With the start of the new year, DC will put all their current titles on a brief hold for "Future State," an exploration of DC’s potential futures that will showcase new characters and diverse creative teams. But the two-month interlude may have more ramifications for DC’s characters and business. Even before the event’s start, we know that some new Future State characters will appear in main continuity and that DC will double down on a premium format in the Infinite Frontier era.
The brooding Red X is stated to return in Future State: Teen Titans. Future State has already had its share of mysterious masked figures and Red X’s appearance in the time jump is a setup for his return to main continuity in Teen Titans Academy. Whether the alias covers two identities or one in each series remains unclear, though it may be likely that the Red X we see in Future State is an older version of the one attending the newest DC academy.
Readers of The Other History of the DC Universe will recognize John Ridley’s name on Future State: The Next Batman. Future State’s Batman, like Red X, was shrouded in mystery with a full-body suit, but DC recently revealed that under the cowl is Tim Fox, son of Lucius and brother to Luke/Batwing. Tim’s reveal confirms Ridley’s statement that his Batman will be a person of color, but also has ramifications for DC continuity. Tim distanced himself from his family for many years since his brief debut in 1979, but cropped back up in the recent Joker War event.
Yara Flor will join Red X and Tim Fox in a post-Future State continuity. The Brazilian-immigrant Amazon caught a lot of attention as Future State’s iteration of Wonder Woman. While Diana’s agenda places her in the far future, Yara sits on the Justice League alongside Jon Kent, Kid Quick and DC’s other young heroes. Her near-future role in the Justice League pre-empts 2021’s new ongoing series Wonder Girl. She will also appear outside Future State in her own TV series.
Yara’s and Tim’s major roles in Future State not only show DC’s commitment to developing new characters, but also how "Future State" is bringing the voices of diverse artists to a mainstream audience. Joëlle Jones, Yara’s creator, was the first woman to be a consistent artist on Batman in 2018, and Wonder Girl hands her the writing reins in addition. Cuban-American television producer Dailyn Rodriguez will shepherd the Brazilian-American character to the small screen alongside Greg Berlanti.
The Next Batman writer John Ridley will bring a much-needed Black voice to Gotham with Tim, who critiqued his father’s association with Bruce Wayne in his first appearance. Outside of Future State, Ridley writes The Other History of the DC Universe, which approaches major DC events from characters of color’s perspectives. Fellow Batman writer Mariko Tamaki, who writes Future State: The Dark Detective, also represents how the event’s diversity will last beyond February, as she is the first Asian woman and second woman to write an ongoing Batman series.
Like many Future State books, Tamaki’s Dark Detective is a double feature. With only a two-month run, it makes sense that DC would choose to double up on stories and have bi-weekly releases. But the expanded format is not new to Future State and will become more pervasive after the event.
Batman: Urban Legends is an anthology series that starts in March. Meant to showcase top talent and deliver varied takes on the character, each issue will also be jumbo-sized and cost more than the standard $2.99 or $3.99 (Batman: Urban Legends #1 is $7.99). James Tynion IV’s and Sam Johns’s new Joker ongoing series will similarly be oversized and priced at a substantial $4.99. While not an anthology, Joker will run a main story and a Punchline backup story, not unlike how Tynion co-wrote backups with Scott Snyder on the New 52 Batman.
While traditional 24-page books aren’t going anywhere, but DC shows its preference for “premium format” books will only grow. Catwoman and Joker both had oversized anniversary specials this year, Black Label books cost anywhere from $4.99 to $7.99 and most Future State books are solicited with a cover price from $5.99 to $8.99.
Future State’s impact will resound through DC continuity, creativity and commerce. In many ways, DC has prepared for this event for years, and it seems set to cement a great deal of what is yet to come.