My biggest problem with the Futures End stuff is that it just doesn’t “matter”. By that I mean, it isn’t going to have any lasting effect on the universe as a whole! They are just little “what if” stories that DC are throwing out there for the fun of it. Sure, you’re going to have standouts like the Grayson issue, but the success of that issue didn’t hinge on it being part of the Futures End tie-ins but because it was actually an original idea and showed some creativity. For me, if you’re going to have a story that doesn’t have any significance to it, then it should at least show me something worthwhile: an idea worth contemplating, or broach a subject that I would never have considered on my own. It bugs me a little that these stories are just teases and will never be brought to fruition. It’s possible that the events we are seeing in these one-shots are merely a glimpse of a possible future but not necessarily one that will ever occur. I saw an interview that Dan Didio gave in which he said, “You’ll get a chance to see where, in the next five years, our characters MIGHT finish up or MIGHT end up being.” The way in which he carefully chose to answer was a dead give away to me that, if these things don’t come to pass, he can always say, “I never said they would happen, I said they MIGHT happen.”
What I disliked most about this Batwing issue was that I had NO connection with anyone or anything: I did not feel any emotional investment to any of the characters whatsoever. It is almost as if an entire 12-issue arc had been designed but they only released the finale; it would be like picking up an action movie and then only watching the last 10 minutes. Sure, there is a lot of spectacle to look at, but seeing as how I have not gone on the journey with these characters and gotten to know them through their ordeals I don’t care about them.
The story starts of with the “Five Years From Now” that has been seen at the beginning of every Futures End released thus far, but this is the only one I cannot easily believe it is set only five years from now: it looks like it is set in a much more distant future. Its hopefulness reminds me of all those old Sci-fi movies that thought we would have hover cars and be living on the moon by the year 2000. No way is the future depicted in this story even remotely capable of becoming a reality by 2019.
I’ve never done this in any of my reviews, but I’m just going to spoil this whole issue for you, if you don’t want that, skip the next paragraph. Seriously, below is a synopsis of the whole thing! If you read it and still want to buy the issue be my guest, but if not, I’d like to help you out and save you a couple of bucks!
We find out that some new criminal organization (Leviathan) is causing grief to the one currently in power, a bunch of villains who look like rejects from Guardians of the Galaxy and ThunderCats. They have determined that they have to pit themselves against Leviathan or become obsolete. A mystery man shows up with a story about how he hates Leviathan just as much as they do and wants to help them out; conveniently he has all the information they need (seriously, how stupid are these villains?) to stage a full scale assault on Dinosaur Island (Jurassic Park anyone?), I kid you not! Turns out the new criminal organization was just the heroes of Batman Inc all along (the mystery man being Batwing himself) setting a trap so that the villains would come to the Jurassic Park wannabe, where a maximum security prison had been built under the island to hold them all. Wait… If the heroes were already defeating them as Leviathan why did they need this elaborate trap? Couldn’t they have just beaten them the old fashioned way? Anyway, a massive battle occurs in which all the heroes completely steam roll the baddies, to the point where it is ridiculous that not a single one of the heroes got hurt. After the fight Batwing even comments on how outnumbered they were?!?!?! And they still won!! With not a single casualty! Not even a scratch!! If this was really a planned trap why didn’t they just gas all those idiots instead of risking their necks over a physical confrontation? And to top it all off, Hologram Batman shows up and says good job, Luke visits Tam’s grave, gives the rest of his family a big hug, The End.
Despite the less than stellar story, Eduardo Pansica still does a tremendous job on art duties and the score being anything at all is largely due to his efforts. I’d also like to take just a moment to say that, while this particular comic was not really to my liking, Jimmy Palmiotti is doing a great job on Harley Quinn! So go check that comic out instead!
Recommended if…
- You’re a completionist and must own every one of the Future End tie-ins no matter what.
- You’re happy to look at Eduardo Pansica’s beautifully work regardless of what it is attached to.
- You love spectacle!
Overall:
I’m going to save you some time and money and tell you to spend your four dollars and fifteen minutes on the Grayson: Futures End issue instead.
SCORE: 3/10
