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We have now come to the half way point in this Batman Beyond tale. How is it holding up? Let’s take a look.
We pick up where issue 2 left off, with Batman face to face with Hush about to kill Calendar Man. Terry starts an inner monologue about how tired he is, and the Hush case is not helping matters. During the fight, Hush reveals that he knows Terry isn’t Bruce and calls Terry a “faker”, Terry also doesn’t check in with Bruce which makes Bruce threaten to shut down the suit. McGinnis gets taken out, which gives Hush enough of an opportunity to finish killing Calendar Man and takes off.
Terry and Bruce then argue about Terry’s commitment to the mission of Batman, and Terry has heard enough so he breaks off the com link and goes home where he hasn’t been seen regularly.
We get a quick scene featuring Amanda Waller and Dr. Reid at Cadmus where Reid wants to talk to the police about Cadmus’ role in the Hush killings, but Waller warns against that, implying that certain things will apparently lead back to Reid if word about Cadmus’ involvement were made public.
We then see Terry in separate scenes argue about what he’s been doing with Wayne that has him keeping strange and long hours with his mother and kid brother, as well as girlfriend Dana.
Terry then goes to the Bat-Cave to confront Bruce, and finds that Bruce has been working on an army of what Bruce calls “Bat-Wraiths” which are giant, robot versions of Terry’s Bat-Suit. Bruce explains that he is starting to doubt Terry’s commitment to the mission and wants to have an army that he can control. Terry then whines about how once Bruce told him that he had complete faith in him. Bruce explains that since he feels Terry is still undecided about what he wants to do, the Wraiths are a backup for Terry, to which Terry replies that he doesn’t need back up and he is turning in the suit as soon as he brings in Hush.
Terry then goes out to do some investigating. He starts with Tim Drake, who assures Terry that there has been no residual effects from the destruction of the microchip that The Joker had implanted in him in the events of the movie Batman Beyond: The Return of The Joker (as a fail-safe, in case Batman saved the day after kidnapping Robin, Joker implanted “himself” in a microchip and would slip into Tim’s body from time to time after being killed, by Tim in the “flashback” sequences. The chip got destroyed by Terry, making sure Tim would no longer be haunted by The Joker). And as a fail-safe Tim has a 24 hour body cam on him to ensure that his activities are on the straight and narrow, Tim also advises Terry to pay someone else a visit with intimate knowledge of Bruce Wayne and Batman, but warns that he won’t be as welcoming as he was.
Terry, on his way to meet with whom Tim said to meet gets into another tussle with the new Catwoman. Terry tries to tell her to keep a low profile, to which Catwoman responds by telling Terry to leave her alone and runs off.
We then see that Terry is looking for Dick Grayson and tells Dick that he’d like to chat with him.
Catwoman then is seen telling Hush that a tracker has been put on Terry, so Hush can’t be where Batman will be, until Hush is ready to meet him again. It is then revealed that this Catwoman isn’t Selina Kyle. The issue ends with Hush trying to kill Catwoman after giving her a payback, which turns out to be playing cards and an ace card falls to the ground, for putting the tracer on Batman.
As a story this issue wasn’t bad, but a few things seem to be nagging at me.
First, Terry mentions that Hush has targeted both his and Bruce’s old foes. Thing is, we’ve only seen Hush target old Bruce Wayne foes, and we’ve only seen one foe from the Batman Beyond television show, and Hush had nothing to do with that initial scene of the first issue.
Second, now we know this issue takes place after Return of The Joker which timeline wise falls in between the first two seasons, but from what I’ve heard about the show (I’ve seen maybe three or so episodes and the movie), at that point Terry was firmly committed to the mission and Bruce had complete faith in him as a junior partner. The show would no longer have moments where Bruce and Terry fought about dedication to the never ending war on crime, nor would Terry complain about being tired and lack of a social or family life. Yet we see that tension here, and if this was in the middle of the show’s run rather than being after the show’s run, one would think Bruce having an army of giant Bat-Wraith robots would have come up, and Terry wouldn’t explain away his actions as “rookie mistakes.” That makes this book seem kind of like a bad television show remake which takes generalizations about the show and builds the movie (or whatever) around them.
