feels like the biggest cop-out ever. Now, having a *third* faction of shapeshifters involved in the plot isn't bad, what is bad is the fact that they remove almost all culpability from any of the Houses (you know, the people we're actually follow ing in this plot). The bad thing is that they are non-characters we haven't really followed. The bad thing is that they've prevented characters like Kal or Zala from having anything but the most barebones characterization for a whopping 9 issues (for fear of revealing that there were imposters involved too early). They are Taylor's built-in excuse to have "shocking" deaths ala Game of Thrones, but without any of the gravity that comes with it. I now get what Taylor wants from this book. He wants a book he gets to write "And now Batman rides a f*cking dragon! Awesome!" which can be cool, but for some reason he craves the supposed "respectability" that comes with more serious fantasy with morally grey characers (which isn't necessary tbh), and his solution to have them both was to pull this Scooby-Doo level twist. Also, I'm still not a fan of the severe Batman-favoritism this series has. more

lumanereesa

Jan 10, 2023

Have to be honest, I thought the reveals in this were pretty terrible. Many, many people had figured out that there was something wrong with the Els, but pulling the "turns out, it was actually shapeshifting aliens from outer-space!" card, like this was some cheesy B-movie is just bad. It completely cheapens the story and the setting, because it removes any and all nuance from the conflict for the sake of a) Having a surprise and b) Having the "shoking death moments" while compeltely absolving any characters of any wrong-doing. Which wouldn't be bad if the tone they were going for were soemthing more lighthearted, but Taylor is so focused on creating a "serious" and "dramatic" scenario that pulling this frankly cartoonish swerve is just jarring. And the Alfred reveal is... Okay, I guess. But it suffers from the same problems many Taylor stories suffer: narrative cheats. Nobody figured that out, because there was nothing to suggest it was a mystery. Yet Taylor plays it as a reveal. Taylor should have just presented this as a strightforward fantasy-adventure with obvious villains (and with us knowing about them, this would have allowed them more screentime and made them more entertaining to watch - It's not like anybody cares the bad guys in Lord of Rings are straightforward villains), instead of this convoluted "mystery" that feels only exist because TT wanted people to think this was a deconstructionist fantasy ala Game of Thrones. more

Tempra16v2.0Turbo

Jan 03, 2023

Bad, just like Injustice, DC zombie and DC vs Vampire. DC doesn't know how to do elseworlds anymore. Art is good.

Rader

Apr 06, 2023

No. Just no. What a terrible swerve that shows a complete lack of trust in your own story and the readership's intelligence.

Basan

Feb 27, 2023

lol This just sucked. What a terrible twist that frankly, makes this whole series just so much worse.