Future State: The Next Batman #3

Future State: The Next Batman #3

by John Ridley, Paul Jenkins, Brandon Thomas

The adventures of the next Batman continue! Batman has captured a pair of murderous fugitives, but he faces a tough decision: leave them for the Magistrate troops, which means certain death, or risk his life and fight his way through Gotham City to deliver them to the GCPD for trial. He’s Batman...so there’s only one choice!
And in “Outsiders,” Katana has reunited with Black Lightning, but her old friend and ally has changed...big-time! Now composed of literal black lightning, Jefferson Pierce arrives with a dire warning about Duke Thomas and his mission to liberate Gotham from the oppression of the Magistrate. They’ll have to work together-and we really mean together-to have any hope of defeating the forces working against them!
Plus, in “Arkham Knights,” Astrid Arkham and her band of maniacal misfits have picked a fight with the Magistrate...and they’re not going to back down! On the eve of their mission into the heart of Gotham’s fascist occupiers, Croc, Zsasz, Phosphorus, Clayface, Harvey, and the rest steel themselves to try and shine a beacon of hope into the darkness-but not everyone will make it out alive!

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels

65 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 2, 2021

About the author

John Ridley IV (born October 1965)[2] is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner, known for 12 Years a Slave, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also the creator and showrunner of the critically acclaimed anthology series American Crime. His most recent work is the documentary film Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992.


Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.

Reviews

[Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Next Batman story: 2⭐
This was a mess. People change their minds two panels later, I think there's meant to be gripping drama between the 2 Fox boys but we literally only found out about one 2 issues ago and realistically have no reason to care for him. The art also wasn't up to much for me.

Outsiders story: 1⭐
Really really bad. Kitana is apparently borderline a damsel in distress now. Black Lightening is Jamie Fox from Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Signal is just as boring as he's always been. If you've read Bryan Hills Outsiders then you'll be disappointed by how those characters are used.

Arkham Knights story: 1⭐
Best thing about this was Killer Crocs design tbh. Rest is "who curr" nonsense.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but this felt a little bit like a filler issue. The action scenes are great, we get a little more of the Fox family, but not a lot was learned in this issue compared to the others.

I enjoyed the Outsiders portion a lot more, though I'm confused about what's happened to Jefferson Pierce. I loved Duke's role in this issue and it felt reminiscent of his role as a leader during We Are Robin.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Batman here and the action scenes are solid but the story feels a bit filler here and not as interesting as the last volume. The backup issues are blah.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good issue, but it felt a bit like a filler issue to get to the final issue. Still enjoying the new Batman though!

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was going to applaud the portion devoted to the title character for forcing Tim (Jace) Fox into a moral dilemma that rivals Batman's creed, and for the discussion in the Fox household about blatant hypocrisy. But. Then the story took a turn in the wrong direction. Grr. I wanted much more from this title. Next up come The Outsiders. I don't read that title, but I'm familiar with the characters. Black Lightning's situation is fascinating and seems like something they could easily work into Justice League Dark. Otherwise unimpressed. And then Arkham Knights and Astrid's incessant talking. I thought it was going in a sweet direction, but by the end, I was checking the cover price and lamenting the lack of worthy substance, as with issue 1. Squandered opportunity. Waste of money.

[A Fan of Comics · Rating 3 out of 5]

The wildest title from future state....

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book, but it wasn't this. The Fox family is still split! Some hating the Masks and what they stand for, the others being actually mask vigilantes. Then they throw in this couple that lost their child and now I'm actually kind of excited to see how this ends. Sad it feels so short, but i might actually read the "next son" series if its this crazy.


the other two stories in the issue were alright but I feel like the Next Batman should have been one giant trade instead of 4 issues and 4 OTHER stories involved (that loosely tied into this story, not even important).

[Shawn Ingle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. The Batman story was ok. Really just a slow, steady progression of the story but nothing particularly interesting happened.

The Outsiders was terrible. Confusing and boring.

Arkham Knights was similar to Batman in that it didn't have nearly the same grit or impact as the previous installment. This felt impersonal whereas it started out creating such empathy for the cast of villains.

[Dennis Brock · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm currently on a plane from Doha, Qatar to Johannesburg, SA... it took me about 8 attempts to finish reading this short comic, it's so boring I just kept falling asleep over and over.

Snoozefest, terrible, buh-bye!

[Craig Schorling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been my favorite in the series. I enjoyed all three of the stories and was happy with the conclusions of the two that finished in this volume. I really like the art in the main story. I wish more would develop with the Fox family. I feel like they are missing an opportunity with that.

[Cody Billings · Rating 3 out of 5]

The continuation of the main Batman story continues to be solid. Really enjoyed the Outsiders conclusion while the Arkham Knights conclusion was servicable.

[STEVE LONG · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. Nothing terribly special about this issue. I’ll keep reading though because I want to know how it turns out. I was not into either of the backup stories in this one either.

[Roman Colombo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not perfect, but really enjoyable all the way through.

[Derek Neveu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Next Batman was good, The Outsiders was okay, and Arkham Knights was a hot mess that makes The Fast and The Furious plot lines look streamlined!

[Rob S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

NEXT BATMAN: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
OUTSIDERS: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
ARKHAM KNIGHTS: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter 3

[Octavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Al final resulta que la mejor historia es una secundaria, la de los Outsiders; bien dibujada y guión interesante.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seeing some of the villains work together was kinda cool.

[brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

😳