Though DC Comics is still very much in the midst of weirding up its comics universe with Dark Nights: Death Metal, the publisher’s already dreamed up its next major event. It’s one that will take readers into a future populated by new iterations of iconic legacy characters crafted to usher in a new age of heroism.
Beginning in 2021, DC will kick off DC Future State, an event that will pull focus to the literal future in which a cavalcade of new heroes (going by old names) take centre stage in a series of one-shots, miniseries, and anthologies that all push the idea of a DC comics universe populated by a variety of heroes and villains unlike those we’ve all come to know. There’s still a trilogy standing tall as the pillars of this new age, but they’re just all a bit…different.
As Jon Kent — Superman and Lois Lane’s improbable son — becomes the new Man of Steel, a new, unknown (and probably non-white) Batman comes into his own in Gotham city at the same time that a new Wonder Woman from the literal Amazonian rainforest is tapped by the gods to become their champion on Earth. After Clark Kent’s exiled from the planet because of his involvement in an international crisis, Jon takes his duties as Metropolis’ protector so seriously that he comes to the conclusion that the city’s best bet is to be sealed in a bottle…something that makes his distant cousin Kara, the residing Superwoman, see him as a threat to humanity.
While the House of El quarrels in Metropolis, Gotham City finds a new hero in a mysterious, decidedly non-Bruce Wayne Batman who rallies against the draconian Magistrate. He criminalises masked vigilantism, which only pushes even more Bat-themed characters out of the woodwork to fight the good fight. Elsewhere, newcomer Yara Flor becomes the latest and potentially greatest Wonder Woman at a time when Earth needs Amazonian protection the most, and a new Justice League that’s even more secretive than its previous incarnations comes into form.
As a whole, DC Future State will consist of dozens of books like Mark Russell and Steve Pugh’s Superman vs. Imperious Lex, Joëlle Jones’ Wonder Woman, and a Batgirl-focused series from Vita Ayala and Aneke. Marie Javins, DC’s executive editor, said in a press release. “The DC Universe has always been fertile ground for new and refreshing takes on our characters, and DC Future State definitely contributes to this legacy. When the event begins in January, some savvy readers will not only pick up on some of the breadcrumbs that have already been tossed out in our current titles, but they will also find new hints and clues of what’s to come in 2021.”
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