Dark Knights of Steel is a miniseries published by DC Comics, written by Tom Taylor with art by Yasmine Putri. It follows Batman and Superman in a fantasy reimagining of the DCU.
Nineteen years ago, a rocket crashed into a medieval Earth, carrying the aliens Jor-El and his pregnant wife Lara. The couple found shelter with King Thomas and Queen Martha, and when Thomas and Martha died, Jor-El and Lara became the new king and queen, as Martha's only son Bruce was a bastard.
The House of El prospers, but in the Kingdom of Storms, King Jefferson and his court magician John have seen a dire prophecy that demons from another world will conquer the world. They believe Jor-El and his progeny to be these demons. When someone arranges for Jor-El to be assassinated, a war brews between the two kingdoms.
A spinoff series called Allwinter, starring Deathstroke, was announced for July 2024.
Dark Knights of Steel contains examples of:
- Adaptation Name Change: Kara Zor-El becomes Zala Jor-El, combining this with Related Differently in the Adaptation.
- Adaptational Species Change:
- Bruce Wayne is half-Kryptonian on his father's side, rather than purely human.
- The Metal Men are humans in armor befitting their codenames, rather than robots.
- Alfred is this universe's Martian Manhunter.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: Anissa Pierce has sound/shockwave-based powers rather than her usual Super-Strength and Nigh-Invulnerability.
- Adaptational Villainy: This universe's Green Lantern is part of the Composite Character that seems to be manipulating the events and is responsible for killing Bruce's parents.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Issue #6 reveals that Constantine is in love with the now dead King of Storms, Jefferson Pierce. Though there is nothing to indicate Jefferson returned his feelings.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Poison Ivy, as is often the case, has ivy-green skin.
- Ambiguously Evil: Constantine's prophecy describes the Els as demons come to conquer the world. Jor-El does order all metahumans in his kingdom imprisoned without trial, but he otherwise appears to be The Good King. It's not clear if he's a Villain with Good Publicity or just overzealous about security.
- Ambiguous Situation: Everyone who knows Zala views her actions as not making sense of her. While Diana is biased in arguing this is morally not what her lover would do, even the objective Lois is confused about how her actions do not make any sense for her motive (e.g., she made not attempt to harm Jefferson or take apart his castle, instead killing his son who had nothing to do with Jor-El's death). Later, when confronted with this accusation, Zala is both genuinely baffled and horrified by it. There is also how later somebody resembling Kal handles kryptonite to no ill-effect to similarly do a horrible deed, suggesting perhaps a shapeshifter is in play. This is resolved when it comes to light that the Els were being impersonated by White Martians.
- Anti-Villain: King Jefferson is the House of El's main enemy, and he's willing to do things like hire assassins and consort with dark wizards. However, he's generally not a bad guy and truly believes that the Kryptonians are a threat to the world and that destroying them is the only way to ensure safety for his kingdom and people.
- Batman Gambit: While meeting with Queen Hippolyta and her daughter Diana, King Jefferson loudly accuses Zala of murdering his son and demands that the Amazons stand with him in any potential war with the House of El. This naturally angers Diana, Zala's lover, who leaves Amazonia and defects to the Els. Afterwards, John asks Jefferson if it was really such a good idea to send the most powerful Amazon flying into the arms of their enemies. Jefferson points out that this also effectively removes the House of El's strongest supporter from Amazonia and effectively makes her a traitor to the Amazons, making it that much easier for the Amazons to countenance an alliance with the Kingdom of Storms.
- Big Bad: Protex, the leader of the White Martians, is the one escalating the conflicts between the kingdoms.
- Black Knight: Bruce Wayne wears black armor as the Bat-Knight.
- Black Vikings: Despite being set in an equivalent of medieval Europe, nobody bats an eye at Duke Thomas, Jefferson Pierce, or Amanda Waller. In fact, the Pierce family are the royal dynasty of a country mostly populated by White people with no apparent issues.
- Composite Character:
- The Green Man, who is this universe's version of Joker, Lex Luthor, and Green Lantern.
- This universe's version of Ra's al Ghul takes the title "Head of the Demon" more literally, since he has Jason Blood's role as Etrigan's human form.
- Alfred is actually J'onn J'onzz in a human guise.
- The Chessmaster: It is implied that the Green Man is somehow behind the increasing tensions between the kingdoms. That said, it is the White Martians who are more deliberate examples.
