ACTION COMICS: FUTURE’S END #1: We begin five years in the future with Clark Kent trying to grow vegetables in the dry soil of Ethiopia. Meanwhile, a woman attempting to commit suicide finds herself flying, not falling. She is approached by a sand version of Superman. He tells her he is reclaiming the gift he gave her and she will now need to see the beauty in life from the ground up. In another instance, a gambler named Donny suddenly has strength to fight off the hired help of a local bookie. He decides he needs to use this new found strength to his advantage by breaking into the bookie’s and stealing his money. When he punches a brick wall, he breaks his hand, as the Sand Superman explains that he should not mistake strength for invulnerability. Elsewhere, a young boy named Jamie tries to stop his father from beating his mother, only to be hit with slaps and a walking stick-none of which he feels. He also tells his mother he can’t feel her either. Sand Superman explains that a lack of feeling is the price of invulnerability. Later, at the hospital, all three characters appear. The suicidal woman seeks psychiatric help while Donny sees a doctor for his crushed hand, and Jamie's mother receives counseling. Clark receives a visit from the sand man who explains he may be trying to fill the gap left by Clark’s Superman. He explains that he had visited people and tried to help them realize their true potential. Now he has come to repay Clark for the inspiration he had. The man flies up, exploding in a sandstorm. The follower’s last act was to turn the desert into rich soil. Does this mean that Clark needs to live up to HIS potential?
I recall seeing a Sand Superman before, back in the days when all Kryptonite on Earth was rendered inert and could no longer harm the Man of Steel. I want to say that was Cary Bates and Murphy Anderson but this story, set after the war that is supposed to change everything, is by Sholly Fisch with art by Pascal Alixe and Vincente Cifuentes. This is DC’s version of “with great power comes great responsibility”. It was okay, but I am glad I didn’t spend extra for the “3D Lenticular cover”, because that would have sucked!
AQUAMAN: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Vulko, Tula and some Atlanteans is preparing to revive something to help them save Atlantis. Elsewhere, other Atlanteans attack Atlantis Island, calling Aquaman a traitor. Arthurs lives here now with The Others and is romantically involved with Ya’Wara. Apparently, after the war, Mera’s native land of Xebel has been wiped out. Mera is underwater with the remaining Xebelians. When Arthur goes down to visit, Mera and her followers and, even worse, Atlan-the Dead King, attack him. He defeats Arthur in combat and takes his seat on the throne next to Mera. Continued in AQUAMAN AND THE OTHERS: FUTURE’S END #1.
Dan Jurgens and Alvaro Martinez are responsible for this first of two parts and it reads really well and looks awesome too, even if I don’t totally buy the Arthur/ Ya’Wara relationship. I mean, we all know how much Mera and Arthur love each other and also know how they are truly from two different worlds under the sea. But they have endured some pretty heavy stuff over the years, in both this Universe and the old one. So, I will be curious to see where Jurgens is going to go with this.
AQUAMAN AND THE OTHERS: FUTURE’S END #1: Atlan and his army attack The Others, taking his helmet away from Vostok before The Others retreat. In Atlantis, Aquaman is behind bars where Mera and he debate whether the resurrection of Atlan is a good thing or not. The Atlanteans begin to attack Atlantis Island and Aaron’s grandfather is killed in the process. As Mera and Atlan prepare to take back the Atlantean relics, Arthur arrives and the battle truly heats up. But Aaron dons the Atlantean relics and takes out Atlan just as he is about to kill Arthur. Defeated, the Atlanteans agree to give Arthur and his team six months to work out solutions that will help everyone. And it appears that Aaron, now known as The Other, will be the leader.
Dan Jurgens finishes this FUTURE’S END story and does a nice job with it. Once again, Atlan goes to a watery grave and Aquaman and Mera sort of make up. Aaron becomes “The Other” and looks poised to lead the team. All in all, this was a nice story for a possible/probable future. And, looking back at recent issues of this title, I can actually see where the Arthur/ Ya’Wara relationship could be a reality. Oh yeah: Sean Chen’s art is a strong addition to this issue too.
BATGIRL: FUTURE’S END #1: Three years ago, Barbara Gordon married a cop by the name of Steven Harris. Among the guests at their wedding were her former roommate Alysia and her pregnant girlfriend Jo which prompted Steven to suggest they have children. Barabra’s brother James shows up and insists that Steven walk off the roof of the GCPD Headquarters to save the life of his sister, which he did. Two years later, we see the League of Batgirls, Cassandra Cain, Tiffany Fox, and Stephanie Brown, who work for Bête Noire. In the two years since her husband’s death, Barbara has managed to dismantle almost 70% of the crime syndicates in Gotham. She also trained with Bane’s men and eventually with Bane, who beat her in combat every night. She told him she didn’t want to beat him, but wanted to be him and he responded she would have to use the Venom. She became the Bête Noire, tried to kill him but couldn’t and left him. Now, he contacts her in her hideout and tells her he has placed six bombs in Gotham and he knows that the three Batgirls will never be able to stop them in time. The Batgirls return to find Barbara gone, having left a message that she plans on facing Bane alone. Bane admits that he has always known she was Barbara Gordon. Barbara removes her mask and reveals that she never used his Venom and proceeds to beat him into submission as he declares that her training is complete. He drops the detonator that Tiffany catches and thus saves the city. Barbara tells her wards that she wants to be known by her real name again.
