The Good

It's hard not to compare the two weekly series coming out of the same company, but there is one thing FUTURES END does exceedingly better than BATMAN ETERNAL and yes, it's apparent from issue #2. This issue follows the events of one and this issue feels connected to issue #1. It doesn't feel out of place or over-introducing too many elements or characters. Everything has a solid flow to it and the story naturally happens over the course of the pages.

By far, the highlight of the issue is the speech Animal Man gives at Green Arrow's funeral. It's touching and very emotional, even though readers never knew this version of said character. Not only is this a home run for dialogue writing, but it updates readers on what has been going on in this future scenario over the past few years. It gives the readers just enough where they're updated and completely satisfied without having any larger questions about this world.

The pieces are in play and this book is building slowly towards the story, which is great. Readers don't need everything dumped on them right away. They need to be immersed into the world before they can understand what the main story is. While the dystopian future Batman Beyond came from isn't that exciting, for me, the pacing of this book and build is what will keep me coming back.

The Middleground

Normally, we don't do this, but this bit doesn't fit anywhere else. The characterization of Mister Terrific here feels very much unlike him. Understandably, this is the future and a lot could have changed, but one of the smartest men in the DCU worry about whether or not he's trending on Twitter feels out of character. At the same time, this is a character fans can easily hate because he's so pompous, so while Terrific fans may be turned off by the personality change, it overall benefits the story.

The Bad

The story isn't grabbing me as well as it should. This story contains a lot of elements readers have seen over and over again in other books like heroes fighting with heroes about the death of a colleague, a fish-out-of-water hero making sense of the new world he's in, and a mysterious villain working for someone much more sinister. Regardless, these tropes are used pretty well.

The Verdict

This is a bit of a surprise since issues #0 and #1 just didn't grab me. The second week of this book gives the reader an emotional connection to these characters and the world they live in, while setting up the main players in this very large game of chess. While there's not a lot of Batman Beyond in this issue, which many folks reading this are looking for, there's a lot of good stuff in here to keep them happy. Overall, I recommend this issue.

I picked it up because I wanted to see where Lemire would want Green Arrow to be 5 years from now...I was not dissapointed.
I like that he brought the "Leagues's conscience" and "Man of the people" aspects of the character back, these are actually what makes GA unique to me.

I honestly didn't expect to like this issue so much. The only thing that bothered me was Mr. Terrific's odd personality but I've never read his New 52 version except for those brief bits in Earth 2 so I have no idea how OOC his behavior here is.

I really loved this issue! The first two issues were just "Alright" and I was considering dropping the series, but this issue actually cemented my interest in the story they're going to tell. That and Ollie's beard, of course.

Sigh... my computer crashed and I have to re-type everything.

I felt very mixed with this issue. I really liked this new Mr. Terrific, we have a lot of heroes that own companies, but we never see them use those companies to be heroes. He feels like a good version of Lex Luthor, which is very cool.

On the other hand, I hate the characterization of Ronnie. DC you already ruined Billy, don't do the same to Ronnie, I'm begging you.

I'm also not looking forward to a crossover from the main universe and Earth-2.

That whole seen with that guy talking to his ear piece was just confusing.

I'm looking forward to seeing Lois get a role, which will be fun.

Overall there is more that I liked then disliked, but I feel like DC is about to shift from being easy to understand and new reader friendly, to massively complicated.

So far this series is very depressing. Come on there's gotts be a glimmer of light somewhere.

Like it so far, i want to see more of Batman Beyond though.

I wonder if who I think killed Green Arrow really killed Green Arrow.

Loved this issue.

Who was the black guy with the red mask? Was he the Crimson Avenger? He might have already made an appearance in a book I haven't read yet.

@fastestmanalive: I think this is not that type of series, after all it is called "Future's End"

@jonny_anonymous said:

Who do you think did it?

Aren't you at least curious to see how the war started, who the prisoners are, and how the Earth 2 heroes react to this world?

I'm really liking this series so far. I really want to see more of Batman Beyond's story. He and Firestorm are probably the most interesting right now. Mr. Terrific is a total jerk! Really loved this issue

Loved this issue. I like the new version of mr.terrific as well. And the suits for arsenal and firestorm are cool

@micah: Nope, Earth-2 was fun when it was about the Golden Age heroes, but now it's becoming an Injustice clone. plus part of the fun of Earth-2 was that it was this little side story kept away from the main universe. Crossing over destroys the point. Plus, other then Mr. Terrific, I don't want to see the Earth-2 characters move to the Prime Earth. If anything, I want more characters from the Prime Earth to move over to Earth-2.

@captainmarvel4ever: Hopefully they'll be done with Superman soon. So we can get back to the Golden Age Characters. I can't wait for Val Zod to step up and become the Superman of Earth 2

@micah: I can, he may not be our Superman, but he's still a Superman. The same goes for that new Batman. The whole draw of Earth-2 was a world without the Trinity that would step up and focus on other heroes. Now it's another book that focuses on Superman and Batman.

At the beginning this series began feeling like Age of Ultron but then unlike AoU, hopefully this run will go on the right direction under the hands of Azzarello, Jurgens, Giffen, and Lemire. Still trusting those guys to write something much better.

@captainmarvel4ever I think Ronnie is like that because during the war he went through some stuff. It seems as if he lost a lot, and he's basically become a shell of what he once was.

I liked/hated Mr. Terrific. He was a raging dick, but it was entertaining, and the villain comment was hilarious.

Am I the only one that liked Future Aquaman's costume? And how do you all know it's Earth 2 that the people came from?

