Batman Beyond
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| Batman Beyond | |
|---|---|
 Batman Beyond logo |
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| Genre | Animated television series |
| Starring | Will Friedle Kevin Conroy Stockard Channing Cree Summer Angie Harmon |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 52 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | The WB (Kids' WB) |
| Original run | January 10, 1999 – December 18, 2001 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Batman Beyond (known as Batman of the Future in Europe, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand) was an American animated television series created by WB Network in collaboration with DC Comics as a continuation of the Batman legacy. The series is part of the DC Animated Universe; kicking off stories of the future time period of Bruce Timm's ongoing universe.
Batman Beyond began airing in 1999 and ended in 2001. With 52 episodes and one direct-to-video movie under its belt, the series was then put on hold for the new Justice League animated series. As of 2007, Batman Beyond remains on hiatus with no plans to revive the series in the near future. However, there was a short-lived spin-off, The Zeta Project, also set in the DC Animated Universe's future. It is worth noting that in The Zeta Project's first season episode "Shadows", there is a crossover with Batman Beyond; in this continuity, the story takes place between the episode "Countdown" and the series finale "Unmasked."
In the third season of Batman Beyond, a two-part story featuring the Justice League entitled "The Call" formed an early basis for Bruce Timm's next series, Justice League, which was in turn succeeded by Justice League Unlimited. The setting and characters of Batman Beyond were also briefly revived in 2004 for an episode of Static Shock in which Static is accidentally transported forty years into the future.
Justice League Unlimited revisited the world of Batman Beyond twice in 2005. The first time featured Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern transported fifty years into the future to stop a time-traveling villain with the help of the future Justice League Unlimited cast, including Terry McGinnis as Batman. The second time occurred during the episode "Epilogue", where the true secret origin of the future Batman is learned in a story meant to be the de facto series finale for this Batman's story.
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[edit] Story
In the pilot episode, we see approximately 45 years into the future an aging Bruce Wayne is having increasing difficulty handling criminals he once subdued with ease. One night, a heart attack forces him to betray a lifelong personal principle by threatening a criminal with a gun; subsequently, Bruce decides to retire from crimefighting permanently.
The story then fast-forwards another 20 years from the conclusion of the present day DCAU (as evident by the commentary found on Batman Beyond: Season One). Gotham City is now a futuristic megalopolis equipped with staggering high rises and hovering/flying vehicles.
Bruce Wayne is now a virtual recluse spending his latter years living in bitter isolation with no companion but his guard dog, Ace. It is implied by virtue of his continuing to fight crime long after he should have, his retaining the costumes worn by Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl, and a conversation that even before he had a heart attack something horrible transpired that caused Bruce to sever his ties with the Justice League and forbid his disciples from ever again assuming their alter-egos. The events which caused all of this was finally revealed in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
One evening, while out on a walk, Bruce gets involved with a fight between Terry McGinnis and a pack of Jokerz; the exertion aggravates an apparent heart condition and Terry has to help him back to Wayne Manor. While staying at the mansion, Terry discovers the entrance to the Batcave, and later returns to "borrow" the Batsuit to avenge the death of his father, Warren McGinnis, who had accidentally stumbled upon a secret biological weapons program by his employers. As crime and corruption are beginning once again to rear their ugly heads in Gotham, Bruce feels he has no choice but to allow Terry to assume the mantle of Batman.
Terry continues the battle against crime tutored by Bruce, and aided by a new black-and-red, high-tech Batsuit that augments his abilities, fires Batarangs from the wrists, flies using jets fired from the feet, allows eavesdropping through a hypersensitive touch microphone, and provides camouflage abilities. He has his own rogues gallery, such as the seductive shapeshifter Inque, the confusing hypnotist Spellbinder, the bitter, deaf sound expert Shriek, the deadly assassin Curare, the insane terrorist Mad Stan, and the African hunter Stalker. However, on occasion, Terry is also forced to face his mentor's old foes, such as the atrophying Mr. Freeze, Bane (elderly, wasted, and dying from his consumption of Venom, the substance that gave him his strength), the immortal Ra's al Ghul, and even the reborn Joker.
