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Ensign_Ricky
Jan 4, 2008

Daddy Warlord
of the
Children of the Corn


or something...


You know that saying, "Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it"?

Because in the wake of the nu-52, you can bet Bruce Wayne doesn't.

Welcome to FUTURES END this year's big DC Event which mainly focuses on Firestorm (Meh), Frankenstein (meh), and Terry McGinnis (Opinion rises!), primarily written by Brian Azzarello along with Keith Giffen, Dan Jurgens, and Jeff Lemire

The Plot Thus Far
(OP Note: Summaries will be spoilered until the next issue hits stands. Also, these summaries will only cover the core series as there will be a massive number of tie-ins released in September.)

Free Comic Book Day/Zero Issue
35 years into the future, Brother Eye has made a big comeback. But instead of building OMACs, he's gone full Borg with his plans. Superheroes are assimilated into mechanical bugs and sent to crush any and all resistance. During a diversionary attack on Brother Eye's power source (Firestorm), Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis rush to complete a time machine so Bruce can go back and stop himself from building the drat satellite (again). However, Bruce is injured and infected by Brother Eye, so Terry has to go instead with a warning from Bruce to avoid his past self as well as Clark Kent because they won't approve of the fact that the plan involves straight-up murder. In other words, the plan is Terminator 2.

Terry hops in the time device and arrives 5 years ahead of the current DCU, which is in his opinion too late, as he gazes upon billboards advertising Mr. Terrific's company.

Issue #1
Terry along with A.L.F.R.E.D. deduce that the reason he didn't arrive in the right time period is because the time machine was calibrated for Bruce's mass, not Terry's. A Brother Eye drone that came through the time stream attacks Terry and is quickly dispatched, although not fast enough for someone nearby to record it all via his Google Glass.

Out in space, the Stormwatch Carrier and the Engineer become infected with Brother Eye's programming. Brother Eye activates the internal defenses and after Apollo disembarks to see what they're up against he's summarily fried. At which point Brother Eye activates the Carrier's self-destruct.

In North Carolina, Grifter executes a group of aliens disguised as a family and considers it the "Best Job Ever".

And in New York, Firestorm arrives at a massive explosion centered on Green Arrow's lab. And in a final splash page, it turns out Green Arrow was home at the time and is now dead. (No idea if it's going to stick.)

Issue #2
Ronnie and Jason are arguing as Firestorm on their way to Ollie's funeral. Also on his way is Mr. Terrific who is pissed that Ollie's funeral and Batman not attending it are trending higher than him on Twitter. So he gets out of his car to press the flesh a little, which Aquaman gives him poo poo for.

At the funeral proper, Buddy Blake gives a well written and touching eulogy for his friend. Seriously, I thought it was excellently treated.

Elsewhere Terry McGinnis is still talking with A.L.F.R.E.D.. It appears that Brother Eye is already in orbit, but is non-functional. However, both agree that the method for getting the drat thing down is probably inside TerrifiTech.

In North Carolina, King Faraday is posing as a Fed in order to hide evidence of Grifter's involvement in last issue's killing spree for....reasons.

After serving as Ollie's pallbearers, Ronnie and Roy Harper get into it over where Ronnie was when Green Arrow's call for help went out. (He was banging some chick.) Roy's already tracked Ronnie's communicator and knows that he didn't become Firestorm until close to an hour had gone by. So the Funeral of Green Arrow ends with Arsenal punching out Firestorm, who then flies off like a pussy.

Meanwhile, Lois Lane is writing an article on the funeral, when she receives a package pointing her towards a bar called the Wounded Duck, along with one of Arsenal's arrowheads. The instructions inside warn her against trusting anyone else.

Issue #3

Opening in Nunavut, Frankenstein shows up to save an Inuit from some kind of Robo-Polar Bear that was sent there by S.H.A.D.E.. He wanders off, muttering about how Father Time will taste his blade.

Back in New York, Jason is begging Ronnie to release him from Firestorm. Ronnie is in full-on douchebag mode, and has decided that if he lets Jason go, Jason will go around blaming him for Green Arrow's death. Ronnie's decided that he's given up enough for Firestorm, and goes to hit on some babes, while Jason promises to kill him when he's finally released.

