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Future State: The Next Batman

Future State: The Next Batman

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  • Create Date：2021-08-23 07:50:58
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：John Ridley
  • ISBN：1779510640
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Summary

The DC timeline has been shattered， and the pieces of a dark possible "Future State" are reflected！

The DC timeline has been shattered， and the pieces of a dark possible "Future State" are reflected！ Giant， sprawling future Gotham City is under martial law， protected and regulated by a private security force led by the infamous Peacekeepers。 Their mandate is to maintain the safety of the citizens of Gotham， regardless of any Constitutional rights， and to hunt down， incarcerate， or kill all masked vigilantes， villains， and criminals in the city limits。 It's a dangerous and violent look at a possible future Gotham City and the heroes and villains who live there！

Collects Future State: The Next Batman #1-4; Future State: Dark Detective #1-3; Future State: Nightwing #1-2。

DC Future State spotlights the World's Greatest Super Heroes in fresh new roles， with all-new characters taking up their iconic mantles。 DC Future State features an incredible array of creative talent， combining award-winning writers and artists with new voices from the worlds of TV， movies and animation。 Discover the DC Universe like never before！

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Reviews

Trike ，

This was better than I’d feared based on others’ reviews。 It’s uneven， as most compilations are， but it’s bookended by solid entries。 The opener featuring the new Batman after Bruce Wayne’s death is good-but-not-great。 Serviceable。 The Nightwing story is pretty dark， called out by one of the characters， who says “You’re grimdarker than you used to be。” The girl power Gotham Sirens is okay if uneven。 Could’ve been tighter， frankly。 The Arkham Knights entry featuring escaped bad guys is the weakes This was better than I’d feared based on others’ reviews。 It’s uneven， as most compilations are， but it’s bookended by solid entries。 The opener featuring the new Batman after Bruce Wayne’s death is good-but-not-great。 Serviceable。 The Nightwing story is pretty dark， called out by one of the characters， who says “You’re grimdarker than you used to be。” The girl power Gotham Sirens is okay if uneven。 Could’ve been tighter， frankly。 The Arkham Knights entry featuring escaped bad guys is the weakest point。 I put the book down several times during those chapters， finding other things to do。 The Grifter story that finishes the book is the best of the lot。 It has actual funny moments， and Grifter is a genuinely amoral character who vacillates wildly between good and bad so you never really know what he’s going to do。 If I’d read that as a standalone I would’ve given it 4-1/2 stars。 I don’t really know much about Grifter， but this was very entertaining。Overall I’d say I liked the idea better than the execution。 Exploring what Gotham would be like if Batman weren’t around any more （and folks like Commissioner Gordon also seem MIA） kind of fills in the time between the regular Batman stories and Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns。 Given the current rise of authoritarianism and fascism around the world， it’s easy to see how such a violent police state could come to pass。 It’s heightened because of the superhero/supervillain-ness of it all， but beyond that it feels all too plausible。 。。。more

Wolverinefactor ，

Read to page 104 which finished the FS: Next Batman portion which was all I wanted to read…

Anne ，

This is just an awful collection of throwaway stories that ranged from dull to terrible。I had to force myself to finish because they seemed to get worse and worse as they went on。 Nothing is explained。 Nothing！ You're just plopped down in this dumb setting where the mayor has （apparently） put martial law in effect， and a shoot-on-sight order out for anyone wearing a mask。 Something happened to Batman that caused all of the chaos， but what it was is never stated in this volume。 A recap of the eve This is just an awful collection of throwaway stories that ranged from dull to terrible。I had to force myself to finish because they seemed to get worse and worse as they went on。 Nothing is explained。 Nothing！ You're just plopped down in this dumb setting where the mayor has （apparently） put martial law in effect， and a shoot-on-sight order out for anyone wearing a mask。 Something happened to Batman that caused all of the chaos， but what it was is never stated in this volume。 A recap of the events leading up to this at the beginning of the book would have been nice。The Batman story didn't particularly make much sense， wasn't very interesting， and ended abruptly。 Tim Fox？ Who the hell is that？ Apparently， he's an old character from the bygone days， but it doesn't explain why he insists that everyone call him Jace。 That just added an extra layer of stupid that didn't need to be there。 Also， the plot revolves around a bunch of family drama that leads nowhere by the last issue and didn't capture enough of my interest to make me want to pick up any more。Nightwing's entry was on par with Batman's in that it was readable but nothing stuck to my ribs。 And as Chad mentioned in his review， once you notice that Dick's chin strap is attached to his goggles， you can't unsee it。But Batgirl's story？ That's when I really got an inkling that I was in for a tedious shitshow。 Prison fights， stupid levels of mistrust between old friends， more prison shenanigans， a breakout， and the prerequisite not leaving one of our own behind trope。 Bah。The Outsiders stuff with Katana and Duke didn't make any sense to me。 Just random stuff happening while she swings her sword/husband。 I mean， who the hell is keeping up with Katana， anyway？ Not me， that's for damn sure。 I had no idea what was going on in her personal life and no idea what the deal with the two swords was。 I also had no idea what the curse was that Black Lightning was under or what it meant for the story。 So。 Confusing。However， those four were the best of the bunch， and I was sorry I hadn't appreciated them more by the time I got to the gratingly stupid Gotham City Sirens issues。 A complete garbage story about AI that wants a Sex in the City girl's night out drinking experience in return for information on her evil corporate creator。 Everything about this one made me grit my teeth。 And the Sirens' issues were amazing compared to the ridiculous Arkham Knights grandiose dialogue and ridiculous plot。 Spoiler ---> they risk their lives to steal the Bat symbol from the roof of the GCPD and then turn it into an entirely different symbol。 Why the fuck wouldn't you just make another big fucking light with your own symbol on it？ That's the kind of dumbassery that's in the pages of this book。The Grifter was the last story and who cared by then？ I just wanted it to be over already。It really wasn't that bad。 Grifter runs around trying to get Luke Fox out of the city while everything goes fubar around them。 Thing is， it didn't really make sense because whatever happened to Luke wasn't explained in the Batman story， and it just felt confusing and disjointed。 But that was basically how this whole collection felt。Future State isn't anything I'm interested in at this point， so unless someone can give me a good reason to keep poking around in these titles， I'm done。 。。。more

