Batman: Futures End #1

Written by: Scott Snyder & Ray Fawkes
Art by Aco & FCO Plascencia

What if Bruce Wayne just couldn't be Batman anymore? Like they say, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is spongy and weak.” There's been two famous interpretations of this scenario: When Bruce Wayne “died” (spoilers), Dick Grayson took up the mantle and had a great, but short-lived run as Batman. In “Batman Beyond” we see an elderly, but still able, Bruce passing the mantle on to Terry McGuiness. Out of the two, “Batman Beyond” never seemed possible to me because I can't see Bruce every willingly give up the Batsuit to anyone. It's his job and not anyone else's. He's said this so many times that it's essentially his motto. This is why I'm glad to see Scott Snyder re-interpreting this concept again in a way that makes sense to me.

Consider Batman: Futures End #1 to be a prequel to the excellent Snyder “27” short story found in the mega-sized Detective Comics #27. In this issue we get to see the beginning of Batman's journey to immortality and it's an interesting one. He must break into Lex Luthor's compound which leads to some great banter between them and shows that even five years later their rivalry is strong. All the while he takes down Metal Gear Solid-esque robots and argues with Alfred over the morality of his actions. Interestingly enough, Alfred brings up several rational and logical points to Bruce about what he should do instead of trying to clone himself, but instead Bruce does what he thinks is right as usual. As I said, since this is a prequel to “27” so you can guess where the story goes. If you haven't I won't spoil anything further, but definitely read this and “27” if you can. They are phenomenal short stories.

On top of that we are treated to art by Aco. His style wasn't what I was expecting for such a dark storyline, but by the end of the issue I had fallen in love with it. It was able to capture both quiet moments and the action-packed with grace and ease. It almost seems like the natural transition in art from “present-day” Capullo to the future. I hope to see more DC work from Aco in the future.

Batman: Futures End #1, terrible title and confusing numbering aside, is a phenomenal issue. Somehow , within only 40 pages Snyder and co-writer Ray Fawkes have crafted an action-packed by psychologically dense portrait of Bruce Wayne in his twilight years.


F.D. White is a writer working on his first mini-series, "The Fourth Sun." He is also the writer of "War Games" & "Bodies." You can follow him on Twitter @fdwhite19