Well, I guess we can call this Gail Simone’s swan song as issue #35 features a new creative team. I enjoyed this, even though I don’t know if I could ever see Barbara Gordon going to train with Bane, even on an undercover assignment of her own creation. I also enjoyed seeing Cassandra Cain, Tiffany Fox, and Stephanie Brown getting used in this future world. And the art by Javier Garron was pretty cool too. Nice job, DC: this didn’t suck!
BATMAN ETERNAL #21-25: In issue #21, Vicki Vale gets a visit from Jason Bard who informs her that he has been promoted to police commissioner with a kiss. In Blackgate, Carmine Falcone still manages to be amazed that Rex Calabrese is still alive after all this time. But now he is on his way to Hong Kong to take care of business. Unfortunately, Batman scoops him off the ground to have a little chat with him concerning the fact that Falcone lied about having nothing to do with Jim Gordon being framed. He claims someone who knew the Commissioner was going to be taken down invited him to Gotham. Later, at GCPD, Batman tells Bard that he doesn’t trust him and will never fill Jim Gordon's shoes. At Wayne Manor, an alarm is triggered and Alfred fails to lockdown the building. He brings Julia to a safe room and knocks her out, stealing her gun and locking her in the safe room. He gets grabbed by the assailant and injected with Fear Toxin. Moments before he passes out, he realizes his assailant is Hush. Julia, meanwhile, wakes, locked in the safe room, to the sound of her father's screams. Julia breaks out of the safe room to find Alfred screaming in fear. He gets a moment of clarity and tells her to turn the hands on the grandfather clock to ten forty-eight. Back at Blackgate, Jason arrives to pick up Falcone and arranges to release Zachary Gate. Bard then contacts “Mother” and says Batman doesn’t suspect a thing. He then proceeds to destroy the USB stick with the evidence proving Jim Gordon is innocent, saying that Gotham now belongs to them.
In issue #22, At the construction site for the Beacon Tower, the Architect and his men trip a proximity sensor causing Batman to check in to the Batcave. At Wayne Manor, Julia turns the clock to 10:48 and the front opens to a passage that leads her to the Batcave. Batman sees her on camera and demands to know what has happened to Alfred. She explains he's in the hospital and his condition is Batman’s fault. He explains to her that the Architect can kill hundreds and he needs her help. With Julia’s help via the computer system, Batman takes down the Architect, demanding to know who he is working for and Gate says that the building speaks in whispers. Batman hears the "shhhh" the building is making. He now knows the mastermind is Hush. With that, Hush kills Andrew Trondsen.
In issue #23, Catwoman watches a shoot out between a poacher known as Tiger Shark and his enemies, injuring a snow leopard in the process. She promises that the next time she sees Tiger Shark, she will make a jacket out of his skin. Mourning the death of the cub, a girl arrives, saying Selina’s father who wants to see her in Blackgate Penitentiary sent her. She crawls through the sewer to enter Blackgate and meets with her real father, Rex "The Lion" Calabrese. He explains that Gotham’s crime families need someone to bring them all together. He believes that would be her. Meanwhile, the Architect is taken down by Batman who demands to know where Hush is. Julia warns him that Gate turned on a device that is setting off an earthquake. In the Gotham Underground, Catwoman and Jade are in danger of being crushed, but escape. She takes the girl to Dr. Leslie Thompkins' clinic so she can be cared for. Following the earthquakes, Mayor Hady receives a visit from Bard, who tries to convince the Mayor to place Gotham City under martial law.
Issue #24 begins with Stephanie Brown spying on the Cluemaster. The person he is meeting with insists that Arthur needs to take out the loose end, which he promises to do. He is then told he has 24 hours to take care of it or one of them dies. Arthur reports that Signalman, Ratcatcher and the Prankster are all helping to make Gotham anxious. Hush tells him that the number one priority is to kill Stephanie. With the meeting over, Stephanie jumps down to find that her father is waiting for her. She escapes on his motorcycle and he gives chase. He crashes and is captured by the police, who she called during the chase. Meanwhile, Batman goes to an art gallery to find that a ghost warning Batman to save Gotham is killing patrons. He discovers the late Dr. Simon Ecks of Arkham Asylum. He calls Julia for assistance but gets no answer.