Chalupa Batman ，

Ehh。。。The Outsiders storyline was weak。 The Grifter was okay。 The Next Batman story had a lot of potential。 Basically this collection was very uneven。

Andrew Shaffer ，

That’s a no from me， dawg。 DNF。

Victor ，

Dull and often trivial， the collection of future state offers little in its lackluster plot line and amateur， sometimes juvenile tonality of writing。 The four Batman issues are fine， nothing spectacular and not really worth seeking out。 The rest of the collection feels extremely boring and unnecessary。 Plots feel rushed， characters and their motivations are thrown at you completely without context leaving a sense of confusion and boredom。 Dialogue feels quite slanted and poorly constructed。 None Dull and often trivial， the collection of future state offers little in its lackluster plot line and amateur， sometimes juvenile tonality of writing。 The four Batman issues are fine， nothing spectacular and not really worth seeking out。 The rest of the collection feels extremely boring and unnecessary。 Plots feel rushed， characters and their motivations are thrown at you completely without context leaving a sense of confusion and boredom。 Dialogue feels quite slanted and poorly constructed。 None of the ideas really come together to feel fully fleshed out or even original。 The artwork for Batman is alright， but that’s not even a “redeeming quality”， more like the only upside to this waste of time。 。。。more

Sud666 ，

Well that was certainly different。 In a world where Batman has been killed （they never say how） and a new private police group known as the Peacekeepers are shooting masks on sight。 The first story is "Future State: The Next Batman" wherein one of Lucius Fox's kids is Batman。 The premise behind a government funded private police that can kill on sight is a but much， but that's the basis。Anyways the art is good and the story was ok in an Elseworlds type of way。 Then the story shifts to Nightwing Well that was certainly different。 In a world where Batman has been killed （they never say how） and a new private police group known as the Peacekeepers are shooting masks on sight。 The first story is "Future State: The Next Batman" wherein one of Lucius Fox's kids is Batman。 The premise behind a government funded private police that can kill on sight is a but much， but that's the basis。Anyways the art is good and the story was ok in an Elseworlds type of way。 Then the story shifts to Nightwing who is hanging out in Arkham and leading the "resistance"。 He encounters the new Batman and then they fight the Peacekeepers。 This was also ok， until the rest of the Batbunch showed up。 Why is Two-Face a Hero？ Why is Talia-Al Ghul running with these rejects？ It makes no sense。If at all possible， considering the mediocre level of the stories so far， it gets worse。 Much worse。 A noticeable worsening of the art and a truly awful story about "Batgirls" that takes place in a prison。 Then there are some utterly awful stories revolving around non-entities like Grifter， the Outisders and the Gotham City Sirens。 I found myself completely not caring about these shitty stories。 Also？ Two-Face running around being a hero in body armor？ Yeah？ That's your grand creative talent at work？ Stick to writing Hollywood scripts， it requires far less story telling ability。 One of the dumber Batman concepts I've read I awhile。 。。。more

