Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, Superman | Tagged: 5g, bryan hitch, dc comics, dc infinite frontier, future state, infinite frontier, omniverse, the authority, warren ellis, wildstorm

DC Future State Gossip: The Return Of The Authority?

In January and February, DC Comics will be running a two-month event, Future State, looking at potential and possible futures for the DC Universe, their most prominent characters and their successors. Originally planned as the ongoing nature for these titles as 5G or Generation Five, it was truncated into two months instead. However, it is notable that some aspects will be continuing over from Future State into the DC Comics Omniverse, from March.

Bleeding Cool has heard a few things about Future State that may suggest what else is to come. We may be talking a fair bit about that today on this Future State link. And we begin with The Authority.

Created in 1999 for DC/Wildstorm by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, The Authority superhero comic changed everything. It was a bold widescreen approach to superheroes that directly influenced the likes of New X-Men and The Ultimates. And they would go on to inspire the Marvel Cinematic Universe style of storytelling. Suffering from internal censorship at the time, it would inspire or provoke a reaction from many other comics, become a common reference point for superhero comics from then on. Also, the new-for-its-day oversized hardcover collection, Absolute Authority, would become a standard prestige collection format for DC Comics called Absolute. And it was instantly copied by all significant comics publishers as well. There have been many attempts to revive The Authority, but none have had the impact or success of the original.

Well, it looks like there are plans afoot. We have seen Authority-members Midnighter and Apollo pop up around the place, as well as fellow Wildstorm character Grifter. In Death Metal we saw the multi-dimensional Justice League take residence in The Authorityold transdimensional home, The Carrier.

Now in Future State, Midnighter returns. In one timeline he is operating from the JLA Watchtower on Earth, suggesting that he may join the Justice League. But he will also appear on Warworld, searching for something deadlier than Kryptonite to free an imprisoned Superman. That's where Apollo will join him. In fact, courtesy of Superman/Wonder Woman, there are a lot of sun gods to go around in Future State.

But it will also be stated, very clearly that, in Future State, The Authority exists. We have also learned that Future State: Midnighter stories will be continuing in March,

Plus, in another all-new backup "Tale of Metropolis" story, writers Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad (Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman) join forces with Michael Avon Oeming to continue the Midnighter story that Cloonan and Conrad started in DC Future State. But is the DC Universe ready for Trojan Industries?

More on Trojan later. But could this all lead to the return of The Authority to the DC Universe for one more go?

In DC Future State, the Multiverse has been saved from the brink of destruction, but the triumph of DC's heroes has shaken loose the very fabric of time and space. The final chapter of Dark Nights: Death Metal brings new life to DC's Multiverse, kicking off this glimpse into the unwritten worlds of DC's future.

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