Another colossal DC Comics event from the New 52 era! This spiritual sequel to the Earth 2-shattering WORLD’S END event actually began before the climax of the Earth 2 and set expectations that (spoilers!) were dashed by the time both titles reached their swan song at the same time in mid-2015.
The event promised to bring future Batman (Terry McGinnis of Batman Beyond fame) into the mainstream DC Universe. Instead it brought him five years into the future of the DCU with a mission to prevent the sentient Brother Eye computer from taking control of Earth. While the Futures End timeline would ultimately be completely diverted (spoilers again!), the event’s true antagonist would go on to become a key-player in the next DC event… CONVERGENCE (2015) which would prove to be the true sequel to WORLD’S END (2014-2015). The fate of ‘Batman Beyond’ wasn’t quite what readers were hoping for, either.
Somewhere around the halfway mark of this event, DC replaced 40 of its monthly titles with one-shots that tied into the primary 48-issue weekly series (49 if you count the Free Comic Book Day prologue – which you should!). Few of these have any bearing on the main series, but hint at story elements that may or may not impact the titular character(s) of each issue. But don’t fret! This reading order lets you know which one-shots are essential and which you can skip. If you picked up every print copy of the one-shots, you were also treated to a lenticular cover that showed the primary character(s) now and as they are in five years time!
As with DC’s first weekly series, 52, four writers steer the various threads of this book. But Brian Azzarello, Keith GIffen, Dan Jurgens and Jeff Lemire can’t quite match the magic of 52. However, Ryan Sook’s covers get better and better with every issue and it’s worth a look for those 49 masterpieces!
Major Event: With a primary maxi-series and 40 one-shot tie-ins, Futures End is considered a Major Event; the entire events primes the launch of the New 52-era Batman Beyond series that wraps up the main storyline.
Must-Reads: Issues marked with a ✔are essential to the story.
Anthology Issues: When an issue contains multiple stories, the relevant story is denoted with square brackets. For example, [2/5] refers to the second story of the five stories in that issue.
1st appearances: As this is a new timeline all character debuts refer to the Futures End incarnations of those characters, unless otherwise stated.
Spoilers: The issue descriptions and fallout section contain spoilers, so be warned!
Previous events that directly impact this story:
- WORLD’S END (2014-2015) – The fate of Earth 2
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- Batman/Superman – Futures End #1
- Harley Quinn – Futures End #1
- ✔ Free Comic Book Day – The New 52: Futures End #0
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #1-3
- ✔ Constantine – Futures End #1
- Supergirl – Futures End #1
- Justice League United – Futures End #1
- Justice League – Futures End #1
- ✔ Batman – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #4-5
- Green Lantern – Futures End #1
- New Suicide Squad – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #6-7
- Batwing – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #8
- Birds of Prey – Futures End #1
- ✔ Worlds’ Finest – Futures End #1
- Star Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie – Futures End #1
- Teen Titans – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #9-12
- Red Hood and the Outlaws – Futures End #1
- Aquaman – Futures End #1
- Aquaman and the Others – Futures End #1
- Catwoman – Futures End #1
- Batgirl – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #13-15
- Earth 2 – Futures End #1
- Trinity of Sin: Pandora – Futures End #1
- Sinestro – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #16
- Green Lantern Corps – Futures End #1
- Batman and Robin – Futures End #1
- Superboy: Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #17-18
- ✔ Green Arrow – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #19
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #20-21
- ✔ Action Comics – Futures End #1
- Grayson – Futures End #1
- ✔ Superman – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #22-30
- Wonder Woman: Futures End #1
- Superman/Wonder Woman: Futures End #1
- Justice League Dark – Futures End #1
- Infinity Man and the Forever People – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #31
- Red Lanterns – Futures End #1
- Detective Comics – Futures End #1
- Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger – Futures End #1
- Swamp Thing – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #32-36
- Green Lantern: New Guardians – Futures End #1
- Batwoman – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #37-45
- The Flash #34 (tie-in)
- The Flash – Futures End #1
- ✔ The New 52: Futures End #46-48
- ✔ Booster Gold – Futures End #1
- ✔ Batman Beyond #1-6
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Batgirl – Futures End #1 (pp.1-4) Two years from now, James Gordon crashes his sister’s wedding, ordering Barbara Gordon’s new husband to throw himself off a building in exchange for her life. | |
| Birds of Prey – Futures End #1 (pp.1-7) Three years from now, Black Canary and her Red League free women brought into the US illegally as victims of human trafficking and made to work in a brothel. The League will either return them home or find a place for them. One woman, Xi, is offered a place in the Red League. | |
| Batman/Superman – Futures End #1 Five years into the future, after the Earth 2 War, Bruce Wayne wakes from his injuries to find the world has survived. However, his spine is damaged and Superman is gone. They fell out during the war over a decision Batman made that would bring the combat to a swift end. Bruce’s tech and upgrades from Toymaster help Bruce once again when the gigantic Metallo returns. Batman draws him out with Kryptonite, then overloads him. But the fight leaves Bruce crippled once more. | |
| Harley Quinn – Futures End #1 Harley Quinn cheaps out on a holiday to Bermuda by sending herself by freight. A storm crashes her plane on a volcanic island. She’s immediately accepted by the indigenous people and finds out why when she meets their God-King, Tha’jo-Kaa, aka the Joker. The two of them discover they’re due to be sacrificed in the volcano after they’re married. Instead, they fight back against the islanders until the volcano erupts and hurls Harley back to the beach. She wakes, unsure if her experience with the Joker had all been a dream, and is found by Aquaman who offers to take her home… | |
| ✔ | Free Comic Book Day – The New 52: Futures End #0 35 years into our future, the last of the superhuman resistance are assimilated and transformed into monstrous cyborgs by Brother Eye when they fail their final mission. With the Flash, Green Lantern and others finally assimilated, Bruce Wayne decides to go back in time to prevent these events from taking place. When he’s mortally wounded by cyborgs, Bruce sends his protege – Terry McGinnis, the new Batman – through time in his place. But Terry (and the rogue cyborg Plastique) arrive five years into our future, instead of our present. And the events of Brother Eye’s rise are already in motion… 1st appearance: ALFRED, Amazo, Amethyst/Amaya, Aquaman/Arthur Curry, Batman/Terry McGinnis, Black Canary/Dinah Drake, Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes, Booster Gold/Michael Carter, Brother Eye, Captain Cold/Leonard Snart, John Constantine, Deathstroke/Slade Wilson, Firestorm, Flash/Barry Allen, Lucas Fox, Frankenstein, el Gaucho, Barbara Gordon, Green Lantern/John Stewart, Grifter/Cole Cash, Knight/Beryl Hutchinson, Man-of-Bats/William Great Eagle, Mister Terrific/Michael Holt, Superman, Bruce Wayne, Wonder Woman/Diana of Themyscira, Zatanna Zatara, Futures End timeline |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #1 Having arrived seven years ahead of the target date, Terry (our ‘Batman Beyond’) defeats the active Plastique cyborg that came with him. Elsewhere, StormWatch are pulled from the bleed by something that murders Apollo and destroys the team’s ship, the Carrier, killing everyone aboard. In North Carolina, Grifter finds he’s able to sense those infected by this new, sentient programme. Firestorm heads to Seattle to answer a distress call from Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), but he’s too late. Green Arrow is dead. 1st appearance: Apollo/Andrew Pulaski, Engineer/Angela Spica, Fifty Sue, Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel, Hawkman/Katar Hol, Jack Hawksmoor, Mermaid/Nina Mazursky, Ronnie Raymond, Jason Rusch, StormWatch |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #2 Mister Terrific uses Green