DC Future State Week Six Gives Many Excellent Endings

Just as we saw with Gotham Future State Week Six, we’re getting a lot of endings for the rest of the DC Comics event. Though this was a short event in regards to time, it was still massive. Are some of the stories starting to feel a little rushed to the end? Definitely. But there is one thing that nearly all of them have in common: they’re good endings. Maybe not perfect, but they are still satisfying conclusions. So, let’s take a look, starting with the biggest book of the week.

Justice League #2 Brings Hope to DC Future State Week Six

The one common trait of all Batmen—super trust issues. It’s their only power. (Image: DC Future State: Justice League #2, DC Comics)

Some endings have been downright tragic. So far, the Flash has suffered the worst fate (that we know of). He’s able to see everything happen, but he can never do anything to help. However, based on his actions in that series, he probably deserves it. But DC Future State: Justice League #2 isn’t that, even if both week six stories aren’t happy endings. Instead, they offer glimmers of hope.

The Justice League Comes Together In a Wonderful Grant Morrison-style Story

Chinese Food and Pizza? Oh…the poor Hall of Justice bathrooms. (Image: DC Future State: Justice League #2, DC Comics)

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Penciler: Robson Rocha
Inker: Daniel Henriques
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr

The first Justice League issue presented a team who were cautious about how close they were. They saw what happened to the old Justice League, and believed that the problem was their interpersonal relationships. So, they keep their identities somewhat secret. Yara and Jon are excellent friends while the Flash and Aquawoman are in a relationship. But Green Lantern and Batman? They want nothing to do with revealing their identities.

So, when a group of White Martians take over their identities and banish the team to a hellscape reality, they’re in a bad spot. How can they trust each other when they have never shared personal stories? But they realize that they do know each other. Superman knows that Batman likes to hum while he fights. Aquawoman points out that Green Lantern’s constructs get more complex when they feel more confident.  And Wonder Woman tends to bite her lip in tense situations. Because of these small traits, they find that they can trust each other enough to fight back—and trusting their lives to a Flash from another universe altogether.

This DC Future State week six story, especially since we have the White Martians, feels a lot like Morrison’s JLA run. And the way Williamson ends the story is so endearing that it’s a shame the story ends here (maybe). Now that the team is more than just a collection of heroes, we want to see how they interact. For instance, will Tim Fox and Jonathan Kent form the same friendship their predecessors did? Also, you can’t tease that they will recruit new members and just leave it there. We need more Justice League, DC.

Justice League Dark Ends with Amazing Art, But a Lot of Questions

Hero lineup! They’re doing a hero lineup! (Image: DC Future State: Justice League #2, DC Comics)

Writer: Ram V
Artist: Marcio Takara
Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo

If Justice League was a burst of light in DC Future State week six, Justice League Dark is the light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel. The end comes quickly, with a heart-wrenching compromise between Doctor Fate and Merlin. To save the rest of the team, Doctor Fate agrees to serve Merlin as his personal prophet. But to get to this moment, Justice League Dark had to fight like Hell. Literally. Ragman uses a soul from Hell to turn into a dragon while Etrigan finally overcomes his cowardice and lays a brutal smackdown on Enchantress and her minions.

However, the combined magics of Zatana, Etrigan, Constantine, Ragman, Xanadu, and Doctor Fate are not enough to defeat Merlin without that comprise. But this ending leaves a lot of questions too. For instance, when did all of this take place? Before or after the Riders of Apocalypse killed half the world? If Merlin has everyone living under an illusion, is that mirage broken now? It’s a good, contained story, but it leaves a little more questions in the larger scope of DC Future State than resolutions in week six.

Superman/Wonder Woman #2 Far Exceeds the First Issue

Why fly when you have some badass horses, am I right? (Image: DC Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman #2, DC Comics)

Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Leila Del Duca
Colorist: Nick Filardi

The first issue of DC Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman didn’t feel like a comic about the two heroes teaming up, but, thankfully, it got a lot better in week six. A lot better. We finally get to see why these two are a great pairing no matter who holds the mantles. While Batman and Superman tend to make up for each other’s shortcomings, Wonder Woman and Superman bring the absolute best out of each other. They are both extremely powerful heroes, so there’s no need to balance each other.