In issue #25, Vicki Vale is trying to convince her boyfriend, the new commissioner, from making her run a story about possible terror attacks against Gotham City. As much as she disagrees, Vicki agrees to run the story. Soon the city is in a panic and rioting in the streets occurs. Back in the Batcave, Julia is told that she needs to take her father’s place while he is in the hospital. She has learned that the person responsible for releasing the Architect from Blackgate was Jason Bard. Batman breaks into Bard’s apartment and finds a hologram of Hush saying he hasn’t even begun to rip Bruce’s life apart. He plans on incriminating Batman with pictures of him breaking into bard’s apartment and plans to kill off Bruce's allies. As the hologram disappears, the apartment blows up with Batman inside. Meanwhile, Tim Drake and Jason Todd visit Mercy Hospital to check on Alfred. Tim insists that they all need to act as a family to stop the attacks on family members. Jason calls Barbara, who is mad that her father is still in jail. She is told she got the wrong guy and tells her she needs to have a chat with everyone and Batman. Jason Bard stumbles into a meeting with Mayor Hady and claims he was the target of a terrorist attack. Hady agrees to declare Martial Law in Gotham City. Lastly, as Batman tries to escape the wreckage of the destroyed apartment, he finds that his help is coming from the rest of the Batman Family.
Five issues this month so we’re looking at 100 pages of action. And oh boy: Dr. Thomas "Tommy" Elliot is BACK! And Jason Bard reveals himself to be the creep we all kind of thought he was anyway. This gem, filled with tidbits all over the place, is by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, John Layman, Tim Seeley and Kyle Higgins, with art from Jason Fabok, Jorge Lucas, Dustin Nguyen, Ady Clarke, and R.M. Guera. This book personifies the old-fashioned movie serial concept and it’s great!
BATMAN: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years in the future, we find that Batman is dying. He plans on extending the legacy of the Batman through cloning and is looking to steal something from Caulder Component that will keep the clones stable. Alfred warns him that he will probably be killed in the process of breaking into LexCorp. Once he gets inside, the security protocols drop into place and he has thirty minutes to do what he has to do. In a sub–basement, a holographic Lex tells him that he will either die from the gas in the room or the attack drone. Batman manages to vent the room and disable the drone and moves on. He makes it through the next room, and finally a room full of failed Superman clones. Before he can destroy the lab, one of the clones attacks him. Before he can do so, those clones attack him. Batman suit begins to crash and Alfred warns him to get out of the lab quickly. The clones continue their attack and communications go dark. Shortly thereafter, Batman returns to the Batcave with the Caulder Component in hand. Within nine months, Batman and Alfred have built clones and put memory implants containing everything up to the night when he decided to become a bat. This way, Gotham will have a Batman forever.
Okay, so we get a nice action filled and touching adventure of the Dark Knight courtesy Ray Fawkes, Scott Snyder and Aco. I like the pace of it and the whole idea of Batman cloning himself to make certain he lives forever is just a bit on the creepy but cool side. And, based on the way thigs have been going lately in the Batman world, I can see Bruce Wayne being that paranoid that he feels the need to live on forever rather than pass the mantle to one of his proteges. Which begs the question: which proteges are even still alive five years from now. We know that Dick Grayson is “supposed” to be dead, as is Tim Drake. Who else could have worn the mantle of the bat and won’t?
BATMAN AND ROBIN: FUTURE’S END #1: While Alfred is sending Duke Thomas, the current Robin all over Gotham, Batman is battling someone dressed like the Heretic. Alfred warns that this person is a close match for the Heretic that is believed to be dead. Batman is taking a ferocious beating and close to experiencing, a stroke when Alfred tells him that Robin wants to help, but Batman refuses. When Robin arrives, Batman is near death and jams two syringes into Heretic’s neck, which causes him to burst into flames. Batman has him grab a fire extinguisher and put out the flames. Batman gathers a DNA sample and sends it to Alfred who refuses to apologize for sending Robin.
Okay…I’m a bit confused here. So, who WAS this Heretic? I feel kind of cheated by this ending and the making of Duke Thomas into the new Robin? Okay, I really thought it would be someone else stepping into those shoes. And, since all sorts of references are made to the Damian, who we don’t see, can we assume that Damian ISN’T getting resurrected during ROBIN RISES? I love Ray Fawkes work and he writes a great story. And Dustin Nguyen does his usual killer work on the art. But, I just don’t see how this fits in the way it should.
BATMAN/SUPERMAN: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, after the war ended, Bruce Wayne woke in the hospital with a broken spine. The war had taken many casualties and Clark Kent was one of them. But Bruce managed to overcome this with spinal support column and a robotic suit. He thinks back to six months ago when he had made the decision to end the war and how Clark had come and destroyed the Bat Cave. He went to Hiro Okamura, who was responsible for making Batman’s suit. Then Batman went to the Fortress of Solitude and found Krypto and Steel, who told him he wasn’t allowed here anymore as he had used Superman. Bruce went to Comstock Air Force Base and shoved a Kryptonite rod into the ground, hoping to attract Superman’s attention. Unfortunately, it brought Metallo who eventually was defeated but left Bruce in a coma. When he awoke, Alfred explained that his back was broken for good this time. After Alfred left, he whispered Clark’s name, who never came. He decided that if Superman was too good to help the world, then it would be Batman’s job to be the hero.
