Knight Terrors #3: To Die, To Sleep – To Sleep, Perchance To Dream

Knight Terrors #3 picks up where it left of in the last issue with Deadman/Batman and Sandman Wesley Dodds facing Insomnia’s Sleepless Knights, with either having little success until Damian shows up (as promised in the Knight Terrors – Batman #1 backup). In these opening pages, before the trio make their escape, Deadman makes a comment that they aren’t interested in Mister Terrific, who is suspended in Bacta tank-like device, a missed moment that hopefully will play out as the event concludes.

Williamson writes some great and funny dialogue as Damian releases that Batman is not his father and, indeed, Deadman, who also, in an aside panel, mentions that the two have met before, but that is a story for another day. There is also a great full-page splash as Deadman enters Insomnia’s mind of the heroes and villains spotlighted in the various limited series, which is a nice touch as a reminder that the nightmares are happening across the larger DCU.

While in Insomina’s mind, Deadman uncovers more of the villain’s origin and his transformation from human to a supernatural being bent on getting revenge on the Justice League. Williamson’s slow rollout of details about Insomnia is maddening and will pay out and not end to quickly as the event wraps in the next and the bookend issues. It would have been nice to see some notation that events at WayneCorp are those seen in Knight Terrors – Batman #2 and a bit more fight sequences with the Sleepless Knights. It will also be interesting to see how Williamson marries his work in the ongoing series with the Batman installments because things are happening between sequences at the end of both issues. The cliffhanger for the issue, while expected, is executed in a way that works and builds anticipation for the final issue of the main series.

The art and colors continue to be top-notch as there is a clear distinction between what is happening in the real world, the nightmare realm, and in between. The design of Deadman/Batman’s bat-suit hybrid is also a cool amalgam of the two heroes and is one that should be revisited down the road. The main cover for the issue is solid. Still, the variant cover that stands out is the 1:25 Incentive cover by Christian Duce, an homage to Incredible Hulk #340, with Insomnia’s reflection seen in the Batarangs.

The main Knight Terrors series continues to be solid even though this issue is somewhat slower-paced than the previous three.