Future State: The Next Batman #1: The Future Comes to Gotham!

It is likely unsurprising that, out of all the Future State books, we know the most about The Next Batman and Dark Detective. Part of that is because they have been heavily discussed, as Bat-titles tend to be. More, the future status quo shared by most of the bat-titles descends directly from recent and current events in the Gotham corner of the DC Universe – a fact which lends itself to speculation on what it all means, and how things will play out going forward.

In short, post-“Joker War” Gotham saw a surge in anti-“mask” sentiment that, a handful of years later, has become a flood. Now, Gotham has fallen under the power of the Magistrate, a fascist regime backed by a private army that has become the real power in Gotham. This army, the Peacekeepers, leaves a primary watchdog of sorts in charge of each of the various Gotham districts.

Under the Magistrate, Gotham’s masked vigilantes and criminals alike have been forced to make some tough choices: do they defy the regime by continuing their work, join the Magistrate themselves, leave the city behind or disappear into private life? Presumably, we’ll end up seeing all of these choices and variants thereof. But The Next Batman concerns the first.

So. Batman is active, but it is no longer Bruce Wayne behind the mask. This much we know. If you have watched news and spoilers then you also know who it is under the cowl, but I’ll leave the name unsaid just in case. If you are learning the story through the book alone, you will end this first issue without confirmation of Batman’s identity.

Of course, there are clues embedded in the narration. The story is told from Batman’s perspective as he adjusts to his role, encountering criminals and gang members who represent this new era. Crime never really goes away; it’s only driven underground, and it gives rise to new dangers as it goes. As for Batman, the mantle sits somewhat uncomfortably on his shoulders – he catches himself referring to the previous one as “the real Batman” for example. But he is growing into it quickly, and well.

While this is potentially great for the city, it may bring him into conflict with the Fox family. While they were previously strong supporters of Bruce Wayne’s Batman, with Lucius Fox serving as the mastermind behind Bruce’s technology, this too has changed. In the aftermath of a mysterious incident that has left daughter Tamara in a coma, matriarch and high-powered attorney Tanya Fox is not only a supporter of the Magistrate, she is personally involved in ensuring that the city’s contract with the Peacekeepers can withstand Constitutional scrutiny.

All told this is awkward for the two primary suspects for Batman’s identity, sons Luke and Tim Fox. Of the two, Luke has the most substantial connections to Batman, having been the vigilante Batwing in the past; Tim (now going by “Jace”) is the older brother and something of a black sheep.

Writer John Ridley’s recent return to comics has been much anticipated, and for an excellent reason. Ridley immediately explores the current reality of Gotham, introducing us to the new rules and players of the city with a minimum of exposition. As previously mentioned, the story is narrated by our hero, giving Ridley an opportunity to establish his voice. Unsurprisingly, Ridley takes full advantage of this, demonstrating Batman’s struggles, his conflicts, his insecurities and his strength, confidence, and competence. He also pulls a clever trick with the narrations, but how clever it is won’t be immediately evident. Just come back to this in a month or so.

Ridley’s partner in storyweaving is Nick Derington, who has already made a powerful impact on the Bat-mythos in books like Batman: Universe and Batman/Superman. Here is no different – the story and characters flow across the page like liquid. Batman himself is often captured out of the corner of the camera’s eye – a flash of cape, a silhouette, and he’s gone.

Working hand in hand with Ridley, Tamra Bonvillain’s color work draws a strong line between the Gotham of today and the Gotham of the near future, which just serves to underline the reality that things have changed – the cold lights and gothic nightmare city is dead, replaced with a city of rich near-neon, jewel tones, and colors both warm and bold.

That color scheme is obviously coordinated because it reoccurs in the second back up story, and is echoed by the first, “The Outsiders.”

Where Batman is firmly situated in the heart of Gotham, the Outsiders explores what is happening on The Outside. Yes, that’s right – the Outsiders’ name has become literal as they operate from beyond the wall that has been erected across Gotham’s bridge marking the border of the Magistrate’s territory.

Working the edge of that border is Duke Thomas, who has landed himself on the Magistrate’s Most Wanted list not only for his former involvement with the original Batman but for his active resistance against the regime. When we first reacquaint ourselves with Duke, he is being chased by Peacekeepers as he metaphorically ferries civilians to freedom. Their crime: they were spotted at one of Duke’s rallies.

Reluctantly coming to his rescue in a difficult and dangerous moment we find Katana, whom the Peacemakers refer to as Soultaker. Decked out in full armor and strapped to a jet pack, Tatsu Yamashiro maintains the border, preventing the Magistrate from reaching their claws outside the city limits… but those who hold power are seldom satisfied by how much, and she finds herself investigating reports of Magistrate activities on the outside.