Arrow’s funeral as an ego trip and a way to increase his social media presence, as the heroes and mourners gather en masse. Agent King Faraday begins his investigation into Green Arrow’s death. Firestorm lies about why he was too late to save Green Arrow, but Arsenal calls him out. The masked ‘Superman’ tries to calm Firestorm, but he flies away. A package is left at Lois Lane’s home that contains a series of clues… 1st appearance: Animal Man/Buddy Baker, Arsenal/Roy Harper, Batwoman/Katherine Kane,Cyborg/Victor Stone,Deadman/Boston Brand, Equinox/Miiyahbin Marten, Justice League Dark, King Faraday, Lois Lane, Martian Manhunter/J’onn J’onzz, Adam Strange, Supergirl/Kara Zor-El |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #3 A drone from the Super-Human Advanced Defense Executive (SHADE) trespasses on Frankenstein’s refuge in Nunavut, Canada. Days after their merge into Firestorm, Ronnie Raymond still won’t let Jason Rusch leave the Firestorm Matrix in case he reveals the truth. Grifter can see Daemonite and Earth 2 ‘visitors’ and is aware that King Faraday is hunting him. Mister Terrific is made aware that a Batman lookalike infiltrated TerrifiTech, but assumes he’s a fake. Lois Lane tracks down Tim Drake, aka Robin, who’s very much alive despite reports to the contrary… 1st appearance: Tim Drake |
| ✔ | Constantine – Futures End #1 From within the Helmet of Fate, Nabu taunts John Constantine (their vendetta started on Earth 2 during WORLD’S END, 2014-2015). John angrily grabs the Helmet, giving Nabu the chance to try and control him. But Constantine set a trap, drawing Nabu into the Auditorium of Anubis. Nabu fails Constantine’s challenge to prove his altruism and is consumed by ‘Anubis’ (actually an Ifrit in disguise) who claims the Helmet of Fate. |
| Supergirl – Futures End #1 Supergirl has been transformed into a cyborg like her father, Zor-El – the Cyborg Superman. The two of them search the universe for a way to restore Krypton and return to Earth. Cyborg Supergirl’s erased memories return when she’s reunited with Captain Comet. She fights back against the Cyborg Superman until he gives up and lets her friends have her back. | |
| Justice League United – Futures End #1 Equinox stops Polargeist and his cyborg polar bears from consuming a trucker. She picks up Martian Manhunter’s distress signal and, due to the disbanding of the Justice League United, she calls on the primary Justice League for help. The team head to the JLA Gulag on Mars where the most dangerous criminals are kept. Many have broken out and want the JLA’s ship. And their leader… is Captain Atom! 1st appearance: Captain Atom/Nathaniel Andrew | |
| Justice League – Futures End #1 Imprisoned for years after killing millions, Captain Atom needs to get past the containment field around Mars. The League fend off Blockbuster, Count Vertigo, Gorilla Grodd, Mongul and others. The freed Martian Manhunter mentally subdues Captain Atom and opts to remain on Mars to monitor the prison as he’s done so before. | |
| ✔ | Batman – Futures End #1 Having already ‘fixed’ his damaged spine, Batman is trying to stave off death. He infiltrates LexCorp’s secret cloning lab. After he downloads the information he needs, Batman is attacked by a Bizarro (a Superman clone) intent on stopping him from destroying the lab. Batman barely makes it out alive. He returns to the Batcave and begins cloning himself… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #4 Frankenstein confronts SHADE Director Father Time who reveals his former girlfriend, Mermaid, was recently killed along with her fellow StormWatch members. Dr Ray Palmer will take him through and around space in search of StormWatch’s killer. In New York, Lois Lane follows ‘Cal Corcoran’ aka, Tim Drake. Plastique and Key recruit Coil for a job stealing from TerrifiTech. In New Jersey, King Faraday shoots Grifter, paralysing him after he takes down a batch of disguised aliens… 1st appearance: Atom/Ray Palmer, Madison Payne, Plastique/Bette Sans Souci |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #5 Weeks after Green Arrow’s death, Ronnie Raymond finally releases Jason Rusch from the Firestorm Matrix. After an argument, they swear off ever becoming Firestorm again. Dr Yamazake completes his teleportation technology. Mister Terrific announces the impending release of his uSpheres to the public. King Faraday and a young girl explain Grifter’s new role to him. On Cadmus Island, the girl blasts Fury when she destroys two OMACs while trying to escape. John Constantine shows up in Kansas where crop circles suggest Brainiac is back… 1st appearance: Fury/Donna of Amazon Island |
| Green Lantern – Futures End #1 The spectre of Hal Jordan’s father – now a Black Lantern – warns Hal that the Black Lanterns have a new master – Krona! At the Source Wall, Hal and Relic defeat Krona and his Black Lantern Corps with combinations of light. Martin Jordan takes his mortally injured son to the Source Wall to remain in stasis until Relic can cure him. | |
| Batwing – Futures End #1 (pp.1-7) Leviathan take down Tokyo MechaStomp’s leaders and absorb their cyborg army into their ranks. | |
| New Suicide Squad – Futures End #1 Amanda Waller breaks Black Manta, Deadshot and the Venom-enhanced Harley Quinn out of Belle Reve. They break into a US Government facility where they’ve been cloning villains to build an army. Two young Joker clones kill Black Manta and Harley. Deathstroke faces a teenage Deathstroke clone in a fight to the death to allow Waller the time to shut down the facility’s main hub. | |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #6 Disguised as a homeless man, Terry McGinnis listens in on Key, Plastique and Coil’s plan to steal the uSphere tech. Amethyst, Frankenstein and Dr Ray Palmer use Palmer’s microscopic ship, the Nan-Knight to travel via the Phantom Zone to the area of space where StormWatch died. But the ship takes damage and returns to full size, drawing the attention of the Zone’s prisoners including Black Adam. In New York, Lois Lane confronts ‘Cal Corcoran’ in the Wounded Duck bar and accuses him of being Red Robin in front of his love-interest, Madison Payne. The masked ‘Superman’ warns King Faraday to stop following Lois Lane… 1st appearance: Black Adam/Teth-Adam |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #7 The SHADE crew – Ray Palmer, Amethyst and Frankenstein – escape Black Adam and the Phantom Zone (though Frank loses an arm) and locate the bodies of StormWatch. Madison confronts Lois at the Fast Lane office in Metropolis, warning her to leave her and ‘Cal’ alone. The mysterious young girl, Fifty Sue, properly introduces herself to Grifter who’s no longer paralysed and has been assigned to Deathstroke’s team on Cadmus Island. In New York, Mister Terrific confronts the mysterious ‘homeless man’ who’s been stalking him. Terry dons his Batman, suit fights Mister Terrific and takes off. But he leaves the cyborg corpse of Plastique, which present day Plastique sees and Mister Terrific lays claim to… Named appearance: Fifty Sue |
| Batwing: Futures End #1 (pp.8-12) Days after Leviathan’s takeover of MechaStomp, Corvus Corvax gathers the largest global crime bosses to fight back against Leviathan. | |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #8 The incredibly powerful Fifty Sue lets Grifter know his place and explains she’s Deathstroke’s sidekick. Dr Yamazake and Jason Rusch’s test run of the transporter tech fails explosively. ‘Superman’ confronts Jason Rusch over missing two Justice League meetings and asks if he’s taken JLA tech to build the transporter. The SHADE crew gather the bodies of StormWatch, but the Engineer and Apollo are missing. Palmer cuts off Hawkman’s arm to replace Frank’s missing one. An old temple in Southeast Asia was unearthed by bombings during the Earth 2 War, and is now being explored by mercenaries until a mechanoid emerges from the temple and kills them all. |
| Teen Titans – Futures End #1 (pp.1-5) The Teen Titans – Klarion, Kid Flash and Tempest of Earth 2 – fail to discredit morally corrupt young billionaire, Archimedes Grant. | |
| Birds of Prey – Futures End #1 (pp.8-20) Black Canary leads the Red League to the mansion home of human trafficker Paul Howe III to bring him to justice. But the League are opposed by Bête Noire – a more aggressive ‘Batgirl’ – who takes on the Canary in hand-to-hand combat. Refusing to accept Black Canary’s accusation that she’s Barbara Gordon under the mask, Bête Noire lets Canary deal with Howe when she learns the truth about him. But Howe hangs himself rather than face prison. |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Worlds’ Finest – Futures End #1 Power Girl (Kara Zor-El of Earth 2) burrows underground to bypass Cadmus Island security and disguises herself as a prisoner to find and free Huntress (Helena Wayne). Deathstroke notices Power Girl and they fight, but she hurls him away. Fifty Sue blasts Power Girl, inspiring the primary Earth’s Power Girl (Tanya Spears) to step up and save her. But Fifty Sue is too powerful and both Power Girls remain as prisoners on Cadmus Island… 1st appearance: Huntress/Helena Wayne, Power Girl/Tanya Spears |