Also, despite the introduction of Tommy Elliot’s history in the last issue, I’m still wondering if this is going to be put into actual continuity (as seen within the pages of Batman # 700) or not. For instance, if we are to believe the Hush seen is actually Tommy (whom Bruce thought had died long ago in the last issue), it would have been nice for Beechen to bring up the Elliot/Kyle relationship that has been in various satellite Bat-Books for a few years now. Also I’m a bit intrigued by the use of playing cards and the fact that a half Joker face appeared when Tim Drake was speaking with Terry. I doubt it could be The Joker, whom despite his actions and demeanor as Oberon Sexton in Batman & Robin, Joker usually is a madcap kind of fellow who wouldn’t be so serious (ummm, pun not intended) of a talker as we’ve seen Hush be in this series. Especially considering just how madcap the character always was in the various Timm-verse cartoons.
I’m still intrigued as to where this series is going, and what will be the result of it in terms of bringing Terry McGinnis into the DCU or making this a separate “Earth” but because of the nagging thoughts.
Batman Beyond #3:
Reviewed by SteveJRogers
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Admittedly, when the Batman Beyond animated series came out years ago I have to say that I wasn’t really impressed with the whole premise and even though just about everyone liked it, I just didn’t see the point. So with the advent of the Batman Beyond comic book mini series on the horizon, obviously, I wasn’t filled with anticipation and excitement . But after avoiding it out of pure disinterest I decided one day to pick up the first issue and give it a quick read through and to my surprise it was actually (dare I say) good. While the entire world is brand new to me, I liked how it started off, with a mysterious figure violently breaking out of Cadmus labs. I was immediately drawn into the story and found myself standing in my LCS absorbing every page, in fact I even read it twice! What really struck me was the completeness of the “Beyond” world. Everything seemed fully imagined and detailed. I don’t know if this is a hand me down from the Animated Series, but I felt that what was on the page was something fresh and completely original. Whether it was the architecture of the futuristic Gotham City or the attitude of Terry McGinnis, it was a breath of fresh air.
So, after reading the first issue and loving it I decided to pick up the second issue. This issue reads very well, it isn’t too wordy and the art is just amazing. Not only does the story pick up where it left off, there is a sense of dread when the newscaster says the word “Hush, and while Hush is getting a little on the staler side it seemed to refresh and erase every misconception I had in my mind. I feel that this issue is a constant race to keep up with something or someone that is always a step ahead of everyone else. Hush is back, although whether or not it is Thomas Elliot remains to be revealed. Hush was supposed to be dead in this future world, according to Bruce he was shot after jumping into a window and startling a woman who in turn shoots Hush, but of course Bruce is too hurt to confirm a kill so the possibility of Thomas Elliot being alive is certainly high. Hush, in this story is seen at the home of James Tate who is also known as “Armory” and who also fought Batman at one time. James comes home after a fruitless job search, as apparently it is hard for him to find a job as an architect because he spent some time in jail. Hush is holding James’ family hostage saying that he has a very special, one-time-only job for James. In the next scene it becomes obvious that James refused the job causing Hush to kill him and his family, using an antique umbrella sharpened to a razor point to commit the murder which in turn implicates Penguin. As Terry listens in on the police at the crime scene, Bruce compiles a list of Batman’s enemies, both new and old while commenting that before this Hush only targeted Batman’s enemies, now he is starting to kill innocent people. But before Terry can check the list out, he is distracted by someone who is trying to break into a Cloudware Data Storage facility, turns out it is Catwoman, who, after being discovered runs away as Terry gives chase. Terry loses her and goes back to the list. His first visit is to Calender Man who is setting arming a bomb intended for Barbara Gordon when Terry disrupts his work. As Terry begins his interrogation, Hush crashes through the window, and says that he’s going to kill Terry.