Greg Pak writes a great story and this one, while being a little short on the action side, is full of details and characterization. So, whatever Bruce was planning to do to end the war was so heinous that Superman battled him and trashed the Cave. And then headed off the Africa. My biggest complaint is the unevenness of the art. The first ten pages are by Cliff Richards and the next ten are by Jack Hebert and Vincente Cifuentes. Other than that, it was a good read.
BATWING: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, a new criminal organization called Leviathan is trying to take over the existing criminal organizations. A group of the leaders from all these organizations gather with the single goal of eliminating Leviathan. Corvus Corax arrives and tells them that, for 10 billion dollars, he will tell them where they can find Leviathan. They discover that this Corvus is really a hologram. But his information sends them to Dinosaur Island. Upon their arrival, they discover that there is no Leviathan and it is all a trap set by Batman Incorporated and Corvus is really Batwing. They take out the bad guys and get a short congratulatory speech from a holographic Batman. In the story’s conclusion, Luke visits Tamara’s grave and reconciles with the rest of his family.
It’s kind of hard for me to judge this title as I didn’t read BATWING except for the first issue when he was Tinasha Police Officer David Zavimbe. And I know that around issue #20, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Eduardo Pansica took over, there was a changing of the guard, and Lucas Fox took over the role and kept the garb all the way till the title ended with issue #34. So, when Fox had a falling out with his family, when his sister died and anything surrounding all of this is a mystery. But, based on this issue, I may have to do a little backtracking for back issues. I mean, it’s Palmiotti, Gray and Pansica so it reads great and looks great too!
BATWOMAN: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years in the future, Beth Kane, now known as the vigilante called Alice, needs to kill her vampire sister, Batwoman. Meanwhile, Batwoman is in the process of attacking Maggie Sawyer, claiming it is time for her to die and grabs her, taking her to the rooftops. Deciding she isn’t worth her time, she drops her, but is saved by Beth. Beth and Kate battle and Beth attaches a piece of clay to her sister’s leg, which turns into Clayface. Jason Blood tries to recite the incantation that will turn him into Etrigan, but Batwoman tears his throat out. Then she breathes fire on Clayface, which hardens him and then smashes him on the floor. Beth traps her sister in a net and she soon hears Kate's real voice begging to help her. Beth removes the net and shoves a stake through Kate's heart, turning her sister to dust.
Marc Andreyko and Jason Masters give up a killer issue…literally! Batwoman became a batwoman…literally! This was a great issue and paves the way for a possible future for “Alice”. Is SHE destined to be the next Batwoman? I have loved this title since the beginning, through the ups and downs and the upheaval of the creative team. Andreyko has done a decent job of picking up and moving the characters along. And Masters does a super job on the art here. This was a treat. Despite the gripes, I’m enjoying most of the FUTURE’S END books…to this point anyway.
BIRDS OF PREY: FUTURE’S END #1: Even though we are five years from now, we begin two years ago. Black Canary is running something called the Red League and they had recently stopped a human trafficking ring. One of the girl’s rescued agrees to join the Red League and is renamed Xi. Two years later and we learn that Paul Howe III is running the biggest trafficking ring in Gotham and the Red League is prepared to take him down. But midway through the Operation Bête Noire interrupts, accusing her of taking over the League of Assassins. She admits to it, saying she did it to destroy the organization. She also claims she has proof that Howe is not the bad guy Barbara thinks she is and demands proof. Dinah holds up a memory stick and Barbara walks away, saying she has plans for a team of her own(which we see in BATGIRL FUTURE’S END). As the Red League entered the mansion, they find that Howe has committed suicide. With Barbara in town, Dinah believes it’s time to move the Red League to another town.
Christy Marx and Robson Rocha, the regular team on the BIRDS OF PREY title, contribute this closing chapter to the series. And, believe it or not, this is probably one of the better issues. Seeing Dinah and Barbara get their aggression out and then go their separate ways was a break I have been waiting to see since about half way through the series. When it was the old Canaries, it was a bond. This Canaries was a loose amalgamation. I’ve said it before: bring back Lady Blackhawk and give Strix her own series.