Over in Camden, NJ, Grifter is contemplating how his ability lets him see not only shape-shifting aliens (including J'onn), but also anyone from Earth-2. He also contemplates that if Wonder Woman gets pregnant from Superman, how they might "baby-proof" the world. Going to his hide-out, he greets his...side-kick? Assistant? Anyway, this guy, Justin is trying to find an agent to wipe out all the shapeshifting invaders at once, and he's doing it by testing it on a captive alien, with his current experiment involving drain cleaner. While he continues his experiments, Grifter contemplates a number of files, including one on King Faraday.

At TerrifiTech, Mr Terrific is watching security footage of Terry kicking rear end throughout his building before finally being forced to flee. He and his cronies consider if Terry is associated with Bats or not, then leave the building. He signs an autograph and hands some cash to a begger (actually an in-disguise Terry).

And in New York, some guys bragging about money they won in a Dead Pool over Green Arrow are unceremoniously tossed out of the Wounded Duck by its resident bartender while Lois Lane watches and thinks that the bartender is actually Tim Drake, believed killed in Paris.



So here we go, another big event series, and at least DC isn't just smashing their franchises against each other for whatever reason like Marvel does I guess. But at the same time, I can't be the only one disappointed that Brother Eye is going to be the antagonist. We already did that, and in my opinion, it was one of the weakest parts of Infinite Crisis (don't get me wrong, I loving love Infinite Crisis. I just wasn't big on the Brother Eye segments.) Add in the fact that Terry's mission is literally Sarah Connor's plan from T2 and I really don't know what to think. (gently caress, I just realized that they're even both trying to kill black people!)

At any rate let's all avoid the robot bugs and see if Terry's actually going to straight up murder someone.

My guess is no.

Ensign_Ricky fucked around with this message at 07:01 on May 22, 2014

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rotinaj
Sep 5, 2008

Fun Shoe
Is this the first proper introduction to mainline DC Canon of Batman Beyond/Terry McGinnis?

Ensign_Ricky
Jan 4, 2008

Daddy Warlord
of the
Children of the Corn


or something...

rotinaj posted:

Is this the first proper introduction to mainline DC Canon of Batman Beyond/Terry McGinnis?

As a matter of fact, I believe it is.

rotinaj
Sep 5, 2008

Fun Shoe
Only took 'em, what, 13 years to get around to it?

Well, I'll at least be following with interest.

Cartridgeblowers
Jan 3, 2006

Super Mario Bros 3

So how does Mr. Terrific get from Earth-2 to Earth-1?

Ensign_Ricky
Jan 4, 2008

Daddy Warlord
of the
Children of the Corn


or something...

Little Mac posted:

So how does Mr. Terrific get from Earth-2 to Earth-1?

No idea, that confuses me as well.

Unless this is Earth 2?

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


I checked this out on a whim, and was wondering if anyone could explain Firestorm to me? I'm not a big DC guy, so this is the first I've seen of him, but he seems like a powerfully stupid character. It's like the worst buddy cop duo ever: A douchebag and the floating head of a black guy. The catch is they don't get along too well!

Ensign_Ricky
Jan 4, 2008

Daddy Warlord
of the
Children of the Corn


or something...

Hakkesshu posted:

I checked this out on a whim, and was wondering if anyone could explain Firestorm to me? I'm not a big DC guy, so this is the first I've seen of him, but he seems like a powerfully stupid character. It's like the worst buddy cop duo ever: A douchebag and the floating head of a black guy. The catch is they don't get along too well!

I don't know the full gamut of his origin, but I know he used to be a douchebag and the floating head of an old white guy. And then a black guy and the floating head of an Asian girl.

Essentially, the two merge into Firestorm and the floating head helps provide advice as Firestorm can rearrange things on the molecular level to different elements. Problem was that Ronnie Raymond (the douchebag) is an idiot, so he needs the floating head to help him with chemical formulas.

