WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Teen Titans Academy #3, by Tim Sheridan, Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Max Raynor, Alejandro Sanchez, Alex Sinclair and Rob Leigh, on sale now.
Some of the darker futures of DC's "Future State" are edging towards becoming a reality in their mainline comics. Teen Titans Academy especially, as the "Future State" title set up a number of mysteries now playing out in the main series.
As the team discusses who the new Red X could be, Raven has visions of the future. What she sees is the near-apocalyptic future seen in "Future State," implying that that future may very well come to pass.
The visions are broken into four parts, outlining key moments in the "Future State" story. First, Raven sees the cataclysmic destruction seen in Future State: Teen Titans #1 by Tim Sheridan, Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Alejandro Sanchez & Rob Leigh. A large demonic figure looms over a flooded New York, with Titans Tower only half-standing, very similar to the ruins in "Future State."
The next vision shows the corrupted forms of Nightwing, Starfire and Cybeast (the amalgamation of Cyborg and Beast boy) from the end of Future State: Teen Titans #2. Though it was shown that the three heroes were demonically turned against their comrades, Future State: Teen Titans never showed the horrifying corrupted forms these heroes took up close and personal as seen here.
The third image reimagines the final page of Future State: Teen Titans #2, with Billy Batson's Shazam carrying Raven into hell so she could be sealed within the Rock of Eternity.
Though the first three images lead into each other in chronological order, following the Titans' "Future State" events from cataclysm to conclusion, the final image breaks this pattern. It shows Red X brandishing two swords with an ominous cocoon behind him. This appears to be the moment that started the doomed future of Future State: Teen Titans. Red X is seen holding off the members of Teen Titans Academy whilst one of its students undergoes a startling transformation. A transformation that leads to the deaths of Donna Troy and Miguel Montez.
The final moment, with Red X and the cocoon, somehow caused the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to be released upon the world. The Horsemen inhabited members of the Teen Titan Academy, as well as Wally West, leading to the deaths of many members of the Academy. The crisis was averted when Raven absorbed the Four Horsemen into herself and Billy Batson locked her away in Hell.
The story was continued in Future State: Shazam! by Tim Sheridan, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, Marcelo Maiolo and Rob Leigh. Future State: Teen Titans revealed that Billy would have to stay as Shazam, otherwise, Raven would be released from the Rock of Eternity. The demon Neron thought that splitting Billy and his Shazam persona would allow Shazam to fight evil on Earth whilst Billy guarded the gates of Hell. Without Billy's innocence to guide his alter ego, Neron manipulated Shazam into becoming a murderer. This prompted the Justice League to force Shazam's transformation, thus releasing Raven back into the world. Now even more corrupted by her time trapped in hell, she had become the Unkindness.
The story concluded in the Black Adam backup story in Future State: Suicide Squad by Jeremy Adams, Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, Jeromy Cox and Wes Abbott. In the 853rd Century of DC One Million, the Unkindness, commanding the Lords of Chaos and Shazam's old enemies the Seven Deadly Sins, consumes every plane of existence. Black Adam of the 853rd Century was sent back to the Hell of 2021 as the Unkindness consumed everything, making it his mission to stop the Unkindness before it ever emerges.
Cyborg elects to ignore Raven's visions, focusing on their mission in Markovia. With future Black Adam possibly coming to kill Raven before she can become the Unkindness, and everything else that went wrong in "Future State," ignoring these visions seems like a very bad idea.