| Teen Titans – Futures End#1 (pp.6-8) The Heretic – the League of Assassins’ Damian Wayne clone – agrees join forces with the Teen Titans to shut down Archimedes Grant. | |
| Batwing – Futures End #1 (pp.13-18) A week after Corvax’s proposal, the crime bosses head to Dinosaur Island to wage war against Leviathan. But both Corvus Corvax and Leviathan were a ruse. The bosses are defeated by Batwing (Lucas Fox) and Batman Incorporated. Batman messages Batwing to acknowledge a job well done. | |
| Star Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie – Futures End #1 G.I. Zombie’s wife, Carmen King, is cured of the Black Ice Virus, created from his own cells by Gravedigger. G.I. Zombie disperses the antidote over the outskirts of Gotham City to end the plague. He then has dinner with his wife, one last time. | |
| Teen Titans – Futures End #1 (pp.9-20) The Heretic and the Teen Titans crash Archimedes Grant’s next party and clash with his cyborg bodyguard, Algorithm. Animal Girl beats them to Archimedes, but the Titans make his full financial dealings public. With Archimedes in ruins, all five Teen Titans confront the Senator Archimedes Grant was in cahoots with. | |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #9 A pilot takes Lois Lane to the co-ordinates contained in the package she received weeks ago. On Cadmus Island, Deathstroke and Fifty Sue show Grifter the cells containing superhumans from Earth 2 and tell him he’ll help them find more. Rampage breaks the world’s foremost authority on genetics, Ethan Boyer, out of the MAW Prison in Metropolis. Terry McGinnis has learned Brother Eye was deactivated during the Earth 2 War. Now he’s about to recruit villains to help him prevent it from going online again. In space, Hawkman regains consciousness, minus an arm. The SHADE crew are unaware SHADE Director Father Time can see them. 1st appearance: Ethan Boyer, Power Girl/Kara Zor-El, Rampage/Kitty Faulkner |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #10 Days later, the masked ‘Superman’ is still hunting for Ethan Boyer. Terry McGinnis approaches Coil, Key and Plastique at the Wounded Duck. ‘Cal Corcoran’ recognises one of Tewrry’s moves as Batman’s. In space, the Nth Metal continues to heal Hawkman. His arms is almost fully restored and he’s picked up a StormWatch distress beacon. On Cadmus Island, a cloaked OMAC randomly assaults Grifter. In Vancouver, the young Emiko Queen finds the fugitive Big Barda and asks for her help… 1st appearance: Big Barda/Jane Kirby |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #11 Grifter’s helper Justin finally accepts Grifter is missing and updates his friend Voodoo. In space, Amethyst, Frankenstein and Hawkman follow the StormWatch distress beacon, only for their ship to shut down and crash land on an alien world. The robot from the temple in Southeast Asia kills its way to the Madagascar sea. The JLA teleport Ronnie Raymond from a strip club to their Defence Station Omega in Earth’s orbit. Aquaman,‘Superman’, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League encourage Ronnie and Jason Rusch that the world needs Firestorm. Ronnie admits he ignored Green Arrow’s call for help, but reminds them that following orders during the Earth 2 War meant he didn’t save his mother. 1st appearance: Stormguard/Darius Haynes, Voodoo/Priscilla Kitaen |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #12 Amethyst, Frankenstein & Hawkman are trapped on an alien planet, faced with a horde of marauding robots who bear Brainiac’s symbol. Frankenstein bleeds human blood. An ‘upgrade’ emerges and electrocutes the team. On Earth, King Faraday tries to bring Mercy back into the Cadmus fold. Rampage asks Ethan Boyer to restore her human form, but he does the opposite. Thirty-five years from now, the Brother Eye-controlled Frankenstein opens the Joker’s cell and takes him to see Batman (Bruce Wayne) on life-support… 1st appearance: Joker, Mercy |
| Batwing – Futures End #1 (pp.19-20) Lucas Fox abandons his Batwing persona and reunites with his family. |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Red Hood and the Outlaws – Futures End #1 Red Hood faked his own death when he’s wanted for killing the corrupt Mayor of Central City. More recently, the Hood’s best friend, Arsenal, joined the Justice League and tried to stop the Red Hood from stealing the floating Heroplex’s power source by blowing up his Sky-Bike. Following that, the Red Hood targeted Morgan Edge – a man who’s repeatedly bought his way out of facing up to his crimes. Now, a week later, the Red Hood continues his mission in Russia… | |
| Aquaman – Futures End #1 Aquaman protects Atlantis Island – his Future Atlantean Outpost – from Xebel terrorists. Believing Aquaman now favours the surface world (partly due to his consort, Ya’Wara) Mera leads an attack on the Outpost in order to take over Atlantis. She’s aided by Atlan the Dead King, who’s now very much alive again… 1st appearance: Atlan, Mera, Ya’Wara | |
| Aquaman and the Others – Futures End #1 Vostok-X joins the fight, taking on the Dead King when he attacks the Others to reclaim his mystic weapons. The Atlanteans attack Atlantis Island, killing the Operative (Joshua Cole). The rest of the Others fight back, with Ya’Wara facing Mera, and Aquaman joining the fight against the Dead King. Joshua’s son, Aaron Cole, dons the Dead King’s weapons and decapitates Atlan with his own sceptre. Aquaman convinces Mera and the Atlanteans to give him time to heal Atlantis. Aaron becomes the Other. | |
| Catwoman: Futures End #1 (pp.1-17) As the head of Gotham’s crime families, Selina Kyle struggles to prevent a gang war. Selina’s right-hand man and love interest Matt Falcone makes an attempt on her life. But the other bosses kill him when it looks like he’s drained their offshore accounts for himself! | |
| Batgirl – Futures End #1 (pp.5-20) After her husband’s murder, Barbara Gordon went undercover and dismantled Gotham City’s underworld. She then trained under Bane for two years. But she grew too close to him and left without killing him, instead taking on the Bête Noire identity. Now, her League of Batgirls break up a gun-running operation which leads back to Bane. Bête Noire defeats Bane and decides to become Barbara Gordon again. 1st appearance: League of Batgirls (Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Tiffany Fox) | |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #13 An armed man steals from Maddy and the Wounded Duck, prompting ‘Cal’ to go and get Maddy’s necklace back, with force. Mister Terrific’s semi-sentient tech coerces him into hunting the new Batman. Coil, Key and Plastique turn against Terry McGinnis when he’s branded ‘public enemy #1’. Grifter and Fifty Sue try to find out why there’s a ‘Stealth OMAC’ on Cadmus Island. Deathstroke and another Fifty Sue catch up with Big Barda and Emiko Queen in Montreal… 1st appearance: Lana Lang, Mister Miracle/Scott Free |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #14 Barda and Emiko escape Deathstroke and Fifty Sue. In New York, Coil and Key try to kill the future Batman until Plastique talks them around. On Cadmus, Grifter falls into the hidden lab of OMACs and Earth 2 scientists. Sue destroys two OMACs and a kills scientist. The survivor, Lana Lang, prepares to tell her story. Back in Metropolis, Lois Lane thinks about the mystery of the missing Clark Kent and assesses the four clues she recently received. One lead her to Red Robin. One to nothing in the ocean. The arrow has no further clues. Then fourth item – the pyramid – suddenly lights up, showing her visions of the imprisoned Earth 2 heroes including Red Tornado… that world’s Lois Lane. 1st appearance: Red Tornado/Lois Lane |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #15 The gigantic, near-mindless Rampage escapes the masked ‘Superman’. Lois Lane talks to him about her vision of Earth 2 heroes. After weeks imprisoned in the Huron Star System by the Engineer, Frankenstein wakes up from his first dream in 200 years. He dreamt the SHADE crew cause a terrible future event. On Cadmus Island, Grifter tells Faraday of his discovery. Mister Miracle has been able to leave his cell unnoticed. And he’s learned the implants in the Earth 2 prisoners are growing. John Constantine and his friends arrive at the Horn of Africa in search of the robot from the temple… |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Earth 2 – Futures End #1 Terry Sloan has teamed up with his Earth 2 counterpart to build goggles that can spot anyone originating from Earth 2, including Mister Terrific’s colleague Sonja Sato. The goggles misclassify Terrific himself as though he’s from Earth 2, forcing him to go on the run. The Sloans risk their lives for the BoomSphere tech that will give them the power to kill a god. One Terry Sloan kills the other to become the sole owner. Sonia and Terrific beat Sloan back, discovering he’s not from Earth 2 or Prime Earth! | |
