Top 5 Fridays: 5 Questions I asked during Dark Days Prelude

Welcome to another dark edition of Top 5 Fridays! This week we got the second chapter of the Dark Days saga and... It's a dense slog that I can't put down. The concepts in the story are so good, but the dialogue and pace make it difficult to enjoy completely. If there is anything I truly enjoy about this series so far, it's the questions I form from them. In two issues, I formed a variety of questions to theorize around, and I'm going to go over them. If you enjoy the Dark Days story and have answers to these questions, or even want to add your own theories, leave comments below! With that out of the way, pull out your thinking caps and let's dive in.



5: How are The Immortals involved and what do they want?

During the first Hawkman part of The Casting, he and Hawkgirl confront a cult in their own museum who were preparing for the creature from the Dark Dimension. It is revealed that these cult members are the immortals of the DCU, including Mary Seward of I, Vampire fame, Ras Al Ghul, and the wizard Shazam. They warn Hawkman of what was coming and left him to his devices. This leaves me questioning what are they going to gain from this? Maybe they're ancient protectors of the world? Kind of weird when you consider among them is a vampire and the leader of an assassin order, who is often fighting against the heroes of this world. Maybe they want to reform it? Strange considering Shazam appears to be the leader of the group. This is still the beginning so we might get a little more context as the series goes on, but a unity of all the immortals of the DCU is a bit intimidating, to say the least.


4: Why was the metal affecting the Green Lantern ring?

Why was Hal Jordan so useless in the Batcave when he is the third, possibly second, most powerful member of the Justice League? When Hal and Duke delve deeper and deeper into the cave, the ring reacts negatively to the metal within. With every artifact he passed, the ring overloaded more and more. When it was time to face the Joker, it went kaput. The only reason Hal and Duke had any chance was that Hal hijacked the Batplane, but we watch the ring get hotter and shut down as they got further, JUST BECAUSE OF THE METAL. The ring sputtering to a complete stop left me with a single question: Why? Is this metal yellow in some form? Maybe it has some form of the yellow impurity inside it? Or it was just a way for Snyder and Tynion to make the Joker a serious threat? It's definitely not that last one, but if it's related to the emotional spectrum in some way, the universe might need to unite the corps once again.


3: What does Plastic Man have to do with this?

In the first part of the Dark Days story arc, The Forge, Batman arrived on the moon base for the League to talk to Mr. Terrific, telling him that it was time to let 'him' go. We learn that the 'him' in question is Plastic Man, which explains where he has been in the span of the New 52 but doesn't explain what his part during the Dark Days event is going to be. He's a fun character but I really can't imagine him being a part of a dark story arc such as this. In The Forge, Batman states that he had taken a sample of his DNA for an unspecified purpose. I've been trying to piece together what it could possibly be, but my only guess is that his DNA can be seen as a counter agent to weaken the titular metal. It's a bit ridiculous, but if Plastic Man is involved, it's not impossible.


2: How many defenses has Hawkman made?

One of my favorite parts of The Casting issue is the story of Hawkman as he prepares for the Dark Dimension. It was great to see this story has intertwined Hawkman with the Blackhawks and the Challengers of Tomorrow, all united to face the Dark Dimensions. However, there was something else in these issues that made me look back. Joker stated that not only did he know what was coming, but so did the Court of Owls. This made me think back on the legend and how that it was the birds that fought the Bat from the Dark Dimension. If Hawkman had developed these groups to defend the world...could it be possible that Hawkman had also set up the Court of Owls? If the Birds are supposed to beat the Bat, Carter might go to any lengths to beat it...maybe make the puppeteering Court...what else has Carter come up with?


1: How long has Joker known about the Dark Dimension?

I know this might not seem like a huge question, but this is something that's been at the back of my head since I read it. According to him, he let the metal pour over him and he saw the image of the creature from the Dark Dimension, but as described in Endgame, we don't know how long he has had access to the chemical. By what The Joker says, he's had the liquid long enough to understand that all of the events that had occurred with Hal and Duke are being repeated over and over. If this is the first time Bruce Wayne is doing this, what on God's green Earth is he talking about? What if he's something that transcends this universe; A constant in this problem. There will always be the Bird, the Bat, their conflict...and the one who laughs at the Joke. Again, just speculation, but it would blow my mind.

That's all for this week's Top 5 Friday! Do you have any questions you hope to get answered over the coming mini-series? Leave a comment and I'll see you next time!