Ah, here we go:

Wikipedia posted:

The original Firestorm was distinguished by his integrated dual identity. High school student Ronnie Raymond and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Martin Stein were caught in a nuclear accident that allowed them to fuse into the "nuclear man" Firestorm. Due to Stein's being unconscious during the accident, Raymond was prominently in command of the Firestorm form with Stein a voice of reason inside his mind. Banter between the two was a hallmark of their adventures.

Brownhat
Jan 25, 2012

One cannot be a good person and enforce unjust laws.


Ensign_Ricky posted:

In other words, the plan is Terminator 2.

Age of Ultron Brother Eye

Trast
Oct 20, 2010

Three games, thousands of playthroughs. 90% of the players don't know I exist. Still a redhead saving the galaxy with a [Right Hook].

:edi:
I like Azzarello but this concept seems so dumb it hurts.

bobkatt013
Oct 8, 2006

You’re telling me Peter Parker is ...... Spider-man!?
I am still impressed that this is coming out while their last event is still going on. Yes that's right Forever Evil has not ended yet.

Teenage Fansub
Jan 28, 2006

Ensign_Ricky posted:

Frankenstein (meh)

Blasphemy!
I take it you ain't read Seven Soldiers.

redbackground posted:

Hyping up a character because they were in a good, but totally unrelated miniseries eight years ago is a bit much.

The N52 book was good too.
For someone who might say 'meh' to Superman, even though Action Comics has been great recently, I'd tell em to go right to All-Star.

Teenage Fansub fucked around with this message at 18:57 on May 12, 2014

redbackground
Sep 24, 2007

BEHOLD!
OPTIC BLAST!
Grimey Drawer

Teenage Fansub posted:

Blasphemy!
I take it you ain't read Seven Soldiers.
Hyping up a character because they were in a good, but totally unrelated miniseries eight years ago is a bit much.

Fuckstick Electric
Nov 25, 2012
I was going to suggest we poll whether the latest issue felt more 52 than Countdown or vice versa but I'm starting to think we might have to use a gauge which should read Countdown on one end and Countdown: Arena or Death of the New Gods on the other...

Too Shy Guy
Jun 14, 2003


I have destroyed more of your kind than I can count.



I will always love the fact that DC put out a series that was abbreviated DONGS.

Trast
Oct 20, 2010

Three games, thousands of playthroughs. 90% of the players don't know I exist. Still a redhead saving the galaxy with a [Right Hook].

:edi:

Zombie Samurai posted:

I will always love the fact that DC put out a series that was abbreviated DONGS.

It is ironic that no one wants to see the dongs of DC's supposed target audience either.

SALT CURES HAM
Jan 4, 2011
Please loving God let this somehow end up with the New 52 being undone by time shenanigans. :pray:

Ensign_Ricky
Jan 4, 2008

Daddy Warlord
of the
Children of the Corn


or something...
Hey, here's a question simply because I had zero interest in Mr. Terrific up until this series: Was he always such a terrific douchenozzle?

d00gZ
Oct 12, 2002

Original Sin Murderer
Wild Guess #627
Edward Snowden

"My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them."

Zombie Samurai posted:

I will always love the fact that DC put out a series that was abbreviated DONGS.

DONG, rear end and GAYO were all coming out that summer.

TwoPair
Mar 28, 2010

Pandamn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta
Grimey Drawer

Ensign_Ricky posted:

Hey, here's a question simply because I had zero interest in Mr. Terrific up until this series: Was he always such a terrific douchenozzle?

As somebody who for some reason read some of his series that came out at the start of the nu52... kinda? He was smug about how successful he was and inner-monologued about how stupid people were whenever he was having to interact with extremely stupid assholes at his company's corporate functions, but nowhere near the level of dickbag that this version of Mr. Terrific was.

e: Although now that I think about it, the Earth 2 Mr. Terrific, Terry Sloane (that was based off the Golden Age Mr. Terrific) was a total smug douche and also kind of evil, so maybe there's actually some sort of connection? Since we know that it seems like there was definitely some sort of war between Earths 1 and 2, maybe Sloane pulled a Superior Spider-Man on Michael Holt? ...Alllthough I'm probably just giving it too much thought and it's just really poor writing.

