With so much going on in the world today, only one broadcast network can bring YOU the news that YOU want. Coming to you LIVE from the Gotham City GC52 recording studio, The GC52 Week 8 Future State Report!
Words in italics signify actions or descriptions.
(Spoilers for Week 8 of DC Comics Future State)
The GC52 weekly broadcast begins as normal, same time, same channel, but nothing looks or feels the same. The entire newsroom is in disarray after the Resistance uprising against the Magistrate the week prior. Things look direr than ever with a lot of the normal set dressing having been stripped away in battle. There is only one working camera left, manned by Jerry the intern who for some reason hasn’t left. Lead anchor Dan is leaning on the front of his desk towards the camera, his red goggles from last week pulled onto his forehead. From the bags under his eyes, the audience can deduce that he nor anyone on set has been getting much sleep.
Good evening Earth-Prime, so glad you could join us again. We have been, well, busy. You’ve probably seen us on more national or galactic news channels fighting the good fight on the streets of Gotham City. We’ve been working with the Resistance to yank the Magistrate’s hooks from out of our backs. Tonight may be our final broadcast, we have run out of funding after everything that has transpired. But we won’t go down without bringing you what you need to know about the state of the future. In one bit of good news, we have received word that Aquaman and Aqualass/Aquawoman have returned from a very long absence. We wish them the best of luck with acclimating to the ~!@?show that is Earth. Let’s see what Jake is up to.
The broadcast switches to a grainy live feed from a cell phone that is redirected by an umbrella to show the multiverse portal to Earth 3 with Jake standing in front of it in top form.
We have been getting more information from the future and it certainly doesn’t have the Magistrate’s presence in it! No really! These are images from the portal to Earth 3! Wait, it’s closing! Oh thank god, I never have to go back to that hell.
Visibly relieved from the trauma that left him scarred. He continues.
The government’s work release super-team Task Force X. And it appears Connor Kent, one of the Supermen is trapped over there now. Wait, hold on, I heard something outside.
To the nearest window he goes, upon propping it open he notices Peacekeepers rappelling up the side of the building. He sticks his handy dandy umbrella weapon, twisting the handle three times makes it eject a saw blade from its tip. Using the saw to cut the high-end cables causing them to fall back down onto their comrades in fascism. He slams the window, and with a quick twist around he continues.
Sorry about that folks, but on to the far-flung future, we see that even the powerful House of El, the descendants of Clark Kent himself are facing issues caused by one of his later sons naming himself the Red King. But it seems like the man of steel himself is alive and well and put the Kryptonian Demigod in his place! And with the multigenerational, multi-alien, superfamily protecting the galaxy surely the Magistrates tyranny anti-mask rhetoric is unnecessary! Back to you Da-
As Jake’s about to sign-off, the lone Peacekeeper who survived the assault on the portal appears through smoke and debris. They throw a grenade at Jake before collapsing to the ground, dead. All the camera picks up is Jake swearing followed by a massive explosion. The broadcast returns to Dan in the studio as he is looking through his notes.
I am not sure he is coming back from that one… let’s check in with the recently returned Alex.
Alex reclaims his seat, with little to no sense of decorum. All formality has been tossed out the window, and he looks at the camera with determination in his eyes, filled with purpose.
My friends, these are dark times for our city, but with each day that passes we inch further back towards the light. As our fight carries on in the streets, we have an agent working behind the scenes within the Magistrate, getting us secure info on Peacekeeper-01. For obvious reasons, we won’t say her name on-air, but we expect to hear an update from her shortly as we begin our final assault on the Magistrate HQ.
A vision appears behind Alex, corporealizing before the eyes of the viewers, showing another state of the future.
What’s going on? Where did this come from? Jerry, are you getting this? Zoom in and let’s show the viewers what we’re seeing. There looks to be an older Superman, and Lois Lane is with him! But this can’t be…right now? No, surely this is further along the timeline. No doubt a side effect from that &$^%*#@ mess with that One Who Laughs creep, poking holes in reality. Nothing makes too much sense these days.
This is…an incredible sight. Luthor seems to have his own entire planet, which can’t be good. The people there look like they worship him. Big surprise, he probably hasn’t informed them of his various crimes back home.
Alex turns away for a brief moment, to look back at the broadcast, but sees in Jerry’s face the look of dismay.