This issue was a very good issue, I forgot how good Adam Beechen is at what he does. He totally engrosses you with his story while he builds tension through the littlest of things that don’t seem very spectacular or meaningful. There is a sense of dread and despair in this issue, and while it can be done completely wrong, here it is done right. He builds on this doomsday motif, but it feels like it really means something, that it really can happen and that it will happen. It is more than a meaningless jumble of words that will mean something 3 or 4 issues down the line, it feels immediate and like it could happen very quickly. The script is written in a pitch perfect tone, the dialogue flows freely and naturally and most importantly I think he got the voice of the different characters in your head effortlessly. Terry Mcginnis is presented here as someone who doesn’t walk in someone else’s footsteps when it comes to both his general attitude and the way he handles things. He flourishes in the Batman Universe, by not becoming Bruce’s Batman, he is his own character and not merely a hastily put together flawed mirror of Bruce. He is distinct in the sense that he is like Nightwing. Sure, he is guided by Bruce, and while he is in the Batman Universe, he can become his decisions and semi-follows his own guide and natural instinct. But when you look at the larger picture this series, so far, has been consistent with it’s storytelling and progression. Adam Beechen isn’t being lazy , he is giving his characters that little piece of extra detail that makes them flourish which helps them believably exist in this future Gotham.
The artwork by Ryan Benjamin is rich in detail. Whether it’s Bruce’s wrinkled face, or the beautiful architecture that Terry and Catwoman fly by it is all well drawn. Benjamin’s art like I’ve said is detailed, but what truly is amazing is the feeling you get when you look at it. Yes you see the futuristic Gotham, with it’s broad buildings and advanced technology, but it also has a hint of the old Gotham, Bruce’s Gotham. They both blend into each other to create an unclear picture which at it’s best points mold into a great new background. The best scene however, is when Terry is chasing Catwoman, it literally feels like their flying and bouncing off of things, the angles are unusual and they really make your eyes spin and your brain search for the real picture. That scene is only made better by David Baron’s colors. He uses the right colors at exactly the right time, like in the aforementioned scene with Terry and Catwoman, the orange and red is majestic as they soar through the sky. Also Baron’s colors work in the scene where Bruce is recalling his final showdown with Hush, the picture is unclear and hard to look at, there is a lot of black and blue, and you really need to search out what’s happening, but so is Bruce, as he’s trying to remember these things, if that was it’s true intention it was done both artistically and with a sense of realism as the past gets vague as we age.
The issue as a whole is a really great read, if you are looking for a good, intriguing story with great art, this is the one for you. Although I initially had my doubts this is really well written and Beechen shows us he is at the top of his game.
Batman Beyond #2:
Reviewed by Dane
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And so after the Superman/Batman Annual, and a cameo in Batman # 700, it appears Terry McGinnis is ready for his close up, Mr. DeMil…errr Beechen! And so the 6 issue Batman Beyond mini-series, written by Adam Beechen and drawn by Ryan Benjamin and inked by John Stanisci begins here in a story called “Hush Beyond: Part 1, History Repeats.”
We begin with Neo-Gotham’s Cadmus Labs and Amanda Waller and an assistant are discussing a rampage that has happened. A subject they had been testing has escaped the facility and is on the loose.
Cutting then to Terry McGinnis whom is in a fight with Spellbinder, a villain from the cartoon series, and with Bruce Wayne as the voice from the cave; Batman easily dispatches Spellbinder and as he is catching his breath before going on to a new incident meets up with Micron, the Batman Beyond version of Atom who tries to recruit Batman for the Justice League, Batman again declines as he did at the end of the episode The Call.
Next we see a rather Rorschach-ian, or maybe we should just call him Hush since that’s what they are going for anyway, figure killing some old guy named Philip Cobb as a message to the new Batman.
