DC's January and February Future State event replaces the publisher's entire line with a glimpse at several possible futures for the DC Universe, complete with future versions of popular characters. But several titles that readers were perhaps expecting to return/continue when DC's line resumes in March don't appear to be on the schedule – at least not yet.
Likewise, several notable Future State characters don't seem to have homes in the publisher's new line as of March.
Legion of Super-Heroes, Red Hood, and Aquaman - all ongoing series prior to Future State - do not have issues scheduled in DC's just-released March solicitations despite having issues scheduled for December which were not announced as series finales.
The solicitation for December 22's Red Hood #52 seems to imply the start of a new story - and it looks like some of the threads are likely to be picked up as part of March's new ongoing title Batman: Urban Legends #1, an anthology title featuring characters from throughout Gotham.
That series launches with a six-part Red Hood tale from writer Chip Zdarsky in his first DC work, alongside artist Eddy Barrows. Whether Red Hood's solo story could continue in a return of his solo series after that remains to be seen.
As for Legion of Super-Heroes, series writer Brian Michael Bendis is taking over Justice League in March, with Philip Kennedy Johnson taking his place as the ongoing writer of Superman and Action Comics. The solicitation for December 22's Legion of Super-Heroes #12 reads as just a bit more final than that of Red Hood, though it may also be setting the stage for a shift in status quo.
"The battle for New Krypton is on! This powerhouse issue features the Legion confronting the greatest challenge of any era!" it reads.
"With New Krypton on the verge of destruction at the hands of one of Jon Kent’s deadliest foes, the young hero may have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save his friends, his family, and his heritage—but it could lead to the start of a monumental new chapter in the future of the DC Universe! Long live the Legion!"
Jon Kent seems to be a major player in DC going forward as part of the Superman titles, so it's possible the Legion could continue to play a role in his life and vice versa.
As for Aquaman (who will appear in Bendis' Justice League), the already released Aquaman #66 is a tie-in for the Justice League mini-event 'Endless Winter' - potentially implying that Aquaman's story could be on ice for some time, if and when it returns.
All of that said, there's one other possibility for Legion of Super-Heroes and Aquaman – they could show up as back-up stories in other titles or in an anthology series like the star of their fellow possibly-canceled-title Red Hood.
On the back-up note, writer Ram V and Xermanico were announced during DC's presentations at CCXP as the next Justice League Dark creative team and the March solicitations revealed that will occur as a second feature in Justice League.
To be fair DC did not explicitly announce Justice League Dark would return as ongoing series, but they didn't exactly spell out the change in format either.
Three contemporary DC characters who had their own Future State titles don't seem to be getting their mainstream DC spotlight just yet, namely Tim Drake/Robin (Robin Eternal), Kara Zor-El (Superwoman), and Shazam! - though the latter does appear as part of March's Teen Titans Academy, itself seemingly replacing the previous Teen Titans title in the line.
As for Robin and Kara (who was still Supergirl last time she was leading her own title), they each appear to be playing a role in their respective mentor's titles in some capacity, with Robin appearing in the variant cover of Batman #106, and Supergirl showing up in the variant cover for Superman #29.
Batgirls starring Spoiler and Orphan didn't have a Future State solo series, they were a back-up feature along with the Outsiders, Grifters, Arkham Knights, and others, but given the history of the Batgirl ongoing series, they seemed like a good candidate for their own title.
They are not mentioned in the March solicitations although they appear in the same Batman #106 variant cover.
Of course, another possible overarching explanation for all these titles/characters is DC will have more than a few new series launching in April and/or subsequent months. We already know writer Geoffrey Thorne will take over Green Lantern in April and writer/artist Joëlle Jones's Wonder Girl has been officially announced and will presumably launch in April as well.
DC did not respond to inquiries for this story.
Check out all the changes in the DC March 2021 solicitations.
