DC reveals grim fates for Shazam and Titans
By Mark Lynch
DC Future State week five kicks off with news on the Green Lanterns, Batman and the Magistrate, and a traitor in the Bat-Family.
The first month of DC Future State comics are in the books. The month concluded with some major moments as Harley Quinn escaped her captors in the Future State: Harley Quinn comic book by using their own arrogance against them. Now, they’ll never underestimate Harley again.
Elsewhere, Signal and Black Lightning are both stepping up to protect Gotham City from the Magistrate. And Wonder Woman (Yara Flor) learned a lesson on balance and composure.
Let’s see what’s going on this week.
The Titans’ sacrifice in DC Future State
Comic book: Future State: Teen Titans No. 2
"“Don’t worry, Miss Raven. Nothing can escape the Rock of Eternity. Not as long as I’m standing guard.” – Shazam"
A few weeks ago, Dick Grayson donned Deathstroke’s mask. It was a weird decision considering Slade Wilson’s past with the Titans. This week, however, we received little explanation as to why he did that. He said the mask was for protection. From what, we don’t know (yet). Nonetheless, the Titans went into battle against the Horsemen of Apocalypse – one of which was Wally West as Famine. The plan was to have Raven and Shazam combine to trap him in the Rock of Eternity – a move that would mean they’d both be stuck containing them forever. In the end, it works, but at a grim cost.
The previous issue was incredible but this conclusion was lackluster at best. Nightwing wearing Deathstroke’s mask was a set up with zero reward. The only part that was worth was a joke by Cybeast about what his name should’ve been. At the end of the issue we learn that there will be a prequel called Teen Titans Academy. This is where we’ll find out what happened, so maybe all of this was to promote a new comic book. Maybe after or during that series, this issue will have a bigger emotional impact. Until then, this was disappointing.