All hell has broken loose currently within the DC Universe. Perpetua, mother of all multiverses is in the midst of using Crisis Energy to reshape reality, heroes have been scattered across the cosmos, and the caped crusader’s most evil doppleganger has proven that a Batman who laughs is a Batman who always wins. I freakin’ love comic books.
Now at the halfway point, Dark Knights: Death Metal will wrap up early next year and once the dust has settled, DC’s next major event will kick off. Don’t worry though! This one is only for two months, and instead of having reality-shaking ramifications, it’ll be dealing with a possible future for the DCU. Heroes of old still linger, their identities and mantles having now been taken up by a new generation of vigilantes and successors.
It sounds pretty much like a repackaged version of the rumoured 5G event, which former DC big cheese Dan DiDio was alleged to be spearheading. Didio’s plan was for 5G to be the new status quo of the DCU, and seeds for that new era were slowly planted in other comic book projects like Doomsday Clock. DiDio eventually left DC after a big shake-up at the comic book publisher, but at least his work wasn’t chucked in the rubbish bin.
As for the series and one-shots that will debut? Here’s the breakdown from DC that includes Jon Kent becoming the new Superman, a new Batman fighting a Big Brother regime in Gotham, and Themyscira appointing a new Wonder Woman ambassador.
Batman Family
In this future, Gotham City is controlled by the Magistrate. This villainous regime has taken control of the city, now under constant surveillance. All masked vigilantes have been outlawed and Batman has been killed. But led by an all-new Batman, a new assembly of Gotham’s guardians rise to give hope to all of those who lost it!
Future State: The Next Batman #1-4
- The Next Batman, by John Ridley, Nick Derington and Laura Braga
- Outsiders, by Brandon Thomas and Sumit Kumar
- Arkham Knights, by Paul Jenkins and Jack Herbert
- Batgirls, by Vita Ayala and Aneke
- Gotham City Sirens, by Paula Sevenbergen and Emanuela Lupacchino
- Future State: Dark Detective #1-4
- Dark Detective, by Mariko Tamaki and Dan Mora
- Grifters, by Matthew Rosenberg and Carmine di Giandomenico
- Red Hood, by Joshua Williamson and Giannis Milonogiannis
Monthly Miniseries:
- Future State: Batman/Superman, by Gene Luen Yang and Ben Oliver
- Future State: Catwoman, by Ram V. and Otto Schmidt
- Future State: Harley Quinn, by Stephanie Phillips and Simone Di Meo
- Future State: Nightwing, by Andrew Constant and Nicola Scott
- Future State: Robin Eternal, by Meghan Fitzmartin and Eddy Barrows
Superman Family
Due to his involvement in an international crisis happening in the near future, Clark Kent has been rejected by Earth, causing him to focus his lifesaving efforts outside his adopted home. He travels to Warworld to rise through the ranks of gladiatorial combat in order to defeat Mongul with the help of some unlikely heroes. Back in Metropolis, Clark’s son Jon has taken on the mantle of Superman. After seeing the horrors that befell Gotham, he bottles Metropolis in order to keep it safe, putting him at odds with Supergirl.
Connecting the two oversized Future State: Superman titles, Shilo Norman, the man known as Mister Miracle, finds himself caught between the city he grew up in and the battle-torn planet that could be his downfall. Meanwhile in the Amazon rainforest, Yara Flor is chosen to be the new Wonder Woman. Years later, the new Superman and Wonder Woman join forces to save their cities in a new superhero team-up the likes of which the world has never seen.
- Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1-2
- Superman of Metropolis, by Sean Lewis and John Timms
- The Guardian, by Sean Lewis and Cully Hamner
- Mister Miracle, by Brandon Easton and Valentine De Landro
- Future State: Superman: Worlds of War #1-4
- Superman: Worlds of War, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Mikel Janin
- Midnighter, by Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad and Gleb Melnikov
- Black Racer, by Jeremy Adams and Siya Oum
- Mister Miracle, by Brandon Easton and Valentine De Landro
- Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #1-2
- Immortal Wonder Woman, by Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad and Jen Bartel
- Nubia, by L.L. McKinney, Alitha E. Martinez and Mark Morales
Monthly Miniseries and One-Shots
- Future State: House of El, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski (one-shot on sale February)
- Future State: Kara Zor-El, Superwoman, by Marguerite Bennett and Marguerite Sauvage
- Future State: Legion of Super-Heroes, by Brian Michael Bendis and Riley Rossmo
- Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman, by Dan Watters and Leila del Duca
- Future State: Superman vs. Imperious Lex, by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh (3-issue series ending March 2021)
- Future State: Wonder Woman, by Joëlle Jones
Justice League Family
A thread of great change runs through the Justice League heroes: a new League is built upon secret identities (even from each other), but an old and evolved enemy will use these secrets to try and overthrow the world. For the supernatural heroes of Justice League Dark, the very fabric of reality has shifted, and heroes are being hunted.
For Flash, Shazam, and the Teen Titans, it all begins when the four Riders of the Apocalypse unleash hell in a battle at Titans Academy, Barry Allen is cut off from the Speed Force, a Famine-controlled Wally West may be beyond saving, and Billy Batson makes a deal with the devil that will change Shazam forever. Off-world, John Stewart and the remaining Green Lanterns are stranded in the shadow of a dead power battery; Jackson Hyde and Andy Curry are separated across the galaxy; and Amanda Waller executes her ultimate plan with a new but terrifyingly familiar Suicide Squad on Earth-3.
At the end of time, Swamp Thing reveals its true intention, ruling supreme until a remnant of humanity launches a rebellion, and Black Adam looks to the past as the only way to save the future of the Multiverse.
- Future State: Justice League #1-2
- Justice League, by Joshua Williamson and Robson Rocha
- Justice League Dark, by Ram V. and Marcio Takara
- Future State: Green Lantern #1-2
- Last Lanterns, by Geoffrey Thorne and Tom Raney
- Tales of the Green Lantern Corps, by Josie Campbell, Ryan Cady and Ernie Altbacker, with Sami Basri and Clayton Henry
- Future State: Suicide Squad #1-2
- Suicide Squad, by Robbie Thompson and Javi Fernandez
- Black Adam, by Jeremy Adams and Fernando Pasarin
Monthly Miniseries:
- Future State: Aquaman, by Brandon Thomas and Daniel Sampere
- Future State: The Flash, by Brandon Vietti and Dale Eaglesham
- Future State: Teen Titans, by Tim Sheridan and Rafa Sandoval
- Future State: SHAZAM!, by Tim Sheridan and Eduardo Pansica
- Future State: Swamp Thing, by Ram V and Mike Perkins
Exciting times! There’s a ton of great talent attached, the setup sounds fascinating, and Future State is running just long enough to avoid event fatigue before the regular DCU comes back from its summer vacation. It has me feeling like this could be DC’s Age of Apocalypse, and I’m down like a homicidal clown with a crowbar for that.
Last Updated: October 16, 2020
BradeLunner
October 16, 2020 at 17:06
Haaibo.