Clash of the Metal Men! - Recap

Batman teams up with Aquaman to take on pirates. After they defeat the villains, Aquaman returns home to Atlantis. However, Mera and Arthur Jr. have starfish-shaped alien parasites attached to their face. They attack Aquaman, who manages to hold them off only to discover that the rest of Atlantis has been similarly possessed. All of them chant "Starro lives!" as Aquaman swims outside. He discovers that even Fluke has been possessed. Starro's representative, the alien Faceless Hunter, arrives and informs Aquaman that Atlantis is but the first city to fall before the alien starfish conqueror. The Atlanteans overwhelm Aquaman, holding him immobile long enough for Faceless Hunter to attach another Starro to Aquaman's face. Soon Aquaman is chanting the praises of his alien master along with the rest of his people.



Batman arrives to stop Chemo, who is on a rampage. When Chemo weakens the street below Batman with a chemical blast, the Caped Crusader plummets to his death. However, six new heroes come to his rescue: the robotic Metal Men. Their members consist of Gold, Iron, Platinum, Mercury, Lead, and Tin. Batman accepts them at face value and they work together to attack Chemo. Only Tin stays behind, admitting that his malleable form is less than combat-worthy. Batman tells him that every hero has something to contribute. Working together, the robots use their shape-shifting abilities and metallic properties to quickly defeat Chemo. Tin is left to clean up the toxic waste by becoming a tin can.



The robots' creator, Dr. William Magnus, arrives to congratulate his creations and proudly takes credit for building the next step in crimefighting. They return to Magnus Laboratories where Dr. Magnus presents a film showing how he built his laboratory so he could help the world become a better place. He recruited six scientists to help him, but they were killed in a lab accident. Guilt-stricken, Magnus persevered and created the Metal Men to help him.

When an alarm goes off, Magnus believes it's a malfunction and goes to investigate. He detects the presence of various gasses and is suddenly attacked by six misty figures. They are the Gas Gang: Carbon Dioxide, Chloroform, Helium, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Oxygen. They quickly render Magnus unconscious. Batman hears the struggle and goes to investigate, but is rendered unconscious as well. The Metal Men arrive and wake up Batman, who explains what happened. The Caped Crusader tracks Nitrogen's half-life emissions and they fly toward the volcano where they have their base. As they go, Platinum transforms into a CD containing Magnus' back-up computer data and Batman checks the files on the dead scientists.



At the volcano, the Gas Gang wake up Magnus and explain who they are. Without his help, they will soon dissipate, and they need him to make bodies for them . He refuses but they remind him that he owes them because they died fulfilling his dream. Before he can agree, an alarm goes off and the Gas Gang realizes that the Batplane is approaching the volcano.

The heroes land and find the Gas Gang waiting for them. They are soon overwhelmed and buried beneath a cliff. When they revive, they discover they have been imprisoned in an energy grid cage that prevents them from shapeshifting or escaping. The Gas Gang enter, wearing new robotic bodies created for them by Magnus. Magnus admits that he was responsible, but Batman tells him that the computer files reveal that the scientists were actually using Magnus' research to develop a hybridized gas that could set off volcanoes. The Gas Gang admits that they were playing Magnus for a fool, and planned to sell the gas to evil-doers for big money.



The Gas Gang tell Magnus that there is one last thing they can do for him. They then attach a canister of the hybridized gas to his chest and lower him down toward the lava. Thinking quickly, Batman uses a battery from his Utility Belt to transform Iron into an electromagnet, breaking the energy grid cage open. The Metal Men are no match for the Gas Gang, but Batman has them form a suit of protective armor so that he can battle the villains. At first his stratagem is a success, but the Gas Gang unite into a single robotic form of their own and launch a counterattack. The Metal Men are broken apart and left scattered, and only Batman remains. As the Gas Gang approaches him, he points out that they have one weakness: combined, they're flammable. He ignites them with a spark and they're blasted into the volcano.



As Batman turns to his fallen allies, the Gas Gang emerge from the lava. They have been transformed into a single giant cloud of gas that can dissolve anything it touches. They fly off toward the nearest continent to wreck havoc, and Batman has no choice but to follow. Dr. Magnus is seconds away from being lowered into the lava and setting off an eruption with the gas. The other robots cheer Tin on and help him to place his head on Gold's decapitated body. Tin stops the winch and pulls Magnus up. The gas has triggered the explosion, but the Metal Men transform into a boat and get their creator to safety.

Batman flies the Batplane into the Gas Gang cloud and triggers the sub-atomic drive to self-destruct and blast them apart. The Gas Gang break into the cockpit, preventing Batman from hitting the eject button. Death is seconds away for the Caped Crusader...

The Metal men watch from below as the Batplane explodes, dissipating the Gas Gang and rendering them harmlessly. Fortunately, the explosion has thrown Batman clear and he glides down to safety.



Back at Magnus Laboratories, Magnus restores the Metal Men to pristine condition, and says that Tin and the others have made him proud. Batman only has one enduring side effect: a high-pitched voice due to exposure to Helium's fumes.

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