The 170th episode of AQUAMAN AND FIRESTORM: THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST is now available for your listening pleasure! A proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK!

Shag and Rob discuss the first three chapters of “The Drowning” storyline from AQUAMAN #’s 1-3 by Dan Abnett, Brad Walker, Scot Eaton, Philippe Briones, Gabe Eltaeb, and more, and then move on to Firestorm in “United We Fall” Part 5 from LEGENDS OF TOMORROW #5 by Gerry Conway, Eduardo Pansica, Rob Hunter, and more!

You can find the 170th episode of AQUAMAN AND FIRESTORM: THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST on iTunes. While you’re there, please drop us a review on the iTunes page. Every comment helps! Alternatively, you may play the podcast using the player below or by right-clicking “download”, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (50 MB)

As always, thanks to my co-host Rob Kelly, Sea King of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE, for doing all the post-production on these episodes! Opening theme, “That Time is Now,” by Michael Kohler. Special thanks to Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge with their band The Bad Mamma Jammas for our fantastic original closing theme! This episode brought to you in part by InStockTrades.com!

Have a question or comment? Looking for more great content?

• Leave comments on our FIRE & WATER PODCAST website:http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-170/
• Images from this episode: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-170-gallery/
• THE AQUAMAN SHRINE: http://www.aquamanshrine.net
• E-MAIL: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net

This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK:

• Visit the Fire & Water WEBSITE: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com
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Thanks for listening! Support Firestorm and Aquaman! Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!

Remember, to leave comments visit our FIRE & WATER PODCAST website – http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-170/

The 167th episode of AQUAMAN AND FIRESTORM: THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST is now available for your listening pleasure! A proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK!

Shag and Rob discuss “Out of Darkness” from AQUAMAN #52 by Dan Abnett, Vicente Cifuentes, Juan Castro, and more, and then move on to AQUAMAN: REBIRTH by Abnett, Scot Eaton, Oscar Jimenez, Mark Morales and more. The show concludes with Firestorm in “United We Fall” Parts 3 and 4 from LEGENDS OF TOMORROW #s 3 and 4 by Gerry Conway, Eduardo Pansica, Rob Hunter, and more! Plus YOUR Listener Feedback!

You can find the 167th episode of AQUAMAN AND FIRESTORM: THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST on iTunes. While you’re there, please drop us a review on the iTunes page. Every comment helps! Alternatively, you may play the podcast using the player below or by right-clicking “download”, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (76 MB)

As always, thanks to my co-host Rob Kelly, Sea King of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE, for doing all the post-production on these episodes! Opening theme, “That Time is Now,” by Michael Kohler. Special thanks to Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge with their band The Bad Mamma Jammas for our fantastic original closing theme! This episode brought to you in part by InStockTrades.com!

Have a question or comment? Looking for more great content?

• Leave comments on our FIRE & WATER PODCAST website: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-167/
• Images from this episode: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-167-gallery/
• THE AQUAMAN SHRINE: http://www.aquamanshrine.net
• E-MAIL: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net

This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK:

• Visit the Fire & Water WEBSITE: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com
• Follow Fire & Water on TWITTER – https://twitter.com/FWPodcasts
• Like our Fire & Water FACEBOOK page – https://www.facebook.com/FWPodcastNetwork
• Use our HASHTAG online: #FWPodcasts

Thanks for listening! Support Firestorm and Aquaman! Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!

Remember, to leave comments visit our FIRE & WATER PODCAST website – http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-167/

The 164th episode of AQUAMAN AND FIRESTORM: THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST is now available for your listening pleasure! A proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK!

Shag and Rob discuss “Scavenger Hunt” from AQUAMAN #51 by Dan Abnett, Vicente Cifuentes, Juan Castro, and more. That’s followed by Firestorm in  “United We Fall, Part 2” from LEGENDS OF TOMORROW #2 by Gerry Conway, Eduardo Pansica, Rob Hunter, and more! Plus YOUR Listener Feedback!

You can find the 164th episode of AQUAMAN AND FIRESTORM: THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST on iTunes. While you’re there, please drop us a review on the iTunes page. Every comment helps! Alternatively, you may play the podcast using the player below or by right-clicking “download”, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (89 MB)

As always, thanks to my co-host Rob Kelly, Sea King of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE, for doing all the post-production on these episodes! Opening theme, “That Time is Now,” by Michael Kohler. Special thanks to Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge with their band The Bad Mamma Jammas for our fantastic original closing theme! This episode brought to you in part by InStockTrades.com!

