Future State

DC Comics comic book event

"Future State"

The cover of Future State: Justice League #1 (January 2021, DC Comics), featuring new characters introduced during the storyline.
Art by Dan Mora.

Publication information
Publisher| DC Comics
Format| Multiple limited series
Genre|

* Superhero

Publication date| January – March 2021
Creative team
Written by| Multiple
Artist(s)| Multiple

"Future State" is a comic book storyline published by DC Comics in January and February 2021,[a] consisting of multiple limited series released in place of DC's regular ongoing series during those months.[1][2] The event is set in the aftermath of the "Dark Nights: Death Metal" storyline, and takes place in a "possible future" of the DC Universe.[3] The conclusion of the event leads into DC's Infinite Frontier relaunch.[4]

## Publication history

[edit]

DC Comics originally announced Generations as the event that would unite all eras in the history of the DC Universe, starting with Generation Zero: Gods Among Us, which was scheduled to release during Free Comic Book Day on May 2, 2020. However, following the firing of publisher Dan DiDio from DC Entertainment in February[5][6] and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the comics industry, the series was delayed. Writer Scott Snyder stated the plans for Generations had become more "fluid", and in June, Generation Zero was not part of DC's plans for the revised Free Comic Book Day.[7] As well, DC Comics publisher and chief creative officer Jim Lee stated that the 5G initiative, which would have occurred at the end of the original plan for Generations was no longer happening: "We had a lot of great ideas that we were floating around. And rather than dumping it all in one month and renumbering the line and going for that really short term spike in sales, we just naturally gravitated to the story ideas and concepts we love and building them into the mythology, the ongoing mythology, in a very organic way".[8]

In September, DC announced "Future State" to be scheduled for January and February 2021.[9] In October, Snyder has also assured the ending of Dark Nights: Death Metal will be tied directly to the event. He responded that "it's hooked into everything. We're building the DCU plan together with editors and other writers and artists. I'm really excited about it. Death Metal ends in January, and then January and February is "Future State", which is going to give glimpses of possible DC futures. That was built while we were doing Death Metal to lead into some stuff which isn’t happening anymore, but those plans have taken a new shape, which is exciting. Death Metal is very tied into and hooks into everything happening on the other side—the whole DCU is working together, plus we have some surprises lined up later in the year".[10]

## Titles

[edit]

### Batman family

[edit]

* Future State: Batman/Superman #1–2
* Future State: Dark Detective #1–4
* Future State: Catwoman #1–2
* Future State: Harley Quinn #1–2
* Future State: The Next Batman #1–4
* Future State: Nightwing #1–2
* Future State: Robin Eternal #1–2

### Superman family

[edit]

* Future State: House of El #1
* Future State: Kara Zor-El, Superwoman #1–2
* Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #1–2
* Future State: Legion of Super-Heroes #1–2
* Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1–2
* Future State: Superman vs. Imperious Lex #1–3
* Future State: Superman: Worlds of War #1–2
* Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman #1–2
* Future State: Wonder Woman #1–2

### Justice League family

[edit]

* Future State: Aquaman #1–2
* Future State: The Flash #1–2
* Future State: Green Lantern #1–2
* Future State: Justice League #1–2
* Future State: Justice League Dark #1-2
* Future State: Shazam! #1–2
* Future State: Suicide Squad #1–2
* Future State: Swamp Thing #1–2
* Future State: Teen Titans #1–2

### Aftermath

[edit]

* Future State: Gotham[11]
* Green Lantern[12]
* Superman: Son of Kal-El
* The Next Batman: Second Son[13]
* Teen Titans Academy[12]
* Wonder Girl[14]
* Aquaman: The Becoming
* I Am Batman

## Critical reception

[edit]

At the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup, the storyline garnered an average score of 7.8 out of 10, based on 809 reviews.[15]

## Collected editions

[edit]

Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN

|
|
|

Future State: Dark Detective | Future State: Dark Detective #1-4 (main story), Future State: Catwoman #1-2, Future State: Harley Quinn #1-2, Future State: Robin Eternal #1-2, Future State: Batman/Superman #1-2  | July 6, 2021  | 978-1779510716
Future State: Justice League | Future State: Justice League #1-2, Future State: Justice League Dark #1-2, Future State: Aquaman #1-2, Future State: Green Lantern #1-2, Future State: The Flash #1-2  | June 22, 2021  | 978-1779510655
Future State: Superman | Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1-2, Future State: Superman vs. Imperious Lex #1-3, Future State: Superman: Worlds at War #1-2, Future State: House of El #1, Future State: Kara Zor-El, Superwoman #1-2, Future State: Legion of Super-Heroes #1-2  | June 29, 2021  | 978-1779510686
Future State: The Next Batman | Future State: The Next Batman #1-4, Future State: Nightwing #1-2 and material from Future State: Dark Detective #1,3  | June 15, 2021  | 978-1779510648
Future State: Wonder Woman | Future State: Wonder Woman #1-2, Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #1-2, Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman #1-2  | July 20, 2021  | 978-1779510747
Future State: Suicide Squad | Future State: Suicide Squad #1-2, Future State: Teen Titans #1-2, Future State: Shazam! #1-2, Future State: Swamp Thing #1-2  | July 13, 2021  | 978-1779510723
Future State: Gotham Vol. 1 | Future State: Gotham #1-7 and material from Future State: Dark Detective #2-4  | April 12, 2022  | 978-1779514363
Future State: Gotham Vol. 2 | Future State: Gotham #8-12  | September 27, 2022  | 978-1779516800
Future State: Gotham Vol. 3: Batmen at War | Future State: Gotham #13-18  | April 11, 2023  | 978-1779520005

## See also

[edit]

* DC One Million
* The New 52: Futures End

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ One series, Future State: Superman vs. Imperious Lex, concluded publication in March 2021.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Dodge, John (2020-12-29). "Future State: When Does DC's New Era Begin?". CBR.com. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
2. ^ McMillan, Graeme (2020-12-04). "DC Sets New 'Swamp Thing' Comic Book Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
3. ^ Chiu-Tabet, Christopher (2020-10-15). "DC Unveils 'Future State'". Multiversity Comics. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
4. ^ Zachary, Brandon (2020-12-24). "Infinite Frontier Proves DC's Future State Generation Is Here to Stay". CBR. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
5. ^ Rich Johnston (February 21, 2020). "Dan DiDio No Longer Publisher of DC Comics, As Of Today". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
6. ^ Ryan Faughnder (February 21, 2020). "DC Entertainment shakeup continues with the exit of co-publisher Dan DiDio". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
7. ^ Arrant, Chris (June 19, 2020). "DC's revised Free Comic Book Day plans no longer includes Generation Zero: Gods Among Us". Games Radar. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
8. ^ Arrant, Chris (September 12, 2020). "DC shoots down '5G' or reboot speculation - "not going to happen"". Newsarama. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
9. ^ Arrant, Chris (18 September 2020). "DC Future State teased for 2021, part of Generations event". Newsarama. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
10. ^ Doran, Michael; Calamia, Kat (9 October 2020). "Scott Snyder affirms Death Metal - DC Future State connection". Newsarama. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
11. ^ February 2021, Chris Arrant 05 (5 February 2021). "Former Robin Jason Todd hunts Batman & friends in new Red Hood ongoing series". Newsarama. Retrieved 2021-02-05.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
12. ^ a b December 2020, Michael Doran 07 (7 December 2020). "New Teen Titans Academy and Green Lantern titles launch post-Future State along with Justice League Dark return". Newsarama. Retrieved 2021-02-05.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
13. ^ "The Next Batman Will Continue Beyond DC's Future State". ScreenRant. 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
14. ^ February 2021, George Marston 03 (3 February 2021). "DC's new Wonder Girl gets her own series in May". Newsarama. Retrieved 2021-02-05.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
15. ^ "Future State (2021) Reviews". Comic Book Roundup. January 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* DC Comics' official announcement

