Warning: Spoilers for Future State: Justice League #1 ahead!
A fan favorite Arrowverse hero has returned to comics, and it couldn't have come at a more dire time. In the sweeping initiative known as Future State, DC Comics is giving fans a glimpse into what the next few years and even decades in the DC universe will look like. Ranging from the usual Batman and Superman comics to the flagship Justice League book, Future State features limited series of all of the best DC characters and shows what their lives are like in a future where anything can happen.
With Future State: Justice League #1 by Joshua Williamson and Robson Rocha giving the iconic team an update with all-new and familiar heroes alike, the remaining members of the Justice League Dark also get their time to shine with a backup feature by Ram V and Marcio Takara in which Ragman makes a surprising return.
Opening things up with resident Justice League Dark magician, Zatanna, and simian snoop, Detective Chimp, it’s immediately clear that something has gone terribly, terribly wrong in the time between the current DC timeline and Future State. While discussing the literal witch hunts that the return of the benevolent and evil warlock Merlin has instated, as well as the fact that he has conjured up a sort of glamour across the globe for reasons that are assuredly horrific, Zatanna and Bobo (along with the help of the rhyming demon Etrigan, now bound to Bobo) come across the charred remains of an angel named Zauriel and a charm of sorts that they deduce is the reason behind his unfortunate demise.
Realizing that there might be only one place that they can get some answers as to where the charm’s power came from and – most importantly – who bought it to begin with, Zatanna and Bobo-Etrigan pay a visit to a local occult shop full of magical oddities and knickknacks to see what they can find. When they arrive, however, the proprietor of the establishment isn’t too happy about these late customers and does his best to shoo them away until it’s revealed that the owner is none other than Arrowverse alum, friend to the Justice League Dark and former hero himself, Rory Regan aka Ragman.
But before they can truly get down to business in trying to figure out what’s what, they're attacked by Merlin’s lackeys and forced into the basement of the shop where Rory’s old Ragman costume is being kept. Stating that there are no more souls to power the rags that he would otherwise use to bind himself in, Etrigan, being a duke of hell himself, offers up a sinner’s soul for Rory to use, much to Rory’s chagrin. What follows is the triumphant return of Ragman, albeit a giant version of him powered by Etrigan’s gift of souls that handily allows Ragman to smash every Merlin sympathizer around him with ease. It is a scene well worth the wait for this character's return.
So while Ragman is a surprising sight for sore eyes, especially since his involvement in the comics has been light as of late and his short but sweet run in the Arrowverse was further back than fans care to admit, his return bodes well for the Justice League and their spinoff team, the Justice League Dark. Merlin and his forces of evil might be on the hunt for all things magical, but with heroes still out there fighting the good fight in this mysterious Future State timeline, his days are most assuredly numbered.