| Trinity of Sin: Pandora – Futures End #1 Pandora finally reassembles Pandora’s Box (which was shattered during TRINITY WAR, 2013) and reopens it. The Seven Deadly Sins are unleashed… all aspects of Pandora. She absorbs them into herself and allows this multiverse to live on. | |
| Sinestro – Futures End #1 Tartaros Ultra-Max Penitentiary is now the permanent home of Sinestro since he was apprehended by the Apex League. With the help of fellow inmate and former-member of the Indigo Tribe, Natromo, Sinestro is able to escape the inescapable prison. The Apex League come to arrest him on New Korugar and see the bodies of the Sinestro Corps, having been slaughtered by Parallax. Breaking Lyssa Drak’s skull releases a Black Lantern Ring which Sinestro uses to resurrect the dead Sinestro Corps and create the new Black Lantern Corps… | |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #16 In Washington, Stormguard of the Justice League hunts Ethan Boyer who’s back to creating fake genetic IDs for Earth 2 refugees. On Cadmus, Faraday learns Mister Miracle is loose on the island and orders Deathstroke, Grifter, Fifty Sue and Lana Lang to look into the stealth OMACs. In New York, the intelligent tech talking to Mister Terrific announces it’s coming to Earth. Rampage continues to tear up Metropolis and trounces ‘Superman’, smashing his mask. In the Huron System, the now-soulless Engineer reveals the ‘planet’ the SHADE crew are on is in fact her master’s ship. And her master is Brainiac… 1st appearance: Brainiac/Vril Dox |
| Green Lantern Corps – Futures End #1 John Stewart is now the most feared and ruthless Green Lantern. Salaak and Kilowog ask him to carry out a mission to kill the rebel Maro. But Indigo-1 speaks to Maro’s defence and recruits him. She tries to help John, but he accidentally kills Indigo-1 in a rage. Filled with regret, John regains his compassion and his friend’s Indigo Tribe Ring selects him. | |
| Batman and Robin – Futures End #1 Batman faces the resurrected Heretic while trying to keep Robin (Duke Thomas) busy and away from the scene. But Robin arrives and saves Batman from certain death at Heretic’s hands. Heretic explodes and burns away, though Batman manages to get a DNA sample. 1st appearance: Heretic/Damian Wayne clone | |
| Superboy – Futures End #1 Superboy (Kon-El) is gradually losing his powers to a virus. His fellow Teen Titans are all dead and his clones have come back to Earth to kill him! With help from his friends, Freefall, Ravager and Guardian, Superboy defeats the last of his clones and feels his powers begin to return. | |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #17 In Metropolis, ‘Superman’ resumes his fight with Rampage, uttering the word “Shazam” to bring about her defeat. Lois Lane finds Billy Batson where ‘Superman’ used to be. On Cadmus Island, an OMAC kills the doctor who was about to examine Hawkgirl’s growing implant. Something unlocks the Earth 2 prisoners’ cells and takes over their bodies, causing them to rampage. In Vancouver, John Diggle helps Emiko Queen and Big Barda obtain the means to leave the country in search of an island… where Emiko will find the person who killed her father, Green Arrow. Constantine and his friends follow the trail of carnage through Africa left by the temple robot ‘death dealer’. Instead, they find the real Superman… Identity revealed: ‘Superman’ is Shazam/Billy Watson |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #18 Clark Kent works to feed the hungry in the Horn of Africa. But John Constantine tries to encourage him to return as Superman to face the ‘death dealer’ robot he believes is connected to Brainiac. In Metropolis, Stormguard saves Billy Batson from Rampage’s rage, then teleports Batson and Lois Lane to Defence Station Omega to prevent Lois from reporting the story. Emiko, Barda and Diggle arrive on Green Arrow Island and are met by Arsenal… and Green Arrow! On Cadmus Island, King Faraday begins to question who his boss really is. While the mindless Earth 2 superhumans run rampant, Deathstroke and Lana Lang lay low. Deathstroke reveals Fifty Sue was Cadmus’ first home-brewed superhuman. Fifty Sue confronts the intelligence that’s now controlling Cadmus… Brother Eye! Elsewhere, ‘Batman Beyond’ and his crew enter TerrifiTech… |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | Green Arrow – Futures End #1 Before the future Batman arrived in this timeline, the Green Arrow (Emiko Queen) and Dart (Naomi Singh) met with the badly injured original Green Arrow, Oliver Queen. Refusing to explain what happened, he asked Emiko to give Lois Lane a small pyramid. Ollie then agreed to join Shado and her Outsiders if they’d help him take down Cadmus. Later, after a TV interview, Deathstroke tracked Ollie down and killed him. But the shapeshifting Magus faked Ollie’s death and let Deathstroke take a tracker back to Cadmus. |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #19 At TerrifiTech, Plastique gets distracted by the corpse of her cyborg future self. The future Batman’s actions set off the alarm system. In the Huron System, one of the Storm Lords of the Shadow Cabinet makes Dr Ray Palmer the new leader of StormWatch to oppose Brainiac. On Cadmus Island, the Brother Eye-controlled Power Girl tries to kill Deathstroke until Fifty Sue reminds Brother Eye of their deal. In Metropolis, Lois Lane releases the Superman/Shazam story… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #20 Five years from now, ‘Cal Corcoran’ breaks into the Fast Lane offices in Metropolis to prevent Lois Lane from outing him. He tells her that his experiences in the Earth 2 War and the death of Wonder Girl made him seek a new life. He guesses that the package of clues was from Red Arrow (former identity of Emiko Queen). He goes on to tell Maddie that he’s really Tim Drake. Maddie leaves him. On Cadmus Island, every employee apart from King Faraday, Lana Lang, Deathstroke, Fifty Sue and Grifter have been slaughtered by the mind-controlled Earth 2 prisoners. Fifty Sue offers up her secret bunker. At TerrifiTech, Mister Terrific questions Key and Coil in a cell until they give up the name of their employer… Bruce Wayne. Thirty-five years from now, Brother Eye informs the aged Mister Terrific that it has dissected Bruce Wayne’s brain to learn the secret of time travel… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #21 Almost five years ago, the survivors of Earth 2 tried to flee to Prime Earth (as seen in ‘present day’ Earth 2 during WORLD’S END, 2014-2015). But Darkseid followed them, forcing Mister Miracle to risk everything to hold them off while the ship carrying the civilians headed to this new world. Prime Earth was already filled with paranoia after the ‘villain uprising’ (see FOREVER EVIL, 2013-2014) which led to the Earth 2 War! When it was over, the citizens of Prime Earth blamed the Earth 2 refugees for the war. Green Arrow saved Earth 2’s Red Arrow (Oliver Queen) when he was hunted by Deathstroke. Together they learned Maxwell Payne had compromised Earth’s defences just before the invasion. And the Brother Eye satellite teleported Mister Miracle and his allies aboard itself. From there, they were taken to Cadmus by Deathstroke. Green Arrow faked his own death. Now, Green Arrow and his allies prepare for an assault on Cadmus… |
| ✔ | Action Comics – Futures End #1 In Ethiopia, Clark Kent toils to grow food for the people in a barren land. A ‘Superman’ made of sand briefly grants individuals one of the Man of Steel’s powers to show them their potential. He visits Clark Kent to remind him to live up to his. |
| Grayson – Futures End #1 Spyral agent Dick Grayson is hung for publicly murdering President Anatoli Knyazev of Russia. Alongside agent Helena Bertinelli, Dick saw the atrocities carried out by the former-KGBeast in Kiev during the Earth 2 War. But is Dick Grayson really dead? 1st appearance: Dick Grayson | |