BOOSTER GOLD: FUTURE’S END #1: We open with Booster Gold, who was just in the Justice League headquarters, in late 19th Century Gotham City. He knows he was on a mission but can’t recall what it was. He attempts to re-enter the Timestream just as a Batman takes over for him. Next he ends up tortured by Brainiac's droids. He gets ejected form the Timestream to the day he discovered that Superman and Wonder Woman were involved with each other. He manages to stop time and appears in front of himself. Before he can explain, he gets shot into the 30th Century and sees Validus and Tharok attacking the Legion of Super-Heroes. Before he can help, he ends up on Earth-4. He tries to approach Captain Atom, but he suspects him to be aligned with Spectro and attacks him. Again, he is pulled through the Timestream and ends up in a future run by talking tigers. Just as Ben Boxer and his friends appear trying to save their friend Kamandi, he again is yanked through the Timestream. He ends up in the 25th Century, where he meets with his sister Michelle. They both end up in the Timestream where they get to Booster's imprisoned other self. He realizes he is not the future Booster, he is from another universe. Brainiac arrives and Booster defends Michelle and his other self, but she falls hostage to Brainiac and begins to be tortured. The other Booster then swears to take Brainiac to Vanishing Point. The book concludes with the phrase “To Be Continued Where Worlds and Futures End”.
Okay, so when you’re talking about multi Earth crisis’s, Dan Jurgens is STILL the guy to call. And did the fanboy in me do a major dance when I saw Kamandi, Ben Boxer, Steve and Renzi. Yeah-I truly loved KAMANDI and the original OMAC! Or all you continuity geeks out there, like me, this issue falls after after SUPERMAN: DOOMED #2 as the final page sets all of this up. And what’s with the final message? Does this mean that the WORLD’S END and FUTURE’S END weeklies will come together and lead us into a new DCU? Anyway, this is a great story laying ground for the future. Thanks to the creative team of Jurgens, with Moritat, Will Conrad, Steve Lightle, Stephen Thompson, Ron Frenz, Brett Booth and Dan Jurgens handling the art! This becomes THE book to have in the collection of the FUTURE’S END titles as it truly reveals more than you probably expected it too!
CATWOMAN: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years in the future and we see that Catwoman is the head of a huge criminal empire and is desperately doing her best to make them a united criminal empire. She reminds them of what happened to Black Mask and, as Tusk refuses to follow her, Erin McKillen shoots him through the head. Following the meeting, Matt Falcone remind her that the others are only waiting for her to slip up so they can take her place. She reminds him that they can’t risk a gang war that would bring Batman down on them. They check to make certain her car isn’t wired to explode and then Matt excuses himself to take a call. He uses an app on his phone to detonate a bomb, which blows up the car with her inside. The other family leaders arrive to have Matt tell them that Selina is dead, which puts him in charge. To his surprise, he discovers that the bank accounts are dry and the others put him to death. Georgie Maroni announces there will be a gang war after all, for control of the united families. Six months later, Edward Nygma catches up to Selina Kyle, who has changed her name and is living on the French Riviera. She tells him she never wanted to rule the underworld. She just wanted to play a con game where she stole from the united crime families. She knows he wants to blackmail her but knows he won’t because he won’t give up the secret of the riddle.
This is quite possibly the best thing I have read from the mind of Sholly Fisch, who is typically relegated to back-up stories. And Pat Olliffe’s art is the usual great looking stuff. What I really like about this is how it has taken the plot that is fast becoming a reality in the current Batman side of the NEW 52 universe and not only making it a reality, it is playing the game to the end of the con. We see that Catwoman DOES become the Head of the Gotham criminal families and that her ulterior motive is to fleece the crooks, leaving Matt Falcone as the ultimate fall guy. This is a brilliant piece of storytelling and leaves me wanting to see who we get from point A to pint B over the five year period.
CONSTANTINE: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years in the future, John Constantine is no longer the man he was and he is in charge of the Helmet of Fate. He was given the chance to be the host the Helmet needs, but he needs to destroy the helm, as it has caused much tragedy and death. Librarian Mary Bowen receives the call from Nabu and heads to the hotel where the Constantine is holding the Helm, but is knocked out by John’s friend Lloyd. Meanwhile, Jun-Seo Lee hears the call of Fate and then gets choked and passes out. The Helm of Fate continues to taunt Constantine and finally it overtakes him. But Constantine has prepared well as he uses the Auditorium of Anubis spell to trap the Helm within his heart. He challenges it to a duel where Nabu must prove that he has actually cared about someone beside himself. If the Helm wins, Constantine’s heart will explode. He also suggests calling on the former wearer of the Helm, Khalid Ben-Hassin, as a character witness. Unfortunately he is currently trapped in Hell. With the challenge over, Anubis arrives and eats Nabu. But John had made a deal with an ifrit demon, which allows it to possess the Helmet of Fate. But it needs to perform acts of goodness and, so John won’t ever come after the demon. Heading downstairs, Constantine finds Lloyd among a pile of unconscious and dead bodies. The battle over, they both go to get a drink.
