Warning: Spoilers ahead for Future State: Batman/Superman #2
The latest edition of Future State: Batman/Superman sees Batman searching for Superman as the Magistrate uses the Man of Steel's DNA for their evil deeds. While Superman is incapacitated and being used as a lab rat by the villainous Professor Pyg, Batman searches for his lost ally. Having fashioned a special set of tools lined in Kryptonite, Professor Pyg works on behalf of the Magistrate to operate on a chained-up Superman. Future State: Batman/Superman #2 is available in comic book shops and digital platforms now.
Set at the beginning of Gotham's occupation, the story sees Superman arrive in Metropolis as part of ani investigation. The two of them team up to investigate who is distributing the False Face Serum. Batman notes how fast the Magistrate's takeover of the city has been. It turns out they have plans for Superman. He is captured and delivered to Professor Pyg, who can now harness Superman's abilities, intending to form a stronger militia with advanced weaponry.
In Future State: Batman/Superman #2 by Gene Luen Yang, Stephen Segovia, and Ben Oliver, Superman's DNA is being used by the Magistrate as a deadly weapon to build on their current militia in Gotham. Professor Pyg can extract the Man of Steel's DNA and genetically modify whatever he pleases. The Magistrate's extremely swift efforts are instantly put into play as Batman stumbles upon a Cyber with X-ray vision. It turns out the cybers are modified with cloned versions of Superman's eyes. Bruce states that he would recognize Clark's eyes anywhere, and in fact, he does. They're not just in the Cybers, but the Magistrate has genetically modified an endless range of animals with the Man of Steel's DNA.
Now, with Superman's DNA at their disposal, the Magistrate has access to what may be the most deadly weapon of all: the Man of Steel's powers. Just before Batman rescues Superman, he finds a host of altered creatures, including birds, mice, and bats. The speed at which their plans have been enacted proves how desperate the forces at play are to level up their power. Additionally, Batman captures a modified bat that has a transmission device embedded in its head. Doing what the world's greatest detective does best, he locates where the data is being sent to, a Kryptonite cavern underneath Gotham. As Batman realizes that the Magistrate has figured out how to synthesize Kryptonite, he comes face to face with Pyg. Down the hall, Superman bets on the kindness of Mr. Toad, who helps him escape. But his escape is stopped when a creation of Pyg confronts Superman: a Bizarro-like creature made from Superman.
Pyg's creation is a cloned version of Superman with a face full of heat vision eyes and the House of El symbol on his chest. This creature is just an example of the power that the Magistrate holds. Pyg and his Bizarro-like monster face off against Batman and Superman. Batman is able to defeat the Kryptonian creature by using Pyg's weapon against his creation as he shoots him full of Kryptonite. Superman unleashes a fiery blast of heat vision that vanquished Pyg as a threat and the two escape from the burning facility. The next day, Superman and Batman, with the help of Animal Man, decommission all of the altered animals.
Ultimately, Batman concludes it's Superman's naivety that caused the issue's shocking turn of events. The teased wedge between the world's finest heroes is finally explained as Caped Crusader tells the Man of Steel that he's a liability in Gotham. To prove his point, Batman uses a harvested version of Superman's eye to shoot a beam of heat vision. Adamant that Gotham won't survive a militia of superpowered clones, Bruce commands Clark to leave at once. Whether the Magistrate will harness Superman's DNA again for use is unknown, but one thing's for sure, Batman's new enemy is extremely powerful and would be unstoppable if they possessed such power.