| ✔ | Superman – Futures End #1 Lois Lane tracks down Billy Batson who explains how Superman sent Black Adam to the Phantom Zone for betraying Shazam during the Earth 2 War. Superman then departed for a mission that “sickened” him. When Superman never returned, the Justice League asked Shazam to become ‘Superman’ to maintain the symbol. After ‘Superman’ defeats Ibac, he takes Lois Lane’s advice and becomes Shazam again… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #22 Enraged by the JLA’s lies about Superman/Shazam, Dr Yamazake pushes hard to complete his transporter tech. In New York, Terry McGinnis tells Plastique why he’s in the present day. His computer, ALFRED, informs him Brother Eye’s conscious is on Cadmus Island. In space, the SHADE Crew ask to meet with Brainiac, not realising what he’s become. Black Adam and the Atom (Ray Palmer) fly in to the rescue the team… 1st appearance: Blood Moon |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #23 Five years in the future, Dr Ray Palmer has resumed his role as the Atom and broken Black Adam out of the Negative Zone. They pull the SHADE crew out, but Brainiac’s army give chase as they fly off in the Nan-Knight, taking the Engineer with them. In New York, Ronnie Raymond bumps into Maddie Payne and offers to buy her coffee to apologise. They’re watched by ‘Cal Corcoran’. Mercy, Voodoo, Bangers & Mash have come to Las Vegas to kill Sgt Rock, but he instead hires them to take out Fifty Sue. Thirty five years in the future, a cyborg Batman shows up at TerrifiTech. Though he shares the reverse side of his head with the Joker. Brother Eye plans to send him after Terry McGinnis… 1st appearance: Sgt Franklin Rock |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #24 On the Nan-Knight, Engineer regains her own persona as the ship arrives at the Carrier, but they’re boarded by drones. On Cadmus Island, Mister Miracle recovers after ending Fury’s rampage by cutting out her implant. Cal Corcoran tries to win favour with Maddie Payne. Dr Yamazake and Jason Rusch make the transporter tech work! In Africa, the ‘death dealer’ robot shows up and instantly kills John Constantine’s friend, Tommy. Superman shows up and punches the death-dealer out… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #25 The Engineer taps into the Carrier’s propulsion units to enable the SHADE crew’s escape Brainiac’s robots via a space jump. On Cadmus Island, the survivors take shelter in Fifty Sue’s secret bunker to hide from Brother Eye. Grifter senses King is a metahuman teleporter, prompting Faraday’s solo escape. In Africa, Constantine reveals to Superman that the Brainiac he faced in the past was only one aspect of the true, godlike Brainiac who actually exists outside time and space. Superman defeats the ‘death- dealer’ Brainiac robot, letting Brainiac know his capabilities. In New York, Jason Rusch refuses to join with Ronnie Raymond to become Firestorm and stop a tsunami in Samoa. The paranoid Dr Yamazake overhears their conversation and thinks Jason is a spy for the Justice League… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #26 Dr Yamazake has Jason Rusch thrown out of his lab. When Madison Payne swings by the lab, Yamazake – angered by her father’s actions during the Earth 2 War – chokes her into submission to use her as his first human test subject. On Cadmus Island, Brother Eye reveals Deathstroke’s intentions to escape alone to Fifty Sue, turning her against him. In New York, Batman calls out Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch, reveals Green Arrow is alive and orders the former-friends to become Firestorm again… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #27 ‘Cal Corcoran’ encourages Lois Lane to return to the coordinates she received. On Cadmus Island, Mister Miracle escapes the Brother Eye-controlled Huntress. Green Arrow’s team find the island just as Lois leaps from a plane above it. /Batman Beyond’ breaks into Cal Corcoran’s apartment where he’s attacked by the Batman of this era, until someone tosses an explosive into the apartment… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #28 Lois Lane parachutes onto Cadmus Island, dodges an OMAC and literally stumbles across her Earth 2 counterpart, Red Tornado! Fifty Sue’s consciousness materialises in Las Vegas where she decides to poach Sgt Rock’s team – the one assigned to killing her. In New York, the two Batman fight their way out of the burning Wounded Duck. Terry tosses the younger version of his mentor through a window and escapes with Plastique. At Columbia University, Dr Yamazake forces Maddie into a teleportation chamber… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #29 ‘Cal Corcoran’, Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch rush to Madison Payne’s rescue. While Cal fights off the Cadmus guards outside the lab, Ronnie frees Maddie but is hit by the teleportation energies, causing an explosion. Jason and Maddie emerge from the explosion, having merged into a new Firestorm. Cal finds Ronnie as he breathes his last… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #30 Green Arrow’s team storm Cadmus Island and face a horde of OMACs and Earth 2 metahumans. The OMACs merge into a gigantic, singular unit. When Deathstroke threatens Green Arrow, Fury rips Deathstroke’s head off. Barda and Fury face off against the mind-controlled Power Girl, giving Green Arrow the chance to shut down the system with a boxing glove arrow. Lois flees the explosions and escapes with the others, leaving Red Tornado behind. Big Barda brings down Power Girl, but the island detonates. Green Arrow has saved as many as he can. Brother Eye’s consciousness has hopped aboard Lois’ phone… |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Wonder Woman: Futures End #1 Wonder Woman, the God of War, fights against dark demons on the fields of Koronoor to free soldiers from various moments in time. She calls together a meeting of the greatest military minds in history when Nemesis’ forces threaten to lay siege to the End-Fortress in Polemos. Wonder Woman is fired up by every war on Earth and leaps into the fray, only to be met by Superman who’s under Nemesis’ spell… | |
| Superman/Wonder Woman: Futures End #1 Superman proves he’s not controlled by Nemesis and that Wonder Woman’s war in Polemos has all been an illusion. Superman has actually risked everything to save Wonder Woman from Tartarus – the Titans’ version of Hell. Superman has actually been lucked from a moment in time for years earlier to rescue her. They escape to Themyscira where Wonder Woman heads to the tomb of Eirene and takes up her mantle as the new God of Peace. | |
| Justice League Dark – Futures End #1 The House of Mystery is stranded in the Nameless dimension, with Nightmare Nurse, Black Orchid, Cassandra Craft, Etrigan the Demon and the scarred and weary Zatanna residing within. They find a sorcerer who’s been floating in the Nameless since at least the early 1900s and may have the knowledge to get them home! But the portal he lures them towards is the head of the demon Non. Zatanna almost sacrifices herself to save the House and the Justice League Dark, but they return to save her and kill the treacherous sorcerer. Zatanna returns to searching for a way home.. | |
| Infinity Man and the Forever People – Futures End #1 Mark Moonrider wakes in the Cadmus Singularity with no memory of the fate of the Forever People. He and Dreamer Beautiful fend off an attack by Parademons until she reveals the truth to him. The Forever People were assaulted by an OMAC – a bastardised creation of New Genesis – and summoned the Infinity Man to defeat it. Another OMAC took the Infinity Man prisoner. But now, both Mark Moonrider and Dreamer Beautiful are just dreams conjured by the real Dreamer Beautiful. The real Mark Moonrider is dead and the dream projection dies too when he tries to escape, starting the cycle over… | |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #31 Lois Lane holds a press conference to reveal the existence of Cadmus Island, Brother Eye and the experiments on Earth 2 refugees. Green Arrow continues to allow the world to believe he’s dead. In Siberia, Superman encounters a Brainiac-controlled bear. King Faraday assesses what’s left of Cadmus Island. In Pittsburgh, Madison Payne and Jason Rusch are now Firestorm and can’t separate. Firestorm attends Ronnie Raymond’s funeral from a distance, but allows ‘Cal Corcoran’ to believe she and Jason are also dead. |
| Red Lanterns – Futures End #1 Guy Gardner – now a Blue Lantern – works with Bleez to restore every Red Lantern to normal and close down their Corps. They head to Sector 666 to confront the last Red Lantern aside from Bleez herself, Red King Jack aka Rankorr. Guy whispers something to Rankorr and he expels all of his Red Lantern Rings. Bleez absorbs them all. Guy tells Bleez she can be happy if she releases her rings, so she does. | |
