What Does Future State Mean for the DC Universe?

It’s somehow almost 2021, which means the DC Universe is about to enter its Future State, the big two month crossover that kicks off the new year by pausing its regular line, and diving deep into the wild, varied timelines and parallel universes for new angles from fresh creators. And we are happy to have your exclusive first look at the February covers and solicitations for the Justice League family of books.

Since half the fun of solicits is trying to piece together what’s happening in the book from the 50 words and a cover, we decided to engage in some wild, semi-informed speculation on what might be coming from DC’s event.

Let’s get right to it: Future State has a very strong Seven Soldiers of Victory vibe.

The original Seven Soldiers were briefly a superteam from the ’40s, brought back sporadically whenever a comic needed a nostalgia boost, until Grant Morrison got his hands on them in the mid-aughts. He and some of the most brilliant artists of the era (Frazer Irving, JH Williams III, Ryan Sook, Doug Mahnke and more) put together a superteam crossover where a group of B and C list heroes stop evil faerie invaders from the future, come to harvest humanity. Also the heroes never meet. The climax is a series of brilliantly planned coincidences where the heroes just barely cross paths, or set up one accident that places the final blow just in time. It’s a superheroic Rube Goldberg machine.

The inciting events of each Future State book are all vastly different on their faces, but point to a more systemic collapse of something within DC’s multiverse/hypertime that could take a series of happy accidents to fix. The Speed Force and the Central Power Battery both go haywire at the same time. Something is different about dimensional barriers in Aquaman and Justice League – we’ve got a mystery Batman, a multiversal Flash, and an interdimensional hole in the ocean in Aquaman. The next generation of heroes are falling apart in Shazam and Teen Titans, and Amanda Waller has gone off the deep end in Suicide Squad. And it looks like magic users are hunted to a dangerous level between the Justice League Dark story and Swamp Thing.

The Black Adam One Million story feels like where something like a 7S conclusion might take place. It got a pretty strong push when we talked to Justice League group editor Alex Carr back in October, and that far in the futue, Adam might have the perspective and the means to nudge a couple of things into place in the past to try and set the multiverse right.

Finally, we’ll talk a bit about variant covers. That Red X cover, if conventions ever come back, is going to make Dustin Nguyen a substantial sum of money. The Future State Green Lantern variant will also likely bring in some cash for Jamal Campbell, but from a very different crowd. The kind of folks who are interested in hot G’Nortt original art. I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to unsee that.

Now, let’s take a look at the goods, including one quietly disturbing variant cover:

FUTURE STATE: AQUAMAN #2
written by BRANDON THOMAS
art and cover by DANIEL SAMPERE
card stock variant cover by KHARY RANDOLPH
ON SALE 2/23/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US

“Andy Curry, daughter of Arthur and Mera, has had a pretty terrible month. Jackson Hyde, a.k.a. Aquaman, won’t stop calling her Aqualass when she’s told him a thousand times it’s Aquawoman. She’s manifested a new power that scares the absolute hell out of her. Oh, and she and Jackson just got ripped apart in the midst of a cosmic space ocean and she can’t find him anywhere! For the first time in her 14 years, Andy’s all alone—and it’s gonna take her wits, her will, and every single lesson Jackson ever taught her to survive.”

FUTURE STATE: THE FLASH #2
written by BRANDON VIETTI
art and cover by BRANDON PETERSON
card stock variant cover by KAARE ANDREWS
ON SALE 2/2/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US

“All hope is lost as Barry Allen races to save his former partner, Wally West. Armed with the  weapons of the Rogues who once tried to destroy the Flash, Barry plots an attack that’ll either free the former Kid Flash from the evil that’s possessed him—or end his threat forever!”

