What does Batman do when the police are more dangerous than the criminals? In the dystopian tomorrow of DC Future State, the new Batman has exactly that choice to make when caught between Gotham's oppressive new regime and wanted fugitives. In Future State: The Next Batman #3 and #4, the title hero chooses a Batman's path: fight it out in order for the accused to receive justice.
Future State: The Next Batman #3 and #4 are written by John Ridley (The Other History of the DC Universe) with art by Laura Braga (Harley Quinn: Make 'Em Laugh). The Next Batman is part of DC Comics' two-month Future State event, which skips forward in the DCU to the near future when the next generation of DC's most iconic heroes has to take over. With Bruce Wayne assumed dead, an unknown young hero steps up to the role. Wayne is missing because Gotham has been taken over by the Magistrate, a private law enforcement company who has been given full run of the city by the mayor. The super-cops then outlawed all costumed vigilantes and pressed Jason Todd (aka Red Hood) into hunting down other heroes.
According to DC's February solicitations, Future State: The Next Batman #3 opens as the Dark Knight of tomorrow captures a pair of wanted criminals. But he can't turn them over to the corporate cops of the Magistrate, because he knows they'll be killed on the spot, and Batman's position on extrajudicial murder is ironclad. Batman still trusts the Gotham City Police Department, who continue to exist, despite apparently being holed up in a single station on the other side of town. Rather than allow them to be executed, Batman will travel a city that's hostile from all angles with the fugitives in tow to save their lives, whether they're guilty of murder or not.
Here's the solicitation preview from DC Comics:
- FUTURE STATE: THE NEXT BATMAN #3
- “The Next Batman” written by JOHN RIDLEY
- “The Next Batman” art by LAURA BRAGA
- cover by LADRÖNN
- card stock variant cover by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU
- ON SALE 2/2/21
- $7.99 US | 64 PAGES | 3 OF 4 | FC | DC
- The adventures of the next Batman continue! Batman has captured a pair of murderous fugitives, but he faces a tough decision: leave them for the Magistrate troops, which means certain death, or risk his life and fight his way through Gotham City to deliver them to the GCPD for trial. He’s Batman...so there’s only one choice!
- FUTURE STATE: THE NEXT BATMAN #4
- “The Next Batman” written by JOHN RIDLEY
- “The Next Batman” art by LAURA BRAGA
- cover by LADRÖNN
- card stock variant cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
- ON SALE 2/16/21
- $7.99 US | 64 PAGES | 4 OF 4 | FC | DC
- The next Batman goes head-to-head with the Magistrate’s shock troops to protect the...guilty?! It’s a savage running battle across Gotham City, and it will have the next Dark Knight fighting overwhelming odds to prove that justice still lives in the heart of a broken city.
This follows from a tradition of the original Batman upholding the rights of the accused, whether they're innocent or guilty, and whether they're ordinary people or supervillains. In Batman: Devil's Advocate, the Joker is up for the death penalty due to a crime he didn't commit, and Batman works to clear his name rather than let anyone die from a frame job. In a more recent storyline, Bruce Wayne arranged a 12 Angry Men situation when he showed up for the jury of a case where Batman had apprehended Mr. Freeze for a crime he didn't commit. In the latter case, the billionaire hero argued against his own reputation for the sake of ethical criminal proceedings.
Will the new Batman survive his last stand for the final remaining shred of integrity in a corrupted Gotham? Since these are new characters, anything could happen. DC Comics' future will move on with or without its Future State. DC Future State: The Last Batman #3 and #4 will be available from local comics shops, DC Comics, and Comixology on February 4th and Feburary 16th, 2020.