Okay…so this particular issue fell flat. Or did it? Constantine has the Helm of Fate and the previous wearer was Khalid Ben-Hassin. Wasn’t he on Earth 2? So how did Constantine end up with this? Well, I guess it all has to do with the war, doesn’t it? So, Ray Fawkes and Juan Ferreyra didn’t do that bad a job after all, I guess. That is, if everything we THINK will happen does. Of course, that still doesn’t explain how Constantine ended up with the Helmet of Fate. I guess that will be revealed soon…
DETECTIVE COMICS: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now and we see the Calendar Man has been holding the staff of Arkham Asylum hostage for the last week. This leads Batman to form an alliance with the person who designed Arkham Island to keep its patients from escaping-the Riddler. Batman convinces him to team up by telling him that if the Calendar Man can causes a blackout, it will eclipse the legendary blackout from Riddler's Zero Year. Batman takes responsibility for causing Julian Day's mental status by putting his son into a home and away from his abusive father. They make their way through a drain pipe and inside, even though Batman knows that metal plates in his body will send off alarms. When they get into the courtyard, the Riddler reveals his true colors, saying he delivered the man responsible for destroying Day's family. Calendar Man explains that his wife lost her life during Riddler’s blackout, which makes him responsible. Batman explains he has tricked Riddler into trapping himself and leaves him to the Calendar Man.
Leave it to the team of Brian Buccellato, Scott Hepburn and Cliff Richards to deliver a tale this wild and fun! I sure didn’t see that ending coming and then, to have the Dark Knight turn his back on one of his oldest, if not THE OLDEST, villains-PURE GENIUS! Again, I never saw that coming. I saw the heel turn by The Riddler coming but, knowing the history between Batman and Day, I thought sure that Day would definitely be ready to enact his own brand of justice. So-thanks guys for leaving this jaded comic guy smiling from ear to ear.
EARTH 2: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Michael Holt and Sonia Sato are examining his Boom Spheres, which creates a mini Boom Tube. Sonia, formerly the highest-ranking female soldier in the World Army, is a refugee from Earth 2 following the war. At a presentation of the T-Spheres, Terry Sloan shows up to hype his Origin Goggles that can see what world a person actually comes from. Holt asks what has happened to the heroes and we get the answer. On Cadmus Island, Earth 2’s Red Tornado discovers that she has not only been dismantled, but her eyes have been removed. Holt sends Sonia back to Holt Insutries and he goes into hiding. But it seems that Terry Sloan also has made a duplicate and together they break into Holt Industries to steal the Boom Spheres. Holt visits a Jimmy Olsen who is in the Epoch Center for Special Children. Olsen hasn’t spoken a word since he was found in one of the ships that crashed from Earth 2. Suddenly he speaks and words and images fly forth from the Rubik’s Cube he holds. At Holt Industries, the two Sloan’s begin to fight with each other as Holt arrives. Holt defeats Sloan and discovers that he is not from either Earth or Earth 2.
Daniel H. Wilson is an author and robot expert who wrote ROBOPOCALYPSE and is writing the upcoming EARTH 2 weekly series. Eddy Barrows is an established veteran. Together, they present an interesting story about some of the players from the EARTH 2 series and what has happened to them following the war. Most surprising of which was seeing Lois Lane, the Red Tornado, having been dismantled and blinded. We get a page about this and that is that! So, I haven’t quite figured out why he has even bothered to put it into the book in the first place. I also haven’t out where Terry Sloan came up with the Terry Sloan duplicate but I find it a little ridiculous. All in all, this is probably the weakest of this month’s titles to date. I’m curious to see how Wilson’s work reads when the weekly debuts.
THE FLASH: FUTURE’S END #1: While The Flash is helping people trapped in a landslide in Pakistan, the Reverse-Flash is attacking Central City. As Barry tries to figure how much time he has to get from Pakistan to Central City, another Barry Allen is already there battling the Reverse-Flash, claiming to come from the future to prevent Wally’s death and Iris ending up in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. As Daniel attempts to save Wally and Iris, Barry rips Daniel's head off and then saves the pair before the car hits the ground. Barry of the present arrives and the future Barry removes his mask, explaining how the Speed Force is broken and he has come back in time to fix it. The future Barry disappears into the Timestream and Wally learns he has acquired Speed Force powers. Present day Barry begs Wally to find his future self and the future version of Barry. Meanwhile, future Barry has ended up five years before the accident that was just prevented from happening, with Wally, the new Flash, close behind him.
The regular monthly creative team of Robert Venditti, Van Jensen and Brett Booth continue to weave this truly intricate story of two Barry Allen’s and how one of them is trying to repair the Speed Force by correcting everything that has yet to come in our time. This is truly becoming one of the great epic Flash stories in the history of the character. While not as legendary as the classic FLASH OF TWO WORLDS, this is truly a well crafted, beautifully drawn story that, even with or without the changes coming with the war, sets the future direction of this character. This is great stuff!