Have a question or comment? Looking for more great content?

• Leave comments on our FIRE & WATER PODCAST website: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-164/ 
• Images from this episode: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-164-gallery/
• THE AQUAMAN SHRINE: http://www.aquamanshrine.net
• E-MAIL: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net

This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK:

• Visit the Fire & Water WEBSITE: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com
• Follow Fire & Water on TWITTER – https://twitter.com/FWPodcasts
• Like our Fire & Water FACEBOOK page – https://www.facebook.com/FWPodcastNetwork
• Use our HASHTAG online: #FWPodcasts

Thanks for listening! Support Firestorm and Aquaman! Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!

Remember, to leave comments visit our FIRE & WATER PODCAST website – http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-164/

The 161st episode of AQUAMAN AND FIRESTORM: THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST is now available for your listening pleasure! A proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK!

It’s a big month for our heroes! Shag and Rob discuss “Dead Water” from the extra-length Aquaman #50 by Dan Abnett, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, and more. That’s followed by “United We Fall” from Legends of Tomorrow #1 by Gerry Conway, Eduardo Pansica, Rob Hunter, and more–the first Firestorm comic by Gerry Conway in thirty years! Plus YOUR Listener Feedback!

You can find the 161st episode of AQUAMAN AND FIRESTORM: THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST on iTunes. While you’re there, please drop us a review on the iTunes page. Every comment helps! Alternatively, you may play the podcast using the player below or by right-clicking “download”, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (81 MB)

As always, thanks to my co-host Rob Kelly, Sea King of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE, for doing all the post-production on these episodes! Opening theme, “That Time is Now,” by Michael Kohler. Special thanks to Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge with their band The Bad Mamma Jammas for our fantastic original closing theme! This episode brought to you in part by InStockTrades.com!

Have a question or comment? Looking for more great content?

• Leave comments on our FIRE & WATER PODCAST website – http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-161/
• Images from this episode – http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-161-gallery/
• THE AQUAMAN SHRINE – http://www.aquamanshrine.net
• E-MAIL: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net

This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK:

• Visit the Fire & Water WEBSITE: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com
• Follow Fire & Water on TWITTER – https://twitter.com/FWPodcasts
• Like our Fire & Water FACEBOOK page – https://www.facebook.com/FWPodcastNetwork
• Use our HASHTAG online: #FWPodcasts

Thanks for listening! Support Firestorm and Aquaman! Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!

Remember, to leave comments visit our FIRE & WATER PODCAST website – http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-161/

The 159th episode of AQUAMAN AND FIRESTORM: THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST is now available for your listening pleasure! A proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK!

Famed comics writer Gerry Conway visits the Fire and Water Podcast Network to discuss his new Firestorm story appearing in the Legends of Tomorrow anthology series from DC Comics!

You can find the 159th episode of AQUAMAN AND FIRESTORM: THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST on iTunes. While you’re there, please drop us a review on the iTunes page. Every comment helps! Alternatively, you may play the podcast using the player below or by right-clicking “download”, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (36 MB)

Opening theme, “That Time is Now,” by Michael Kohler. Special thanks to Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge with their band The Bad Mamma Jammas for our fantastic original closing theme!

Have a question or comment? Looking for more great content?

• Leave comments on our FIRE & WATER PODCAST website – http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-159/
• THE AQUAMAN SHRINE – http://www.aquamanshrine.net
• E-MAIL: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net

This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK:

• Visit the Fire & Water WEBSITE: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com
• Follow Fire & Water on TWITTER – https://twitter.com/FWPodcasts
• Like our Fire & Water FACEBOOK page – https://www.facebook.com/FWPodcastNetwork
• Use our HASHTAG online: #FWPodcasts

Thanks for listening! Support Firestorm and Aquaman! Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!

Remember, to leave comments visit our FIRE & WATER PODCAST website – http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-159/

Legends of Tomorrow #1 (shipping in March) is an 80-page anthology comic featuring four different stories! Below you’ll find the cover to the issue by Aaron Lopresti! Click here for the official announcement! More details and discussion below the cover!

Issue #1 will feature Firestorm, Metamorpho, the Metal Men, and Sugar & Spike! Here is the Firestorm blurb:

FIRESTORM, written by Gerry Conway with art by Eduardo Pansica and Rob Hunter:
Firestorm is back! To save Jason Rusch, Firestorm will need to retrieve Danton Black’s stolen research from Professor Stein’s lab. But if Jason can’t fuse with Ronnie by the Firestorm Protocol…who can?