| Detective Comics – Futures End #1 Calendar Man threatens Gotham City with a blackout (similar to the Riddler’s actions during ZERO YEAR, 2013-2014) unless someone delivers the man responsible for destroying his family. Batman calls on the ‘reformed’ Riddler to help him enter Arkham Asylum by overcoming the security system designed by Riddler himself. When the unlikely duo face Calendar Man, Batman reveals the Riddler is the man responsible, as Calendar Man’s wife died during the Zero Year. Batman leaves Riddler to face Calendar Man’s justice… | |
| Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger – Futures End #1 The Phantom Stranger pays his final piece of silver to get to the Rock of Eternity to stand before the Council of Eternity as his true self – Judas Iscariot. But this new Council is made up of Trigon, Neron, Mister E, Eclipso, Sin Eater, Blight and the fallen Zauriel – past foes who offer to free the Stranger of his curse in return for the Amulet of Origins which they’ll use to storm the Gates of Heaven. Zauriel steals the Amulet – an item which can only be given – and is cast back to Heaven. The Presence arrives, sends the Stranger running and prepares to fight the Council. Judas returns to his role as the Phantom Stranger, though now he’s free… | |
| Swamp Thing – Futures End #1 The Swamp Thing makes a series of deals with the Avatars of the Grey, the Divided and the Metal before confronting Anton Arcane, Avatar of the Black. Demanding the release of Abigail Arcane, Swamp Thing brandishes a White Lantern Ring and the head of the previous Swamp Thing. Anton Arcane dies in their final confrontation… |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #32 Under Brother Eye’s guidance, Mister Terrific makes the announcement that his uSpheres will drop in New York City 24 hours before the rest of the world. On Cadmus Islsnd, Fifty Sue dons Deathstroke’s mask and swears revenge on Brother Eye. In New York, Dr Yamazake now only exists in an energy form. He constructs a suit of armour for himself. The SHADE crew materialise in Earth’s orbit. SHADE intercept them and Father Time demands they hand over the Engineer or she’ll unleash monsters on them… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #33 Dismissively referring to the SHADE crew as ‘StormWatch’, Father Time needs the Engineer to combat Brainiac. The Atom enters Father Time’s body and discovers her true form. Faraday sends Fifty Sue (now calling herself Sequel) to retrieve Ethan Boyer. Lois Lane has plugged her Brother Eye-infected phone into the internet. Bother Eye’s consciousness finds the Plastique cyborg from the future. In search of a means to force their separation, Firestorm returns to the scene of the explosion at Columbia University. She’s attacked by Yamazake who’s now calling himself Doctor Polaris… New identity: Fifty Sue as Sequel; Dr Yamazake as Doctor Polaris |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #34 Five years from now, Firestorm faces her first foe in Doctor Polaris, but she’s never been in a fight before and hasn’t mastered her powers. In space, Father Time is revealed to be the sole survivor of his race after a conflict with Brainiac 200 years earlier. Frankenstein is mortally wounded. In Las Vegas, King Faraday plans for Cadmus’ DNA vault to be salvaged from the bottom of the ocean. In New York, the future Batman’s ALFRED AI shuts itself down when it becomes infected… Thirty-five years from now, Brother Eye sends the merged Batman/Joker back in time to kill Terry McGinnis. He/they materialise five years from now in front of Plastique… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #35 In New York, ‘Cal Corcoran’ hits Doctor Polaris with a metal pipe to help the mysterious new Firestorm. She ends up saving Cal when Polaris retaliates. In Las Vegas, Lana Lang convinces Sequel to accept her as her mother in an effort to humanise Sue. Aboard SHADE’s HQ – the Ant Farm – in Earth’s orbit, the Nth Metal in Frankenstein’s blood is killing him. Amethyst decides to take him back to Earth to find a cure. Black Adam also heads back to Earth. In New York, the real Batman joins the future Batman’s fight against Brother Eye’s Batman/Joker. The cyborg creature can’t kill the real Batman or he’ll never exist, so he knocks him out… New identity: Sequel/Fifty Sue as Susan Lang |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #36 Amethyst takes Frankenstein to the Justice League Dark’s House of Mystery as he starts to take on a more human form. When Constantine appears, Amethyst runs him through with her sword. The real John Constantine feels the pain, but he’s in Smallville with Superman and the Brother Eye-infected Midge. Fifty Sue teleports Cadmus’ DNA vault to Las Vegas. In New York, Terry and Plastique get closer. Billy Batson continues to operate as both Shazam and ‘Superman’. The new Firestorm turns up on Defence Base Omega to ask the Justice League for help… |
| Green Lantern: New Guardians – Futures End #1 When the White Lantern subverts the will of everyone on planet Sussurus to enforce peace, Saysoran fights back to free her home world. Kyle Rayner has both the White Lantern Ring and the Life Equation, and it’s driven him mad. Saysoran passes Kyle’s test and he leaves her the White Lantern Ring while he joins the Source. | |
| Batwoman – Futures End #1 Red Alice (Beth Kane) saves Maggie Sawyer when her sister – Kate Kane, the Batwoman – drops her from a great height. Clayface, Jason Blood and Ragman all die trying to stop the vampire Batwoman. Red Alice is left with no choice but to drive a stake through her heart. | |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #37 Recently, while stabbing John Constantine’s astral projection, Amethyst explained how John trapped Darkseid’s forces in Gemworld and hasn’t forgiven him. Constantine advised Amethyst to take Frankenstein back to Victor Frankenstein’s castle. Now, on Defence Base Omega, Firestorm tries and fails to use the League’s teleport tech to return to human forms. In New York, Stormguard and ‘Superman’ face Doctor Polaris. Cal Corcoran returns to find the Wounded Duck condemned. He punches the future Batman when he tries to apologise. The cyborg Batman/Joker opens fire on them both. In Vegas, Mercy uses her death-touch on Fifty Sue. |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #38 In New York, Batman, the Batman Beyond, ‘Cal Corcoran’ and Plastique escape the cyborg Batman/Joker. In Metropolis, ‘Superman’ saves Stormguard from Doctor Polaris. Firestorm stops the fight, explaining that she agrees with Polaris’ stance on the League and offers him their teleport tech. Fifty Sue has used her powers to teleport the DNA vault to the Sahara Desert, along with Lana Lang and Grifter. Amethyst takes Frankenstein to his father’s castle in the Carpathian Mountains where they discover Victor Frankenstein is still alive… 1st appearance: Victor Frankenstein |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #39 Fifty Sue teleports Grifter’s associate Justin away from Banger and Mash. Faraday orders Grifter and the others to be killed. In Smalleville, Brainiac’s creatures kill Midge. Superman rushes to Manhattan. In Romania, Victor Frankenstein offers to save Frankenstein if he becomes a more willing slave. Frankenstein would rather die, so Amethyst cuts Victor’s head off. ‘Superman’ reluctantly allows Doctor Polaris aboard the JLA’s Defence Station Omega to cure Firestorm. Suddenly, something destroys the League’s space probes… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #40 The Atom contacts the Justice League to warn them Brainiac is coming (better late than never). Aboard the StormWatch ship, Brainiac retakes control of the Engineer. Metal spheres rain down from Manhattan’s skies, causing havoc and destruction. Batman, Plastique and ‘Cal Corcoran’ enter TerrifiTech to find everyone dead. Engineer rapidly constructs a giant robotic head from Brainiac’s ‘Red Moon’ that’s now in Earth’s orbit. An energy grid begins to form around Manhattan and a colossal Brainiac robot materialises. Superman hurtles toward New York City… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #41 At TerrifiTech, Batman locates Mister Terrific, but he seems… deranged. Firestorm, ‘Superman’ and Doctor Polaris teleport back to Manhattan. ‘Superman’ reunites with the real Superman! In space, Hawkman flies inside the mechanical Brainiac head and witnesses numerous other realities. Multiple versions of him are spat out before Hawkman fades from existence. The head links its power via a beam to the colossus in Manhattan and blasts the Atom… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #42 ‘Superman’ becomes Shazam again and prepares to help the real Superman to stop Brainiac from stealing New York. Brainiac swats Superman down and he’s found by Lois Lane. In