GRAYSON: FUTURE’S END #1: In the past, Batman told Dick Grayson that Tony Zucco had killed his parents and wondered is Batman would kill him for him. Batman explained he didn’t kill. When Dick went from being Robin to Nightwing, he started to have feelings for Batgirl. But she explained that would never work out because he needed someone in his life who was dark. After the attack by the Crime Syndicate, Dick faked his death and joined Spyral where he was teamed up with Helena Bertinelli. On one particular mission, he caused a rope bridge to snap cleanly. She made him promise that if he were ever dying he would explain the secret to her. Later, she brought him to a tattoo parlor and forced him to get a Spyral tattoo. This would be incentive for him to never get captured and killed by the enemy. She also had issues with him not wanting to kill and actually had to prove her concern about this on several occasions. Eventually, she seduced him and he would use the Cluemaster's code to show him she loved him. During the war, the pair went to work for the former KGBeast, who now ran the Russian government. In one instance, Dick finally revealed the secret of the rope trick. He used the same acid that had killed his parents, which he kept in a jar under his bed. After the battle, it was discovered that the KGBeast had killed women and children. He assured them that they had been working with the Parademons. They learned he had sent them to battle while his own men massacred the innocent. Dick knew he had to do find a way to keep something to prevent KGBeast from killing more people. At the ceremony, Dick snapped KGBeast's neck, meaning Helena would have to punish him. Helena sentenced Dick to his death by hanging.
What makes this whole story so hard to follow, and made it brutal to try and review, is that it is told in reverse order. It begins with Dick Grayson hanging by the neck from the end of a rope and ends with the Tony Zucco revelation. Tom King, Tom Seeley and Stephen Mooney give us a great story that, despite being confusing on the first read because of the end to beginning sequencing, gives us a final resolution to the life of Dick Grayson. While he didn’t truly die during FOREVER EVIL, he does here. It’s a great story and probably one of the most intricate of these one shots.
GREEN ARROW: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Emiko Queen is the Green Arrow and Naomi Singh is Dart and, after defeating the Vertigo Cult, they find Oliver Queen in their hideout and bleeding out. He explains he doesn’t have much time and gives Emiko a small green pyramid, telling her to get it to Lois Lane. By the next day, Oliver is in Prague, meeting with Shado when Emiko arrives, forcing Oliver to step between them. The rest of the Outsiders arrive and Oliver attempts to make peace with them, as he needs them to help on Cadmus Island, where many of the heroes from Earth 2 are being experimented on. If they join him, he would be the leader of the Arrow Clan and give up being the Green Arrow no more. Emiko. Later, Oliver appears on a Seattle talk show to announce his coming back to town. Following that appearance, Deathstroke breaks into Oliver’s home and kills him. The man was killed was actually Magus in disguise, allowing Oliver and the Outsiders to prepare for war against Cadmus and Deathstroke.
Well, this explains the death of Green Arrow in THE NEW 52: FUTURE’S END #1. It was all an elaborate scheme by Oliver Queen to fake his own death. So, Magus bites the dust and Oliver prepares to lead an assault on Cadmus and free the heroes of Earth 2. In what is the swan song for the creative team of Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino, the questions we have been asking get revealed. And what a great finish to an incredible but short run. Here’s to hoping the next creative team doesn’t screw it up!
GREEN LANTERN: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Hal Jordan is visited by his father, who is now a Black Lantern. Hal’s father informs his that Krona is now leading the Black Lanterns. As the Green Lantern, Hal strikes a deal with Relic, who has freed himself from the Source wall. Teamed up together, they defeat Krona and the Lanterns, but at the cost of Hal’s life. Relic has a plan and attaches Hal to the Source wall, promising his father that he will do his best to find a way to set him free someday.
Robert Venditti turns in one of the most heartfelt stories featuring Hal Jordan in I don’t know how long! Instead of making him a complete, whiny little brat, Venditti humanizes him but not to the point of him being annoying. He sees his father for the first time since he died and handles it as expected: with raw emotion and surprise. And to have his father have to watch his son die, that was just so hard to see. Great looking art from Martin Coccolo and Aaron Lopresti help make this the best GREEN LANTERN book I have read in over a year! Nice job, folks!
GREEN LANTERN CORPS: FUTURE’S END #1: John Stewart is a Lantern with a mission. It seems he has changed a lot in the last five years, complete with killing a number of Lanterns and destroying Mogo with a single bullet. He meets with Kilowag and Salaak and decides to help them with their battle against The Quiet One and the Empire. He now specializes in long range kills with a Green Ring construct rifle, he drafts Feska and heads to Oa, where two of his friends have been taken hostage. Upon arriving, he manages to take out most of the guards and pursues Maro, who was trained by Stewart and who could have been one of the best of the Lanterns. As he is about to deliver the killing shot, he is blocked by Indigo-1, who wants to induct someone into the tribe. Indigo-1 takes Stewart to Zezzen, where they battle and Stewart mortally wounds her. They end up being transferred to her planet where she reveals that she had sought him out as her replacement. With her death, the ring seeks him out and he becomes a Indigo Lantern.