Legends of Tomorrow #1 will be on sale March 9th, 2016 with 80 pages for $7.99.

With the official news out of the way, let’s discuss certain aspects of this…

• While I’m thrilled Firestorm is returning to comics, I do feel a bit cheated. Back in July 2015, DC announced a new Firestorm six issue limited series written by Gerry Conway. So instead of Firestorm headlining his own limited series, he’s sharing with three other features. It’s an 80-page comic with four stories. Doing the math suggests each feature could get 20 pages to themselves. That’s equivalent of a stand alone comic, so at least we’ll get a full issue’s worth of Firestorm.
• Some folks have expressed concerns over the price tag of $7.99. Again, doing the math, that’s only $2 per feature. That’s a pretty good savings compared to stand alone comics (typically $3.99 nowadays). However, I’m not sure $7.99 is sustainable on a monthly basis.
• The big question is how many issues will feature Firestorm. Since we were originally promised a six issue limited series, will Firestorm be featured in the first six issues of the Legends of Tomorrow comic? Or will they shorten his story so it takes up less issues?
• The comic is called Legends of Tomorrow, clearly trying to capitalize on the TV series of the same name. However, Firestorm is the only character to appear in both the TV series and the comic. Will other Legends TV characters appear in the comic? If so, how will that impact each feature’s run? Each of these features was originally promised a six issue mini-series. Who will get six issues of Legends to tell their story, and who will have less time?

First and foremost, great news that Firestorm is back in comics and being written by Gerry Conway! Can’t wait!

Second, we have questions. I sure hope DC provides some answers soon.

Support Firestorm (and the Legends of Tomorrow comic)! Fan the flame!

SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #21
Written by Peter J. Tomasi; Art by Doug Mahnke & Jaime Mendoza; and Cover Art by Paulo Siqueira

The epic “Truth” arc hits close to the heart as dark secrets come to light, forcing Superman and Wonder Woman to question whether their relationship can work in this new world of identities revealed and questionable actions.

Below is one page of the book, found via ComicVine.

My thanks for the heads-up on this appearance to Christopher Luke, HughDeMann, CraigimusMax, The Aquaman Shrine on Twitter, and anyone else I may have missed!

Support Firestorm (by purchasing this comic)! Fan the flame!

Be sure to follow Tim’s regular work over on his exceptional site, Kord Industries: A Blue Beetle Blog! Get all your Ted Kord, Jaime Reyes, and Dan Garrett goodness there! Get even more Tim-time over at the Legion of Super-Bloggers! You can also stalk Tim on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus. And now, let’s turn it over to Tim…

This is it, Match-Heads! The final “Futures End” post. I really want to apologize it’s taken me this long to finish. To be honest it was a combination of things, but that doesn’t matter right now. The important thing is answering some questions. Will Batman and Mr. Terrific put aside their differences and raise their child, Brother Eye, together? Will Jason and Madison ever learn to separate, or will they be Firestorm forever? How will Superman shave that silly beard? Will all of this blend right into the already finished “Convergence” and not really matter? Find out all this and more, on the finale of “As the Daily Planet Turns”!

The New 52: Futures End #44

Five years from now in New York, all hell is breaking loose. Brainiac has captured the city under one of his domes and is in the process of airlifting it off the planet! Firestorm and the Justice League are doing their best to prevent casualties.

Superman tries taking on Brainiac with brawn, and manages to throw a punch that momentarily splits Brainiac into his multiversal components.

While the villain tries to restore his systems, Batman, Mr. Terrific and the Atom put their heads together and come up with another plan. Covering Brainiac in Terrific’s uSpheres, the Atom manages to shrink both the spheres and the big baddie!

The only downside? Without Brainiac in control, New York is falling! Luckily Superman is there to save the day!

The New 52: Futures End #45

At Castle Frankenstein, Frank is on his deathbed, literally. As he lays, he speaks of all he’s experienced, and Amethyst writes down his life story…before he passes away. Before he goes, he inspires her to return to Gemworld as its princess.

Back in New York, Polaris, Firestorm and Shazam continue search and rescue efforts while Superman takes Brainiac’s machines and throws them into the sun.

Upstate, Faraday takes Boyer to a safe house…and promptly tasers him. Then, with Voodoo’s help, drags him to an underground bunker, Command D. Faraday sends Voodoo back upstairs, where she gets gassed by Rock and company. At Terrifitech, there seems to be a glitch. Batman, Terrific and the Atom try to get Brother Eye to disengage, but the computer refuses…it’s rewritten it’s protocols. It begins shutting down systems in the tower, and as Batman Beyond and company make their way through the building, begins resurrecting the dead security teams as sort of proto-robo-bugs!

