Batman: Futures End #1

The Good

We're in the midst of seeing the New 52 characters five years into the future. As a sort of prelude to the Scott Snyder/Sean MurphyBatman story in DETECTIVE COMICS #27, we get to see how Batman started preparing for the future. In his mind and heart, there must always be a Batman. That's easier said than done. We know he has a bunch of allies, all of whom might take on the mantle should the need come. But we've also seen that they sometimes have their own paths and legacies to carve out.

In this potential future, Batman is in pretty rough shape. We know things are often bad but he's looking pretty rough. He has one final mission he needs to go on in order to complete the next part of his plan to ensure there's always a Batman. This requires literally putting his life on the line, due to his body's condition, and entering an area he declared off limits to all his allies. The result is being able to witness Batman's potential last hurrah. We get to see just how skilled and prepared he is.

ACO's art pretty much captures the vibe of the story. You can almost feel how beat up and tired he must feel. We have a bit of a sense of mystery due to not knowing Batman's endgame here. What is he really after? The art really shows the danger and urgency he's dealing with.

The Bad

If this is just five years in the future, man, Bruce has gone through some tough times. It might just be the art but it looks like more than five years has passed. Whether this actually fits into the FUTURES END future time line, isn't clear. We can assume so and I believe there was something about a war? So perhaps Bruce has aged prematurely fighting the good fight. The same can be said for Alfred.

There was a slight feeling of isolation in this issue. It felt cut off from the rest of the DCU. That's fine for the sake of the story but it seemed a little odd we didn't see anyone else or hear about anything else going on.

The Verdict

The future is here for Batman and it doesn't look too good for him. In the ultimate portrayal of what lengths Bruce is willing to go to ensure his legacy lives on, we see him put it all on the line to complete a crucial part of his planning process. We get to see a beaten Batman go to great lengths and put to the test to try to make this happen. This isn't the Batman you're used to. It might only be five years in the future but Batman looks like he's been through quite a bit. If you dug the Scott Snyder/Sean Murphy story in the recent DETECTIVE COMICS #27, you'll want to check out what events may have lead to making that happen.

This issue was pretty cool. I'd be interested in seeing an ongoing of Snyder's crazy dystopian future Batman.

@obsidian_raindrop1: We aren't allowed to curse

I love lex defense system.

I liked the issue ok. Felt very reminicent of the Snyder/Murphy story but I guess that was the point. I really liked ACO's art. Thought the guy did a stellar job on the First Born one shot last September too. Wish DC would put him on an ongoing. I didn't mind the story feeling so solitary because I'm not reading Futures End anyway. But I really didn't have context for what happened to Bruce.

@obsidian_raindrop1: whoa there, spoilers

@jayc1324: dude your reading a review and the comments of a review spoilers are to be expected.

@dagmar_merrill: and batman shouldn't be making clones.

loved this issue. I really didnt know if batman was going to survive lex's security system.

Lex's hologram recordings were hilarious and very Luthor-ish. they perfectly captured who luthor is. great writing.

This issue was weird. Bruce seemed older and in worse shape than the version of him in the #0 issue of Future's End which is set 35 years into the future. Another thing that is inconsistent is that in Detective Comics Future's End #1 that came out last week, we get a Batman/Bruce Wayne that's still in good physical shape and ready to throw down like he always does. He was punching people left and right by the 5th page and yet this Batman Future's End #1 has a Bruce Wayne that looks ready to peel over and die but should be in the same 5 years into the future time frame as the Detective Comics issue. What gives?

@dsanders355:

I'm pretty sure you are supposed to take it as the Bruce in Detective Comics is the new clone body that Batman took at the end of this which is why he is able to move around and do Batman things.

@spadesslick: or bruce could have been in an accident in between the detective and batman.

@obsidian_raindrop1: Just use the spoiler block like everyone­ else. People read the reviews because they want to know if it's worth buying.

I have mixed feelings for this issue. As much as it seemed cool to see future Batman manhandling Luthor;s defences it was strange as of how old he and Alfred seemed. It seemed like a lot more time had passed then just five years and Alfred looked around 70 or even 80 while Bruce was in his middle or late 40s. Another gripe at least for me was the artwork, I didn't think that Aco did a good job because everything seemed so chaotic and pretty hard for me to really understand what was happening in the action scenes.

This was a really good issue. The art was hella snazzy and the writing was very cool.

I'd buy an ongoing of this story.

Batman is ready.

This is why Batman can potentially prep for anything, I mean who prepares for the future without precog like this? lol

Great issue!

I think I will wait until the whole thing wraps up.. to much stuff going on, I can't wrap my head around it :D

I dont know how to feel about this,it was cool in it's own way but I really wanted to know how Batman ended up like this,also cloning was the only "dangerous" science he was using. I was expecting something really insane and over the top,this was just tame and underwhelming especially after Damian/Batman INC.

The highlights were Luthor and the action,the former was brilliant,the latter however was confusing the first time and underwhelming on my second read. The reviews keep mentioning Batman using fancy tech and gizmos but what did Bats use aside from the cocoon mode(we never even saw how this works) and Allen mode(subject to typo the second time) ?

It was pretty good issue, loved the art and the story was good too, I thought the Detective Comics #27 story was supposed to be a one shot but glad to see he's continuing it. Personally I don't prefer this Bruce(he's a 100x crazier, more obsessive and arrogant version Miller's TDKR and Batman Beyond Bruce) but I'm starting to get used to him.

I thought the 3d cover art was excellent but the art inside awful. Really hard to see what was going on at times. I've done my own review here for those interested: http://thebrownbagaeccb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/bat-1-dc-comics.html