Joshua ，

Great read。 Really interesting take on Batman！ Loved it

Clint ，

2。5 starsAn inconsistent mix of what I’m hoping is the weaker half of the Future State Batman stories。 Nothing here is great， but there’s a few above average standouts， some middling stories， and a couple of wastes of time。The Batgirls， Outsiders， and Nightwing issues were my favorites， and each one was some sort of team-up。 Batgirls sees a fun prison breakout heist with former Batgirls Spoiler and Orphan， with chunky colorful art I was mostly a fan of。 I wish the dialogue had avoided them quoti 2。5 starsAn inconsistent mix of what I’m hoping is the weaker half of the Future State Batman stories。 Nothing here is great， but there’s a few above average standouts， some middling stories， and a couple of wastes of time。The Batgirls， Outsiders， and Nightwing issues were my favorites， and each one was some sort of team-up。 Batgirls sees a fun prison breakout heist with former Batgirls Spoiler and Orphan， with chunky colorful art I was mostly a fan of。 I wish the dialogue had avoided them quoting The Odyssey back and forth， as that’s the sort of literary allusion that rarely works for me in a goofy superhero comic like this。 I’m less familiar with The Outsiders， but the more serious tone of their story fit the grim police state setting of this event and the art by Sumit Kumar and Jordie Bellaire is nice and textured。 The Nightwing issues are an action-heavy team-up with the Next Batman; the story is pretty thin， but there’s some entertaining character moments。The Next Batman is just okay。 The Fox family focus and a new character taking up Batman could be interesting， but the story doesn’t really develop into anything with 100 pages。 Way too much time is spent on dealing with a generic street-level case。 Gotham City Sirens is similarly just okay。 It’s a flimsy “girls night out” story that feels totally at odds with the event’s oppressive setting and filled with the sort of Tumblr-y dialogue I’m not a fan of， but may be a nice change of pace for readers looking for that sort of girl boss wish fulfillment。Arkham Knights and Grifters are both pretty bad。 The “Arkham inmates turned rebel militia’ premise in Knights could be neat， and I loved the design of Grifter as a kid in the 90s， but neither story is interesting and the art for both is garish and way too busy。 。。。more

Chris W ，

The batman and nightwing arcs were interesting but the rest didn't work。 Decent premises and ideas but the titles just didn't meet the mark。 3/5 stars。 The batman and nightwing arcs were interesting but the rest didn't work。 Decent premises and ideas but the titles just didn't meet the mark。 3/5 stars。 。。。more

Chad ，

For all the big deal DC made of this， it all fell very flat。 The Magistrate has taken over as a private police in Gotham and shoot all masks on sight。 That's the gist of every story in this so it all feels very bland without any real antagonists。 This event needed much more editorial oversight。 Some of these stories don't even fit together in this limited world that only existed for 2 months。The Next Batman by John Ridley， Laura Braga， and Nick DeringtonTim Fox （who hasn't been around since the For all the big deal DC made of this， it all fell very flat。 The Magistrate has taken over as a private police in Gotham and shoot all masks on sight。 That's the gist of every story in this so it all feels very bland without any real antagonists。 This event needed much more editorial oversight。 Some of these stories don't even fit together in this limited world that only existed for 2 months。The Next Batman by John Ridley， Laura Braga， and Nick DeringtonTim Fox （who hasn't been around since the 70's） is the new Batman。 The story felt very small and too much time was spent with Fox family drama which never came to fruition。Nightwing by Andrew Constant and Nicola ScottNightwing is leading the resistance （I guess）。 For some reason now he has a chin strap for his domino mask which makes no sense。 It's like having a chin strap for my sunglasses。 Barbara Gordon and Cassandra Cain appear in this which doesn't at all mesh with the next story。Batgirls by Vita Ayala and AnekeCassandra Cain gets sent to prison where she meets Spoiler （who is some kind of traitor now） and a bunch of other super criminals。 This all doesn't make any sense because the previous two stories were all about how the Peacekeepers shoot to kill all masks on sight。Outsiders by Brandon Thomas and Sumit KumarA small story that just shows Signal， Katana， and Black Lightning doing their own thing。 Again this doesn't mesh at all with Jefferson Pierce's appearance in prison in Batgirls。 Sumit Kumar's art is directly copying Sean Murphy's art style。Gotham City Sirens by Paula Sevenbergen and Emanuela LupacchinoCatwoman and Poison Ivy take an android out for a night on the town。 Babs Tarr did the character designs and they are awful。 This story has the same hipster twee feel the Batgirl of Burnside comic did that Babs worked on。 All I can say is "Ug"。Arkham Knights by Paul Jenkins and Jack HerbertJenkins loves the sounds of his own words。 Jenkins drones on and on during what could have been a neat story about Arkham's prisoners redeeming themselves like a Gotham version of Suicide Squad。Grifters by Matthew Rosenberg and Carmine Di GiandomenicoThis was probably the best of the bunch although Luke Fox is written wildly out of character。 Grifter tries to get Luke Fox out of the city。 That's the entire plot。 。。。more

Sesana ，

Another big chunk of Future State issues。 What this volume actually collects is The Next Batman， Nightwing， Outsiders， Batgirls， Gotham Sirens， Arkham Knights， and Grifter。 There's no Dark Detective in this volume， despite what the Goodreads summary says。 I enjoyed The Next Batman， Nightwing， and Batgirls， and quickly became bored with the other books。 The Next Batman does a good job of highlighting the new Bat， Nightwing is a nice outing for the character， and Batgirls is a pretty good story st Another big chunk of Future State issues。 What this volume actually collects is The Next Batman， Nightwing， Outsiders， Batgirls， Gotham Sirens， Arkham Knights， and Grifter。 There's no Dark Detective in this volume， despite what the Goodreads summary says。 I enjoyed The Next Batman， Nightwing， and Batgirls， and quickly became bored with the other books。 The Next Batman does a good job of highlighting the new Bat， Nightwing is a nice outing for the character， and Batgirls is a pretty good story starring Cass and Stephanie。 The other issues are mostly fine， but not terribly good and there's so much that I got tired of reading it。 Arkham Knights in particular is incredibly wordy and dull。 At least the Bat corner of the DCU seems to have a coherent concept of what's going on in this possible future。 。。。more