Instead, they show each other the best ways to use their powers. While Wonder Woman takes on the sentient sun, Superman races a sun god. Yet, they are also working together. Yara keeps using a gun that powers up Solaris—to the point where it changes from a red star to a blue star. Once that happens, Solaris does not affect Jon’s powers. Then he’s pretty much like, “I’m gonna GTFO now. Peace.” This allows Superman to confront Kuat properly. However, he doesn’t just defeat the sun god in a race. In one of the funniest moments of DC Future State Week Six, Superman straight-up punches the sun to knock Kuat out:

Take that, you giant ball of burning gas! (Image: DC Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman #2, DC Comics)

Seeing these two heroes becoming friends more than makes up for a lackluster first issue.

Kara Zor-El, Superwoman #2 is another Somber but Sweet Ending for DC Future State Week Six

My ex? You both have that “hovering menacingly in the air” thing going on. (Image: DC Future State: Kara Zor-El, Superwoman #2, DC Comics)

Writer: Marguerite Bennett
Artist: Marguerite Sauvage

Looking at reviews on Goodreads, readers were pretty divided on Kara Zor-El, Superwoman #1. Well, not much changed on that front for the second issue. Some readers who loved the first were disappointed with the second, and vice versa. I understand why, but I mostly still loved the second issue – the art alone is worth it. The story just had some weird choices. While the ending works, and everyone settles back to the moon colony happier than before, Bennett spends a bit too much time talking about the future (in the future). Indeed, it’s nice to see how Kara’s legacy lived on and how even after she dies, no one ever takes the Superwoman mantle. But it would have been better just to spend a little more time with them.

Also, the eel-looking villains talked a bit like caricatures of gang members. That’s just, um…let’s not dive into that.

Green Lantern #2 Might Just Be the Highlight of DC Future State Week Six

John Stewart checked his pockets, but he has zero !@#$% left to give. (Image: DC Future State: Green Lantern #2, DC Comics)

I’m far from the biggest Green Lantern fan. Well, mostly, I’m not a Hal Jordan fan, the most cardboard personality in comics. The rest are cool characters, but Hal just pops up everywhere we see the color Green. The first issue I mostly enjoyed was because it focused on the rest of the Corps, but in week six, we get mostly that. But for DC Future State: Green Lantern #2, we got Hal, and admittedly, at week six, that’s a bit long for a major character. On the other hand, this might be why the entire issue worked so wonderfully. The placement of his story only works with what came before. So, what came before?

Last Lanterns Part 2 Has One of the Biggest Surprises in DC Future State Week Six

Who needs a Green Lantern ring when you have a big sword of fire? (Image: DC Future State: Green Lantern #2, DC Comics)

Writer: Geoffrey Thorne
Artist: Tom Raney
Colorist: Mike Atiyeh

This story should really be called “The Continuing Adventures of the Badass John Stewart.” The story was gearing up for something big in the last issue, but the art was a bit messy. Here, the art is still messy, with some great panels and some really off ones. But the story…it is hands down the most epic conclusion in DC Future State week six. And it might be one of the biggest of the entire event.

First, we find out that “the God in Red” isn’t the villain from the week before. That guy, who thankfully isn’t Killowag, was just a priest. Okay, not just a priest. More like a big evil Pope. The real God in Red does show up…and they weren’t even on anyone’s radar: Orion, the New God! Stewart and his team build their own Motherbox to pull him from whatever reality left him looking a bit worse for the wear, and he just dismantles the entire cult worshipping him by murdering billions…then names John Stewart his true prophet.

Even if it isn’t the best art of DC Future State week six, the battle in this chapter is still really damn impressive. In fact, Raney is brilliant with the way he arranges action scenes. We really feel the heroic sacrifices throughout the chapter. This was just a great way to start this anthology issue, but we still have two more stories to look at.

Dead Space is a Great Introduction to the Teen Lantern

Skadoosh! (Image: DC Future State: Green Lantern #2, DC Comics)

Writer: Josie Campbell
Artist: Andie Tong
Colorist: Will Quintana

Before DC Future State week six, I was unfamiliar with Keli Quintela, a Young Justice member who builds her own Green Lantern gauntlet. She’s a bit like Riri Williams, Luna Lafayette (Moon Girl), and Kamala Khan. A young girl who knows they should be a superhero. Even when she doubts herself in Dead Space, she still has the makings of a hero.

