Review: Futures End Vol. 3

Quick Summary

Pros: This volume gives a worthwhile conclusion to a number of this comic’s many plots and subplots. The conclusion of the book as a whole is exciting and dramatic. The visuals are pleasing and contribute to a more exciting story.

Cons: About half of the plots and subplots end in a disappointing fashion. Some of these conclusions make various subplots feel completely inconsequential and make them even more disappointing.

Overall: The end of the Futures End comic series manages to disappoint in just as many ways as it delights. This comic features the same great artwork and exciting action that previous volumes did. However, this volume also features conclusions that range in quality from interesting and worthwhile to downright disappointing. For fans of the Futures End universe, this comic may be worth reading for its positive moments, but those who already don’t care for this world will likely not care for this comic.

Story

The quality in Futures End Vol. 3 is very mixed, especially as the various story arcs come to an end. Some of these stories are given well-executed conclusions that make the development over the past two volumes worthwhile. These successful stories are dramatic and filled with great levels of both action and emotion. However, there are also a number of plotlines that don’t pan out quite as nicely. Some end on undeveloped notes, others finish in a way that makes their progress over the past two volumes feel pointless, and one even pushes a significant conclusion to another comic series entirely. This mix of quality makes for a reading experience that alternates between satisfaction and disappointment, which is not nearly as universally appealing as the first two volumes.

See ComicBookWire’s Futures End Reading Order Here

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Most of the positive points in Futures End Vol. 3 are derived from the successful execution of some of the series’ larger story arcs. Some of these involve the emotional farewell to characters that helped make this volume unique and interesting, such as the death of Frankenstein or Batman Beyond. Others involve simple resolution behind more straightforward story elements, such as Plastique’s victory over her evil doppelganger or the death of the Joker/Batman hybrid. Each of these helps contribute to the closure of the Futures End universe, which is one of this volume’s most important features.

The most significant of Futures End Vol. 3‘s successes may be the Brainiac storyline. This epic and interesting battle against an ultrapowerful enemy brings together a number of smaller story arcs from earlier in this series, such as Superman’s return to heroics, the new Firestorm’s entrance to heroics, and the Atom’s ascendance as head of Stormwatch and S.H.A.D.E. The final battle here gives these arcs a resolution that feels worthwhile. It is also simply an entertaining battle in general that makes for a tense and exciting read.

Unfortunately, not every story arc in this volume plays out in a satisfactory way. The Doctor Polaris story never fully develops its main premise, which involved the debate on whether or not the Justice League should share its secrets, and ended up feeling pointless by the end of the volume. In addition, the Brother Eye story, which was originally the most important arc in this series, ends up simply being pushed on to a completely separate comic series. These and a few other lackluster conclusions take away from this volume’s ability to successfully wrap up the series as a whole and add additional disappointment to the reading experience.

The Fifty Sue storyline may be the place where Futures End Vol. 3 most dramatically misses the mark. This plotline starts out admirably, with some fitting humor and a few great interactions between the members of this strange, new “Family”. In the earlier portions of this book, these points were compelling enough to make this one of the plot threads I enjoyed the most. However, this entire story arc and the individual arcs of all characters involved end suddenly and without much resolution. None of these characters end up having much, if any, effect on the greater Futures End story and their inclusion here feels completely auxiliary to everything else going on. Though it was entertaining to see Fifty Sue and her “family” receive a happy ending, it feels as if their characters could have been utilized in a far more productive way.

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Art

Futures End Vol. 3 may have some of the best artwork in this entire series. Though the first two volumes were already visually impressive, Futures End Vol. 3 features even more highly creative scenes and awesome splash pages than before. These artistic highpoints help accentuate the epic finales present throughout this collection and give more weight to moments that are meant to be as impressive as possible. There are even less problems with consistency than there were in previous volumes and the overall appearance of the visuals maintains a singular tone. The only problems throughout this book are a few minor places where faces look weird or distorted, but these moments are very rare. Overall, the artwork in this volume is positive and helps contribute to a more entertaining reading experience.

Continuity

Futures End Vol. 3 continues the story from Futures End Vol. 2 (Review). See our Futures End Reading Order for more information.

The Futures End series ends with this volume. However, the Brainiac portion of the story continues in Convergence and the Batman Beyond/OMAC portion of the story continues in Batman Beyond Vol. 1: Brave New Worlds.

Most of the references in Futures End refer to events that have passed in the five-year time gap that occurred before this comic started. However, some are references to specific comics from the present day DC Universe. These include:

• Many elements from the Earth 2 series, which began in Earth 2 Vol. 1: The Gathering (Review), are mentioned here. Specifically, the exodus of the Earth 2 population at the conclusion of Earth 2: World’s End Vol. 2 (Review) is mentioned here.
• At one point, various scenes from DC Comics history are shown through a number of hexagons. Most of these just show characters from various points in history. However, a few of them show specific events from DC history. These include:
  • Barry Allen becoming the Flash in Showcase #4, now collected in The Flash: The Silver Age Vol. 1.
  • Bruce Wayne’s decision to become Batman after a bat crashes through his window in Detective Comics #33, now collected in Batman: The Golden Age Vol. 1.
  • The Justice League’s fight against Starro from The Brave and the Bold #28, now collected in Justice League of America: The Silver Age Vol. 1.
  • The “Flash of Two Worlds” story from The Flash #123, now collected in The Flash: The Silver Age Vol. 2.