The New 52: Futures End #21 Review
By Steve Lam
Writers: Brian Azzarello, Keith Giffen, Dan Jurgens, Jeff Lemire
Artists: Cully Hamner, Hi-Fi, Ryan Sook
Futures End #20 Recap
In Metropolis, Tim Drake breaks into The Fast Lane in order to assure that his identity is protected. There, he meets Lois Lane and divulges information on why he went into hiding. Noticing the mysterious box of items on Lois’s desk, Tim reinforces the idea that there is still something out there to find based on the clues. We then flash-forward thirty-five years into the future where we see Mr. Terrific being held prisoner by Brother Eye. Seeking to discover how Bruce Wayne was able to send someone back in time, Brother Eye probes Bruce’s brain. Back on present day Cadmus Island, Fifty Sue informs Grifter, Deathstroke, Lana Lang, and King Faraday that she has a secure hideout for them to hash out their plans. In New York City, the Key and Coil, jailed, strike a deal with Mr. Terrific where they give him the name of Bruce Wayne as the suspected thief. At the Wounded Duck, Tim reveals to Madison Payne his real identity.
Spoiler-Free Reaction
An excellent issue that fills us in on Oliver Queen’s knowledge of events. Recalling the war that so many characters have referenced, and its after-effects, Futures End #21 helps tie together multiple plot threads.
Plot Details and Spoilers and Deaths: Oh My!
Green Arrow’s Secret Island: Red Arrow explains to Big Barda about the events leading up to the present day. When the armies of Apokolips invaded, the remaining survivors of Earth 2 escaped on massive ships. Earth 2’s Mr. Terrific intercepted a beacon from another dimension, and he deduced that they could find refuge on a similar world like their own. Crossing into this Earth, they found out they were followed by Apokolips’s fleet of warships. Red Arrow is given the order to lead Earth 2’s people to safety, while the heroes Powergirl, Red Tornado, Hawkgirl, and Mister Miracle hold off the warships. In a last-ditch effort, the heroes initiate a self-destruct — allowing Red Arrow and the rest of Earth 2’s ships to safely land on Earth.
Apokolips’s army wasn’t that easy to stop. They followed the Earth 2 citizens to Earth. A war involving both Earths teamed up against Apokolips soon followed. All the heroes and people of Earth made a stand against the enemy, and many lives were lost. After the war ended, paranoia and fear spread across the globe. As tensions rose, the Global Peace Agency (GPA) was formed. They’re job was to integrate all other-Earth refugees into Earth’s society. But the GPA’s registration and surveillance only revealed the organization’s want for control. The citizens of Earth saw Earth 2 citizens more as invaders and bringers of war.
Oliver Queen, seeing Earth 2’s plight, created a free-zone in Seattle with his resources. His suspicions about the GPA were later confirmed when he ran into Earth 2’s Red Arrow. The two also discover that Deathstroke had been hunting Earth 2 heroes. Both Oliver and Red Arrow perform further research and discovered a number of startling facts: Maxwell Payne compromised codes to Earth’s planetary defense shield; Brother Eye discharged a pulse of energy seconds before Mister Miracle initiated his ship’s self-destruct; and Brother Eye’s archives showed that the heroes didn’t die — they were transported into Brother Eye. A final recording later showed a shuttle docking with Brother Eye.
Oliver discovered that the shuttle belonged to Cadmus. In the shuttle’s log, a crew manifest had Deathstroke’s name. It was Cadmus that was hunting Earth 2 heroes. As Oliver worked to find where the heroes were taken, Deathstroke was hot on his trail. The only remedy was for Oliver to fake his own death and hide on this island. Here, Oliver discovered that Cadmus also had an island. Sending his Queen drones to scout it, Oliver discovered that Cadmus was dissecting superhumans for research.
Back to the present, Oliver tells Big Barda that he and his Outsiders have been planning and preparing to strike Cadmus Island. Along with that strategy, he will also be exposing Cadmus’s actions to the public.
Wrapping It Up
Futures End #21 is a great issue which fills us in on the background for what the characters have been going through. I thought the revelation of Apokolips attacking Earth while in its pursuit of Earth 2’s inhabitants was an interesting one. Up till this issue, I had thought there was a war between Earth and Earth 2, but it seems that they were allied. And the post-war atmosphere seems to have tainted the relationship of both. Because of Oliver Queen’s plans, I’m now much more re-engaged with Futures End. Why? It seems that he’s allying not just Earth’s own heroes, but Earth 2’s also. This could mean that the final issues of Futures End will escalate to an all out war involving a mega-team-up of superhumans.