The New 52: Futures End #23

By Brian Azzarello, Jeff Lemire, Dan Jurgens, Keith Giffen, Aaron Lopresti, Art Thibert, Hi-Fi

“Hey, Hawkman, don’t you have a sword? …We all have swords now.”

This issue of Futures End kicks off with a great scene featuring a familiar trio being joined by The Atom and Black Adam. Frankenstein, Amethyst, and Hawkman along with the returned professor and an unexpected companion fend off who appears to be Braniac in an attempt to free themselves. This scene is explosive, and Black Adam brings a lot of his powers into play.

Brian Azzarello and his fellow writers stray away from the action after the first scene takes place. The rest of the issue is a lot of talking and setup (and did you see all the teasers at the end? Some very cool stuff coming up!). Tim Drake isn’t having much luck on his end, nor is an aging Mister Terrific for that matter. But it’s what Brother Eye concocts at the end of the issue that brings about the biggest surprise of the issue. A hybrid you’d never thought you see…it’s…it’s…a spoiler! So, you’ll have to read the issue. But “it’s” really cool, and should make for great scenes in upcoming issues.

On the art this week there’s Aaron Lopresti at the drawing table, with Art Thibert on inks, and Hi-Fi handling the colors. The scene mentioned above with Black Adam is what really shines in the art this week. He gets snagged from the air by Braniac and needs to provide cover for his “allies”. He shouts the magic word (not please) and lighting cracks into the fist of the giant brain monster. The sky in the background is a mixture of orange and pink, and the yellow lighting engulfs the body of Braniac – and really makes it look like it hurts!

This week we’re given a great opening followed by a few slower scenes. Sub stories big and the small were addressed, but it’s the teasers at the end that really shined. Even more awesome is on the way!