Future State: Batman/Superman #1
- WRITER
- Gene Luen Yang
- Artist
- Ben Oliver
- Letterer
- Tom Napolitano
- Cover Artist
- Arthur Adams, Ben Oliver, Sabine Rich
- Publisher
- DC Comics
- Price
- 3.99
- Release Date
- 2021-01-26
- Colorist
- Arif Prianto
Future State has put the DC Universe in various forms of cataclysmic crisis, from cyberpunk totalitarianism to apocalyptic peril that endangers the entire Multiverse. The Batman/Superman Future State miniseries, helmed by Eisner Award-winning writer Gene Luen Yang and fan-favorite artist Ben Oliver, introduces some of the most bizarre developments to Future State yet. It stays true to the title's eponymous pair of protagonists yet offers one of the more head-scratching premises in the publishing initiative to date. Beyond its off-kilter story, the miniseries is off to an uneven start as it brings the World's Finest together for another adventure in Gotham City's dark underbelly.
Future State: Batman/Superman opens in the early days of the Magistrate's occupation of Gotham, with Bruce Wayne not yet presumed dead and still very much maintaining his role as Batman, while Clark Kent had not yet been driven off-world, continuing to serve as Metropolis' Superman instead of his son Jon. With the Dark Knight pushed to the edge by the Magistrate's crushing control, the Caped Crusader calls in the Man of Steel for backup. Soon, longtime friends and superhero allies discover that an elaborate trap for Superman has been laid in the heart of a bizarre designer drug with transformative effects.
Yang has a strong grasp on both protagonists' familiar voices, having previously written Superman's adventures during the New 52 and in the critically acclaimed miniseries, Superman Smashes the Klan. The story provides a glimpse at the World's Finest together again before the DCU truly goes to hell in a handbasket and is the earliest tale set in Future State yet. The premise may seem unorthodox, but this is likely just a narrative way to get Superman into Gotham as Batman quickly loses standing in his own hometown. Yang's scripting works best when it just focuses on the two leads playing off each other rather than the mystery the heroes are actually confronting themselves.
Artist Ben Oliver and colorist Arif Prianto catch the cyberpunk vision of Gotham well, especially when the story moves into the city's older, more rundown neighborhoods, but Oliver's character work is a little less consistent. Positioning and movement come off as a little awkward and stilted at times, but when Oliver gets to show Superman really cut loose in the heat of action, his linework truly excels. The anthropomorphic mystery that kicks the story off feels a bit like it should be in a completely different, more fantasy-oriented book, but given the garish investigation that the World's Finest is conducting, this unusual juxtaposition is likely the point. When these animalistic sequences veer more into horror, Oliver's true artistic strengths really shine through.
One of the weirder stories seen in Future State so far, Batman/Superman is an unusual beast -- pun wholeheartedly intended -- as the creative team blends cyberpunk sensibilities with fantasy horror undertones. Though a lot of this blend works well, the seams start to show in some of the more uneven moments of the story. Yang knows how to weave a gripping yarn for both of his protagonists and when he leans into Oliver's artistic strengths this opening issue genuinely entertains, but it isn't quite as consistent as one might hope for the World's Finest.