Welcome to the world of Tangent Comics — where you only know the names. Parallel Lines: A DC Comics Tangent Universe Podcast is a bi-weekly, issue-by-issue exploration of DC Comics’ Tangent Universe events, hosted by Shawn Engel and Michael Bradley.

“Maybe there was no way to prevent what happened. But I still … I’ll always wonder if I could’ve done something.”

In a world where the Cold War turned hot, America needed soldiers with nerves of steel, and it got them in the form of a seemingly invulnerable special-ops squad. In this episode 2, your hosts, Michael Bradley and Shawn Engel, look at METAL MEN #1, which explores a more human side of the Tangent Universe with the account of a six-man Band of Brothers and the group’s final, brutal battle that ended the Vietnam War, but from which no man escaped unscathed. It’s gritty war action in “Secrets and Lies,” a story by comics greats Ron Marz, Mike McKone and Mark McKenna.

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Backmatter from the issue (click to enlarge)

NEXT TIME: Tales from the Tangent crypt with Green Lantern #1

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