John ，

The next batman part 1， outsiders part 1， Arkham knights chapter 1-rise

Shannon Appelcline ，

If the Next Batman is any indication， Future State is an even that was fatally flawed at the fundamental level。 Because， this doesn't read like an event， it reads like the start of a new line of comics。 It's full of table-setting and other setup， or else it contains minor stories。 That's not what you want from an event。 If anything， it's the opposite of what you want from an event。 This created a new status that's never going to be quo。 Events need to be sound and fury， they need to be grandeur If the Next Batman is any indication， Future State is an even that was fatally flawed at the fundamental level。 Because， this doesn't read like an event， it reads like the start of a new line of comics。 It's full of table-setting and other setup， or else it contains minor stories。 That's not what you want from an event。 If anything， it's the opposite of what you want from an event。 This created a new status that's never going to be quo。 Events need to be sound and fury， they need to be grandeur and beauty: this was none of those things。 In the few situations where it rose above the level of mediocrity， it made promises of a future that's never going to be seen。 In the end， unless the DC Comics now turn around and reorient their whole line to be either referencing， avoiding， or heading toward this future， it was a waste of time， without the good storytelling that could have brought it up to the next level。The Next Batman。 It's a bit of a surprise to have Future State start off with such a small story。 Though set against the background of Gotham grown into a fascist corporate state， this is about Batman finding two killers and about his relation with his family。 A lot of this feels that it would be intriguing as an ongoing series， but as a one-off miniseries， it's all foundation with nothing atop it。 The result is an OK story [3+/5]。Nightwing。 Dick's story is simultaneously more on point （because it's about a direct confrontation with the Peacemakers） and not as great of a story （because it doesn't have the same professional storytelling technique as the Batman story did）。 A decent continuation of The Next Batman [3/5]。Batgirls。 This story has a big suspension-of-disbelief problem， as it depicts a prison full of masks， who should have all been shot on sight in this Future State。 With that aside， it's a nice look at the Batgirls that revisits a lot of characters who were treated very badly by the misguided New52， including Stephanie as Batgirl， Cass as Batgirl， and Babs as Oracle， and it's a nice character piece for them that also advances the overall narrative of the Batman Future State [3+/5]。The Outsiders。 Like the Next Batman story， this one is very small: The Outsiders get a few people out of Gotham， and one is a traitor。 We need more than that for a big event like Future State， and this one isn't supported by the superior writing of The Next Batman。 The big change int the status quo seems to be the return of Black Lightning， except we of course didn't know he was gone， and there's a weird tonal shift where in this ultra-fascist society he was cursed by a wizard！？ There's just nothing to love about this story [2/5]。Gotham City Sirens。 The depictions of Cat， Ivy， and DeeDee in the book are good， and I wouldn't mind seeing an extended story about them。 The plot is less interesting， since it's more of the Magistrate being bad and being in bed with bad people。 And after all of that， the end which is meant to be moving is a bit of a cop-out。 Still， pretty enjoyable [3/5]。Arkham Knights。 Man， Paul Jenkins loves to hear himself write。 This is sooo overblown at times。 It's also a comic that I have troubles fitting into the Future State world， as there's yet another powerful organization trying to overthrow the Magistrate。 But I do like the premise， of a sideways Suicide Squad， of mental patients trying to redeem themselves。 It's got a lot of opportunity for characterization and growth。 And like all of the other setup work in this volume， it's ultimately wasted [2+/5]。Grifters。 This feels like it's one of the better stories in the volume， because there's a lot of action-adventure that's well written。 But， it begins to drag in the last issue， and again it feels like a setup for a series that never occurred [3+/5]。 。。。more

Clay Bartel ，

Very enjoyable and easy read。 Bit all over the place with main stories and backup。Certainly the main stories are the best part。 2 of the backups didn't quite grab me。。。 the Arkham Knights and Grifter story were the weakest。 Over all I love this more then enough to continue collecting。 I already bought Future State Justice League。This was a fun experiment and cool read after Death Metal and what I've read of Infinite Frontier definitely has me feeling that DC is really on a roll lately！ Never bee Very enjoyable and easy read。 Bit all over the place with main stories and backup。Certainly the main stories are the best part。 2 of the backups didn't quite grab me。。。 the Arkham Knights and Grifter story were the weakest。 Over all I love this more then enough to continue collecting。 I already bought Future State Justice League。This was a fun experiment and cool read after Death Metal and what I've read of Infinite Frontier definitely has me feeling that DC is really on a roll lately！ Never been more excited to read new DC ！！！ 。。。more

