February 2021 will be the second and final month of DC Comics Future State direction that is taking over the company’s first two months of the year. As DC Comics is looking to wrap things up for Future State we may get clues in these final issues of how this direction could impact DC Comics normal line in March. There are certainly hints in the solicitations that seem to tease what the plans for 2021 will be about. What do we learn from DC Comics February 2021 solicitations? Let’s take a look
FUTURE STATE PITS BATMAN VS DARK DETECTIVE
The battle with the Magistrate has been the focus of all the Future State Batman comics. Each member of the future Batman Family is doing their own thing to take on the threat that the Magistrate pose. Though who is leading this group that has completely taken over Gotham City is still not clear. Though with some of the covers for the Batman line of Future State comics it does look like the Magistrate soldiers are wearing Deathstroke-style helmets. That may just be a coincidence as the Batman staff are having the Magistrate soldiers have a Storm Trooper type feel from everything we know about them.
But while that is the big ongoing thread for all of the Batman comics there is another big event taking place as we reach the end of this Future State direction. February will also see the Next Batman having a major meeting with Bruce Wayne’s Dark Detective. Given that we don’t know who the Next Batman is, though it is heavily implied it is Luke or Tim Fox, this could be the first time Bruce is meeting his successor. Given that Bruce and the Next Batman seem to be approaching battling the Magistrate differently it likely will lead to them clashing in what they should be doing.
Another thing that stood out in all these solicitation for Batman’s line of comics is the fact that there is a teased person behind the scenes helping the Batman Family. Specifically, in Future State: The Next Batman #4 it is stated that the Batgirls Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain will discover the person who is locked up sending out the message that “Batman Lives.” Given that just about every member of the Batman Family and most of his villains have been talked about in Future State except for Barbara Gordon the person locked up could be her. Which would make sense since Barbara as Oracle was likely someone the Magistrate deemed early on as the most dangerous Batman Family member. Taking her off the board could’ve caused a domino effect that helped the Magistrate’s complete take over.
NIGHTWING OF TWO FUTURE STATES
On a smaller note it is interesting that based on both the Future State: Nightwing and Future State: Teen Titans covers that we have two versions of the character running around. We see that with how the Nightwing on each cover is wearing very different versions of his iconic costume. With Future State: Nightwing we see the hero wearing a more military style costume that has vibes of his Arkham Knight costume. While in Future State: Teen Titans we see him wearing a Nightwing costume that combines his first costume’s color scheme with his modern costume.
While we don’t know the timeline for when Future State: Nightwing and Future State: Teen Titans takes place we could have two different characters as Nightwing. Given how the Teen Titans of Future State mixes in many of the New 52 and Rebirth team members maybe their Nightwing is Damian Wayne. Afterall, Damian is the other Batman Family character that isn’t mentioned in any of the Future State Batman comics. Though it does look like DC is going to let their writers play with when in the future certain comics take placed based on other solicitations.
SUPERMAN FAMILY FUTURE STATE IN FLUX
While the Batman Family are going to be focused on their Magistrate problem the Superman Family direction seems to be more all over the place. While they are all connected by the family crest each Superman character is staying busy doing their own thing. We see that with how even when Superman and Supergirl clash it is based around Jonathan’s story with Brainiac and him going down the dark path.
Which brings another point of the different timelines of when all the Future State comics take place. That is even more apparent with the Superman Family titles. Because while Superman of Metropolis does mention Jonathan facing off against his aunt they do name her Supergirl in the solicitation. That is different from Kara’s own title where she is going by Superwoman. That may just be a case of Superman of Metropolis trying to use Kara’s more well-known identity but when you look at the other Superman solicitations that may not be the full story.
Because on top of all the previously announced Future State comics DC has added Superman: House Of El to the line. This one-shot seems to be exploring the far future of the Superman Family as Clark Kent has embraced being Kal-El as his Kryptonian family line grows. The one-shot shows us a House of El family that is even more connected with the different parts of the DC Universe. That is shown with Jonathan Kent’s daughter being a Blue Lantern while one of Kal-El’s other descendents is half-Tamaranean. Adding that diversity furthers the connection Superman has in building the future we see in the Legion of Super-Heroes future that the character is closely connected to.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS UNKNOWN FUTURE
Green Lantern is another franchise that finds itself in an interesting spot in February. While the Green Lantern franchise is taking a big part in the Future State direction there are still two maxiseries going on as well featuring Hal Jordan and Jo Mullein. Both these titles are both nearing their end, just in time for DC Comics to return to their regular line starting in March. The way Grant Morrison and N.K. Jemisin end The Green Lantern Season Two and Far Sector, respectively, could define the future of the Green Lantern as a whole.
We already look to be getting clues as to the future of the Green Lantern Corps during Future State. Those clues could play a role in where we will find Hal Jordan, Jo Mullein, and the rest of the Green Lanterns starting in March. Hopefully it means we do get more of the Green Lantern Corps because for the last few years we’ve only seen three of the many Green Lanterns have a chance at the spotlight throughout DC Comics.
WONDER WOMAN EXPANDING SCOPE
Both Wonder Woman, Diana Prince and Yara Flor, will be having equally busy February’s as Future State as their Trinity counterparts. For Diana we see how her mission is taking her in a direction where she is going to be clashing with Darkseid. This further brings up how DC Comics has been connecting the Amazons and Greek Gods to the New Gods over the last decade. Given how powerful Darkseid is it’ll be interesting what Diana will do to stop him and how that connects to how she is still connected to both Batman and Superman, as previous solicitations implied.
For Yara Flor, we see how with her own series that there will be even more direction connections brought between Amazons in South America and Amazons on Themyscira as Hades comes into play. As I mentioned before, I’m very interested to see what Yara’s Amazon line expand on the mythology of these characters. There is a lot of history that could be created there that can actually impact the immediate future of Wonder Woman’s franchise when we return to the main timeline in March. At the very least, this expansion of Wonder Woman seems to be what we’ll see have the biggest impact on what stories are told starting in March with the franchise.
VIXEN GETS LEADS DC COMICS DIGITAL FUTURE
Vixen has long been a fan-favorite and she is finally getting a chance to shine in the comics again as she is placed as the lead character in the new Truth & Justice Digital First series. This is something that Vixen has deserved for a long time. The character has only played a minor role in recent history of the DC Universe. It’s time for DC to give her a proper spotlight with a series where she is the lead character.
The Digital First release of Truth & Justice is also an interesting to note. DC Comics hasn’t been promoting their Digital First line since they first announced it in Spring. We know that when DC launches the Milestone Comics line again that they will be Digital First comic books as well. Hopefully when Future State wraps up we get more insight into DC’s Digital First direction.
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