What is it, Jerry? What happened? Ah $#!&, he’s got the goddamn suit on again. Even in the future, the man refuses to learn. Now watch, as Superman inevitably beats him again, and saves the day.
He sighs, knowing this beautiful future he sees here is unlikely at best given what they’re up against right now. But he reasserts himself, knowing they have no one to rely on but themselves.
Enough of that. There is no Superman that’s going to come save us right now. Let the future have its peace, we still must fight for ours! Let’s check back in on the streets of Gotham. Jerry, let’s get out of here, we’re heading onto the scene.
The camera follows Alex as he leaves his mostly destroyed desk, climbing out through the hole in the back of the studio. As Jerry trails behind him, a nearby explosion rocks the broadcast.
Jerry! Are you seeing this?! That explosion came from the Magistrate HQ! It looks like, wait…there he is! It’s Batman! The original! He’s taking the fight straight to them, this could be it, folks! The final battle has arrived!
Hannah comes running out of the building, after having swallowed the data she procured from within the Magistrate. She’s coughing up smoke, but alive.
Hannah! I mean-Magistrate agent, and certainly not our contact from within the system, are you okay?
Hannah, out of breath, informs Alex and Jerry that she has the data. All they need to do is broadcast it to the city, the world, and the Magistrate’s reign of terror will be over. Alex takes a deep breath, a last look at Jerry, and Hannah. He hands his mic to Hannah.
I need to make sure this works. Jerry, get her out of here and head back to the studio. Go!
Alex runs into the building, stopping at a group of Magistrate soldiers looking to stop the Batman. He holds his ground and makes his stand, determined to make sure no one gets between Batman and Peacekeeper-01, ready to lay his life on the line for the future of Gotham and the end of this reign of terror. He yells one more thing to Jerry as he and Hannah make their escape.
Batman lives!
And with that, the building explodes, sending Jerry and Hannah flying. They regain their composure enough to start running again, but when Jerry turns the camera back to what was the Magistrate HQ, all he sees is flames, and no sign of Alex, the Batman, or any of the Magistrate. The fight is seemingly over, with the Magistrate in ashes. Jerry, now back at the studio, switches the broadcast back to Dan, shaking his head.
I was going to report on some updates on Black Adam and the unkindness but it just feels like it’s come to Earth. I’m not sure I can keep doing this. What’s even the point? Just turn the camera to Ethan.
The camera pans over to where Ethan’s desk normally is, we see a massive tear in the wall with a view overlooking a sweeping view of nighttime Gotham, and the desk, half planks of wood piled in a corner, the other hanging out of the tear. Ethan is nowhere to be seen. Instead, the camera cuts to a video feed recorded a few minutes ago.
Hey folks, hope you’re doing good. While the revolution has been going on I managed to slip into Magistrate headquarters to try and track down some information on where they come from, who funds them, and so on. While searching I’ve found a report on a peculiar incident from back when Magistrate forces first enacted the “No-Mask” ban.
It seems that they were involving themselves with the False-Face Society, using their leader, Professor Pyg, to engineer biological surveillance tech. Birds, bats, people, you name it, they were all hurt to further the Magistrate’s agenda. The reporter doesn’t go into specifics but it seems this was stopped thanks to a team-up between the world’s finest, Batman and Superman. I can only imagine how much worse these last couple of years may have been if not for their heroic actions back then.
The camera is being held by Ethan as he moves forward in the archives room of Magistrate HQ. He opens up another file, gives it a read over then flips the camera to face him.
Looks like I’ve found another report buried in here. It seems the Magistrate’s top bounty hunters, Dead or Alive, also known as Red Hood and Ravager, were mistakenly put on the bounty list themselves. Now sure, this could have been a mistake, but I don’t think so. Red Hood was one of Batman’s proteges, and while he was always more distant from the Bat than your Robins or Batgirls, I have a hard time believing he would switch sides and join up with the Magistrate.
The report does mention something about a scuffle with the villain White Rabbit, some mind-control which led to Red Hood and Ravager dueling each other, and a building being destroyed, but I’m more interested in finding out where the ex-Robin is now.
As he moves on, Ethan comes across a locked filing cabinet. Managing to break it open, he starts skimming through the files.