This brings her in contact with two more old allies – or “allies” in one case. The first is Kaliber, last seen in Bryan Hill’s excellent Outsiders run. He has allied with the Magistrate even while operating from the Outside, which brings him into direct conflict with Katana…and one other former Outsider.

This last arrival is likely the most the inevitable: Jefferson Pierce – Black Lightning – whose codename, like that of the Outsiders, has become far more literal than ever before.

I’m not familiar with Brandon Thomas’s work but based on what I’m seeing here, I will be soon. Making use of the characters and relationships established in the recently-concluded Outsiders run, Thomas answers the reader’s inevitable questions about how this actually works. From the outside, Gotham looks less like a city and more like city-state. It should be interesting to see how Thomas expands on Katana’s relationship with Black Lightning, which has in the past been quite intense and emotionally intimate. Here, Katana’s primary bond is to her late husband, Maseo, whose soul continues to speak to her from within her sword.

Sumit Kumar, like Thomas, is a relatively new talent in comics just starting to really break out. As of now, he is best known for Vault’s These Savage Shores, which was a stunner of a book. He brings that same unique vision to Outsiders, but while These Savage Shores was purposefully built to feel claustrophobic through its consistent use of the 9×9 grid, here Kumar is free to play with layouts, resulting in panels framed by sword slashes or Katana bursting through floors and tearing through the page. Kumar and Raul Fernandez together create artwork that is less graphic than nuanced and organic.

Speaking of graphic, though, let me take a moment to talk about what Jordie Bellaire is doing with the colors here. As I mentioned before, the colors of Gotham have changed – in both Arkham Knights and Batman, colors are painted in rich, highly saturated tones with an emphasis on greens, blues and pinks. There, Bellaire demonstrates both the proximity to and separation from the Magistrate’s Gotham by using similar colors in a desaturated form as characters flee from the city, only to bring back echoes of those colors as Katana re-enters zones under Magistrate control. It’s a neat trick used to nudge along the reader’s expectations and understanding of the situation at any given time. Furthermore, the gentler color suits Kumar and Fernandez’s subtle linework perfectly.

Altogether, an excellent job for all creators involved with Outsiders, which brings us to the final story presented herein: The Arkham Knights.

Now, this may seem odd considering her minimal history, but I was really looking forward to seeing Astrid Arkham again. She is, in my view, a strong addition to the mythos – a good hearted and good intentioned, almost paladin-esque character who is a villain rather than a hero only because of her twisted misunderstandings of Batman and Gotham.

Arkham Knights makes this evident as, against a backdrop of oppression, Astrid has managed to pull together a found family of former Arkham inmates. United under her literal banner, they have chosen themselves to drive the Magistrate out of Gotham and free the population from tyranny. The band operates from Wayne Manor, the closest thing Gotham has to a palace. Appropriate, given the group’s anachronistic way of comporting themselves. Even unlikely antihero Victor Zsasz refers to her as Lady Astrid. Her shiny metallic-rimmed narration boxes are a nice touch, too, giving her the air of a knight.

The membership of the Arkham Knights includes Two-Face, Clayface, Mr. Zsasz, Dr. Phosphorus, Humpty Dumpty, Copperhead and Anarky… though that number seems set to expand within the pages of this very chapter.

Of the three stories in this issue, Arkham Knights deals most directly with the Peacekeepers and the state of resistance within Gotham itself. As such, Gabe Eltaeb’s colors embrace the palette established in the lead story, albeit a variant that better suits Jack Herbert’s beautifully classic art style. The irony of the most traditionally superheroic artwork being used to portray these criminals turned antiheroes is not lost on me, and I tend to think it is conscious not only because the plot itself is the most traditionally heroic but because the characters are not.

To explain, Paul Jenkins has done something really fascinating here: he’s taken these characters, who are mostly mentally ill and generally shoved into a corner in Arkham Asylum, and examined what else they are or could be. What is Zsasz other than a murderer? Well, if you ask Astrid Arkham, he is also a damaged but loyal soul who requires the release of killing. She does not try to claim he is redeemable or fit for normal society, but she sees who he is as a person and accepts that, then asks how his, er, foibles can be put to use for the cause. In short, Arkham Knights asks what these people would be like if they were truly seen, and accepted, and loved. Do they return loyalty and love in response? And if that’s the case, do they even need to be villains?

Not for nothing, but… I would love to see these characters continue in some form, although asking those questions in the main timeline could prove somewhat problematic to the concept of villainy.

If this review has turned into an essay, it is only because The Next Batman #1 so good. Each story beautifully demonstrates a new aspect of life in Gotham as it exists in 2025, and I can’t wait to see where they go.

Next issue skips The Outsiders and Arkham Knights, but brings in Batgirls and Gotham City Sirens, which should be equally as good.

Until then, beware the Magistrate!