For the second month in a row, Newsarama readers get the very first look at the DC Future State solicitations and covers for the publisher's flagship Batman family of titles, this time of course for titles on sale in February 2021, which concludes the two-month line-wide event.
(Well, mostly. There is a third issue of a three-issue Superman title on sale in March).
While DC's copy still does not reveal who the 'Next Batman' is, the cover image from February 16's The Next Batman #4 seen above (and full image below) seems to confirm writer John Ridley's promise that he is likely a person of color.
Keep the speculation coming (and check out DC's full February 2021 solicitations right here).
Other highlights from the concluding month of the event for new Batman comics include:
- Black Lightning reunites with Katana fittingly in the 'Outsiders' chapter of the Next Batman #3 anthology, although Jefferson Pierce isn't quite the same Black Lightning in this near-future Gotham City. He's now literal black lightning. (Move over Electric Blue Superman.)
- Kevin Smith's creation Onomatopoeia takes a midnight bullet train to Gotham with Catwoman in issue #2 of her eponymous series.
- Bruce Wayne inevitably meets the aforementioned Next Batman in The Dark Detective #3, and if the covers are any indication it isn't to swap shark repellent recipes.
- In his concluding solo title, Nightwing teams with the Next Batman along with "the full force of his hidden resistance" Spoiler and Orphan (the Batgirls), Huntress, and Two-Face. (Yes, Two-Face.)
- And oh yeah - in Robin Eternal #2, Tim Drake dies.
No, really.
DC's full February 2021 solicitations will be available at noon ET later Friday but look for solicitations from the Future State Superman and Justice League families here even sooner.
*To preorder comic books, graphic novels, and collections from retailers including Amazon, click on the underlined titles.
FUTURE STATE: THE NEXT BATMAN #3
"The Next Batman" written by JOHN RIDLEY
"The Next Batman" art by LAURA BRAGA
"Outsiders" written by BRANDON THOMAS
"Outsiders" art by SUMIT KUMAR
"Arkham Knights" written by PAUL JENKINS
"Arkham Knights" art by JACK HERBERT
cover by LADRÖNN
card stock variant cover by STANLEY "ARTGERM" LAU
ON SALE 2/2/21
$7.99 US | 64 PAGES | 3 OF 4 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVERS $8.99 US
The adventures of the next Batman continue! Batman has captured a pair of murderous fugitives, but he faces a tough decision: leave them for the Magistrate troops, which means certain death, or risk his life and fight his way through Gotham City to deliver them to the GCPD for trial. He's Batman...so there's only one choice!
And in "Outsiders," Katana has reunited with Black Lightning, but her old friend and ally has changed...big-time! Now composed of literal black lightning, Jefferson Pierce arrives with a dire warning about Duke Thomas and his mission to liberate Gotham from the oppression of the Magistrate. They'll have to work together—and we really mean together—to have any hope of defeating the forces working against them!
Plus, in "Arkham Knights," Astrid Arkham and her band of maniacal misfits have picked a fight with the Magistrate...and they're not going to back down! On the eve of their mission into the heart of Gotham's fascist occupiers, Croc, Zsasz, Phosphorus, Clayface, Harvey, and the rest steel themselves to try and shine a beacon of hope into the darkness—but not everyone will make it out alive!
FUTURE STATE: THE NEXT BATMAN #4
"The Next Batman" written by JOHN RIDLEY
"The Next Batman" art by LAURA BRAGA
"Batgirls" written by VITA AYALA
"Batgirls" art by ANEKE
"Gotham City Sirens" written by PAULA SEVENBERGEN
"Gotham City Sirens" art by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO
cover by LADRÖNN
card stock variant cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
ON SALE 2/16/21
$7.99 US | 64 PAGES | 4 OF 4 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $8.99 US
The next Batman goes head-to-head with the Magistrate's shock troops to protect the...guilty?! It's a savage running battle across Gotham City, and it will have the next Dark Knight fighting overwhelming odds to prove that justice still lives in the heart of a broken city.
In the finale of "Batgirls," after discovering the person locked in the high-security cell is the one who's been sending out "Batman Lives" signals to the Resistance, Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain must work together to make sure they take that person when they escape their prison!
Plus, in the conclusion of "Gotham City Sirens," Catwoman and the new android Siren hide out in Poison Ivy's newly built paradise, where they discuss their past relationships, including what Catwoman has—or had—with Batman. But when Peacekeeper forces arrive, the new Siren will have to make a sacrifice to save her friends.
FUTURE STATE: BATMAN/SUPERMAN #2
written by GENE LUEN YANG
art by BEN OLIVER, SCOTT McDANIEL, and others
cover by DAVID MARQUEZ
card stock variant cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
ON SALE 2/23/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US
Superman has fallen deep into the Magistrate's Kryptonite caverns, and now he's at the mercy of a gruesomely transformed Professor Pyg! So what do animalistic body modification and caves of Kryptonite have to do with the Magistrate's growing fascist state in Gotham City? That's what Batman needs to find out as the race against time to save the Man of Steel nears its end! All we know for sure is that during this battle, something happened that drove a wedge between Bruce and Clark...Discover the answers in the conclusion that will rock the World's Finest to their core!