McGinnis then returns to the cave to discuss the offer to join the Justice League with Wayne, who agrees that not joining was the right move. When word comes in about the Cobb murder and Wayne tells Terry that Cobb was an old member of his rouges (and real old in real time as the guy is primarily a Silver Age character and never was mentioned in the DCAU at all) called The Signalman, who apparently had stayed straight for a while after being caught, and Bruce sends Terry back out to investigate the scene.
In doing so, the way the murder went down causes Bruce to suspect Harvey Dent (who was never seen in Batman Beyond) has resurfaced, despite being as old as Bruce. Batman then gets word of an incident at St. James Hospital and heads over, partially because former Arkham inmates (Arkham was shut down and moved to a more secure facility shortly after The New Adventures of Batman & Robin, according to dialogue in the Return of The Joker movie) reside there, specifically Bruce’s old foe The Mad Hatter.
We do see a glimpse of Mad Hatter, but apparently Signalman’s murderer hadn’t gotten to him yet because Terry finds a nurse scared out of her mind with the killer hovering over her. The killer runs as Batman heads over and the nurse, badly cut up, tells Batman that the killer was looking for Mad Hatter and told her to “hush” and a Hush like bandage is left at the scene and we end it there.
Alright, so this is an interesting start to things. Kind of find the whole Hush angle interesting as Hush was created 2002 and has never appeared in the television medium yet. It must be said though that things are now starting to get a bit jumbled with all these attempts to make Terry McGinnis “fit” into the DCU proper. First we had the Annual in which Paul Levitz just squished current DC continuity and DCAU continuity. Then there is Batman # 700 happened where Damian Wayne was in Bruce’s role on the show guiding McGinnis, as well as Commissioner Barbra Gordon, but still affected by the events of The Killing Joke when in the DCAU Barbra is never crippled and walks quite well in Batman Beyond. And now we have this mini-series, and from the looks of it, it might be only taking place in the DCAU as there really isn’t any evidence to say otherwise, yet.
It’s an enjoyable ride, but still trying to kick the tires about whether or not this is going to be of much substance, or yet another attempt by a company to placate a segment of the audience and not really doing much afterward. Just seems pretty average so far.
Batman Beyond #1:
Reviewed by SteveJRogers
Before we get started on this issue, let’s do a little history of the future lesson.
Following the end of The New Adventures of Batman & Robin, or Gotham Knights as the series is sometimes called, Alan Burnett, Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and crew came up with a new series to continue their successful run with both Batman and Superman. That series was Batman Beyond, and it debuted in January of 1999. The setting of the series would be in the not too-distant future of Gotham City, or Neo-Gotham as it is called in the time period. The two-part pilot episode, simply called “Rebirth,” starts in the year 2019. Bruce Wayne is aged but still fighting the good fight and in a newly designed suit to fit the times. Unfortunately, while mixing it up with some thugs, Bruce is felled by a weak heart, and is forced to wave a gun in a thug’s face in order to save his bacon. Disgusted by his actions, Bruce hangs up the cowl for the last time and vows never to don the costumes again.
Flash forward about 20 years, Bruce is an old recluse, but events bring teenage Terry McGinnis into his life. McGinnis finds out who Wayne is, takes the redesigned suit out to seek revenge for his father’s murder, and after acquitting himself well and because the incident was tied into Wayne’s company, Terry McGinnis finds himself in employment by Bruce Wayne, and the new Batman.
The series would last three seasons, through the end of 2001, and includes a Direct To Video movie in 2000 called Return Of The Joker, which naturally deals with the return of Bruce’s old foe. Also in a 2005 episode of Justice League Unlimited, the second season finale of that show, tries to solidify McGinnis’ “claim” to the Batman/Bruce Wayne legacy.
Now, there were comic book tie-ins as well, as with just about all televised versions of DC properties; A six issue mini-series in 1999, written by series writer Hilary J. Bader when the series first came on the air, a 24 regular series running from 1999 through 2001 and a one-shot Return Of The Joker adaptation in 2000.