space, the Atom has survived, shrunk down and entered the mechanical head, passing through windows to the multiverse. He frees the Engineer with his sword, shutting the head down. At TerrifiTech, Batman punches out Mister Terrific. In Times Square, Batman/Joker is destroyed by a falling sphere. The future Batman gets ALFRED back online and witnesses Brother Eye’s takeover of all technology… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #43 Manhattan is no longer being lifted from planet Earth by Brainiac’s beam, so the colossal creature uses his manual method. In TerrifiTech, ‘Cal’ and Plastique find Key and Coil alive! Plastique lets slip that ‘Cal’ is Tim Drake as they’re attacked by the future cyborg Plastique. Modern day-Plastique risks her life to force her future self out of a window. The future Batman reunites with her. Batman asks Mister Terrific how to stop Brainiac… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #44 The giant Brainiac is piloting Manhattan and flying it slowly upwards. The Atom transports himself to TerrifiTech where Batman initiates the *real* Brother Eye’s operating system to fight back against Brainiac. Superman punches the colossal Brainiac, knocking multiversal echoes out of him. The Atom uses Terrific’s uSpheres to minimise Brainiac and trap him in a uSphere. Superman catches the falling Manhattan. But Brother Eye is now online… |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #45 In Romania, Frankenstein dies in Amethyst’s arms. Picking up Frankenstein’s sword, she decides to free Gemworld. Superman hurls Brainiac’s transport into the Sun. Shazam accepts the new Firestorm into the Justice League. King Faraday goes into hiding, but Sgt Rock has tracked him down. Brother Eye refuses Mister Terrific’s instruction to withdraw from the grid. It locates the future Batman, questioning his presence and sends its cyborg-zombies to kill him… |
| The Flash #34 (tie-in) On present day Prime Earth, the Flash eventually takes down dirty cop Officer Seborn who stole various super-villain weapons to during the Crime Syndicates’ attack on Central City (see FOREVER EVIL, 2013-2014). Barry Allen takes Wally West to see his uncle Daniel West in Iron Heights Prison to scare Wally straight. Intent on jumping back through time to save the future, a much older Flash arrives 5 years from our present where there’s a rupture in the Speed Force. To save Wally & Iris West, the Flash intercepts Reverse-Flash… 1st appearance: Reverse-Flash/Daniel West, Iris West, Wally West Also see OUT OF TIME | |
| The Flash – Futures End #1 The Flash (Barry Allen) meets a future version of himself who has beheaded Reverse-Flash in order to save Wally West from death and Iris West from being paralysed. Explaining the Speed Force has become unstable, future Flash intends jumping further back to stop it. The younger Flash tries to stop him, but the feedback sends future Flash five years into the past, empowers Wally West and kills the younger Flash. New identity: Wally West as the Flash Also see OUT OF TIME |
| Must Read | Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #46 In upstate New York, Lana Lang reveals her insect bonding powers when she warns Sgt Rock to keep away from her and her new family. Fifty Sue has shrunk the DNA vault down to pocket-size. The future Batman finds Mister Terrific, Batman and Atom and reveals the future they’re facing. Plastique, Key, Coil and Tim Drake face a horde of tech-zombies. The future Batman shows up and saves them, though the reconstituted cyborg Batman/Joker returns and mortally wounds him. Terry makes his peace with Tim and dies in Plastique’s arms. |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #47 Brother Eye takes over the world’s computer systems. Batman, Mister Terrific and Atom are rescued by Tim Drake wearing the future Batman’s costume. Firestorm arrives and reunites with Tim. She recharges the time band that allowed Terry to time-jump. As ‘Batman’, Tim uses it to jump back five years and materialise aboard the Brother Eye satellite. He witnesses the arrival of Mister Terrific and the Earth 2 refugees to Prime-Earth’s solar system. Tim convinces Brother Eye not to help the refugees and it opts to self-destruct, recharging Tim’s time band and sending him to… where? New identity: Tim Drake as Batman/‘Batman Beyond’ |
| Catwoman: Futures End #1 (pp.18-20) Six months after Matt Falcone murdered Selina Kyle, the Riddler tracks Selina Kyle down in the French Riviera. | |
| ✔ | The New 52: Futures End #48 Thirty five years from now, Tim Drake – still in the guise of the future Batman – thinks he’s arrived in a saved future. But it’s an illusion cast by Brother Eye. Nothing has changed. Brother Eye pits his cyborgs against Batman, but the Atom and his Resistance arrive and pull him and Mister Terrific out. The group includes a much older Madison among them and they reunite. Batman succeeded in his mission, but Brother Eye found another way to avoid destruction. Now, Batman prepares to end his reign… |
| ✔ | Booster Gold – Futures End #1 Booster Gold of New Earth has been bouncing around the multiverse since his timeline was altered (during FLASHPOINT, 2011). After passing through the Gotham City of Earth-19, he saves the Booster Gold of Prime Earth from an OMAC. He bounces to the pre-ZERO HOUR timeline of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Earth-Four and Kamandi’s Earth-AD timeline before returning to the Metropolis of his adopted home-timeline. Booster’s sister, Goldstar, and the Prime Earth version of Booster are also there. Metropolis is under a dome. They’re teleported to a cell where a voice demands to know the whereabouts of Vanishing Point… |
| ✔ | Batman Beyond #1 Arriving in Neo-Gotham under ALFRED’s direction, Batman (Tim Drake) immediately defeats a group of Jokerz attempting to steal the Veil tech that makes Neo-Gotham undetectable to Brother Eye. Tim checks in on Terry McGinnis’ brother, the young Matt McGinnis. Batman flies to New York as ALFRED explains that this timeline has definitely been altered by Terry’s time in the past. He fights past the Brother Eye-corrupted Superman, but the confrontation shorts out his suit. In civvies, Tim gets into the Lodge – a prisoner of war camp holding Terry’s friend Maxine Gibson – where he’s reunited with Commissioner Barbara Gordon… 1st appearance: Maxine Gibson, Matt McGinnis |
| ✔ | Batman Beyond #2 ‘Residents’ of the Lodge are there for Brother Eye to mine their brains. The cyborg guards suspect Tim and Barbara of rebellion and intercede, with Brother Eye’s agent Inque leading the charge. Tim recharges his suit via the cyborg he’s fighting, allowing him to face Inque as Batman, but he’s quickly defeated when the brainwashed Maxine turns against him… 1st appearance: Inque |
| ✔ | Batman Beyond #3 Brother Eye tries to take the location of Neo-Gotham from the captive Tim Drake’s mind. ALFRED overrides the torture chair, freeing Tim. As Batman, he destroys the human/cyborg processing plant and finds out Brother Eye is stationed on the moon where he’s keeping Inque’s daughter prisoner. Batman offers to rescue her and takes Barbara and Max to safety. However, Batman’s return to Neo-Gotham shuts down the Veil and reveals its location to Brother Eye who sends the Cyborg Justice League to despatch him… 1st appearance: Micron |
| ✔ | Batman Beyond #4 Brother Eye launches cyborgs at Neo-Gotham. Micron (the new Atom), Barbara Gordon and Inque join the fight against them, but they’re overpowered by sheer numbers. Barbara picks Batman up in a Batplane and they head to the Batcave. With the Beyond armour depleted, Tim will have to don the Superheavy Batsuit (introduced during DIVERGENCE, 2015 / SUPERHEAVY, 2015-2016). |
| ✔ | Batman Beyond #5 The camouflage take gives the Superheavy Batsuit a ‘Beyond’ colour scheme before Batman joins the fight in Neo-Gotham. He takes down the cyborg Green Lantern. Matt McGinnis finds John Stewart’s severed arm, including his ring. Micron explodes the cyborg Wonder Woman from inside. Batman makes the cyborg Superman swallow Kryptonite before the giant-sized Micron smashes him. |
| ✔ | Batman Beyond #6 Brother Eye’s moon base is partially constructed from the old JLA Satellite. Batman uses Bruce Wayne’s secret transporters to teleport to the moon where he faces Brother Eye who’s taken on a humanoid form. Batman’s relentless attack seriously damages Brother Eye who fights back hard. Inque emerges from the armour and compromises Brother Eye’s inner core, allowing Batman to escape with Inque’s daughter. They teleport away, though Inque’s sacrifice leads to Brother Eye’s utter destruction. |
| Must Read | Issue & Fallout | Event/ Crossover |