- Child Soldiers: The Robins, although they appear to mostly do reconnaissance and espionage while Bruce handles the actual fighting.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: It just would not be a tale with Amanda Waller in it without her having this. A lot of the murder and mayhem that happens through the story is the result of her plotting with the White Martians to kill all of the superhumans of the court, trading the conquered territories in exchange for her own kingdom to be safe, and of course killing the Martians when they are satisfied. The plot ends with her being the only one still standing, obviously plotting further backstabbing.
- Court Jester: Harley serves as this to the Els. She uses her position to justify Mirth to Power and give honest opinions to try and advise them against war at every turn she can.
- Court Mage: John Constantine to the Pierce's.
- Cycle of Revenge: Jor-El is brutally murdered on the orders of King Jefferson. In response, Zala kills Jefferson's son (though it is implied it may not be her). Things continue to escalate from there. Invoked by the White Martians, who kill various people (including Jefferson's son) to cause the kingdoms to descend into chaos.
- Deep Cover Agent: Bruce apparently has one of these in King Jefferson's court. It's Tim Drake. And John Constantine figured it out years ago.
- Disabled in the Adaptation: This universe's version of Harley Quinn appears to have disproportionate dwarfism, being noticeably shorter and stockier than most other versions of Harley and having a larger forehead and smaller ankles.
- Does Not Like Magic: Jor-El, as it's pretty much the only thing that can hurt him and his family.
- Depleted Phlebotinum Shells: Oliver kills Jor-El with a kryptonite arrow given to him by the Green Man.
- Elseworlds: The miniseries takes place in a universe where the last survivors of Krypton landed in a medieval world instead of the modern one.
- Eye Scream: The first issue ends with Jor-El taking a kryptonite arrow to the eye.
- Exact Words: Kal-El comes to Amazonia to attempt to make peace, and he's nearly attacked due to no man being allowed to set foot there. However, as he doesn't actually set foot, he claims immunity, though Lois says he is following the letter, though not the spirit, of the law.
- Fantastic Racism: Bruce suffers from a version of this as he has dedicated his mission to finding and imprisoning any magic users in the kingdom due to the circumstances of his parents' deaths and the fact that magic is one of the very few things that can actually hurt the Els, the remaining family that he has left. He starts to rethink his views on the issue after the Teen Titans save his life and he discovers that he has powers himself.
- Framing the Guilty Party: As her attempted coup falls apart in the final issue, Waller arranges for Deadshot to kill Alfred so that he can't read her mind, then reports Deadshot to Bruce as a sign of her "loyalty", which also neutralizes any effort by Deadshot to try and implicate Waller.
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: As expected, John Constantine is a chain smoker, but he smokes a pipe à la The Lord of the Rings rather than his usual cigarettes.
- Grey-and-Gray Morality: The Els and the Pierces are both shown to be generally well-meaning people who are willing to do distasteful things for what they consider the greater good. The Amazons are more straightforwardly heroic, but they have their flaws, too.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Bruce is revealed to be the son of Martha Wayne and Jor-El, making him half-Kryptonian and half-human.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Hippolyta meets her demise this way at the hands of a White Martian pretending to be Lara.
- Heroic Bastard: Bruce, the Bat-Knight, is the bastard son of Martha Wayne. The first issue reveals that Jor-El is his biological father.
- Hijacked by Ganon: Subverted. After multiple manipulations and the resulting mayhem, it seems like the Final Boss of the book is going to be the Joker with a Green Lantern ring, but he is swiftly murdered by the White Martians when they reveal themselves.
- Honor Before Reason:
- Due to the medieval nature of the world. Bruce especially suffers from it and apparently, his mother and stepfather had the same problem.
- Amanda Waller does not accept forging an alliance with the other two kingdoms to fend off the White Martians, citing the deaths inflicted upon them, even though it was revealed to be conflict stoked by the White Martians. She goes behind Lara's back to parlay with Protex.
- I Gave My Word: The Amazons are long-standing allies of the Kingdom of the Storms and swore to aid them in war if necessary. Thus, when they declare war on the Els, Hippolyta joins them, even though she thinks it's a bad idea.
- In Love with Your Carnage: Harley says as much to Ivy, who promises to lay waste to whole armies for her beloved.
- Just Like Robin Hood: Green Arrow's gone full circle as a forest-dwelling outlaw with a bow.
- Karma Houdini: Waller manages to escape detection as a traitor to the realms and continues to be a trusted advisor.
- The Kingslayer: ALL of the three main kingdoms have had a monarch die a brutal death at the hands of their enemies.
- Jor-El is killed by Oliver Queen using a Kryptonite arrow.
- Jefferson Pierce is killed by a White Martian claiming to be Zala.