This story starts before the central battery goes out, and the Guardians send her to meet with someone to figure out the nature of her gauntlet. It’s basically its own battery, independent of the central battery. But, since she’s a teenage girl, they send the biggest Guardian with her – Mogo the living planet. Think Ego from Marvel, but actually cares about other people. Mogo uses the ring to travel their massive form. To get to where they need to go, they need to go through “dead space” where there are no stars, no lights, and more nothing.

Great time for the battery to go out and rob them of their powers, right? Keli still has hers since her battery is independent, but Mogo is, for the most part, dead. She has to fend for herself when monsters from the dead space land on Mogo’s body. Of course, because this isn’t a super depressing story, Mogo wakes up using Keli’s battery, and they defeat the monsters. So now, they have each other, but not enough power to get out of the Dead Space. It’s a cute story, and again, a perfect introduction to the star of the upcoming Green Lantern series.

Recon is Deeply Intriguing – and the Biggest Cliffhanger of DC Future State Week Six

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate Dexter Soy and Alex Sinclair? (Image: DC Future State: Green Lantern #2, DC Comics)

Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Dexter Soy
Colorist: Alex Sinclair

And then there was Hal. For some reason, Hal Jordan’s ring still works, but he hasn’t been able to reach any other Lantern for some time. So, doing what any superhero would do, he builds a spaceship, powered by his ring, and takes off to figure out what happened. He confronts the Orange, Yellow, and Red Lanterns, finds nothing, and finally arrives at Oa. Actually, he crashes on Oa.

We still have no idea what happened to the central battery, but Oa is in ruins. The battery is in shambles. And Jordan has no clue why it all happened. But he, and we, might find out in the coming months, because we got a very deliberate cliffhanger. Because guess who shows up:

I’m always rooting for someone to punch Hal Jordan. (Image: DC Future State: Green Lantern #2, DC Comics)

That’s right; Sojourner Mullein confronts Hal—with, it seems, a working ring. She eventually becomes the new Justice League leader (what? did I forget to mention that before?). Still, we don’t know if this is before or after DC Future State: Justice League #2, but the two moments definitely make her the star of week six.

With Week Six Over, There Are Just Two More Weeks of DC Future State Left – and a Lot of Comics

So, just 15 comics left.

Road to DC Future State

• Dark Nights: Death Metal #7
• Generations Shattered #1

DC Week One

• Superman of Metropolis #1
• Wonder Woman #1
• The Flash #1
• Swamp Thing #1

Gotham Week One

• The Next Batman #1
• Harley Quinn #1

DC Week Two

• Justice League #1
• Green Lantern #1
• Super-Man/Wonder Woman #1
• Kara Zoe-El: Superwoman #1

Gotham Week Two

• The Dark Detective #1
• Robin: Eternal #1
• Teen Titans #1

DC Week Three

• Immortal Wonder Woman #1
• Superman: Worlds at War #1
• Shazam! #1

Week Three

• The Next Batman #2
• Nightwing #1
• Catwoman #1

DC Week Four

• Superman Vs. Imperious Lex #1
• Aquaman #1
• Legion of Super-Heroes #1

Gotham Week Four

• The Dark Detective #2
• Batman/Superman #1
• Suicide Squad #1

DC Week Five

• Superman of Metropolis #2
• Wonder Woman #2
• Swamp Thing #2
• The Flash #2

Gotham Week Five

• The Next Batman #3
• Harley Quinn #2

DC Future State Week Six

• Justice League #2
• Green Lantern #2
• Superman/Wonder Woman #2
• Kara Zor-El: Superwoman #2

Gotham Future State Week Six

• The Dark Detective #3
• Teen Titans #2
• Robin: Eternal #2

DC Week Seven

• Immortal Wonder Woman #2
• Superman: Worlds at War #2
• Shazam! #2

Gotham Future State Week Seven

• The Next Batman #4
• Nightwing #4
• Catwoman #2

DC Week Eight

• Superman Vs. Imperious Lex #2
• Superman: House of El #1
• Aquaman #2
• Legion of Super-Heroes #2

Gotham Week Eight

• The Dark Detective #4
• Batman/Superman #2
• Suicide Squad #2

DC Future State Epilogues

• Generations Forged #1
• Infinite Frontier #0

(Featured Image: DC Future State: Justice League #2, DC Comics)

Roman Colombo finished his MFA in 2010 and now teaches writing and graphic novel literature at various Philadelphia colleges. His first novel, Trading Saints for Sinners, was published in 2014. He's currently working on his next novel and hoping to find an agent soon.