* v
* t
* e

DC Comics crossover event publication history

1980s|

* "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (April 1985)
* "Legends" (November 1986)
* "Millennium" (January 1988)
* "Invasion!" (January 1989)
* "The Janus Directive" (May 1989)

1990s|

* "Armageddon 2001" (May 1991)
* "War of the Gods" (September 1991)
* "Eclipso: The Darkness Within" (July 1992)
* "The Death of Superman" (October 1992)
* "Bloodlines" (1993)
* "The Children's Crusade" (December 1993)
* "Worlds Collide" (July 1994)
* "End of an Era" (August 1994)
* "Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!" (September 1994)
* "Underworld Unleashed" (November 1995)
* "DC vs. Marvel" (April 1996)
* "The Final Night" (November 1996)
* "Genesis" (October 1997)
* "DC One Million" (November 1998)
* "Day of Judgment" (November 1999)
* "JLApe: Gorilla Warfare!" (1999)

2000s|

* "Our Worlds at War" (August 2001)
* "Joker: Last Laugh" (December 2001)
* "Identity Crisis" (June 2004)
* "Infinite Crisis" (December 2005)
* "Amazons Attack!" (March 2007)
* "Sinestro Corps War" (August 2007)
* "Final Crisis" (July 2008)
* "Blackest Night" (June 2009)

2010s|

* "Brightest Day" (May 2010)
* "Reign of Doomsday" (January 2011)
* "Flashpoint" (May 2011)
* "The Culling" (November 2011)
* "Batman: Night of the Owls" (April 2012)
* "Death of the Family" (October 2012)
* "H'El on Earth" (October 2012)
* "Throne of Atlantis" (November 2012)
* "Wrath of the First Lantern" (February 2013)
* "Batman: Zero Year" (June 2013)
* "Trinity War" (July 2013)
* "Forever Evil" (September 2013)
* "Forever Evil: Blight" (October 2013)
* "The New 52: Futures End" (September 2014)
* "Convergence" (April 2015)
* "Darkseid War" (June 2015)
* "The Button" (April 2017)
* "Dark Nights: Metal" (June 2017)
* "The Lazarus Contract" (July 2017)
* "Doomsday Clock" (November 2017)
* "Milk Wars" (March 2018)
* "Heroes in Crisis" (September 2018)
* "The Terminus Agenda" (March 2019)
* "Year of the Villain" (May 2019)

2020s|

* "Dark Nights: Death Metal" (June 2020)
* "Joker War" (September 2020)
* "Generations" (September 2020)
* "Endless Winter" (December 2020)
* "Future State" (January 2021)
* "Infinite Frontier" (June 2021)
* "Fear State" (August 2021)
* "War for Earth-3" (March 2022)
* "Shadow War" (April 2022)
* "Dark Crisis" (May 2022)
* "The New Golden Age" (November 2022)
* "Lazarus Planet" (January 2023)
* "Knight Terrors" (July 2023)
* "Gotham War" (August 2023)
* "Titans: Beast World" (November 2023)
* "House of Brainiac" (April 2024)
* "Absolute Power" (July 2024)

Launch lines|

| DC Universe|

* DC Explosion/DC Implosion (1978)
* The New 52 (2011–2016)
* DC Rebirth (2016–2017)
* The New Age of DC Heroes (2018–2020)
* New Justice (2018–2021)
* The Sandman Universe (2018–2024)
* Infinite Frontier (2021–2023)
* The New Golden Age (2022–2024)
* Dawn of DC (2023–2024)
* DC All In (2024–)

|

Other continuities|

* Hanna-Barbera Beyond (2016–2019)
* Murphyverse (2017–2023)
* Milestone Returns (2020–present)
* Absolute Universe (2024–)

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