This article contains spoilers for Future State: Catwoman #1 by Ram V and Otto Schmidt.
DC Comics has finally revealed the fate of Batman in its Future State event. DC's Future State is one of the boldest initiatives ever pushed by the comic book publisher. Almost the entire comic book line has been replaced by new comics set in a dark, dystopian future timeline. The future of the DC Universe has been laid bare - and it looks particularly dark for Batman.
Future State shows readers a world where Gotham City has turned on Batman and all his fellow vigilantes. Weary of the ever-escalating violence between Batman and his nemesis, which came to a head in the chaos of Joker War, the city elected a mayor who has outlawed vigilantes. Little by little, Gotham was transformed into a fascist police state, governed by a group called the Magistrate. Batman is believed dead, and the various members of the Bat-family are struggling to survive in this hostile new world. But what really happened to the Dark Knight?
An answer is finally provided in Future State: Catwoman #1, by Ram V and Otto Schmidt. Like the rest of the Bat-family, Selina Kyle believes Batman to be dead, and she has dedicated herself to continuing his mission. The issue sees her launch a strike on a Magistrate prison transport train, aiming to rescue all the innocents who are being taken to camps because the Magistrate sees no value in them. In the center of the train is a section dedicated to high-risk prisoners, with a potential for "disruption." One of these is a former Arkham inmate called Onomatopoeia, who Catwoman breaks out. Though she does not know it, another of the prisoners is Bruce Wayne himself - but though Catwoman has not come for her beloved Batman, Talia al Ghul has.
It seems Batman did not die after all. Rather, the Magistrate successfully captured the Dark Knight, and they were ferrying him to one of their prison camps, where he would either be executed or incarcerated for the rest of his life. None of the Bat-family had a clue about Bruce's fate - in fact, as Future State: Nightwing #1 shows, his closest friends and family are lashing out in grief and pain - but the League of Assassins discovered it. And Talia al Ghul has decided she cannot leave Bruce Wayne a prisoner of the Magistrate.
Readers have been introduced to this dark vision of Gotham's future over the last few weeks, but the revelation of Bruce Wayne's fate - a prisoner of the Magistrate - will send shockwaves through the books. Gotham has a new Batman in Bruce Wayne's absence, Tim Fox, and it will be fascinating to see what Bruce thinks of his successor. Hopefully Future State: Catwoman #2 will see Batman reunited with Catwoman, a joyous reunion given Selina is continuing his mission to save the people of Gotham - even from themselves.