The New 52: Futures End #46

Batman suggests cutting power, but Terrific already tried. Batman suggests the failsafe, but Brother Eye tells them it has disabled the self destruct. As Atom questions the A.I.’s motives, Batman Beyond appears to fill in what he knows. Back in Faraday’s safe house, Rock has made himself at home. He’s nestled all snug in his bed when he’s woken by E2 Lana. She’s paralyzed him. She doesn’t want to kill him…just give him a message. “Leave us alone.” She also reveals a secret…when she came from Earth 2, Cadmus labeled her normal, but she’s not. She can bond with insects and take on their traits…E2 Lana is the Insect Queen! They also warn that if he does mess with them, he’s dealing with Fifty Sue next time!

Firestorm has fully embraced the hero biz, reuniting a mother and child by way of a flying elephant!

Madison and Jason are having a moment, discussing their inability to separate when their Justice League beeper goes off…they’re needed at Terrifitech! Brother Eye has the upperhand! It’s army of Cybermen have the heroes pinned down…and then “The Thing with Two Heads” shows up! Terry McGinnis manages to take it out, but is mortally wounded in the process. He passes the mantle of Batman Beyond to Tim Drake, and looks into the eyes of Plastique, “Please…be the last thing I see.” before he dies.

The New 52: Futures End #47

Five years from now, Brother Eye appears on every TV, monitor, control panel…every device in the world to announce it is taking control. Batman and company haven’t quite given up yet. Though the odds are against them, and hordes of Brother Eye’s Borg army are closing in…one man is there to help…Batman Beyond!

Batman recognizes Tim right away, Plastique is offended, and Madison/Firestorm on realizes who he is when they kiss.

But the most important part is, he needs to time jump! Batman insists he’ll go until A.L.F.R.E.D. reminds them that the time band is calibrated to Terry’s weight…and Tim is a closer match than Bruce. Terrific attaches jumper cables to Firestorm, yeah…jumper cables, so she can power the time band and in a blink Tim finds himself on the Brother Eye satellite. Then things get weird! He’s arrived “now”, or five years prior to the events of the other 46 issues in this series. The Earth 2 refugees, including Mr. Terrific, are on their way. Tim tries to plant explosives, Brother Eye tries to stop him. Tim explains what will happen, based on his future, if events are not changed. Darkseid’s parademons will follow the Earth 2 refugees and millions will die. Brother Eye accepts this to be true and offers to self destruct in order to save millions of lives. Before he does, he’ll even transport Tim back to Madison. Then Tim finds himself falling from the sky, landing in a forest…and he can’t believe what he sees!

The New 52: Futures End #48

Tim has found himself standing in some sort of memorial park, surrounded by statues of heroes. He wanders looking at the heroes represented, and stops in front of Batman Beyond. And that’s when he sees Madison! “You came!” she exclaims as they embrace…then her eyes are replaced with Brother Eye’s symbol.

She fades away. Everything fades away, leaving Tim in a room overlooking a devastated city with Mr. Terrific. They’re not in the past, or the present…but back to the future! Terrific has lost his marbles, and only appears to be alive and not assimilated because Brother Eye likes to keep “Father” around. Tim is not so lucky, he’s been flagged for cyber conversion and robo-Flash and robo-Captain Cold arrive to do the job. Until a mysterious figure blasts his way in! He’s soon followed by a small gun toting mob. He’s the Atom. They make their escape, Terrific in tow, and regroup at their base.

This future isn’t all bad though, as Tim is reunited with a slightly older Madison, another member of the resistance. Tim’s ready to give all of this another chance…Madison, the hero biz, taking down Brother Eye…but the others aren’t so sure about that last one. As they look up to the moon, scarred with Brother Eye’s symbol, they think the battle’s lost…but Tim Drake isn’t convinced.

The End.

