REVIEW: Detective Comics #968: The Future is Coming

There have been many stories where someone comes back from the past to prevent a nightmarish future, but James Tynion IV takes that old formula and makes it feel new in Detective Comics #968.Â

This issue concludes theÂ A Lonely Place of LivingÂ arc and sets up some great story possibilities and character friction for the future of the Bat Family.

Future Tim is running out of time and has initiated a desperate gambit to prevent his tortured future from unfolding. He has taken control of the Brother Eye program and sent an army of OMACS to kill the one person he feels set his future in motion, Kate Kane aka Batwoman.

The Bat Family pulls together to protect one of their own, but it is not Bruce Wayne that is the hero of this story, but rather present day Tim Drake. Both Tims are experts when it comes to computers and where Future Tim was able to hack Brother Eye, so was Present Tim.

With his plan coming down around him FutureÂ Tim pleads with his younger self and tries to convince him to take a different path, but Present Tim refuses to believe that the future he was warned about will come to pass. In the end the two Tims don’t fight it out, but rather discuss the issue before Future Tim is sent back to his own time.

Even with a non-violent end there is still a lot of action in this issue and some great visuals courtesy of the pencils of Alvaro Martinez and inking talent of Raul Fernandez. Â The visuals, which are accentuated beautifully with the coloring skills of Tomeu Morey, capture your attention and draw you into the DCU. Â Their take on the Red Robin costume was a great nod to his pre New 52 years and was a welcome change from the New 52 Red Robin costume design, of which I was not a big fan.

There is definitely potential for conflict between Batwoman and other members of the Bat Family and I have a feeling the seeds of doubt will bear fruit. Tim especially has a reason to be cautious with Batwoman going forward and even though I doubt he’ll mean to, he may lose some of the trust and faith he has in her. Bruce, who is always considering every angle to every situation, is also someone I could see being guarded and a little suspicious.

A Lonely Place of LivingÂ may have concluded, but this plot line is far from over.

Story: 4
Art: 4
Overall Rating: 4

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(W) James Tynion IV (A) Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez (CA) Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira