In this review of Knight Terrors #3, a now awake Damian Wayne teams up with Deadman and Sandman to vanquish the Sleepless and locate the Knightmare Stone.
Knight Terrors #3
Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art: Giuseppe Camuncoli,Stefano Nesi, and Caspar Wijngaard
Main Cover: Ivan Reis and Danny Miki
Variant Covers: Francesco Mattina, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Christian Duce, Gary Choo, Ivan Reis
Page Count: 32 Pages
Release Date: August 8, 2023
Synopsis (spoilers ahead):
Knight Terrors #3 begins right where it left off in the last issue. Deadman, aka Boston Brand and Sandman, aka Wesely Dodds, battling with the monsters of Insomnia, the Sleepless. The two are no match for the monsters. Then from out of nowhere flies in Robin, aka Damain Wayne, cutting down the Sleepless. The Bat plane gathers and lifts all three to safety.
Deadman uses this opportunity to take another look into Insomnia’s mind, looking for more information on the whereabouts of the Stone. We cut to Insomnia’s mind. He is sitting in a support group meeting. The man running the group, trying to help, advises that the best thing for him would be to try and forgive the Justice League. This drives him into a rage; Insomnia beats the group leader to a bloody mess, grabbing the glass from a broken coffee pot he exclaims, “I’ll never sleep again,” slicing his own eyelids off.
Deadman is able to gain some valuable information: the Stone is not in the land of Nightmares. Knowing that John Dee didn’t hide it in the land of the living, it must be somewhere in between. They head to a lab in one of the Wayne Towers. Sandman creates a special gas that will put Deadman and Robin in a state of not awake but not asleep. Sandman stays behind to protect their bodies from the Sleepless monsters quickly approaching.
Deadman and Robin reach the House of Horrors in this in between Realm. Insomnia can be seen watching but is unable to escape the Nightmare Realm. They find a body in the house, a test from the stone. They are in the scene of the night Boston Brand was shot down during his trapeze performance. The story he tells is that he was dead before he hit the ground. Lies. He tells Damian the truth, that he hit the ground alive. He suffered, scared and alone.
Back in the land of the living a Sleepless is just about to take off Sandman’s head but is exploded from the power of the Nightmare Stone, held by Batman.
Analysis:
I am in love with this comic run. Williamson is hitting an absolute home run. These three main issues, four if you count the Free Comic Book Day one, are getting better as the event continues. The art, despite again having multiple people on it, is absolutely gorgeous; all of the variant covers are gorgeous as well. I feel like I am just repeating myself from the previous reviews.
The Boston Brand opening this month had him as a Shakespearean actor. While not the best of openings, I’m still really enjoying them. I want to make a special note to the dialogue in this issue as well. The conversations that Damian and Deadman have are special. I had a choke up moment near the end of the comic while the two talk about living in the land of in between. Bring me the next issue please.
Editor’s Note: DC Comics provided TBU with an advanced of this comic for review purposes. You can find this comic and help support TBU in the process by purchasing this issue digitally on Comixology through Amazon or a physical copy of the title through Things From Another World.