And there you have it… DC’s “Futures End”. I don’t know about you, but I was a bit underwhelmed by that ending. As of this ending, there is no more Firestorm. Ronnie’s dead, Jason is MIA… I can’t even remember if we ever saw Dr. Stein? I guess the newest Firestorm, Madison Payne, got a happy ending at least… sort of. But, did any of it matter? Will it even get referenced in the new Firestorm mini coming in 2016? My guess is no, but we’ll have to wait and see. What happened to Fifty Sue? At the start of the series, she was annoying but I won’t lie, by the end she was one of my favorites! Is there any way to stop/prevent Brother Eye? Or have Batman and Mr. Terrific ruined the future of the DCU? Sure several of the storylines were tied up. Sure it sort of led into “Convergence”. Sure it sets up the new “Batman Beyond” series… but a year’s, well almost a year’s, worth of reading and recapping and there’s just as much undone and/or unresolved. I guess we’ll never know. Or at least, Eye guess, we’ll have to wait and see. Eye hope you enjoyed my recaps, and thanks to Shag for asking if Eye would be interested, and subsequently allowing me to infiltrate, Eye mean, contribute here at Firestorm Fan! Eye…Eye…Eye…

Shag here again! What a long, strange trip it’s been! Let us know what you thought of FUTURES END in the comments.

A very special thanks to Tim for this fantastic year-long coverage! Tim was the first “correspondent” ever featured here at FIRESTORM FAN and he did an exceptional job! A real shame he got converted by Brother Eye at the end. THANKS, Robot Tim!

Support Firestorm (and Tim Wallace over at Kord Industries)! Fan the flame!

Why No Robbie Amell on Legends of Tomorrow?

According to Victor Garber, who plays Martin Stein (and one half of Firestorm) for The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, you’ll find out what’s going on with Ronnie Raymond in the season premiere of The Flash on October 6.  [Entertainment Weekly online]

Will Jay Jackson join Professor Stein to become Firestorm?

At San Diego Comic-Con, Legends of Tomorrow executive producer Phil Klemmer seemingly confirmed Jay Jackson’s part in Firestorm by saying Jackson is “probably the last person Professor Stein (Victor Garber) wants to share Firestorm with.”  [ComicBook.com]

What we do know is Franz Drameh is playing Jay Jackson, a former high school athlete, whose pro-career was derailed by injury. Now making ends meets as an auto mechanic, Jay will come to have a surprising affiliation to the S.T.A.R. Labs crew.

Speculation is that Jay Jackson is a stand-in for the comic character Jason Rusch. Legends of Tomorrow writers may be avoiding the name “Jason Rusch” since a character named that was introduced in the previous season of The Flash. Folks are also speculating that Ronnie Raymond will die in The Flash season premiere, causing Caitlin Snow emotional turmoil resulting in her becoming Killer Frost.

Sorry for the delay in getting this news to you folks. I was on the road for a week (hence the lack of posts here). My thanks to the numerous folks who shared these news stories with me. Y’all are the best!

Support Firestorm! Fan the flame!

Be sure to follow Tim’s regular work over on his exceptional site, Kord Industries: A Blue Beetle Blog! Get all your Ted Kord, Jaime Reyes, and Dan Garrett goodness there! Get even more Tim-time over at the Legion of Super-Bloggers! You can also stalk Tim on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus. And now, let’s turn it over to Tim…

Sure, Futures End & Convergence are both done, but that doesn’t mean our coverage is over! We’re nearly there though. This is the penultimate (I love that word) Futures End post!

The New 52: Futures End #40

Five years from now in Smallville, Kal-El runs home for a change of clothes while Constantine faces of the children of the cornfield. Not one to rest on his laurels, Constantine uses Midge’s blood to draw a symbol on his face. The corn creatures think he’s mocking Brainiac…but he’s not. He’s summoning a hungry demon boar! On the Justice League’s satellite, all hands are on deck! Wildfire and Dawnstar from the Legion of Super-Heroes, Vostok from Aquaman’s Others, Equinox from Justice League Canada, Stormguard, Flash, Cyborg, Wonder Woman…only member missing is Snapper Carr (just kidding). Everyone has shown up in response to the alarms from the sensors. And what just came through? Stormwatch…with a warning. Brainiac is coming!

With that the Engineer gets possessed by the big B again and things get weird. A giant green energy web covered planet (?) is hovering in near space…and blasting the Earth with bolts of energy. Firestorm, Masked Superman, Batman, Plastique…they all see it, but have other things they need to attend to. In New York, the Bat Team raids Terrifitech, only to find nearly every employee is dead.

Team Firestorm wants to help, but Cyborg orders them to keep an eye on Polaris instead. And then a Brainiac ship, or rather a Super Powers era Brainiac ship, appears and begins encircling New York under an energy grid. Luckily, Kal-El found his Superman t-shirt, and is on his way!

The New 52: Futures End #41

As if capturing New York under a dome isn’t enough, Brainiac begins walking through the city like Kong or Godzilla.

