Selina has been many things, but she’s always a thief. She’s a heroic thief, but she’s still a thief. So in a sense, she’s still a villain. What happens when she’s thrown into a dystopian future? Does she become a true hero? And how the hell is she going to steal an entire train? Writer Ram V and artist Otto Schmidt explore the nature of a long-running character from a nontraditional angle in Future State: Catwoman #1. The dystopia itself isn’t really all that interesting, but that doesn’t keep the specifics of the action from being enjoyable as Catwoman peers out at a considerably darker world in an entertaining debut.

Masked vigilantes are no longer being tolerated by the law. This would seem to be a good idea were it not for the fact that this is Gotham City. Things may be a bit cleaner, what with all the psychosis that’s no longer running around in the streets. Still, the criminal insanity is now firmly on the side of the government as a train-based reformation facility has become populated with innocent children. Slinking around in the shiny, new darkness of a magnetic suit, Catwoman must ensure the train never reaches its destination. Action and drama mix on future tracks in a shadowy world. 

Ram V might be a gifted storyteller, but he isn’t given a great deal to work with. Future State Gotham is an ugly place that doesn’t seem all that distinct from a million other dystopias crawling all over fantasy and sci-fi. The train is a nice touch, though. Fusing that dystopia with a Snowpiercer-like setting adds some level of cleverness to the mix. Catwoman is given a very solid direction from the beginning and a very real deadline for her goal. It may not feel terribly original, but it’s definitely moving in the right direction.

Schmidt certainly has the darkness of a Gotham City dystopia down perfectly. Everything feels so overwhelmingly oppressive. The establishing shot of a train platform in Alleytown feels remarkably oppressive. Selena regards the snowy evening darkness with a steely weariness. The intensity of the crowd assembled there with her roots the uneasiness of the oppressed. Once the action gets going, there’s a powerful sense of potential rebellion sliding through every panel. Schmidt shoots the action powerfully across the page. A shiny, new Catwoman seems to be gliding through the combustible energy with grace and poise. Schmidt has found the perfect angle with which to amplify the mood that V is developing.

Future State may have had potential for some sort of a grand design that failed to materialize. Still, Ram V and Otto Schmidt take it in an interesting direction that could turn into something starkly appealing if everything comes together in the second issue. A classy futuristic costume seems to fuse a couple of different eras of Catwoman into a single image. The glittery darkness of an oppressive Gotham City in the background on a high-speed rail, the first issue of the two-part series definitely has pieces to be something special. Given the right reception, this version of Catwoman could even be worthy of her own series.

Grade: A-