@kivatt: I know they may explain it, but from here on out when people think of Ronnie they will think "That D!ck who makes up Firestorm"

I actually like this new Mr. Terrific personality, he seems a little d!ckish, put this really gives him more personality. Honestly I loved every scene of him in this issue, and I was never interested in him before this. Unlike Ronnie, I think it's a positive step for his characterization.

They said they in the issue people from Earth-2 came over. Mr. Terrific is proof of that.

@dagmar_merrill: Yeah, that's how it goes.

@captainmarvel4ever:

I hope that they do.

Ronnie, I detested this issue. I thought he needed to get punched in the mouth a second time. I hope Mr. Terrific does not mes things up royally. I thought he looked too young though.

I honestly thought it just said people from another Earth just came over. But Mr. Terrific just proves that right. I honestly hope that he just came over the same way he left, and it was like an Earth 4 that came over. I would like seeing different Universes in action.

This issue kind of made me more hopeful for Justice League United.

@kivatt: Well it looks like the big setup for Firestorm in this series is the struggle between Ronnie and Jason within the FS Matrix.

I just want DC to keep things simple. What made the New 52 cool, was that it was very simple and new reader friendly. Crossing universes makes things very complicated.

With the roster and writer, I didn't need any help being convinced the JLU was awesome.

@captainmarvel4ever:

I just really like seeing stories from different universes, because I like how things are different there, and you can make characters anyway you want it.

I'm already liking JLU, but that Animal Man speech made me yearn for the up and coming stories that have yet to happen. And I liked how when he talked about him meeting Green Arrow for the first time and describing it was just like how it was in the issue. Did you notice the new Canadian superhero was in the group of Green Arrow's funeral.

I also thought, "What is this trend with Green Arrow dying?"

cover looks awesome

@kivatt: One issue comics have is that they are hard for new readers to latch on to. I'm afraid DC is losing that simplicity it got from the new 52.

Yes, her name is Equinox, a character that I guarantee will be very cool and well written.

A really good tribute to Green Arrow in the pages of this book, really affirmed why he is one of my favorite heroes in the entire DC universe. Overall good issue, really interested in seeing how this turns out

@captainmarvel4ever: You make a good point.

@jonny_anonymous: Interesting theory. There's definitely something fishy going on with him.

@smashbrawler: The broken red arrow that was with the note is what makes me think so

Is this alt timeline/universes?

@dagmar_merrill said:

Yeah, I feel like Azzarello or Lemire was writing everything related to Mr. Terrific, because all of his scenes are great and clever in this issue. (Also yes it was pretty funny)

anybody digging Aquaman's redesign in this book?

Also who the heck is the guy with the tarnished American flag on his back?

Good issues feels a bit more coherent than Batman Eternal I really don't like firestorm you think by now those two would have worked there issues out by now. But I'm on for the first arc at least.

Blah, this issue did not do much for me. Hopefully next issue will re-grab me because I loved the last issue.

Crossing universes doesn't complicate things too much. So long as you find a home for the displaced heroes and/or give the ones that have a Prime counterpart a different identity.

@scarletbatman: It does if your a new reader. This is the kind of thing that scares new fans off.

Anyone else think the bartender looked way too much like Henry Cavill's Clark Kent? And he was very negative about super heroes. Almost like he was speaking from interactions with them. And we didn't see Clark at the funeral. Just wondering if that's a coincidence or a plot element.

@hushofthewind: I actually don't like that costume. I checked and there is no info on who that is right now. Could be a new character, could be an aged version of a character we knew. He looks a little like a character you would see in The Movement.

@ccj77: I actually think that might be a former Robin. Any of them besides Damian.

It depends on how you handle it. The multiverse is routinely shown in DC & Marvel animated shows. The only difference is that the other world's characters stick around. The way you spin it is to give the other world's characters different heroic identities to differentiate them from any Prime Earth counterparts.

I don't think anyone found Huntress or Powergirl confusing in the New 52.

I have suspitions that this Masked Superman is actually Val-Zod.

Nope

It seems like it's not a crossover but that the new 52 Earth and Earth 2 are going to be merging... like it was said that people came from another Earth, and then there was the panel of Ollie holding a sign saying 2 earths one humanity or something..

Anyway this issue was okay.. I preferred the first. The twitter stuff was weird.. sure he'd be aware of that stuff but for him to be so concerned with it is odd. I dunno, I love me some Batman Beyond so I'll be all over this book for the foreseeable future.

@scarletbatman: That's because that was a simple concept, when universes star colliding full on, you will lose the the new/potential fans.

@feargalr: Them merging would be a crossover. I thought the Twitter stuff was really clever writing.

@jonny_anonymous: Yeah, that's kind of what I thought. I'm very interested on Lois' story myself, looks like the most unique one so far.

My prediction RE: Earth 2 - A larger number of people will come over from Earth 2 to escape Darkseid and Apokolips. Their arrival will spark a conflict between the heroes of both earth's. They will come to some understanding and both groups of heroes will go to Earth 2 to liberate it. This will allow the Earth 2 heroes to stay on their Earth and some, but not all the refugess will return as well. Ollie will then be responsible for allowing the integration of those who chose to remain.

My observation RE Ollie's death - It look's to me that Ollie dies in 5 years time no matter what. Terry only arrives at about the same time and that is where the alternative timeline begins. There is no way from there to prevent it unless more time travel is used but that would just make everything exceedindly convluted.

The writing and dialogue are terrible. So far this is a far more boring version of Age of Ultron. I added the book to my pulls because of Batman Beyond and I get like 2 pages of barely anything. This book is 1-2 issues away from being dropped from my pulls, hard. There are indy books that deserve my money.