Terry's greatest initial foe is Derek Powers, a ruthless billionaire who took over Wayne Industries and was later accidentally mutated into a radioactive monstrosity known as Blight. Powers had Terry's father, Warren, murdered after Warren discovered Powers was in the process of developing a biological weapons program. The first season ended with a showdown between Batman and Blight aboard an abandoned nuclear submarine, where Powers was in hiding after his identity as Blight was revealed to the world by his ambitious son Paxton, who planned to usurp his father as chairman of Wayne-Powers.
Maxine "Max" Gibson is a 17-year old computer genius who discovers Batman's secret identity, and helps Terry with everything from computer hacking, to babysitting, to coming up with excuses for Terry's girlfriend, Dana Tan. Max plays an integral part in Batman's war on crime, essentially as his Alfred.
Terry also finds one other ally, though a begrudging one: Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl. Having followed in the footsteps of her father, James Gordon, Barbara is now Police Commissioner of Gotham City, and she is unhappy with the idea of a new Batman, especially a teenager, as she is still haunted by the same event that caused Bruce to go into isolation. However, knowing from personal experience that she cannot deter Terry anymore than she could have been deterred from being Batgirl, she relents, possibly also out of respect for her mentor, the original Batman. Also, passing lines between Barbara and Bruce suggest that, at the time of Batgirl's retirement, the suit had bullet holes in it that had not yet been repaired. It is implied early on in the series that Barbara and Bruce were in love for a period of time.
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Post-Series Cross-Overs: 2004–2005
| Image | Title | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Original Airdate(s) | # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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"Future Shock" | Vic Dal Chele | Stan Berkowitz | January 17, 2004 | 40 |
| Static is sent 40 years into the future, where he has to help the Batman of that era, Terry McGinnis, save a captured superhero: Static's future self. | |||||
| Image | Title | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Original Airdate(s) | # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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"The Once and Future Thing, Part 1: Weird Western Tales" | Dan Riba | Dwayne McDuffie | January 22, 2005 | 12 |
| Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern chase Chronos to the past, where they team up with some of the greatest DC heroes of the Old West. After defeating stolen future tech in that era, they again follow Chronos to the future. Warhawk from the Batman Beyond era is revealed to be Green Lantern and Hawkgirl's son. Guest starring: Bat-Lash, Jonah Hex, and other DC characters from the Old West. This episode also teases with the idea of Wonder Woman and Batman having a relationship. | |||||
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"The Once and Future Thing, Part 2: Time Warped" | Joaquim dos Santos | Dwayne McDuffie | January 29, 2005 | 13 |
| Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman's pursuit of Chronos takes them to the future Gotham City of Batman Beyond, just in time to face a battle with a group of Jokerz beside that era's Justice League. The time travelers are taken to the JLU's refuge. An older Bruce Wayne reveals the street gang they fought together was enhanced by Chronos who lead them to kill the rest of the League of that era. The combined heroes defeat the retooled Jokerz, and Batman traps Chronos in a time loop, right before he started his first time travel. This episode contains references to Crisis On Infinite Earths. The only place in the DCAU in which Hal Jordan appears as Green Lantern. | |||||
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"Epilogue" | Dan Riba | Dwayne McDuffie | July 23, 2005 | 26 |
| In the future, Amanda Waller reveals to an older Terry McGinnis that through her scientific manipulations, he is actually Bruce Wayne's son. The final scene in this episode mirrors the first scene in Batman: The Animated Series, as the creative team thought it could possibly be the final JLU episode. | |||||
[edit] From Justice League to Batman Beyond
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When the original Justice League series premiered, there were debates on whether or not Batman Beyond would stay as a main future or possible future, mainly because not all JL viewers watched Batman Beyond or it would restrict the creative teams from doing certain stories. The Static Shock episode, "Future Shock," as well as the Justice League Unlimited episodes, "The Once and Future Thing" and "Epilogue" are both set in the future of Batman Beyond, thus making the series canon. It should be noted that "The Once and Future Thing" deals with heavy manipulation of the time stream, which, as acknowledged by the creators of the episode (including Bruce Timm and others), intentionally leaves Batman Beyond's existence vague and thus allows the series to be considered a possible future by those so inclined. The future of Batman Beyond is also foreshadowed throughout other episodes in both Justice League and Justice League Unlimited:
- "Out of the Past" references are made to the "near apocalypse of '09" in which Ra's Al Ghul is somehow involved. This event is referenced or alluded to several other times in the DCAU continuity
- "Injustice for All" — Batman pockets a huge chunk of Kryptonite belonging to Lex Luthor. Sometime off-screen, he most likely takes a piece of it to keep in storage in the event that Superman goes rogue, as seen in Batman Beyond episode "The Call" (The rest of that chunk was apparently destroyed by Amazo in the Justice League episode "Tabula Rasa").
