This week's theme for Futures End, seems to be about power. How we use our influence of power to others, being powerless to others, being overpowered, choosing to let go of power, and trying to gain power. These are the themes I took from the five different stories this week, and you'll see how that applies when I get into spoilers.
The story this issue, doesn't seem to have a whole lot going on. The only action we get is from a new character, and was kind of confusing at the time.
The art is by Jesus Merino. He does a decent job here, but his art doesn't add anything special. Nothing memorable, or that wows you. I do give the team props for blending the art pretty well. It has a nice, cohesive feel week to week, and although each artist has their own style, it's never jarring.
Spoilers ahead…
We start off with Mr. Terriffic announcing a new produce from Terriffitech called the uSphere, which works as a backup for your brain. Why this technology is nessesarry, and why Mr. Terrific would market this is a mistery for now. But in this scene, we get our first glimps of Bruce and Alfred watching this from the Batcave, and Terry watching from the crowd of people below.
We also meet up with with Grifter, who is laying on a bed, paralyzed. Faraday is offering him a job, and Grifter accepts reluctantly. We also see a little girl appear suddenly, and then disappear soon after.
We are then on Cadmus Island, where a woman appears to be escaping from a prison. She is being chased by a few OMACs, and one calls her Fury. She takes them out easily, saying she has fought Parademons, and they are nothing in comparison. I wondered who she was, and then I remembered that in the Earth 2 comic, Wonder Woman had a daughter named Fury who worked with the evil Steppenwolf. She does resemble Diana quite a bit, and since there was a war with Earth 2 that seems to be a reacurring event, this makes sense to me. Next, Fury comes across the little girl who appeared in the last scene with Grifter. The girl laser visions Fury, and carries on with her own deal.
Firestorm finally separates, they argue for a bit, and we find out that Jason lost his mother in the war, and this bothers him. They go their separate ways, saying that they'll never be Firestorm again. Ronnie comes across his boss for his internship, makes up a nice excuse as to why he's been gone for the past three weeks. His boss shows him some new tech that he plans on one-upping Terriffitech, and Ronnie is shocked. We don't see it, though.
We then see Constantine for the first time, who is with a Tommy and Midge (who I have no idea who they are). They are in the middle of a crop circle, that seems to have the logo of Brainiac… In Kansas… Whaaaat?!
All kinds of crazyness going on right now, the splitting with Firestorm was the big point, but Ronnie didn't even throw a punch at Jason after promising to kill him just last week, which made that event seem to fall flat. But it was still an emotional scene.
The New 52: Futures End #5:
Reviewed by Corbin Pool