FUTURE STATE: CATWOMAN #2
written by RAM V
art by OTTO SCHMIDT
cover by LIAM SHARP
card stock variant cover by HICHAM HABCHI
ON SALE 2/16/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $4.99 US
Catwoman has clawed her way through half of the Magistrate's bullet train, but her fight has only just begun! Now, with Onomatopoeia in tow, Selina makes her way toward the car carrying a ghost of her past, and Gotham's as well. It's Bruce Wayne…but is it really him? And with Talia al Ghul on board as well, will this be a long-awaited reunion between the Bat and the Cat, or will Selina's mission to rescue the Magistrate's prisoners go off the rails?
FUTURE STATE: DARK DETECTIVE #3
"Dark Detective" written by MARIKO TAMAKI
"Dark Detective" art by DAN MORA
"Grifters" written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
"Grifters" art by CARMINE DI GIANDOMENICO
cover by DAN MORA
card stock variant cover by LEE BERMEJO
ON SALE 2/9/21
$5.99 US | 48 PAGES | 3 OF 4 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $6.99 US
In this issue, Bruce Wayne meets the next Batman! As the dark detective makes his move to put an end to the villainous Magistrate once and for all, the man who once wore the cowl encounters the next Batman—and these two have some questions for each other! Fists will fly as this explosive meeting erupts in the skies over Gotham...but with the clock ticking, can Bruce finish what he started and unlock the secrets of the fascist surveillance that plagues his city?
And in "Grifters" part two, the lucky streak that Cole Cash and Luke Fox have enjoyed just hit a brick wall in the form of the Huntress! The over-the-top adventure in the gutters of Gotham City concludes in the most bone-crushing fashion possible!
FUTURE STATE: DARK DETECTIVE #4
"Dark Detective" written by MARIKO TAMAKI
"Dark Detective" art by DAN MORA
"Red Hood" written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
"Red Hood" art by GIANNIS MILONOGIANNIS
cover by DAN MORA
card stock variant cover by BRIAN BOLLAND
ON SALE 2/23/21
$5.99 US | 48 PAGES | 4 OF 4 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $6.99 US
Bruce Wayne may be a dead man in the eyes of the villainous Magistrate, but this dark detective isn't through yet! In this pulse-pounding finale, Bruce makes his final move and comes face to face with the man at the top of Gotham's oppressive regime, Peacekeeper One! With bombs planted and the trap waiting to be sprung, this final battle will decide the fate of Gotham City once and for all...
And after the events of the last "Red Hood" chapter, Jason Todd is a wanted man. He got too close to the mystery of the new Red Hood Gang, and that forced the Magistrate to take extreme measures—because no one can know the truth. Hurt and alone, Jason must turn to some unlikely allies if he's going to survive!
FUTURE STATE: HARLEY QUINN #2
written by STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
art by SIMONE DI MEO and TONI INFANTE
cover by DERRICK CHEW
card stock variant cover by GARY FRANK
ON SALE 2/2/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US
Harley Quinn has gained Jonathan Crane's trust, everything is going according to plan, and she is getting close to making her escape. But Black Mask and his gang are continuing to undermine the Magistrate and push Crane closer to the edge, where he will become the Scarecrow once more. Will Harley be able to defeat the Scarecrow and stop the Black Mask Gang? If she's going to secure her freedom and save Gotham's future, she'll have to!
FUTURE STATE: NIGHTWING #2
written by ANDREW CONSTANT
art by NICOLA SCOTT
cover by YASMINE PUTRI
card stock variant cover by NICOLA SCOTT
ON SALE 2/16/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US
It's an all-new dynamic for the Dynamic Duo when Nightwing and Gotham's mysterious new Batman join forces against the Magistrate. But when the totalitarian force controlling the city declares the two heroes their primary targets, Nightwing will need to call on the full force of his hidden resistance, including two Batgirls, Huntress, and Two-Face! But even then, will it be enough? Find out in this action-packed conclusion!
FUTURE STATE: ROBIN ETERNAL #2
written by MEGHAN FITZMARTIN
art by EDDY BARROWS
cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO and IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
card stock variant cover by DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON
ON SALE 2/9/21
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 | FC | DC
CARD STOCK COVER $4.99 US
Tim Drake is dead at the hands of the Magistrate. Uh, so why is he getting back up again? With the dangerous and supercharged "Lazarus Resin" coursing through the veins of the hero once known as Robin, can Tim recover enough of his fragile psyche to finish the mission and blow the sky convoy? And can Spoiler and Darcy escape the clutches of Peacekeeper 03 in time to save their friend in the process? It all comes to a head in this cataclysmic finale!