- Bruce mentioned to Terry that "this isn't the first time that Superman went rogue" on episodes The Call was referring of when the Man of Steel was brainwashed by Darkseid on Superman two-parter episodes Legacy and also of his Justice Lords counterpart from another reality on Justice League two parter episodes A Better World.
- "Twilight" — Batman feels a bit sick from the Boom Tube, referring to the older Bruce Wayne stating that he didn't really trust Boom Tubes in the Batman Beyond episode "The Call."
- "Maid of Honor" — The dresses in the Batman Beyond episode "Spellbound" might have belonged to Princess Audrey, Princess of Kasnia. In addition, a younger Vilmos Egans can be seen in the background when Wonder Woman initially enters the International Space Station reception in the first part of "Maid of Honor," but prior to the paparazzi spotting her.
- "Wild Cards" — During Batman Beyond, it was stated that Bruce had been fighting the Royal Flush Gang for years. He first battles them in this episode.
- Later that original statement is proven to be true by the flashback in "Epilogue" when he fights them for at least a second time.
- "Starcrossed" — The storyboard artists made sure that the Freeze Gun in the Batcave was still intact as we see Bruce and Terry using it a few times against Inque.
- "Task Force X" — Justice League technician and Cadmus spy Vance (Robert Vance), would later become a software tycoon passing away thereafter as seen in the Batman Beyond episode "Lost Soul."
- This possible Batman Beyond connection is highly debatable considering when the software tycoon Vance died, a young Summer Gleason, originally from Batman: The Animated Series, reported on his death herself, showing that Batman Beyond's Vance had to have died soon after Justice League Unlimited took place. So for that Vance to have been the Cadmus spy, he'd have to have aged a great deal in a small amount of time to be an old man for Gleason to still look young to report his death. The Vance in "Task Force X" was never directly referred to as "Robert" so most likely the name similarities were just a coincidence.
- "Double Date" — It was confirmed by Dwayne McDuffie that Edgar from the Batman Beyond episode "Mind Games" is Edgar Mandragora, son of crime lord Steven Mandragora.
- While Justice League Unlimited sees the Huntress making her animated debut, there was consideration of bringing the original Pre-Crisis Huntress/Helena Wayne into Batman Beyond, the notion being that it would be more natural than doing a "Batgirl Beyond."[1]
Also, a few moments from Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman:
- Batwoman's costume could have been the inspiration for Bruce's design of the Batman Beyond costume.
- Barbara briefly flirts with Bruce during a phone call.
As well as some subtle nods to The Zeta Project:
- "Secret Society" — The Justice League are training with some robots that resemble Zeta's original appearance in Batman Beyond.
- "Fearful Symmetry" — Supergirl, Green Arrow, and The Question are attacked by Zeta-type robots. The robots are connected to the army and General Hardcastle (from Superman: The Animated Series, though a Martian invader poses as him in the Justice League pilot episode "Secret Origins"). Also, the term "metahumans" appears here, cementing Static's connection to the DCAU.