Chris Lemmerman ，

The first of four Future State collections lands， and of course it's Batman out the gate。 I love the idea of the Next Batman。 The execution。。。not so much。 His solo mini-series is a bit of a mess in terms of momentum， shoving a load of conclusion into the final issue and not much of much else in the first three issues。 John Ridley's dialogue comes off a bit stunted at times as well， although Laura Braga's art's pretty nice。The back-up stuff's okay - Arkham Knights is FAR too wordy for its own goo The first of four Future State collections lands， and of course it's Batman out the gate。 I love the idea of the Next Batman。 The execution。。。not so much。 His solo mini-series is a bit of a mess in terms of momentum， shoving a load of conclusion into the final issue and not much of much else in the first three issues。 John Ridley's dialogue comes off a bit stunted at times as well， although Laura Braga's art's pretty nice。The back-up stuff's okay - Arkham Knights is FAR too wordy for its own good， while Batgirls and Gotham City Sirens are nice but feel a bit inconsequential。 The former at least matches up with some stuff in Robin Eternal later on。Also included， since it features the Next Batman， is Future State: Nightwing， which is a much better outing for the character。 Nicola Scott's artwork sings as always， and I'd have rather seen some more of this story than the main one， if we're being honest， since it was far more engaging in terms of both plot and the Future State status quo as a whole。And thrown in for fun are the back-ups from Future State: Dark Detective， which aren't great either unfortunately。 The Red Hood story's decent， and sets up stuff that'll be followed up in the Future State: Gotham spin-off， but the Grifters story drags on while managing to go in circles。You know how this is going to go going in， I'm sure。 It's an anthology book， so some of it's good， some of it's not， and most of it's just okay。 。。。more

Justine Cucchi ，

Just a note: I didn't read Nightwing 1-2 or Dark Detective 1-3。 I read the single issues of Batman 1-4 and this was the closest graphic novel equivalent I could find。Please don't read this。 I thought Tom King was bad at writing Batman and then this came along。 Granted， this Batman was not Bruce Wayne， but it's a guy dressed in a bat suit so it counts。 Also， I haven't read a comic where women were written this poorly in a while。 Catwoman and Poison Ivy were ridiculously out-of-character in the Go Just a note: I didn't read Nightwing 1-2 or Dark Detective 1-3。 I read the single issues of Batman 1-4 and this was the closest graphic novel equivalent I could find。Please don't read this。 I thought Tom King was bad at writing Batman and then this came along。 Granted， this Batman was not Bruce Wayne， but it's a guy dressed in a bat suit so it counts。 Also， I haven't read a comic where women were written this poorly in a while。 Catwoman and Poison Ivy were ridiculously out-of-character in the Gotham City Sirens sections。 The hot tub scene physically hurt me。 Cass and Steph were better， but the Batgirls sections felt forced for some reason。 I think it's mostly because I felt Ridley was forcing Cass， Steph， and Babs to have a converging storyline in Future State since they were working together in the Tynion Batman run at the time。Anyway， I'm happy Ridley is not the main writer on Batman at the moment。 Hopefully it stays that way。 。。。more

Rachel Caputi ，

It’s hard to properly rate this novel， because it’s not just one story。 It’s several stories in one， so I think it will be easier to give a brief review of each story。First， The Next Batman story。 Bruce Wayne is “dead” and Tim Fox is the new Batman。 This story was mediocre at best。 It wasn’t long enough to really flesh out the story or make the characters likable。 It’s made me me really dislike the Fox Family， which is a real damn shame。 The Outsiders story。 It’s okay， but still better than some It’s hard to properly rate this novel， because it’s not just one story。 It’s several stories in one， so I think it will be easier to give a brief review of each story。First， The Next Batman story。 Bruce Wayne is “dead” and Tim Fox is the new Batman。 This story was mediocre at best。 It wasn’t long enough to really flesh out the story or make the characters likable。 It’s made me me really dislike the Fox Family， which is a real damn shame。 The Outsiders story。 It’s okay， but still better than some of the other terrible stories in this book。 It focuses on Black Lightning， Katana， and Duke Thomas。 Nothing to ride home about， but I’ve never been too fond of any of these characters。 A little boring。 The Arkham Knight story。 This was a real snooze fest。 I couldn’t care less about the Arkham Knight character or her team of villains pretending to be heroes。 It doesn’t even make sense for some the characters， particularly Victor Zsasz。 The Dark Detective story was a surprising hit。 I loved reading about a poor Bruce Wayne， forced to rely on only his intelligence and skills。 Amazing art and an entertaining story。 By far my favorite of all the stories！ The Grifter story。 It wasn’t bad， but it also wasn’t good。 Grifter was written a little out of character。 I hate what they did with Luke Fox， but Huntress was cool。 At least the art was good。The Batgirls story？ No。 Just no。 The absolute worst。 So terrible。 It focuses on Cass and Stephanie， but your would ever know that the blonde prisoner is supposed to be Steph if they didn’t say so。 She was a completely different character， and the story was just so badly done。 Badly written， with absolutely horrible art。 Amateur hour。 Gotham City Sirens。 Hard pass。 Not good at all。 This story and the Batgirls story were the weakest of the bunch。 It was so bad。 The writing was cheesy， the writer clearly doesn’t understand the characters， and the cyborg story was a real drag。 Awful art too。Red Hood had his own story here， and I liked it for the most part。 Not the best art， but an entertaining story。 I like when they pair him with Rose Wilson; they make sense to me as a couple。 And I can totally see Red Hood hunting vigilantes。 Last， but not least， the Nightwing story。 Pretty good， but it would have been better if they took out Tim Fox。 He really drags this story down。 Besides that， Nightwing was acting like Nightwing， and that’s always a good thing。 I love seeing him trying to cope with a dead Bruce。 Overall， this book varies from awful to really good， but there’s nothing spectacular here。 。。。more

