Comic Book Lessons in Analytics — Dark Nights: Metal
Sometimes you need to flip the map to find your way
Batman found a question he couldn’t answer. It all started in the metal.
He recruited hidden heroes, shady characters, and others to investigate instances of mysterious metals and other worlds in order to look for answers.
There is a lot to cover here, so I’ll cut to the point: Batman found his answers. He then evaded his allies to confront them. Superman and Wonder Woman tried to find him in time to stop the confrontation.
They found the right place but had one question. “Where is Batman?”
Everyone pictured saying, “I’m right here” is, in fact, answering the question.
DC is known for its 52 multiverse, of course, but this is something new. Those seven individuals represent Batman’s literal nightmares come to life.
The hooded hunchback is not Batman. It’s Barbatos.
But who…?
Let me me explain.
No, that would take too long. Let me sum up.
Those seven figures are the Dark Knights. They are Batman’s nightmares of what he might do with the power of his Justice League allies or the power to defeat them. What could happen if he gave into his worst impulses.
We’ll talk more about them in the future.
The Batman Who Laughs
Of course, we will make one exception. He’s always the exception.
The Batman Who Laughs comes from Earth -22.
On this Earth, the Joker found Batman’s breaking point. Among other things, he had families brought to him in Crime Alley so that he could kill the parents in front of their children. He then exposed the children to a new Joker toxin.
Batman snapped his neck.
As a result, a unique biochemical was released from the Joker’s dying body that infected Batman and slowly transformed him into… that guy (above).
Batman proceeded to kill everybody, starting with Nightwing and Batgirl. He assumed (correctly) that they would be the first to notice his change.
Well, almost everybody. He exposed Jonathan Kent (Superboy) to Black Kryptonite and had him kill his parents, Lois and Clark.
Where are you going with this?
Kendra Saunders, Lady Blackhawk, explained the situation to the Justice League. This threat came from somewhere new. Somewhere unknown.
Flash, who crosses dimensions on a regular basis, is confused.
“I’ve spent years studying the multiverse. There isn’t anywhere else.”
Batman’s investigation led to the Dark Multiverse, a series of worlds and dimensions produced by the nightmares of the ‘light’ multiverse inhabitants.
Kendra and the Blackhawks, along with others, had been protecting these secrets for centuries. They didn’t believe anyone would think to “flip the map” and dare to look into what might be on the other side.
Amusingly enough, Kendra only brought the League to her base because she knew Batman was close to discovering the truth. She wanted to stop him.
I’ll let Green Lantern respond to that little revelation…
Batman didn’t come to Blackhawk Island for information. He just needed the shard of nth metal that Kendra had locked away.
Not long afterwards, Batman opened the door.
Keeping secrets
Kendra kept the secret because she wanted to prevent anyone from opening the door to the darkness. Carter Hall (Hawkman) and others had entered the dark multiverse in the past, but they were never heard from again.
The Blackhawks knew that only one person on Earth was capable of opening the door in a manner that would allow travel in both directions.
Enter the Bat
Batman followed his investigation for six years without knowing what he was even trying to find. There was something he could not explain, so he spent all of his available time, energy, resource, and allies looking for the answer.
His answers led to the door. The door led to a nightmare.
Knowing what you don’t know
Well, at the moment, the multiverse is on the verge of destruction and the nightmares are winning.
Oh, you mean analytically. About that…
The Flash thought he knew every corner of the multiverse because he had traveled to its edge in every possible direction. He stopped when he reached those boundaries.
Batman did not.
The Lesson…?
Never assume that you know everything.
When performing an analysis, you ensure that you know what you need to know. That depends on asking the right questions.
It also requires asking all of the questions, especially when you believe you already know the answer. Never assume that everything you see is everything that needs to be seen.
You don’t always know what you don’t know.
If you assume that you’re still missing something, you will sometimes drive yourself crazy. But you’ll also keep looking, and you’ll often find something that would have otherwise slipped through the proverbial cracks.
You do need to stop at some point. When you decide on that point, document it clearly. That way, if you need to come back later (when gaps appear in the results), you’ll know where to pick up the trail.
When you get frustrated, lay it all out. Map the data. Then flip the map.