- In the backstory, Thomas Wayne was slain by the Green Man, who had been hoping to hit the Els' carriage but picked the wrong one.
- Hippolyta is killed by a White Martian claiming to be Lara, under similar circumstances to Pierce.
- Lady Land: Amazonia, like its Alternate Universe counterparts, is an island populated entirely by women.
- Last Episode, New Character: The final issue introduces "the greatest mind in the world" as an advisor to the kingdoms' advisors: Detective Chimp.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Jor-El reveals this to Bruce.
- Made of Iron: Bruce can survive things that a normal man really shouldn't. This is because he's half-Kryptonian.
- Mythology Gag: In 1959's Superman #132, Superman watches a simulation of a universe where Krypton didn't explode, and Jor-El and Lara have a second son named Zal-El. In this universe, Jor-El and Lara have a daughter named Zala.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Because it was John's prophecy that set up the conflict for the White Martians to exploit, everyone blames him for it leading them to their current circumstances.
- No-Sell: Two that foreshadow the fact that the subjects are not Kryptonians at all.
- When Jefferson attacks Zala with lightning, she shrugs it off so completely that she says it simply "tickles," a statement that is particularly odd given all Earth-based superpowers seem to be magic-based (something Kryptonians are notoriously vulnerable toward).
- At one point, Kal-El effortlessly handles kryptonite, despite it being particularly debilitating most of the time.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Numerous examples on the side of the Els. In such scenarios, they claim to be interested in conquest (something they never are in private) and openly revel in murder. These moments are key to the implication that there is something very wrong. This is because they are not Kryptonians at all, but rather White Martians pretending to be the Els.
- Promoted to Love Interest: Wonder Woman and Zala are a couple.
- Prophecy Twist: A running prophecy through the series is that there are beings that look like humans but are actually demons out to destroy humanity. John Constantine believes it's the Els,but it turns out to be White Martians impersonating them to turn everyone against each other.
- Related Differently in the Adaptation: Zala is Kal-El's sister, rather than Kara being his cousin.
- Related in the Adaptation: Jor-El is Bruce's father, making Kal-El and Bruce half-brothers.
- Reluctant Ruler: Jor-El believes Bruce should be king rather than him. Bruce, however, is hesitant to accept this.
- Royalty Superpower: The Pierce family's magical control of storms runs in the royal bloodline.
- The Scapegoat: The El family seems to be being framed for the various actions around the kingdoms. In particular, Kal and Zala make distinctly conquest-based speeches when they are attacking others, ones that they show no knowledge of when pressed. Confirmed in issue 9: they were actually White Martians disguised as Kal and Zala.
- Sequel Hook: After the storyline is over and the war ended, it's mentioned there are other kingdoms that might still be hostile.
- Sexy Jester: Harley Quinn is the Els' court jester.
- Shout-Out:
- King Jefferson's scribe is named Eddings.
- Locations seen in issue #1 include Feist Village, the Pullman Inn, and Hobb Forest.
- Sole Survivor: Alfred repeatedly mentions that he is the only survivor of a war, without expanding on that thought. He's J'onn J'onzz, a survivor of the war between the White and Green Martians.
- Sonic Scream: Black Canary has this, as usual. In this universe, she's believed to be a banshee.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Jor-El (at least initially) and Lara.
- Undying Loyalty: Bruce has this to the Els.
- Unrelated in the Adaptation: Thomas is not Bruce's biological father in this continuity, although he did still raise him as his son.
- Unwitting Pawn: The Green Man believes that his ring tells him what to do, but in fact, it's the White Martians.
- Warrior Princess: Diana, the princess of the Amazons, and Zala, the princess of the Els, kick plenty of ass.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: King Jefferson's concerns about the Els are understandable, seeing as their arrival was accompanied by a suitably ominous prophecy that seems to suggest they are less than benevolent. His response, arranging for Jor-El to be assassinated, is a bit extreme by anyone's standards.
- Wham Episode: Issue 9. The subjects of Constantine's prophecy turn out to be the White Martians, who have been pinning everything on the Els due to being able to get away with similar powers. Meanwhile, Alfred is actually J'onn J'onzz, and the war he is the only survivor of was that of the Green Martians versus the White Martians
- Wham Shot:
- Kal-El stabbing Bruce in the chest with a shard of kryptonite.
- Lara confronting another Lara, which confirms what is actually happening.
- The Witch Hunter: Bruce's job. He hunts down people with "magic" who could potentially harm the Els.
- Would Hurt a Child: A White Martian pretending to be Zala Jor-El murders Prince Jacob.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Protex murders Luthor when he no longer needs him as an Unwitting Pawn.