Oh, this is what I’ve been looking for. Reports on who’s funding the Magistrate, what their long-term goals are, who they’ve captured. This is going to get me a Pulitzer. Just need to get out of he- Wait… what was that noise? Oh sh-
There’s a loud explosion from somewhere above. The room starts shaking, before collapsing. The camera is sent flying. Ethan’s screams can be heard before being cut off suddenly. As the camera hits some debris the recording ends and the video feed returns to the lonely studio.
When the camera returns to Dan, he is sitting back at his desk with his head in his hands. With a deep breath, he looks up at the camera before talking directly to the audience.
$#&^…I’ve been a journalist for some time, I have done my time. I worked my way up from an intern to lead anchor over the years. I sit before you tonight, not knowing what is next for me and my team. Our jobs are all but lost. Maybe you’ll tune into another news show next to get what you need to know but I promise you nothing will ever be the same. I am sorry, we’re not sure what comes next. Tonight is my final sign-off with the heaviest of hearts. Please stay safe and good luck.
The audience sees Dan stands up from his desk, pulling his earpiece out and removing his tie. As he walks away from the camera, he tosses them into a trashcan. Lead Anchor, NO MORE. After the door closes behind him, a loud freeze beam can be heard in the hallway. Mr. Freeze came to collect it seems. Now all that remains is intern Jerry who is standing in front of the camera for the first time.
So I guess that’s it. They’re all dead and I’m all that’s left. I’ll be honest, I have no idea what to do now. I’m doing this for college credit so I don’t have to take another math class. I hope I still get that credit. Honestly not even sure if Gotham City University is still standing. Do I do a sign-off? I know you can’t reply, viewers, but like I’m sort of lost.
The studio goes dark as a green silhouette of fluttering fabric is seen in the background before the lights come back up. The Spectre, Spirit of Vengeance, stands behind the newsdesk. His voice is booming and seems to be coming from every direction.
Jerry, I come to you now in the final moments of existence. After the events that transpired during the reign of Death Metal-
Jerry cocks his head to the side as the audience watches an intern come face to face with an omnipotent being.
Oh, not a big fan of Death Metal honestly. More of a dubstep man myself.
The Spirit of Vengeance breaks his normal spooky ghost routine as he is completely caught off guard.
What? No one listens to dubstep anymore. What is wrong with you?
Oh, there are like plenty of us. Hey, you sure do look like that one Green Lantern that we learn about in History classes. You got stupid mad and killed all your friends. Super sketchy dude.
QUIET! I came here to offer you passage into the Infinite Frontier, a brand new brighter reality full of possibilities and multiple outcomes. Now, will you stop talking back and accept your place in the reality of tomorrow?
Can I still get my college credit? I really need to graduate or my parents are going to erase me from reality.
The Spectre pinches the bridge of his nose as the intern misses the gravity of the entire situation.
Yes, I will make sure you will get a credit for it. Can we please go? If I have to keep talking to you then I will destroy this reality myself?
Jerry turns to the camera, addressing the audience for the last time.
That’s all folks! See you in this Infinite Frontier thing!
The screen turns to static before the image collapses in on itself with the rest of reality.
Books covered this week:
- Aquaman: The Confluence #2 by Brandon Thomas, Daniel Sampere, Adriano Lucas, and Clayton Cowles
- Suicide Squad: Future State #2 by Robbie Thompson, Javier Fernandez, Alex Sinclair, and Wes Abbott
- Superman: House of El #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Scott Godlewski, Gabe Eltaeb, and ALW’s Troy Peteri
- Black Adam: The End of the Beginning #2 by Jeremy Adams, Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, Jeromy Cox, and Wes Abbott
- Dark Detective: Future State #4 by Mariko Tamaki, Dan Mora, Jordie Bellaire, Aditya Bidikar
- Superman vs. Imperious Lex #2 by Mark Russell, Steve Pugh, Romulo Fajardo Jr, and Carlos M. Mangual
- Batman/Superman: Future State #2 by Gene Luen Yang, Scott McDaniel, Ben Oliver, Stephen Segovia, Arif Prianto, and Tom Napolitano
Red Hood: Future State #2 by Joshua Williamson, Giannis Milonogiannis, Jordie Bellaire, and ALW’s Troy Peteri