| Earth 2: World’s End #21 (2015) It’s confirmed that the Terry Sloan of Earth 2 is neither from Earth 2 or Prime Earth, though his true origins are never revealed. | WORLD’S END | |
| Batwoman #35 (2014) Batwoman of Prime Earth forms the Unknowns. | THE UNKNOWNS | |
| Convergence #0 (2025) Brainiac from the Futures End timeline goes on to confront Superman of Prime Earth. | CONVERGENCE | |
| Supergirl #37 (2015) Supergirl of Prime Earth meets Captain Comet. | ||
| Green Lantern: New Guardians #38-40 (2015) The Saysoran of Prime Earth makes her debut; despite opposing the White Lantern (Kyle Rayner), she is selected as a White Lantern herself when Kyle’s ring splits into seven and seeks out bearers. | ||
| Sinestro #9-11 (2015) Sinestro of Prime Earth faces the Apex League; Necropolis becomes New Korugar. | ||
| The Flash #35-40 (2014-2015) Prime Earth Flash’s clash with his future incarnation comes to its conclusion, though one Flash doesn’t survive. | OUT OF TIME | |
| ✔ | Convergence #1-3 (2015) The heroes Earth 2 are diverted to a conflict with Brainiac and encounter their multiversal counterparts; Brainiac’s planetoid Telos becomes a new home for the survivors of Earth 2. | CONVERGENCE |
| Convergence: Booster Gold #1-2 (2015) Booster Gold’s confrontation with Deimos and his interractions with his alternate selves are continued. | CONVERGENCE | |
| ✔ | Convergence #8 (2015) Brainiac’s planetoid Telos becomes a new home for the survivors of Earth 2. | CONVERGENCE |
| We Are Robin #1-5 (2015) On Prime Earth, Duke Thomas joins the vigilante Robins, but doesn’t take Robin as a name. | DIVERGENCE WE ARE ROBIN | |
| Wonder Woman: Rebirth #1 (2016) Wonder Woman discovers her role as the God of War was a lie and seeks the truth about her origins. | DC REBIRTH THE LIES | |
| Blue Beetle #8-11 (2017) In the Prime Earth reality, Brother Eye comes back online and sends OMAC (Kevin Cho) to investigate magical activity in El Paso. | ||
| ✔ | Detective Comics #967-968 (2017-2018) Having been deactivated and claimed by Batman, Brother Eye of Prime Earth is reactivated by another alternate universe Batman (Tim Drake of the Titans Tomorrow reality); Batwing manages to get Brother Eye under control, but not before doing some serious damage to Prime-Batman’s arsenal. | |
| Batman and the Signal #1 (2018) Preferring not to become the next Robin, Duke Thomas begins calling himself the Signal. | ||
| Detective Comics #977-981 (2018) Brother Eye is reactivated by the young genius calling himself the General who activates an army of sleeper OMACs and sends them out to kill criminals; Batman and his allies defeat the General and restore the OMACs. | ||
| Superman Leviathan Rising #1 (2019) A new Leviathan organisation rises on Prime Earth, though not with ‘Corvus Corvax‘ in charge. | EVENT LEVIATHAN | |
| DC Cybernetic Summer 80-Page Giant #1 (2020) Batman of Prime Earth destroys Brother Eye, but acknowledges it may have transferred itself elsewhere. | ||
| Batman #115-117 (2021-2022) Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain become the Batgirls of Prime Earth. | FEAR STATE | |
| ✔ | Batman Beyond #16 (2016) Tim Drake passes the Batman costume and mantle back to Terry McGinnis. | |
| ✔ | Batman Beyond: Rebirth #1 (2016) Back in the Batman identity, Terry McGinnis finds evidence that suggests the Joker is still alive. | DC REBIRTH ESCAPING THE GRAVE |
| ✔ | Batman Beyond #1-5 (2016-2017) Batman (McGinnis) learns that Terminal is using Bruce Wayne’s Jokerized body to carry out crimes for the Jokerz gang; Bryce is freed and reclaims his role as Terry’s mentor. | ESCAPING THE GRAVE |
| ✔ | Batman Beyond #25-30 (2018-2019) Dick Grayson is revealed to have survived his ‘final’ mission with Spyral; Batman (McGinnis) has his final confrontation with the Joker of his timeline; despite her own apparent death on the mission with the Suicide Squad years earlier, Harley Quinn steals the Joker’s corpse. | |
| Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1-3 (2019) In an alternate timeline, a clone of Batman (created by Bruce Wayne himself) wakes to find a world devoid of almost all life thanks to Omega. |
| Collected Edition Title | Collecting… |
| The New 52: Futures End vol.1 | The New 52: Futures End #1-17 |
| The New 52: Futures End vol.2 | The New 52: Futures End #18-30 |
| The New 52: Futures End vol.3 | The New 52: Futures End #31-48 |
| The New 52: Futures End – Five Years Later Omnibus | Action Comics – Futures End #1 Aquaman and the Others – Futures End #1 Aquaman – Futures End #1 Batgirl: Futures End #1 Batman – Futures End #1 Batman and Robin – Futures End #1 Batman/Superman – Futures End #1 Batwing – Futures End #1 Batwoman – Futures End #1 Birds of Prey – Futures End #1 Booster Gold – Futures End #1 Catwoman – Futures End #1 Constantine – Futures End #1 Detective Comics – Futures End #1 Earth 2 – Futures End #1 The Flash – Futures End #1 Grayson – Futures End #1 Green Arrow – Futures End #1 Green Lantern Corps – Futures End #1 Green Lantern – Futures End #1 Green Lantern: New Guardians – Futures End #1 Harley Quinn – Futures End #1 Infinity Man and the Forever People – Futures End #1 Justice League Dark – Futures End #1 Justice League – Futures End #1 Justice League United – Futures End #1 New Suicide Squad – Futures End #1 Red Hood and the Outlaws – Futures End #1 Red Lanterns – Futures End #1 Sinestro – Futures End #1 Star-Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie – Futures End #1 Superboy – Futures End #1 Supergirl – Futures End #1 Superman – Futures End #1 Superman/Wonder Woman – Futures End #1 Swamp Thing – Futures End #1 Teen Titans – Futures End #1 Trinity of Sin: Pandora – Futures End #1 Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger – Futures End #1 Wonder Woman – Futures End #1 Worlds’ Finest – Futures End #1 |
| Collected Edition Title | Incoming… |
| Superman – Action Comics vol.7: Under The Skin | Action Comics – Futures End #1 |
| Aquaman and the Others vol.2: Alignment Earth | Aquaman and the Others – Futures End #1 Aquaman – Futures End #1 |
| Batgirl vol.5: Deadline | Batgirl: Futures End #1 |
| Batman vol.10: Epilogue Batman by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo Omnibus vol.2 | Batman – Futures End #1 |
| Batman – Detective Comics vol.7: Anarky | Detective Comics – Futures End #1 |
| Batman/Superman vol.4: Siege | Batman/Superman – Futures End #1 |
| Batwing vol.5: Into the Dark Batwing: Luke Fox | Batwing – Futures End #1 |
| Batwoman vol.6: The Unknowns | Batwoman – Futures End #1 |
| Birds of Prey vol.5: Soul Crisis | Birds of Prey – Futures End #1 |
| Catwoman vol.5: Race of Thieves | Catwoman – Futures End #1 |
| Constantine vol.3: The Voice in the Fire | Constantine – Futures End #1 |
| Earth 2 vol.5: The Kryptonian | Earth 2 – Futures End #1 |
| The Flash vol.6: Out of Time | The Flash – Futures End #1 |
| Grayson vol.1: Agents of Spyral Grayson: The Superspy Omnibus | Grayson – Futures End #1 |
| Green Arrow vol.6: Broken Green Arrow: War of the Clans | Green Arrow – Futures End #1 |
| Green Lantern: John Stewart – A Celebration of 50 Years | Green Lantern Corps – Futures End #1 |
| Birds of Prey: Harley Quinn Harley Quinn vol.5: Power Outage Harley Quinn by Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti Omnibus vol.1 | Harley Quinn – Futures End #1 |
| Infinity Man and the Forever People: Planet of the Humans | Infinity Man and the Forever People – Futures End #1 |
| Justice League Dark vol.5: Paradise Lost Justice League Dark: The New 52 Omnibus | Justice League Dark – Futures End #1 |
| Justice League United vol.2: The Infinitus Saga | Justice League – Futures End #1 Justice League United – Futures End #1 |
| Red Hood and the Outlaws vol.7: Last Call | Red Hood and the Outlaws – Futures End #1 |
| Red Lanterns vol.6: Forged in Blood Red Lanterns: The New 52 Omnibus | Red Lanterns – Futures End #1 |
| Sinestro vol.1: The Demon Within | Sinestro – Futures End #1 |
| G.I.Zombie: A Star-Spangled War Story vol.1 | Star-Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie – Futures End #1 |
| Superboy vol.5: Paradox | Superboy – Futures End #1 |
| Supergirl vol.6: Crucible | Supergirl – Futures End #1 |
| Superman/Wonder Woman vol.2: War and Peace | Superman/Wonder Woman – Futures End #1 Wonder Woman – Futures End #1 |
| Swamp Thing vol.7: Season’s End Swamp Thing: The New 52 Omnibus | Swamp Thing – Futures End #1 |
| Trinity of Sin: Pandora vol.2: Choices | Trinity of Sin: Pandora – Futures End #1 |
| Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger vol.3: The Crack In Creation | Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger – Futures End #1 |
| Worlds’ Finest vol.5: Homeward Bound | Worlds’ Finest – Futures End #1 |
Reading Order © 2024 Omniverse Comics Guide
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