FUTURE STATE: GREEN LANTERN #2
“The Last Lanterns” written by GEOFFREY THORNE
“The Last Lanterns” art by TOM RANEY
“Teen Lantern” written by JOSIE CAMPBELL
“Teen Lantern” art by ANDIE TONG
“Hal Jordan” written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
“Hal Jordan” art by DEXTER SOY
cover by CLAYTON HENRY
card stock variant cover by JAMAL CAMPBELL
ON SALE 2/9/21
$5.99 US | 48 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK COVER $6.99 US

“Outnumbered but never outwitted or outfought, John Stewart leads the last of the Green Lanterns against insurmountable odds. Facing a bloodthirsty Khund cult dedicated to the “God in Red,” the onetime Green Lantern shows that even without a ring or the Corps to back him up, he’s still a force to be reckoned with! Plus, from the pages of Young Justice, Teen Lantern teams up with Mogo, and Hal Jordan reconnects with Oliver Queen after the power battery goes down!”

FUTURE STATE: JUSTICE LEAGUE #2
“Justice League” written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
“Justice League” art by ROBSON ROCHA and DANIEL HENRIQUES
“Justice League Dark” written by RAM V
“Justice League Dark” art by MARCIO TAKARA
cover by DAN MORA
card stock variant cover by KAEL NGU
ON SALE 2/9/21
$5.99 US | 48 PAGES | 2 of 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $6.99 US

“Exiled to a distant planet, the Justice League suspects an impostor in their midst, but not even the next Batman or Green Lantern can find the clues they’re looking for. Meanwhile on Earth, the terrifying return of a classic Justice League villain may spell doom for the planet! Doppelgängers abound, paranoia runs rampant, and only the Justice League can save humanity—if they can ever find their way home.”

“Plus, all the world’s terrible truths are revealed as the Justice League Dark make their last stand. Hunted, beaten, and harvested for their magic, Zatanna, John Constantine, Detective Chimp, Ragman, Madame Xanadu, and Etrigan all unleash a desperate plan that could destroy them—but is it worth the cost to finish Mad Merlin and his mysterious Knights? Only Doctor Fate knows, and the truth may spell hope or doom!”

FUTURE STATE: SHAZAM! #2
written by TIM SHERIDAN
art by EDUARDO PANSICA
cover by BERNARD CHANG
card stock variant cover by GERALD PAREL
ON SALE 2/16/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US

“Shazam’s soul is laid bare as he’s confronted by one of the most powerful beings in the
DC Universe! Revealing shocking secrets and the final fate of Billy Batson, the boy who was Earth’s Mightiest Mortal, this issue introduces a deadly new threat born from the ashes of the Teen Titans Academy: Raven!”

FUTURE STATE: SUICIDE SQUAD #2
“Suicide Squad” written by ROBBIE THOMPSON
“Suicide Squad” art by JAVI FERNANDEZ
“Black Adam” written by JEREMY ADAMS
“Black Adam” art by FERNANDO PASARIN
cover by JAVI FERNANDEZ
card stock variant cover by DERRICK CHEW
ON SALE 2/23/21
$5.99 US | 48 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK COVER $6.99 US

“Peacemaker attacks! Assigned to bring Amanda Waller back to Earth-1 at all costs, the Suicide Squad battles Waller’s private Justice League on Earth-3. As lives are lost and blood is spilled, the fate of the Multiverse will be decided by Superman! Also in this issue, the 853rd Century is burning, and only Black Adam can save reality from the onslaught of murderous rage from a new threat spawned from a former hero.”

FUTURE STATE: SWAMP THING #2
written by RAM V
art and cover by MIKE PERKINS
card stock variant cover by DIMA IVANOV
ON SALE 2/2/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US

Humanity strikes back! The shadow of Swamp Thing Supreme stretches across the globe as it has for centuries. The world is at peace, until a rebellious faction of humanity ignites their terrible plan, fueled by Woodrue Wilson’s appetite for power. But Swamp Thing, too, harbors a secret—one he must reveal in order to restore peace to the planet once again. But it will cost him everything he has.

FUTURE STATE: TEEN TITANS #2
written by TIM SHERIDAN
art and cover by RAFA SANDOVAL
card stock variant cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN
ON SALE 2/9/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US

“Red X returns to the Teen Titans! The mysterious former Teen Titans Academy student joins the surviving Titans in a final fight to stop the threat unleashed by one of the school’s students. Nightwing, Raven, Crush, Shazam, Starfire, Cybeast, and Red Arrow face their demons as one of these heroes must make the ultimate sacrifice to save their world!”