TwoPair fucked around with this message at 04:35 on May 16, 2014

Ensign_Ricky
Jan 4, 2008

Daddy Warlord
of the
Children of the Corn


or something...

TwoPair posted:

As somebody who for some reason read some of his series that came out at the start of the nu52... kinda? He was smug about how successful he was and inner-monologued about how stupid people were whenever he was having to interact with extremely stupid assholes at his company's corporate functions, but nowhere near the level of dickbag that this version of Mr. Terrific was.

I mean, after his section I had to say "Hang on, you mean you aren't the villain? Because I suddenly jumped right on board Plan Kill Terrific."

Dark_Tzitzimine
Oct 9, 2012

by R. Guyovich

Ensign_Ricky posted:

Hey, here's a question simply because I had zero interest in Mr. Terrific up until this series: Was he always such a terrific douchenozzle?

He was a pretty decent guy on his appearances on the Earth-2 comic. I'm guessing that the change on characterization will be explained as the series continues since it GOT something to do with the Earth 1/Earth 2 war that happened in the 5 year interim between the present N52 and Future's End.

The actual series it has been pretty good and miles better than Eternal, the setting is interesintg and I'm curious to know what happened to made everyone jaded like that, in some ways it kind of reminds me of the Pre N52 DCU with things like Ollie being a social bearded champion and seemingly in a relationship with Canary, Roy Harper being more reminiscent of Outsiders Arsenal than the Outlaws version (he even lost the tats or maybe it was an art mistake).

At this point this either ends with A.L.F.R.E.D. revealing itself to be Brother Eye coming back to ensure its existance or Terry altering the story so the Earths war never happened.

Ensign_Ricky
Jan 4, 2008

Daddy Warlord
of the
Children of the Corn


or something...
I keep reading, but the more I read, the more I feel I'm walking in a movie half-way through what with the "Earth-2 War" and Tim Drake supposedly being killed in France.

Teenage Fansub
Jan 28, 2006

Isn't that the point of a time jump story?
You'll get to see the Earth War happen next year :D

Teenage Fansub fucked around with this message at 08:12 on May 22, 2014

Ensign_Ricky
Jan 4, 2008

Daddy Warlord
of the
Children of the Corn


or something...

Teenage Fansub posted:

Isn't that the point of a time jump story?
You'll get to see the Earth War happen next year :D

Fair enough, I suppose. Unless Terry's time-travel shenanigans negate it I guess.

And I am still fully down with Terry killing Terrific. I should feel bad about wanting a Batman to kill someone that isn't Darkseid, but, well...the guy's a douchenozzle.

Ensign_Ricky
Jan 4, 2008

Daddy Warlord
of the
Children of the Corn


or something...
There will be a slight delay this week in updating the OP as my finances are in deep loving poo poo.

chime_on
Jul 27, 2001
This book is shaping up to be a blast so far. I know when the FCBD issue came out, a lot of the online chatter was complaining about how grim and violent and dark it was, and how that sucked, etc. Honestly, though, this book is really funny and is throwing all kinds of zany poo poo against the walls. The cover art has all been amazing, too.

Badstreet
Aug 2, 2003
My problem is this book feels like comic book constipation. There's no forward movement whatsoever. We're at issue 8, and we've been treading water the entire time. The Lois stuff seems to finally be moving forward, but other than that the book is taking too long to move the pieces into place.

Teenage Fansub
Jan 28, 2006

I liked this comic for the first time in several issues, this week.
Hate the Fifty Sue island stuff (FIFTY SUE?!), but helmet Superman made the Firestorm story suddenly interesting and that crazy cave cyborg seems cool, whatever the hell they're doing with that.

These early issues have really hurt by not focusing on Batman Beyond for our narrative stability. I thought he was going to be used as our eyes since he's also dumped in this weird place, but we actually see less of him than some characters.

e: Oh yeah. It was funny how they chopped off Hawkman's arm again just a month or so after his arm was chopped off in Justice League United. I assume Lemire is doing the Frankenstein portions and it was fully intentional.

