For those of you just joining us, Knight Terrors #1 is the second issue of the main Knight Terrors event. If that's confusing to you, that's because the first issue was actually Knight Terrors: First Blood #1. Don't worry, this series will eventually finish off with Knight Terrors: Night's End #1 so that there will be just as many issues listed as #1 as there are those that aren't. Isn't event numbering grand?

Perhaps it's appropriate that this issue restarts the numbering from the First Blood prologue, because it almost feels like an entirely different series. Where that one was mostly just a series of set pieces and exposition tied together with some misplaced humor, this feels much more like your typical superhero comic. I was genuinely surprised when the story opened with a solemn monologue by Deadman about how much he loved the feeling of being alive. For a moment I believed that this was going to be an introspective look at Boston Brand as a character to contextualize the whole event. However, things returned to the expected when that quickly transitions into a fight sequence for the rest of the issue.

It doesn't take the world's greatest detective to realize that Batman sells, and that DC is very aware of that fact. The fact that this event spells "night" as "knight" is an attempt to play into that fact. And yet, it's still pretty funny that despite Batman being asleep so that he can have his own dream adventures in Knight Terrors: Batman, they still find a way to make him the action protagonist of this series. All of the bad guy punching takes place via Deadman controlling his body. What that means is we get your typical Batman fight scenes, but with Deadman's commentary on what it's like piloting his body, and it's actually pretty funny.

The action itself is fairly standard fare for what you might expect. Insomnia uses his powers to summon hordes of nameless zombies for DeadBat to fight, delivering a mix of easily disposable goons and one on one brawling with Insomnia himself. Giuseppe Camuncoli's artwork is what you'd expect from a high profile comic like this. The action flows nicely from panel to panel, the characters themselves have a noticeable dynamic movement to them, and they're overall drawn well. The only thing you might criticize is how safe it feels. It's very much DC's "house style" in that it's what they expect when they want something that looks good and will appeal to as many people as possible.

It's not all just action, though. The fighting is sprinkled with Insomnia delivering his bad guy evil plan in classic villain fashion. We learn why he's looking for the nightmare stone and get some more context behind just about every DC character has been put to sleep. Where things get interesting is when Deadman uses his powers to jump inside Insomnia's mind. It serves as a visually refreshing change of pace between the fighting. He keeps his darkest secrets hidden (for at least a couple more issues) but we get a firsthand look at where he comes from. In true DC fashion, the origins of this event are tied to the events of the last event, and maybe one day in the near future the next event will tie back to this one. It's events all the way down, baby.

Recommended if…

• You want to know the backstory behind the Knight Terrors event
• Deadman fighting with Batman's body sounds like fun
• You're a fan of zombie hoards and mind control

Overall

Knight Terrors #1 is a comic that plays it safe. There's a formula here for a standard superhero comic with just enough exposition for the rest of the event, and it checks all the boxes. The action is fun and well drawn, and there's not really many overt flaws to criticize, but at the same time there's nothing exceptional to praise. For better or for worse, Knight Terrors continues to serve mostly as a springboard for its many tie-ins.

Score: 6.5/10

DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purposes of this review.