DC Comics has just released new previews for their upcoming Future State event, which will show fans the future that lies ahead for the DC Universe. Current narratives will be put on pause for the first few months of 2021, providing the whole scope of what the future may soon look like for DC's heroes and villains. Many characters will have significantly changed, including their relationships with one another. Apparently, this will also hold true for one of the strongest friendships in DC Comics, that of Superman and Batman. The Man of Steel and Dark Knight have long been friends and allies, even becoming known as the World's Finest. However, something big is going to happen that will effectively end their friendship for good according to the previews for Future State.
Batman and Superman's friendship is one of the DC Universe's constant relationships that has rarely wavered in DC's primary reality and timeline. Superman has put so much trust in Batman that he's even given the Dark Knight kryptonite, one of the few things in the DC Universe that can weaken the Man of Steel and render him helpless. If Superman ever becomes corrupted, goes rogue, or falls to the dark side in some way, Batman can act as a safety net and take him out if need be to keep the world safe from his power. Likewise, Superman is perhaps the only other person that Bruce Wayne has ever fully confided in, save for Alfred and those within his own family.
This is what makes this revelation from Future State: Batman/Superman #2 so intriguing. Batman and Superman have always been friends. What could shake that bond of trust so much, destroying it completely? Here's the cover art from David Marquez and synopsis for the issue from writer Gene Luen Yang with artists Ben Oliver, Scott McDaniel (and more):
- FUTURE STATE: BATMAN/SUPERMAN #2
- written by GENE LUEN YANG
- art by BEN OLIVER, SCOTT McDANIEL, and others
- cover by DAVID MARQUEZ
- card stock variant cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
- ON SALE 2/23/21
- $3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 OF 2 |
- Superman has fallen deep into the Magistrate’s Kryptonite caverns, and now he’s at the mercy of a gruesomely transformed Professor Pyg! So what do animalistic body modification and caves of Kryptonite have to do with the Magistrate’s growing fascist state in Gotham City? That’s what Batman needs to find out as the race against time to save the Man of Steel nears its end! All we know for sure is that during this battle, something happened that drove a wedge between Bruce and Clark...Discover the answers in the conclusion that will rock the World’s Finest to their core!
While the details are still scarce, it seem as though Batman will be trying to save Superman, who has been compromised by the new organization known as the Magistrate and their kryptonite. The Magistrate is also behind the corruption of Gotham City, turning it into their own fascist state from which they controls all. Apparently, something bad will happen in the midst of Batman's attempt to rescue Superman that will initiate the end of their friendship. Is it Batman's fault that the Magistrate apparently has vast stores of kryptonite kept in caverns? Did Batman somehow breach Superman's trust? Or was it the other way around and Superman is somehow the cause of Gotham having fallen that much further into seemingly irreparable darkness? Fans will have to wait and see when Future State begins early next year.