Teenage Fansub fucked around with this message at 07:58 on Jun 27, 2014

Kaleidoscope
Sep 8, 2007

The Internet makes me dizzy.
I feel like I should like this event. Ridiculous Brother Eyeborg future aside, the five year time jump set an interesting foundation, the major league players are mostly absent, Frankenstein and Amethyst are teaming up, it features Terry McGinnis...so far though it's just been boring.

If this were a dollar-a-week series like the digital offerings I'd be wholly on board to let them take their time to set things up but for a full priced book this is really decompressed, like even Bendis is telling you to get to the point decompressed.

FilthyImp
Sep 30, 2002

Anime Deviant

Kaleidoscope posted:

If this were a dollar-a-week series like the digital offerings I'd be wholly on board to let them take their time to set things up but for a full priced book this is really decompressed, like even Bendis is telling you to get to the point decompressed.
I think the problem is that a lot of the b-plot just isn't very engaging in comparison to nanomachine rotworld. And that it's probably going to come down to A BrAIniac did it! doesn't really help.

Plus, wasting an issue to "Rarrrr, Frankestein angry at mechanopolar bear! You will taste Hanzo steel!" is, well, a waste of a reader's time unless I guess you've been following the character closely for the last few years.


Also, Mr. Terrific being the Kanye West of metahumans is pretty dope. He's out Luthoring Luthor.

Teenage Fansub
Jan 28, 2006

Resurrecting this because everything's Futures End starting this week!

As for the series, I think it's getting interesting with the Superman, Constantine and lil Green Arrow stuff, but Cadmus Island is still SO horrible.
Just imagine if we had something like Pak and Soule on it in the place of Jurgens and Giffen.

Teenage Fansub fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Aug 31, 2014

AFoolAndHisMoney
Aug 13, 2013

The biggest problem with Future's End is that Brian Azzarello's part with Batman Beyond and the Brother Eye plot, the actual Future's End part of Future's End, isn't its own series and is instead bogged down by all the other filler crap.

It would be nice to see a trade that only compiles that bit but otherwise the series is a waste of time.

Of the actual tie in issues, I'll probably just be following the books I already follow that will still have their usual creators for the month. Green Arrow and Swamp Thing seem the most interesting of the lot, I hope Lemire gives a nice epilogue to his GA run.

FilthyImp
Sep 30, 2002

Anime Deviant

AFoolAndHisMoney posted:

The biggest problem with Future's End is that Brian Azzarello's part with Batman Beyond and the Brother Eye plot, the actual Future's End part of Future's End, isn't its own series and is instead bogged down by all the other filler crap.
It doesn't help that the mainline universe becomes a bunch of irrational hatefuckers because of an Earth 2 9-11 or something.

Or that FIFTY SUE is so badass, everyone works around the puppetmaster extraordinaire! She's plotting circles around circles wrapped in enigmas, man!


Also, laughing here that the 3D FE Superman comic looks like he got some of that Cable TOvirus, instead of some horrible Toy Story nanomachine monster.

Edge & Christian
May 20, 2001

Earth-1145 is truly the best!
A world of singing, magic frogs,
high adventure, no shitposters
Futures End is hilarious and bad and not even as interesting as Countdown because technically Countdown could affect other stories and featured characters with well-established backstories to draw on (both as writers editorial mandates in the stories and as readers). Futures End is just...

So last week's issue had a couple of "BIG REVEALS" in it.

First, there was the MASKED SUPERMAN who had appeared a couple of times and people in the book commented on how like Superman had been wearing a mask for awhile and no one was sure why. I mean, no one seemed super concerned with it, Superman had barely appeared in the book, no one bothered to mention how long he has been wearing a mask or what event may have led to it, they basically commented on it in the same way you might notice that someone new is moving into the spot where there used to be a Long John Silver's on the corner.

