The evil Batmen of the dark multiverse could stick around in DC Comics after the current Dark Nights: Metal event is over, according to co-publisher Jim Lee.

During the Meet the Publishers panel at New York Comic Con this weekend, Lee expressed how much he and co-publisher Dan DiDio were enjoying the unfolding of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Dark Nights: Metal, and the evil Batmen, known as Dark Knights, who will oppose Earth's heroes in the story.

“They’re able to embrace these wild and crazy ideas where you see all these people out and running around, and it still fits in with this world of Gotham City and Batman, and all the different kind of tonalities that we have in the DC Universe,” Lee said. “To that end, as they continue to try and one-up each other and bring things into the DC Universe lore, they had this idea of the dark multiverse, and out of the dark multiverse come all these different, evil Batmen…and most of them are analogues to the different Justice League members. Again, we just love that they are bringing something very different and dynamic into the DCU lore, and hopefully some of those characters will remain after this event is over and continue to push the boundaries of what we produce in the DC Universe.”

A one-shot, to be released between the fifth and sixth issues of Metal, will center on the battle between the Dark Knights and a number of characters who play key roles in Dark Nights: Metal but are not prominently featured in terms of pagecount in the main series. The story, titled Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt, will also give artist Greg Capullo an opportunity to work ahead so that he does not run the risk of missing a deadline late in the series.

The title "The Wild Hunt" is likely a reference to The Wild Huntsman, a name that has been used by a number of characters in DC's long publishing history. The most notable version is a German super-hero and member of the Global Guardians, who claims to be the reincarnation of a legendary hero in German folklore, accompanied by a horse and hound that help him fight evil.

Other versions have been villains, including one who did battle with Shadowpact and one who fought the Chase Lawler version of Manhunter in the post-Zero Hour continuity.

Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1 is on sale in February.