10 Insanely Dark Batman Moments The Movies Won't Show You
4. Dark Nights: Metal
Dark Nights: Metal and its various spin-offs provided something that many comic audiences hadn't experienced in a long time - a feeling of genuine anticipation and shock, as many of the most dramatic moments of the series were the ones that you just couldn't predict, even if you tried.
Because anyone who predicted that, in the third issue, a huge Bat-arm would force its way out of Bruce in the middle of a family picnic is either lying, or desperately needs to start guessing lottery numbers.
It's considerably more gruesome than anyone would have anticipated - with Barbatos ripping itself out of Bruce's body despite being roughly twenty times bigger. Between demonic children, tragic sacrifices, and gory deaths, the series only gets darker and darker from here, and it's all the delightful awfulness that someone craving a more brutal DC comic could want.
If the previous issues hadn't established the inordinately dark tone of the series for you, this moment firmly plants the idea in your mind that this is one comic that you won't be forgetting in a hurry - as much as you may want to.