Gotham Future State Week Two Follows Week One | Comic Years
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Gotham Future State Week Two Follows Week One Wonderfully

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BY February 11, 2021

So, Gotham is in the horrible grip of the Magistrate, and we’re starting to learn more and more about how things got to be this way. In addition, the Gotham stories of Future State Week Two follow the tone, style and look flawlessly from what Ridley began in The Next Batman. And, between these stories and one in the other DC titles, we’re learning even more about this nightmare version of an already nightmarish city. But there’s one big question: what happened to the original Batman?

The Dark Detective Kicks off the Week Two Gotham Future State Stories With Broke Man Wayne

Gotham Future State Week Two, Dark Detective, Grifter, Batman, Robin, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Nightwing, Teen Titans, Robin Eternal, Batgirl, Spoiler, Magistrate, Cyborg, Beastboy It’s like that last scene from the Incredible Hulk TV Show! (Image: Future State: Dark Detective #1, DC Comics)

Writer: Mariko Tamaki
Artist: Dan Mova
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

Presently, Batman is dead. Or is he? If anyone really thought Peacekeeper-001 killed Batman, then they forgot who Batman is. But just because Bruce Wayne is alive, that doesn’t mean he’s doing well. He’s homeless, weaker than ever, and still on the run. For the most part, we don’t learn too much about how he got this way, other than that the Magistrate took over Wayne enterprises. But there is something vital we learn and will be confirmed in another Gotham Future State Week Two story: A member of the Bat-Family is part of the Magistrate. Who? Well, we’ll get to that later.

Grifter

Dark Detective, Grifter, Batman, Robin, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Nightwing, Teen Titans, Robin Eternal, Batgirl, Spoiler, Magistrate, Cyborg, Beastboy It is bad, Cole Cash. As bad as that name. (Image: Future State: Dark Detective #1, DC Comics)

Writer: Matthew Rosenberg
Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colorist: Antonio Fabela

Without a doubt, Cole Cash is an idiot. Whenever he says he knows how things will go down, they happen the exact opposite way. That’s not great when you’re a C-lister like Grifter. But it also says a lot about what’s happening in Gotham. Evidently, not even the non-marketable characters are safe from the Magistrate! However, we still get more pieces to the Gotham puzzle. In fact, we learn something important that directly affects James Tynuon IV’s current Batman run. The Magistrate that occupies Future State Gotham, we learned in Week Two, took control of the Wayne fortune—which, before this event, Lucious Fox controlled.

In the Grifter story, he runs into Luke Fox, formerly Batwing. Apparently, Lucious hired Grifter, but the bargain bin anti-hero didn’t come through. But is this part of how the Magistrate took the Wayne Fortune? Probably? But we’re going to have to wait to find out.

Also, one villain to keep an eye out for between this story and Harley Quinn in Week One. Surprisingly, Black Mask. At this point, how powerful is this guy?

Robin Eternal #1 is the Best Story from Gotham Future State Week Two

Gotham Future State Week Two, Dark Detective, Grifter, Batman, Robin, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Nightwing, Teen Titans, Robin Eternal, Batgirl, Spoiler, Magistrate, Cyborg, Beastboy Um, you have a little costume on your Lazarus pit goo. (Future State: Robin Eternal #1, DC Comics)

Writer: Meghan Fitzmartin
Penciler: Eddy Barrows
Inker: Eder Ferreira
Colorist: Adrinao Lucas

Unquestionably, (don’t question it), Tim Drake is the best Robin. Yes, Nightwing is the OG, Damian Wayne is pretty cool, and the Red Hood is a badass, but Drake is the best. But Tim has the most skill, and he’s actually the best successor to Bruce Wayne. However, the most compelling evidence is that this kid figured out Batman’s real identity on his own! So, having his own Future State Gotham title that started in Week Two was great to see. He’s not a backup story. He’s a solo artist. Also, we got a lot from this comic.

So, let’s take a look at some of the big things we learned. Firstly, the Magistrate is insane. Okay, we thought we knew that, but it gets worse. They want to combine the waters of the Lazarus Pit with their robots to create these monstrous, adaptive killing machines. That’s one of those” hey, this will end badly for all of us” ideas. Secondly, Nightwing is in Arkham Asylum, which raises a bunch of questions. The Arkham Knights operate out of Wayne Manor, so who exactly is operating the Asylum? The Magistrate? Also, is Damian Wayne dead? Possibly.

But there is one more bombshell that makes this the most important Gotham Future State Week Two title. Peacekeeper-001? The big bad? Yeah, that’s Jason Todd—The Red Hood. The member of the Bat-family who betrayed the others.

Teen Titans #1 Certainly Has the Feel of a Gotham Title

Dark Detective, Grifter, Batman, Robin, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Nightwing, Teen Titans, Robin Eternal, Batgirl, Spoiler, Magistrate, Cyborg, Beastboy Just a little bit of foreshad—OH MY GOD, what is that creepy doll thing in the corner?!?!? (Image: Future State: Teen Titans #1

Writer: Tim Sheridan
Penciler: Rafa Sandoval
Inker: Jordi Tarragona
Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez

Despite taking place in New York City, Teen Titans belongs in Gotham Future State Week Two. Why? Not just because the book’s tone matches the other Gotham titles, but because of how much it focuses on Nightwing.

Evidently, Teen Titans takes place well after the other Gotham titles in Week One and Week Two of Future State. Firstly, Nightwing isn’t in Arkham anymore…but maybe he should be. He’s not the Dick Grayson we’ve seen before, that’s definite. But he doesn’t even want to go by Nightwing anymore, and the other Titans—especially Starfire—don’t trust him anymore. But they have good reason not to. Because, by the end of the first issue, Nightwing becomes the new Deathstroke, one of the Titans’ worst enemies.

But, of course, this book isn’t all Dick. In fact, it’s another info dump of Future State clues. For instance, the Four Riders of the Apocalypse the Flash characters are dealing with in their title? They won, apparently. The comic opens with Nightwing and the new Arsenal at Wally West’s grave. To make it that much worse, it looks like the Titans might have been responsible for their rise. Meanwhile, whatever happened to the Titans (we get a few key scenes), caused Cyborg and Beast Boy to merge into CyBeast.

And then there’s the H-Dial. What happened to the last owner? Miguel? Ah…nothing good and everything painful.

What Comes after Gotham Future State Week Two?

Gotham Future State Week Two, Dark Detective, Grifter, Batman, Robin, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Nightwing, Teen Titans, Robin Eternal, Batgirl, Spoiler, Magistrate, Cyborg, Beastboy So…is he the only patient? What’s happening? (Image: Future State: Nightwing #1, DC Comics)

A lot. We’re only a quarter through this event, and just with Week Two, we’ve learned a lot about Gotham in Future State. It’s worse than ever before. Here’s a checklist for all the Future State titles that we’ve already had and that are coming up.

Road to Future State

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

DC Future State Week One

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

Gotham Future State Week One

  • The Next Batman #1
  • Harley Quinn #1

DC Future State Week Two

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

Gotham Future State Week Two

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

DC Future State Week Three

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

Gotham Future State Week Three

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

DC Future State Week Four

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

Gotham Future State Week Four

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

DC Future State Week Five

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

Gotham Future State 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 Future State 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 Future State Week Eight

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

Gotham Future State Week Eight

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

DC Future State Epilogues

  • Generations Forged #1
  • Infinite Frontier #0

(Featured Image: Future State: Dark Detective #1, DC Comics)

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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.

          

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