- The energy generator from the Justice League episode "The Brave and the Bold" is also seen in the Batman Beyond episode "Heroes."
In part two of the Batman Beyond episode "The Call," it was mentioned that the original Batman never made it past being a part-time member (despite being active in many League cases).
- In the third part of the Justice League episode "Secret Origins," Batman says that when the Justice League needs help to call him.
- The first part of the Justice League episode "Hereafter" has the Justice League discussing on who should be recruited after Superman's (supposed) death, and Wonder Woman suggests that they should have Batman joining full time.
- In the Justice League Unlimited episode "Panic in the Sky," the founding JL members decide to turn themselves in hoping prove innocent of any wrongdoing (using their satellite to destroy a town). Batman, wanting to directly prove their innocence, goes against joining them, stating that he's a part-time member.
- In the Batman: The Animated Series episode "See No Evil," Bruce may have purchased samples of Carrows' invisibility plastic and copies of research notes from his assistant Sam Giddell after his fight with Lloyd Ventrix.
- Bruce still has the Gray Ghost merchandise he collected since childhood and still keeps them in the cases as seen on Batman: The Animated Series episode "Beware the Gray Ghost," as they were seen again in the Batman Beyond episode "Inque."
- In The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years, Dick Grayson received a flightsuit from a Himalayian warrior, which he incorporated with his Nightwing suit.
[edit] Project Batman Beyond
The Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue," set fifteen years after the conclusion of the Batman Beyond series, reveals that Bruce Wayne is actually Terry McGinnis' biological father. The episode is told largely in flashback. Terry confronts Amanda Waller, former head of Project Cadmus, who reveals to him that she came to believe the world would always need a Batman.
To that end, Waller instituted "Project Batman Beyond" and employed the Clock King (still presumably a member of her Task Force X) to substitute an injection that Warren McGinnis received during a routine physical. The substitute shot contained a nano-virus developed from Project Cadmus nanotechnology and a sample of Bruce's DNA. Her plan was to parallel Bruce's childhood trauma in Terry to create another Batman. To that end, she enlisted Bruce's former fiancée Andrea Beaumont (the title character from Mask of the Phantasm) to assassinate Terry's parents in front of him. However, Beaumont balked at the assignment at the last moment and returned to Waller, where the two had a verbal confrontation. Eventually, Waller came to realize that by killing to create a new Batman, she would be going against everything that the original Dark Knight stood for. Tragically, Derek Powers would later instigate Terry's path towards becoming the new Batman anyway by having Warren murdered.
Terry, who had been contemplating abandoning Bruce, the mantle of Batman, and Dana Tan (the two were still in a relationship), eventually opts to return home and continue on as Batman as he has. He also calls Dana and asks her to meet him, with the implication that he intends to ask her to marry him.
According to writer Dwayne McDuffie, Bruce was aware that Terry was practically a clone of him, but would never bring it up as he wanted Terry to be his own man. [2]
It should be noted that the black and white sequences of "Epilogue" are intended to represent a dream and not flashbacks.
Though it is not specified in the episode, as Warren McGinnis' sperm was genetically reprogrammed to contain Bruce's DNA, Terry's brother Matt is also the biological son of Bruce Wayne. Bruce Timm himself stated, "Well, we didn’t come right out and say it, but since Warren's love gun was shooting 'Bruce Wayne bullets,' yes, Matt is also Bruce's biological son." [3]
It is interesting to note that this episode marks the first time that the title "Batman Beyond" was actually mentioned in the context of a Batman Beyond story. While in costume, Terry identifies himself simply as Batman. In some parts of the world, the title itself was dropped, and the show is called Batman of the Future.
[edit] Movies
- Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker - A direct-to-video feature in which the Joker makes his return to Gotham. The original release was censored for elements of violence and death, and a second, uncensored release came later.
There was also a planned Batman Beyond live action feature, to be written by Paul Dini, however Warner Bros. shelved the project and eventually went with the Batman Begins concept instead.
