Warning: Spoilers for Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #4!The world of DC’s Dark Knights of Steel has officially allowed Batman to let his Kryptonian power loose, with creatures he’s technically allowed to kill on the road to saving the world. This Elseworld’s Prince Bruce from the Kingdom of El s Slade Wilson and a young Alec Holland on their journey to stop the Allwinter. As Superman’s brother, this version of Batman gets to use his new heat vision.

In a preview for Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #4 by Jay Kristoff and Tirso, the trio enters Slen Rastløs in Deathstroke’s Game of Thrones-style adventure. Going up against a horde of ice zombies, Batman slices and heat vision blasts the frozen walking dead alongside Slade and Alec.

The land Batman, Deathstroke, and a child version of Swamp Thing enter is filled with what Slade calls “draugr,” an Old Norse term for ghosts or the reanimated dead. Though Batman maintains strict rules against killing in this world where he has Superman’s powers, he can be fully unleashed upon the zombies.

Batman’s Kryptonian Power Can Be Fully Realized Against Ice Zombies

His "No Killing" Rule Doesn't Count When They're Already Dead

As the son of Jor-El and Martha Wayne, Dark Knights of Steel’s Bruce Wayne is also powered by the sun like his Kryptonian family and half-brother Kal-El. The classic Superman powers of flight, superhuman strength, invulnerability, heat vision, and more mean that he has to work harder to maintain his “no killing” rule with his hereditary alien abilities. He previously used the heat vision as a scare tactic in Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #3, hitting Deathstroke’s Viking shield. Finally, Bruce’s heat vision can be fully turned up and used against the already dead frozen creatures.

Allwinter adds Batman back to the mix of the Dark Knights of Steel universe to further explore a version of Bruce Wayne with amazing Kryptonian abilities.

The preview for Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #4 shows Batman and Deathstroke brutally eliminating the zombies, with both the powerful knight and the tactical killer coldly taking down the icy undead. Though their first meeting in Allwinter began with a violent battle that the young Alec had to break up with his power connected to the Green, the bickering Bruce and Slade make a great team as they slice, punch, and blast through the zombie horde. However, since Deathstroke doesn’t follow the same “no killing” rule, their partnership could get more complicated as they face living threats.

Batman and Viking Deathstroke Team Up for a Harrowing Journey

Batman Has Never Been More Powerful

On a grand quest to deliver the powerful young Alec to Gyllenhjem and stop the titular Allwinter, the truly dynamic duo of Batman and Deathstroke must work together through treacherous lands. The frozen wasteland with the undead beings in the preview was once a lush and colorful land led by King Maxwell I of the Clan Lord, with more details about his rule seemingly to be revealed in the issue. There is also something called an “Everstorm” they will have to travel through, with dark and rough storms everywhere across the land, as its name implies.

The Allwinter series and its "Heir to the Sea" backup story by Tom Taylor and Riccardo Federici continue to flesh out the medieval fantasy DC Elseworld, and both feature iconic DC characters with Superman twists to their origins. Along with an Aquaman raised by the Kents, Allwinter adds Batman back to the mix of the Dark Knights of Steel universe to further explore a version of Bruce Wayne with amazing Kryptonian abilities. With more extreme power than most incarnations of the classic character and unbridled by his rule to never kill, Allwinter's zombies allow Batman to be more brutal than ever.

Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #4 is available October 16th, 2024 from DC Comics.