Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman #2 – Dan Watters, Writer; Leila Del Duca, Artist; Nick Filardi, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Dan Watters is one of the writers at DC most known for darker stories, particularly in his Sandman Universe work. That’s why it’s a surprise that his Future State story is actually inspired by, of all sources, the Silver Age. This team-up of Jon Kent and Yara Flor embraces its comic book roots to the point of almost being absurdist at points, with the threats being so large in scale that they’re hard to take seriously. That doesn’t mean they don’t work for the plot—they’re ideal for a lighter tone, and they accomplish the goal of showing these two young heroes as they find their footing and develop a new partnership. The opening segment, which finds a weakened Superman waking up in the Fortress, is full of funny subplots including Yara trying to tame a Kryptonian fire-horse of some kind. The visuals of Leila Del Duca are great, and the colors are bright and surreal—perfectly fitting for this story.
The main twist of this story is that circumstances make it impossible for Superman and Wonder Woman to fulfill their respective challenges—Superman is too weak to face the red-sun powered Solaris, while Yara knows she’ll lose in a race against her egomaniacal patron God Kuat. So they simply switch places. This gives us our first opportunity to see Yara in action against a true heavyweight villain, as she displays a varied fighting style that includes tech and a willingness to pull some sneaky tricks that Diana might not have. Meanwhile, Jon can feel a little too much like a clone of his father at points, but his race with Kuat has the hands-down funniest moment in any Future State story this week. I’m not sure how much of this partnership will be able to make it into the main DCU, although both the players will be continuing their adventures come March. Watters has a surprisingly fun light touch that I’d like to see him explore more.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