As a rule, I don’t read this Lantern title, unless it is part of an event or a key piece of a crossover. That having been said, I don’t know if this is an average issue, a below average issue or an above average issue. Van Jensen writes it, Igor Lima, Ruy Jose, Rodney Buchemi and Geraldo Borges handle the art and the tale is okay. I find the cover to be a bit of a spoiler as Stewart is depicted as a blind Indigo Lantern as he is on the final page of the book. So, with that being a bit of a spoiler, I guess I would give this book a thumbs down, especially because I kind of want to know a little bit of WHY John Stewart as become the Lone Gunman of the Green Lanterns.
GREEN LANTERNS NEW GUARDIANS: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Saysoran is fighting everyone who has been affected by the power of the White Lantern energy. She steals a spaceship and meets Yekop, who is one with the ship. She takes control of the ship and flies to the home of Kyle Rayner: the White Lantern. Taking the weapons from the skeleton that used to be Carol Ferris, she battles him, discovering that the Guardians tried to stop him when he became overwhelmed by the Life Equation. He reveals that he brought her here as a test. He is nearing the end of his life and becoming one with The Source. He leaves her the White Lantern ring and lets her decide to follow his work or not.
As with the last title, I normally don’t read this unless it’s a Big Event kind of thing. And now I know why. Justin Jordan writes it, Diogenes Neves illustrates it and I really don’t care for it. Jordan’s story is okay, but terribly preachy. The highlight is Neves art. So, if this were my first issue of the title, I wouldn’t buy it again because it left me wanting the OLD Kyle Rayner who was heartbroken about his girlfriend in the fridge and not this dweeb!
HARLEY QUINN: FUTURE’S END #1: Five years from now, Harley has herself mailed to the Bahamas so she can go on vacation there. Unfortunately, bad weather leads to her being washed up on a tropical island with a dog that was in the cargo bay with her. She sends the dog to find Bernie her beaver and the dog keeps on running, deserting her. Harley draws a beaver face on a soccer ball and names it Bernie. As she searches for food, she finds Bernie's skull and hangs it around her neck. Harley finds an active volcano and natives. Their leader, Bouba, find her to be a goddess. During dinner, Harley asks for sexy entertainment and they give her two of their warriors, wrestling in coconut oil. A masked man throws weapons into the ring and the two cut each other to pieces. The next morning, Bouba takes Harley across the island to their god-king Tha'Jo-Kaa. When she reaches the top of the pyramid, she meets their god-king: The Joker. Over dinner, he explains how he would have the tribesmen dress up as super-heroes and submit them to trying to find their way out of deadly traps. But now Harley is here and they will be married at the mouth of the volcano. Bernie warns her that The Joker hasn’t always been so nice to her and she tosses his skull into an alligator filled swamp. The Joker says "I do" and Harley realizes he plans for her to be thrown into the volcano. Bouba tells him that he too must be thrown into the fires. Joker and Harley throw the celebrant into the lava. The volcano erupts, sending Harley flying through the air until she lands on the beach. She hears Bernie's voice from inside a dead alligator and pulls him out. Then a handsome man appears and offers to take her back to New York.
The regular creative team of Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner and Chad Hardin turns in an issue that really has nothing to do with being five years later except that they say it is. We have to assume that The Joker, who says he wanted to lay low and that is why he ended up and the island, was because of the war. THAT would be the only tie-in to FUTURE’S END. This could very easily be dropped into a regular issue of the series, except that Mr. J. is currently M.I.A. in current continuity. But, as with every issue of this series, it’s a fun ride. It’s a psycho killer who travels around with her stuffed beaver and meets an island god named Tha'Jo-Kaa? Yeah-a wild ride!
INFINITY MAN AND THE FOREVER PEOPLE: FUTURE’S END #1: Mark awakens from a nightmare with Dreamer by his side when they are attacked by Parademons. Alone for over a year, the pair must fend for themselves. Battling off the creatures, Dreamer tells how there was a final battle where the badly beaten team called upon Infinity man for one final time. But since only three of them summoned him, he was not infinite and was captured by a team of OMACs. It turns out that Mark is dead and Dreamer keeps him alive only in a dream. When he tries to leave, he discovers he is not real and disappears. Then Dreamer awakens and tries it again…forever.
Weak! Very weak issue here! Dan Didio and Keith Giffen have completely dropped the ball on this story, which is partially taken from every sci-fi anthology of the last fifty years. The never-ending dream. Not like comic and sci-fi fans haven’t seen that before. Pencils by Phillip Tan, with inks by Jason Paz only further to muddle the look and feel of the book. This is just plain boring!
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