Metal Men #4 Review

Robo Con 2020!

Written By: Dan Didio
Art By: Shane Davis, Jason Wright, Travis Lanham
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 22, 2020


Time to head back to Mount Magnus so that we can catch up on the wacky adventures of the Metal Men and find out what the secret of the strange Nth Metal Man is.  In our previous issue we saw a Devil Ray from the Dark Multiverse attack our heroes, like in their first appearance, but where it originally took the combined might of our team to take this monster down, this time it only took the Nth Metal Man and if that wasn't enough to make you weary of this being, by the end of the issue we saw Gold back from the dead and sporting a new look....... Yeah, that no-good Nth Metal Man has to be behind this..... or someone else seemingly as ominous.  Let's jump into this issue and see what the Metal Men have for us this month.



So last issue I was a little peeved that we stopped the progression of our story to have a fan-service moment with the Devil Ray, but it at least showed us what kind of threat the Nth Metal Man was in his ability to take the monster down single-handedly and while this issue starts out strong with going over what's up with the resurrected Gold, I started getting worried again because it seems like we're subverting the main plot again here to start a side plot and bring in more characters.  The thing though is......... this side plot with Lead and Tin going to Robocon is actually fun as hell and I had a great time reading it.

The biggest problem with getting this side plot going and continuing to keep the mystery of the Nth Metal Man at arms length is that it is a little forced in that we actually have Will Magnus and Jenet Klyburn going off on a date and leaving this new Metal Man alone with Platinum and the injured bodies of Mercury and Iron.  Here we have this giant mystery from the Dark Multiverse, which we already saw was extremely dangerous and we have our two main characters that have the greatest investment in discovering its secrets going off and letting it just wonder around Mount Magnus, after talking about doing stuff to Mercury and Iron....... it just feels wrong..... but besides for this point though, the rest of the issue is compelling in what the Nth Metal Man is actually doing to the Metal Men and the side plot with Tin and Lead was just a joy to read and even felt more compelling with the addition of other robots from DC's past showing up, not to mention Kevin Kho coming along for the ride.

All in all, I do wish that we could keep our attention toward the Nth Metal Man and what he's all about, but this issue was so much fun to read that by the end I was glad that we took this little detour from this dark tale about Will Magnus and his responsometer secrets and what the Nth Metal Man means to his work in robotics because it gave these light-hearted characters time to shine, not to mention adding OMAC to the equation with a new threat feels like it could also be a good time as well.  I love the art in this series and Shane Davis and Dan Didio are doing some really interesting things here and I can't wait to continue reading......... I just wish we had a better reason for Will Magnus and Jenet Klyburn to go off smooching because it felt weird here.

Bits and Pieces:

Besides for a forced reason to get Will Magnus and Jenet Klyburn out of this story so that the Nth Metal Man can continue his machinations, this issue was such a good time in not only continuing our dark look at what the Metal Men can become, but in a fun-filled romp pitting two of our Metal Men against a new foe for the series.  I love the art in this issue and think that this is one of the best series that DC Comics is putting out right now.

8/10