DC Future State and Generations events no longer connected

Panel from Detective Comics #1027 — (Image credit: Dan Jurgens/Kevin Nowlan (DC))

DC's upcoming 2021 event 'Future State' was first mentioned by name in September 15's Detective Comics #1027, framed as the next step in the 'Generations' event after the 'Generations: Fractured' short story in that anthology issue. Since then more on 'Future State' and 'Generations' has been announced by DC, and Newsarama has further confirmed that the two events are no longer connected to one another by name or story.

Generations: Shattered #1 cover — (Image credit: Ivan Reis/Joe Prado (DC))

The next chapter of 'Generations,' the Generations: Shattered one-shot (which once was the Generations: Future State #1 mentioned in Detective Comics #1027), comes out January 5.

"Originally, we were going to touch on what's coming with Future State," Dan Jurgens, one of Generations' writer/artists told Newsarama. "We're detouring from that a bit to focus more on our own story."

Still confused?

In other words, for readers under the impression that Generations: Future State #1 (as mentioned in Detective Comics #1027, see above) on September 15 and Generations: Shattered #1 announced by DC on September 9 are two distinct projects, they are not. They are one and the same. The one-shot was renamed from 'Future State #1' to 'Shattered #1' sometimes in between its September 9 announcement and whenever Detective Comics #1027 went to the printers prior to that. DC has also seemingly made the editorial decision to remove any story connection between Generations and Shattered.

Whew! Got all that?

Batman group editor Ben Abernathy, who edited Detective Comics #1027, confirmed the altered dynamic to Newsarama as well.

"Generations is its own story right now," Abernathy tells Newsarama. "Dan Jurgens and Kevin Nowlan did great on that story in Detective Comics #1027. Those are exciting events, and people will be pleased on how that plays out."

The 'Generations' story will play out next in January 5's Generations: Shattered, and then continue in February with Generations: Forged.

'Generations' is an ambitious story - but once finished, how will it rate against the greatest DC stories ever? Check out our list of the best DC stories of all time.

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)