So then it turns out IT'S BILLY BATSON! REMEMBER HIM? I guess no one does because at no point in the story had anyone wondered where Shazam had gone. Or how he disappeared right when Superman started wearing a mask. Also, and I know this is the sort of thing that only bothers me, but in pretty much every Who's Who/guidebook DC has published, Shazam is supposed to be like four inches and a bunch of pounds bigger than Superman, so I'm not even sure why anyone assumed it was Superman, except he wore a Superman costume and had powers that only several dozen people besides Superman have?

Oh and the John Constantine, who only popped up a couple of issues ago to do ___________________ finds Bearded Superman hiding under Africa.

TwoPair
Mar 28, 2010

Pandamn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta
Grimey Drawer

Edge & Christian posted:

Futures End is hilarious and bad and not even as interesting as Countdown because technically Countdown could affect other stories and featured characters with well-established backstories to draw on (both as writers editorial mandates in the stories and as readers). Futures End is just...

That's ultimately the dumbest part of this event. Like, does anyone really think the poo poo happening in FE is going to effect/happen in any of DC's main books? Like, really? Maybe Brother Eye is established as a looming threat (even though it already was), and maybe somewhere down the line we get some sort of Earth 1/Earth 2 showdown (this will probably happen the minute Earth 2 gets canceled), but overall I just want to post Deadpool's "stupid fake earth" panel every time I see DC plugging Futures End in the back of another book. It is DC's very own Age of Ultron in its level of "this won't effect anything".

At least Green Lantern event of the month #23-b will have some sort of temporary change in the books being published.

Four Score
Feb 27, 2014

by zen death robot
Lipstick Apathy

Edge & Christian posted:

Futures End is hilarious and bad and not even as interesting as Countdown because technically Countdown could affect other stories and featured characters with well-established backstories to draw on (both as writers editorial mandates in the stories and as readers). Futures End is just...

So last week's issue had a couple of "BIG REVEALS" in it.

First, there was the MASKED SUPERMAN who had appeared a couple of times and people in the book commented on how like Superman had been wearing a mask for awhile and no one was sure why. I mean, no one seemed super concerned with it, Superman had barely appeared in the book, no one bothered to mention how long he has been wearing a mask or what event may have led to it, they basically commented on it in the same way you might notice that someone new is moving into the spot where there used to be a Long John Silver's on the corner.

So then it turns out IT'S BILLY BATSON! REMEMBER HIM? I guess no one does because at no point in the story had anyone wondered where Shazam had gone. Or how he disappeared right when Superman started wearing a mask. Also, and I know this is the sort of thing that only bothers me, but in pretty much every Who's Who/guidebook DC has published, Shazam is supposed to be like four inches and a bunch of pounds bigger than Superman, so I'm not even sure why anyone assumed it was Superman, except he wore a Superman costume and had powers that only several dozen people besides Superman have?

Oh and the John Constantine, who only popped up a couple of issues ago to do ___________________ finds Bearded Superman hiding under Africa.

To be fair, this is a planet of people who've never wondered if the reporter built like two stacked hams is a superhero in his off-time because he wears glasses.

Rubiks Pubes
Dec 5, 2003

I wanted to be a neo deconstructivist, but Mom wouldn't let me.
So, since they have used 52 so much are they going to now be titling a lot of events with FE titles? Forever Evil, Future's End...

FilthyImp
Sep 30, 2002

Anime Deviant

Rubiks Pubes posted:

So, since they have used 52 so much are they going to now be titling a lot of events with FE titles? Forever Evil, Future's End...

You'll be pleasantly surprised with next year's Mystic DC maxivent: Will Pandora and The Question be able to get along as they puzzle the pieces of Earth's oldest mystery? Tune in for FINDING EDEN #1

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The Question IRL
Jun 8, 2013

Only two contestants left! Here is Doom's chance for revenge...

As heroes and the villains begin changing into new forms, some became dangerous new threats. Other's become powerless creatures. And some becomes something stranger indeed.

Who is behind this wave of mutations? Only Beast Boy, Swamp Thing and the Doom Patrol can find out in Flexible Evolution!

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