Metropolis has always been a bright and shining beacon in the DC Universe, but the Metropolis of Future State is a nightmarish hellscape!
DC Comics has revealed the nightmarish Metropolis of Future State, and it the complete opposite of the Metropolis of today. Readers will get to glimpse this hellish vision of one of DC’s preeminent cities in Future State: Superman of Metropolis, from writers Sean Lewis and Brandon Easton and a rotating team of artists including Cully Hamner. The issue goes on sale on January 5th, 2021.
Spinning out of Dark Nights: Death Metal, Future State is a two-month event that spotlights the DC Universe of the future - and the future is bleak: Superman and Batman have had a falling out, tragedy has befallen both the Teen Titans and Shazam, and Gotham is controlled by a fascist, anti-vigilante regime called The Magistrate, among others; judging from the preview it looks like Metropolis and Superman are faring no better.
Readers are quickly thrown into the Metropolis of the future. A tech guru named Andrej Trojan sets up shop in Metropolis, running Lex Luthor out of town and turning the city into a technological marvel. He and his associates declared the city independent from the United States - a move that did not please the government. Trojan abandoned the city, but the army has moved in to confiscate Trojan’s technology. As the army prepares to open fire on a crowd of civilians, Superman intervenes, but readers quickly see that Superman is not Clark Kent, but his son Jon Kent, who has assumed the role.
As DC’s fictional cities go, Metropolis is the one that is clean and bright, especially compared to other cities such as Gotham or Bludhaven. Seeing the city turned into a warzone is jarring and sets the stage for the new status quo of Future State. Superman fighting against the United States Army is also a shocking sight. All of it adds up to clue in readers just how much the DC Universe has changed. It is a bleak world, one where even Metropolis can degenerate into a nightmarish hellscape. The preview raises some questions as well, such as how the Guardian and Mister Miracle, who also share the book with Superman, will factor into the story
Future State promises readers a bold new look at the DC Universe. Old alliances will crumble and new ones take their place and a new generation of heroes have taken up the fight against injustice in all of its forms, be it an anti-vigilante government in Gotham or a Metropolis on the verge of falling apart. Readers will get to see more when Future State: Superman of Metropolis hits shops in January.