For those who are interesting in getting to know the series, besides watching the episodes by various means (all three seasons are now on DVD, as well as available for download on iTunes), check out the Earth-2.net’s World’s Finest Podcast (a blow-by-blow, episode by episode look at the Timm/Burnett/Dini “DC Animated Universe” of Batman The Animated Series, Superman The Animated Series, Gotham Knights, Batman Beyond, The Zeta Project, Static Shock, Justice League, Teen Titans and Justice League Unlimited) episodes 39 through 50 for a complete and exhaustive look at the series and the movie Return Of The Joker.
In the series’ third season, there is a two part episode called “The Call,” which will be referenced in this book. Terry is recruited by Superman to join the Justice League Unlimited, and to weed out a possible traitor in the league. It turns out to be Superman himself, whom was controlled by Starro The Conqueror, a space starfish whom Superman had in a preserve in his fortress. This was Superman’s lone appearance in the Batman Beyond time frame.
And so we come to a few years ago where rumblings of Terry McGinnis being inserted into the DCU comics proper started to be heard. It started with an appearance in an alternate universe in, funny enough, an issue of Superman/Batman (#22), getting an Earth designation during Countdown, and now this year Adam Beechen will be penning and Dustin Nguyen will be drawing a 6-part miniseries on Terry’s world. And that miniseries looks to be spinning out of Superman/Batman Annual #4 which is written by current Superman/Batman artist Paul Levitz and art by Renato Guedes and the story is titled “A Time Beyond Hope.”
We start with Terry in midst of taking on some thugs with Bruce in his customary role as voice in Terry’s head from the Bat-Cave, much like Barbra Gordon’s role with Stephanie Brown’s Batgirl in the current Batgirl book. Terry finds out the thugs are the latest in a stream of thugs whom have come from Metropolis, and spooked by something they call “The Ghost.” Doing some more sleuthing, Terry finds that Metallo has come to Gotham with the intention of pushing some new drugs, and after beating Metallo, Terry takes the drugs back to the cave, and realizes it has been laced with Kryptonite.
We find out that this issue takes place just after the end of the series as the events of The Call are mentioned, and as a reason for Superman apparently quitting the superhero business and pretty much going into hiding. In Superman’s absence, Metropolis has gone to hell and Lex Luthor was made “mayor for life.”
In trying to trace where the drugs are coming from, it is learned that Superman has even taken Clark Kent off the grid, but apparently is still leaving flowers at the grave of Lois Lane. We then see Superman hovering over Terry at Lois’ grave site, and through, well I guess at this point he is more Kal-El than either Superman or Clark Kent, so Kal inner monologues the fact that Luthor had been working hard while Superman was controlled by Starro to the point where one of the things to neutralize Superman was to get Kryptonite into residents’ blood in order to make it tough for Superman to even exist in Metropolis without some pain.
We then see that Terry has infiltrated a major drug ring, and after a skirmish with “The Ghost” he is put on assignment to get something from Superman’s fortress. Again “The Ghost” shows up at the Fortress Of Solitude, leaving Terry as one of the few “survivors” of a vanishing trick it does. This leads to Terry meeting the boss, which of course turns out to be Luthor; who was pulling the strings to have one more confrontation with “The Ghost”, aka Kal-El; who was also pulling Terry’s strings in order to get inside Luthor’s fortress.
Terry and Kal wind up fighting a foot soldier turned into a “Superman for a new generation” super soldier thanks to a solar collector. Terry figures out that the chair Luthor was in was stored with Kryptonite, so Terry manages to get Luthor out of the chair and destroys the chair, eliminating the Kryptonite. Kal then makes short work of the soldier and shows Terry exactly what “The Ghost” was doing when “zapping” thugs. It actually is a Phantom Zone projector, and Luthor gets sent to the Phantom Zone. Kal presents Terry with the projector and tells him to be the “warden” and that now that he is sure Metropolis can be back on the road to recovery that it is time to leave Earth. And he does just that, and tells Terry to call him if he needs any help via a signal watch, and that he’ll be watching Terry in the stars.