Luckily star reporter Lois Lane is on the scene, though she’s unsure if she’ll ever get the chance to actually report it. Kal-El flies in, smashing at the spheres that make up Brainiac’s energy grid…but it doesn’t seem to do anything more than tick off the giant villain. While in space the Super Powers Brainiac skull ship begins emitting a sound Ray Palmer compares to thousands of people screaming. Hawkman charges in, desperate to save the Engineer, and gets a shocking glimpse of the Multiverse before being separated into several Hawkmen (reversing the effects of Zero Hour?).

Back at Terrifitech, Brother Eye seems to be taunting a shocked Mr. Terrific, while Batman and company try to make their way through the building. There’s a little tension between Bats and Cal/Tim, especially when Bruce nearly calls him Robin, so they split up. While Cal/Tim and Plastique try to find who or what is controlling the power to the building, Bats seems to know exactly where to find Mr. Terrific.

Masked Superman is still eager to join the fight, but something is interfering with the transporter signal. Against everyone’s better judgment, Madison frees Yamazake/Polaris who instantly fixes the problem and beams Firestorm, Masked Superman and himself right to the feet of the rampaging Brainiac…and saved by Kal-El!

The New 52: Futures End #42

In space, the skull ship is firing a beam of energy at the Earth (New York to be exact). Hawkman is “dead”, the Atom is missing. Wildfire, Cyborg, Dawnstar and Equinox try to take out the ship on their own, but find it’s not that easy. Wildfire is the first one down, so Cyborg orders the others to take him and retreat…he’s got this.

In New York, Billy Batson decides with the real Superman back in action he can take off the mask and call down the lightning! Superman explains he wasn’t dead, he was recovering. He knows Brainiac isn’t here to destroy the city he’s here to take it! So Superman and Shazam set off to stop him! At Terrifitech, Batman comes to the realization that Mr. Terrific has lost his mind, and after punching him, begins taking steps to shut down Brother Eye.

Bat-Joker is trying to finish off Batman Beyond, but the hero won’t go down that easy! BB calls for A.L.F.R.E.D. to come back online and determine if the Brainiac spheres follow any kind of pattern. Once the answer is determined, he seemingly dispatches “The Thing With Two-Heads” by leading him into the path of the next falling sphere. Back in space, Cyborg tries unsuccessfully to take out the Brainiac ship on his own. What he doesn’t know though is that the Atom isn’t dead…he’s just really tiny and flying into the ship himself! Inside Ray Palmer catches glimpses of the Multiverse, and eventually finds the Engineer who’s wired up like some sort of data hub. So he does what any quick thinking hero would do. He cuts her free.

Back on Earth, Superman and Shazam have been unsuccessful in stopping the giant Brainiac and now the alien is preparing to lift the domed New York City to his waiting ship…except by removing the Engineer, Cyborg and Atom have disabled the ship. It would seem like a good thing until, back on Earth, Brother Eye comes online!

The New 52: Futures End #43

In New York, Lois Lane is reunited with Superman. Kal-El was knocked to the ground by Brainiac and she rushes to his side, “We need you.” She has questions, but he doesn’t have much time. He’s determined to stop Brainiac. He also seems to get his cape in a bunch when she mentions Batman.

Brainiac, being an ever resourceful evil intellect, goes with his plan B to take the city. He’s going to fly it off the Earth manually. If all of this wasn’t bad enough, every screen and monitor in the city is branded with the symbol of Brother Eye.

Tim and Plastique think they hear something as they search the building. Maybe whatever is responsible for killing everyone? Nope…just Key and Coil. They’ve been laying low since everything went down. Coil, who’s tapped into the Earth’s magnetic field, has been sick a side effect of Brainiac’s attempts to bottle and remove the city from the planet. While they try to figure out what to do, robo-bug Plastique appears from the shadows! Plastique has no love for her future self, and tries to blow the robo-bug up…but nearly falls from the skyscraper in the process. Luckily her new boyfriend Batman Beyond is there to save her.

Bats and Mr. Terrific argue about what to do, until Terrific finally admits he doesn’t know…and he needs help!

Well, that was…domed cities? Either this was a happy coincidence or a well planned story, tying into the concepts of the (at the time) upcoming ”Convergence”. We shall see…I’ll be back soon with the final Futures End recap!

Shag here again! That’s it for this month! Thanks again to Tim for this fantastic coverage! Tim will return with further coverage of, The New 52: Futures End! Let us know what you think of this weekly series in the comments.

Support Firestorm (and Tim Wallace over at Kord Industries)! Fan the flame!