This week’s issue brings FUTURES END closer and closer to the devastating future seen in the zero issue. We discover the fate of the heroes of Earth two and even get a glimpse of what appears to be a version of Brother  Eye. Major threats are alluded to in this issue and were still not even a quarter through the series. For detail orientated fans, there is even a little clue that suggests Mister Terrific isn’t exactly who he appears to be. Fans of the series thus far will definitely get a kick out of this.
Positives
This week’s issue did a great job of increasing the series’ significance. By finally introducing Cadmus Island’s true purpose and revealing a little more about the threat that took out Stormwatch writers Brian Azzarello, Ketih Giffen, Dan Jurgens, and Jeff Lemire have breathed new life into the book. By further developing the impending conflicts, it gives the series more focus and allows readers to easily invest themselves into the ser
ies.
While some issues have slower paced plot lines, this issue does a great job of sharing the shocking moments. Each individual segment had a cliffhanger ending, and there was never a dull moment. While I can imagine this would be hard to do every issue, its certainly nice to see here. A great point to take away from this is that a little mystery can go a long way.
Negatives
While the scope of the series makes it very difficult to be consistent with continuity, some things really seem to stick out. Deathstroke and Grifter still seem to not know each other, and Hawkman and Ray Palmer appear to have to relationship at all. While I understand that the two don’t currently know each other I found it hard to believe they would never have met within the past 5 years.In pre New 52 continuity the two were considered best friends so this may seem especially odd to long time readers.
It also seemed out of character that Mister Miracle could be subdued by a simple box cell. A few issues ago we seen that it was possible for Fury to have escaped, albeit briefly, so it seems unbelievable that the universe’s best escape artist remained captured. Also in Metropolis we see Rampage break into the MAW. It also seems slightly unbelievable that an alarm wouldn’t have been set off earlier. A monstrous person like that should have been spotted before entering the facility let alone being able to stroll in undetected to the visitation area. Â While these are small nitpicks, it can be very distracted to the readers who tend to over think things.
Verdict
Overall this was a great issue. All the plot threads were exciting and there were plenty of revelations to make any reader eager for next week. While the series continues to have a couple of continuity errors and minor distractions, they are heavily outweighed by the books strengths. FUTURES ENDÂ continues its upward trend in quality each week as of lately. Fans of the series will definitely want to check this one out.
Rating
(4/5)