Whew. That’s a story alright! Definitely had a comic book feel to it rather than a TV show feel, which is good. And it appears Levitz was mixing some elements from the mainstream DC lore into the mix as well. For instance, Terry mentions the Robins dying, yet there was no death of a Robin in the DCAU; Dick Grayson became Nightwing, the Tim Drake character was an amalgamation of Jason Todd and the comics Tim Drake, but he wasn’t killed. It also appears Terry was “handed” the role as opposed to stealing the suit and “proving” himself worthy and bringing Bruce out of retirement. There is an appearance of and interaction between Zod and Mon-El inside the Phantom Zone, neither character ever appeared in a DCAU cartoon, it is possible that Levitz is referencing the events of the War Of The Superman event where Zod was trapped in the Phantom Zone, and Mon-El went in there as one of the wardens of the Zoners. And finally there is the ultimate fate of the DCAU’s Lex Luthor. In the final episode of Justice League Unlimited, “Destroyer” it appears that Luthor and Darkseid vanished into an anti-life equation Source Wall thing, and while of course this is comic books we are talking about, it did seem finite and Luthor never does appear, or is mentioned of, in Batman Beyond.
Those things are just nitpicky things though, just brought up for comparison purposes, and probably in a way to help the world of Batman Beyond “fit” into a DC Universe rather than picking up entirely in the DCAU’s continuity. There is one thing though that is a bit off putting, and that is Guedes’s art. For the most part its pretty great. Both Terry and Bruce appear to be comic book versions of their Batman Beyond selves, its just that for Superman, it seems Guedes has adopted the style that seems to be more and more prevalent of making Superman look exactly like Christopher Reeve. While its one thing for Clark to look like the actor who brought him to the big screen, its another thing entirely when everything else, right down to the costume displays in the Bat-Cave, is modeled after the cartoon design to see something from another medium. Especially considering Superman in the DCAU, including The Call, had his own distinctive look. It was nice though to see several different “designs” for Superman in a Fortress display case, we saw the black suit from the Return of storyline, normal Superman, the “current” Superman, Kingdom Come Superman and Electric Blue Superman.
Overall this does seem like a nice introduction to the Adam Beechen mini-series, and hopefully a long stay for Terry McGinnis in the DCU proper.
Superman/Batman Annual #4:
Reviewed by SteveJRogers
This is another show that you most likely have already seen. You might even already own the individual seasons. For the very first time the series is collected in one form on DVD. The series first aired in the late nineties after the success of Batman: The Animated Series. It featured Big Red saving Metropolis from the perils of many of his own rogues' gallery. It aired over three seasons and ended before the Timmverse continued on with Batman Beyond.
This set consists of seven discs. It has a total of fifty-four episodes for over eleven hundred minutes. There are special features throughout and even a brand new special feature specifically for this set. The new feature focuses on Darkseid.
The series featured all kinds of villains that you have heard of and some new ones that were made for the series. Metallo, Parasite, and Toyman are all present. Many may not know that Mercy Graves was created for the series. The classic voices of Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor and Tim Daly as Superman are obviously present as well. There is even a three-part episode that crosses over with Batman and Gotham City where Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill make an appearance.
Overall, the series is another great release from Warner Bros. I don't have any complaints about this set like I had with the past ones. The discs are still numbered as if they were separate seasons, but I get why now. Another great series to add to this year's Christmas list.
Superman: The Complete Series:
The series became available on November 24, so you can get it at most retailers. If you want to get it from Amazon, click here. Warner Bros. sent over this clip to promote the release as well.
Posted by Dustin
Dustin Ngyuen posted up some new images on his site yesterday. Among them included pages two and three for Batman: Streets of Gotham #5. Also among his post was a couple more pics of Little Gotham. The first issue that Little Gotham will be in comes out next Wednesday in Batman Annual #27. Also look for our intervoew with Dustin about Little Gotham in the next couple of days. Here are the images:
Posted by Dustin