Parker J ，

This collection continues the story of Gotham's horrible and dark future under the control of the Magistrate。 Most of the Gotham and Bat-Family stories are collected in the Dark Detective collection but this volume collected The Next Batman， The Outsiders， Batgirls， Gotham City Sirens and Nightwing。 I have to say that this was my least favorite collection of Future State books so far， but I still had a ton of fun reading them and thought there was some highlights in this one。 （Side note: The des This collection continues the story of Gotham's horrible and dark future under the control of the Magistrate。 Most of the Gotham and Bat-Family stories are collected in the Dark Detective collection but this volume collected The Next Batman， The Outsiders， Batgirls， Gotham City Sirens and Nightwing。 I have to say that this was my least favorite collection of Future State books so far， but I still had a ton of fun reading them and thought there was some highlights in this one。 （Side note: The description says this volume collects Dark Detective issues 1-3 but。。。there was 4 issues in that miniseries AND they are collected in full in the Dark Detective collection so I'm assuming its a mistake， so I'm not basing my rating off of that series）The Next Batman: 3/5This series was a mixed bag。 I thought it started off really strong and seemed like it was going to get to some really interesting places。 And in some ways it did。 I really enjoyed seeing more of the innerworkings of the Fox family and how they were connected to the Magistrate for the good or bad。 But I thought the story overall didn't have a ton of direction and I don't really feel like it had much impact on the Gotham Future State story， when it probably should have。 I enjoyed seeing Jace as Batman but in the end I thought this was decent。 The Outsiders: 3。5/5The Outsiders is one of 4 stories that were included in the Next Batman issues as backups， and this one was really fun。 I enjoyed Duke Thomas， Katana， and Black Lightnings dynamics a lot。 The art was gorgeous。 And it was a fun story that expanded on the Gotham story in unique and fun ways。 Arkham Knights: 3/5 This was a blast。 Having the villains fighting against the Magistrate was a cool idea。 It makes a lot of sense for them seeing as well。。。the Magistrate wants them dead just as much as it wants the heroes dead。 Overall I don't think the storyline of this was anything to write home about but it was a good time and I don't have any true qualms。 I just didn't LOVE it。 Batgirls: 4/5 LOVE IT HERE！！ I'm a huge fan of all the different Batgirl characters so I adored this story。 I love Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown's dynamic and I thought the storyline of Steph/Spoiler working from the inside was really fun。 This story all gives more context to Arkham Knights as well as a few other storylines in the Gotham portion of future state。 Plus this one wraps up Spoiler/Stephanie Brown's story line from the Robin Eternal comic， which was nice。 I really enjoyed this。 （Also props for having a cute moment between Harley and Ivy in the background of one of the final panels of the story）Gotham City Sirens: 3。5/5I wanted to be able to say this was one of my favorite stories in Future State because I LOVE THE GOTHAM CITY SIRENS。 I love catwoman。 I love Ivy。 And while I can't quite say this was my favorite I will say that this was an extreme amount of fun。 I really enjoyed the banter between Catwoman and Ivy。 I really enjoyed the silliness and the cartoon-y feel this had。 It was a bit of a lighter story within all the grim and dark， which was appreciated。 This was fun！ Nightwing: 4/5Ah， Nightwing how I love you so。 This was a good story。 It wasn't one of the best but I think it rounded out the ongoing "resistance" story really well。 This one ties a few loose threads that were opened up in comics like Batman Eternal， The Next Batman， Batgirls， etc。 We got to see the resistance in action and that was fun！ We got to find out if our new Batman would ever get connected to the rest of the team。 And we got to see what Batman's apparent death was doing to characters like Nightwing。 I also really loved Oracle's look here， I'd like to see that brought back into the current times。 Overall， this was a decent collection。 There was more fun exploration of Gotham's future and I had a good time。 。。。more

Caleb Bollenbacher ，

Next Batman， Red Hood， Nightwing， and Batgirls were all awesome。 Dark Detective was pretty good。 Sirens， Outsiders （who I usually love）， Arkham Knights， and Grifter took this down to a three for me。

