Where the Next Batman will show up after DC Future State

Future State: Next Batman #3 cover — (Image credit: Ladrönn)

The end of the Future State: Next Batman series won't be the end of the Next Batman, and DC has already confirmed where he'll show up after his debut.

(Although we still don't know who 'he' is.)

Batman Black and White #3 cover — (Image credit: Joshua Middleton (DC))

The 'Next' Batman will be appearing in February 23's Batman Black and White #3 anthology, one week after the final issue of Future State: Next Batman. And in this story, we'll get to meet his new Robin, sort of.

"Academy Award-winning writer John Ridley and iconic Thor and Avengers artist Olivier Coipel reteam to dip into the world of Future State and expand the legend of the next Batman and introduce us to his new—well, she’s not exactly Robin!" reads DC's synopsis for that story.

Ridley and Coipel previously worked on a Next Batman set-up story of sorts in September 29's Batman: The Joker War Zone #1 anthology.

In October, Batman group editor Ben Abernathy said some characters and elements of Future State wouldn't be confined to just this two-month event.

"With the Bat group title, it's definitely a look towards the future," Abernathy told Newsarama. "How much of that future is true is uncertain, because decisions in the present can always change the future. On one hand, yes they're great standalone stories but the seeds... wait, 'Future State' doesn't plant seeds; it's already crop-grown. The seeds are already planted; these stories will come to fruition in the main line."

But now we have two mysteries: Who is the 'next' Batman, and who is this 'not exactly' Robin?

We've already put some thought into the identity of the Next Batman, and even squeezed a clue or two out of Abernathy himself.

As for the Robin, a Lazarus Pit-resurrected Tim Drake is already confirmed to be about in this Future State timeline, but so is former Robin Stephanie Brown. Although she's called Spoiler in the solicitation for Future State: Robin Eternal, she would fit more given the "she" part of the Robin description.

Stay tuned for more on that in the coming weeks.

Keep apprised of all the new Batman comic books, graphic novels, and collections coming out in 2020 and beyond.

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)