Matěj Komiksumec ，

Předně říkám， že chci hodnotit jen hlavní příběhy， tedy Next Batmana， Dark Detective a Nightwinga。 Zbytek je výplň která ani moc nestojí za řeč。 Každopádně na Future State Gotham jsem se těšil protože pokus o to zmodernizovat Batman Beyond bylo poměrně dost znatelné a částečně jsem to cítil。 Vlajková loď Batmana byl Next Batman který nám představil afroamerického Batmana ale to nemělo na příběh vliv。 Každopádně tohle dost trpělo na to， že nám příběh o postavách řekl málo a tak nějak jsem se špat Předně říkám， že chci hodnotit jen hlavní příběhy， tedy Next Batmana， Dark Detective a Nightwinga。 Zbytek je výplň která ani moc nestojí za řeč。 Každopádně na Future State Gotham jsem se těšil protože pokus o to zmodernizovat Batman Beyond bylo poměrně dost znatelné a částečně jsem to cítil。 Vlajková loď Batmana byl Next Batman který nám představil afroamerického Batmana ale to nemělo na příběh vliv。 Každopádně tohle dost trpělo na to， že nám příběh o postavách řekl málo a tak nějak jsem se špatně vžíval。 Příběh samotný byl fajn， žádná revoluce ale mělo to své dobré myšlenky。Dark Detective od Mariko Tamaki je skvělý。 Tady se vrací Bruce Wayne a na tajňačku si Batmaní。 Nejen， že mě bavil příběh ale kresba od Mory a barvy od Jordie Bellaire jsou špica。 Tady byl Batman Beyond znát opravdu hodně。 Nightwing je nejlepší Batman-Verse série。 Nejsem moc fanoušek téhle postavy ale tady bylo strašně vidět pochopení této postavy autorem v moment kdy přijde o Bruce。 Dick je tady napsaný naprosto perfektně a týmovka s Next Batmanem se mi líbila ukrutně moc。 Ve finále， všechny tyhle věci jsou zábavný。 Bohužel jsou strašně krátký takže se rozjedou minimálně， což u Nightwinga není vůbec poznat a jede celou dobu na plný plyn。 Tady jsem spoko。 。。。more

AJ Kallas ，

I reluctantly and regrettably ended up reading most of Future State。 A lot of neat ideas that ended up "fine"。 I read these as floppies， but this trade collects: The Next Batman #1-4 Future State: Dark Detective #1-3; Future State: Nightwing #1-2The Next Batman: Story was fine。 Felt jipped Nick Derrington only did the first issue。 That's why I picked it up。 Story is fine。 2/5Outsiders - 2/5Arkham Knights - 2/5Batgirls - 1/5Gotham City Sirens - 1/5Dark Detective: I find it odd this trade only has I reluctantly and regrettably ended up reading most of Future State。 A lot of neat ideas that ended up "fine"。 I read these as floppies， but this trade collects: The Next Batman #1-4 Future State: Dark Detective #1-3; Future State: Nightwing #1-2The Next Batman: Story was fine。 Felt jipped Nick Derrington only did the first issue。 That's why I picked it up。 Story is fine。 2/5Outsiders - 2/5Arkham Knights - 2/5Batgirls - 1/5Gotham City Sirens - 1/5Dark Detective: I find it odd this trade only has the first 3 issues of this book。 I hope that is a mistake on Goodreads/Amazon's part。 But this was probably my favorite of the Future State books。 Dan Mora was great。 And it was a fun read。 Wish it had been more fleshed out。 Felt rushed in the last 2 issues。 3。5/5Grifters - 3/5Red Hood - 2/5Nightwing: was my second favorite Bat books in future state。 A nice team up between Nightwing and the Next Batman。 3/5 。。。more

Jelena Ajdarevic ，

Not bad。。。Though nkw every super hero is of colour？ Dont take me wrong I have nothing against it， but it does feel forced。

Oli Kidsley ，

Read The Next Batman #1-4。 The Paperback is apparently collecting some other issues， but this is what I read and this is what I'm logging it as。It's a fun book with multiple stories set around multiple Batman/Gotham characters， I didn't find any of them to be bad， and all of them to be fun enjoyable romps。 The most important story is the titular 'The Next Batman' which is very cool new take on Batman。 I'm interested as to where they are going to take this character in the future。 Read The Next Batman #1-4。 The Paperback is apparently collecting some other issues， but this is what I read and this is what I'm logging it as。It's a fun book with multiple stories set around multiple Batman/Gotham characters， I didn't find any of them to be bad， and all of them to be fun enjoyable romps。 The most important story is the titular 'The Next Batman' which is very cool new take on Batman。 I'm interested as to where they are going to take this character in the future。 。。。more

Alan ，

In reading the Future State event （in actuality before management changes swept through DC Comics this have been the new continuity） as digital floppies it makes sense to combine this 2-4 issue series into anthology style TPBs。 I read this as digital floppies， but out of laziness and poor record keeping I'll use the same start date for all of these。 This is one of the stronger collections， amusing because yes I like the Bat Family but this exceeded expectation。 I've read some of John Ridley's no In reading the Future State event （in actuality before management changes swept through DC Comics this have been the new continuity） as digital floppies it makes sense to combine this 2-4 issue series into anthology style TPBs。 I read this as digital floppies， but out of laziness and poor record keeping I'll use the same start date for all of these。 This is one of the stronger collections， amusing because yes I like the Bat Family but this exceeded expectation。 I've read some of John Ridley's novels and comic work （yes I know I should watch his film/television work）。 In some ways this meant I wasn't surprised by his work on The Next Batman， but what did surprise me was that Ridley and the other's did a good job of showing what Gotham City would like as a fascist state。Catwoman's tale was very much in tone with her current series。 Nightwing shows a Dick Grayson who has learned strategy from one of the masters。While skeptical I was proved and shown how a Bruce Wayne could work well in this environment。 。。。more

John ，

This book is a tad underwhelming with the hype and high price point， but the story does one excellent thing。 It does help remove the stigma and stink of Batman being a rich white man who beats down on the poor and mentally ill。 The recontextualization works really well for me， regarding how this new Batman works。

Dan ，

It’s a few different series and accompanying backup stories， so it’s gonna be a mixed bag。 I didn’t read the two Nightwing issues at all， FYI。The Next Batman is fine 3/5The Dark Detective was really good short story， the penciler and colorist were fantastic， 4/5I read the Jason Todd short story， 3/5I read the Grifter short story， 4/5The rest of the backup stories I didn’t care for。

TJ ，

The Nightwing issues were excellent！ The Next Batman was alright。 But the Dark Detective was such a drag to get through。 Overall， a mixed bag， which is kind of expected。 3/5 stars

Bryan Stoffel ，

The DC Future State books are a successful cash-grab that are just good enough to leave you wanting more。 I read these in single-issues as they were coming out， and only followed The New Batman， Dark Detective， and Nightwing storylines， and felt these 3 series were enough to get an idea of this event。This event takes place in a possible future where Gotham is being run by the Magistrate， a private task force that keeps the city in a police state， and where masks， heroes and villains， are outlawe The DC Future State books are a successful cash-grab that are just good enough to leave you wanting more。 I read these in single-issues as they were coming out， and only followed The New Batman， Dark Detective， and Nightwing storylines， and felt these 3 series were enough to get an idea of this event。This event takes place in a possible future where Gotham is being run by the Magistrate， a private task force that keeps the city in a police state， and where masks， heroes and villains， are outlawed。 With Bruce Wayne thought to be dead， there is a new Batman patrolling the streets， and the remaining Bat-Family are the Resistance， lead by Nightwing， who are fighting to take back their city。 Each main story in these books have a great team of writers and artists who bring these stories to life。 I really enjoyed seeing The New Batman， fresh on his feet and new to the role， trying to help two murderers escape the Magistrate’s swift justice to instead face the proper， legal justice they deserve。 Nightwing leading the Resistance while seeking aid from the new Batman and accepting this new hero。 And also the Dark Detective series， following a not-dead Bruce Wayne trying to take down the Magistrate on his own， while struggling to remain in the shadows。 All 3 of these titles did an excellent job setting up this new world and establishing the futures of these characters in an interesting and fun way， however， there are quite a few negatives that bog this event down。 Except for Nightwing， each of these titles are all double-sized issues featuring stories from The Outsiders， Arkham Knights， Batgirls， Gotham City Sirens， Grifters， and The Red Hood to expand the world of Gotham City in this Future State。 The problems with these backup stories surface from the fact that the majority of them are not good。 The art goes from absolutely beautiful in some to downright awful in others， and most are just downright boring， making these double-sized issues a chore to get through just to feel like you haven’t completely wasted your money just to get the main story you picked up the books for in the first place。 These backstories often contradict plot points and elements of the main stories， and sometimes make you question when these events actually take place， making it seem like this event wasn’t thought out or collaborated as well as it should have been。 Out of all the backstories I only really enjoyed Grifters and The Red Hood， while the others were so bad I sometimes couldn’t even trudge through and finish them。 Overall I find this event disappointing。 The price point and forced additional stories made this feel like more of a cash-grab than a well-executed event。 I love the idea behind the Gotham-centric titles and thoroughly enjoyed the main stories。 I love the characters the event established， and would read a full series of all 3 of these titles to see where the story went and ended。 However， as of this review， I haven’t heard of any continuation of any of these characters or events。 At the end of the day， I enjoyed the main stories enough to give this 3 stars。 And while I enjoyed these main stories， with all the problems that bogged these titles down and the unknown next chapters in this storyline， I’m almost sorry I gave Future State a chance。 。。。more

Freddie ，

Kind of a dick move to make me pay twice the price just because you shoved in some extra comics I don’t care about。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Future State: The Next Batman

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Future State: The Next Batman&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Future State: The Next Batman&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0