Finally, a Direct-to-DVD sequel to Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker was to feature Selina Kyle/Catwoman. This project never made it off the ground; however, much of the concept of this film eventually made it into the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue," which is seen by many as Batman Beyond's true finale.
[edit] DVD Releases
[edit] Season Releases
[edit] Individual Episodes
| DVD Name | Release Date | Episodes | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | March 21, 2006 | 13 | Special Features: Creators' Commentary on 2 Key Episodes; Inside Batman Beyond: Meet Series Creators; Music of the Knight: Enjoy Score-Only Versions of Key Scenes. |
| The Complete Second Season | October 24, 2006 | 26 | Special Features: Creators' Commentary on 2 Key Episodes; Inside Batman Beyond: The Panel - In-Depth Dialogue with the Show's Creators. |
| The Complete Third Season | March 20, 2007 | 13 | Special Features: Inside Batman Beyond; Featurettes on 4 episodes by producers, directors, and Will Friedle. |
| DVD Name | Release Date | Episodes | Additional Information |
| Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (edited version) | December 12, 2000 | 1 | Commentary by the Filmmakers; Behind-the-Scenes Documentary; Deleted Scenes; Animation Tests; Music Video Crash by Mephisto Odyssey featuring Static X; Animated Character Bios; Interactive Menus; Production Notes; Trailers; Scene Access; Subtitles: English & Francais. |
| Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (original uncut version) | April 23, 2002 | 1 | Commentary by the Filmmakers; Behind-the-Scenes Documentary; Deleted Scenes; Animation Tests; Music Video Crash by Mephisto Odyssey featuring Static X; Animated Character Bios; Interactive Menus; Production Notes; Trailers; Scene Access; Subtitles: English & Francais. |
| Batman Beyond: School Dayz and Spellbound | March 2, 2004 | 6 | |
| Batman Beyond: Tech Wars and Disappearing Inque | March 2, 2004 | 6 |
[edit] Comics
Like most DCAU shows, after an initial 6-issues limited series released in March 1999, Batman Beyond had its own comic book series, running through November 1999 until October 2001, for a total of 24 issues. They were set in the same world of the show and aimed at younger readers. the last issue of batman beyond showed how Ras al ghul throws luzarus liquid over earth changing it back to the era of the fist batman and the justice league.No one remembers what happened except batman,superman and ras al ghul. Every one born in in these 45 yeas dissapears.the old baddies come back and the issue ends with justice league fighting joker,bizzaro,lex robot and the icicle.
Originally, Batman Beyond #3 (the monthly series) was to focus on The Terrific Trio from the Batman Beyond episode "Heroes." The story would have 2-D Man and Magma trying to revive their former teammate, Freon. It was rejected due to their resemblance to the Fantastic Four.[4]
Terry also appeared in Superman Adventures #64. The story has Terry/Batman traveling to the present and teaming up with Superman against a futuristic version of Brainiac.
More recently, in Superman/Batman #22 (written by Jeph Loeb), a Batman wearing the Beyond costume appears, making his first foray into the regular DC Comics continuity. The plot involves Bizarro being transported to an alternate version of Gotham City. It would appear from #23 that this Batman is someone named "Tim" (presumably Tim Drake). However, the writers admitted to the mistake of misnaming the character, and although the name was rumored to be changed to "Terry" in the trade paperback, it still reads "Tim" (see first page of "Smoke and Mirrors" chapter in the trade paperback). Another oddity is the Batwing is the version from the original animated series, not Batman Beyond. Whether this is the regular DC universe or a parallel one is still to be seen. It seems possible that this may be an alternate reality as the same story has Batzarro transported to the world of Superman: Red Son, an Elseworlds communist version of Superman.
On March 3, 2007 Dan DiDio announced that Terry McGinnis may be showing up in the DCU sometime this year link
[edit] Spin-offs
Batman Beyond had a spin-off called The Zeta Project, featuring the android Zeta from the Batman Beyond episode "Zeta." Batman would guest star in the episode "Shadows."
The supervillain Stalker was to have appeared in The Zeta Project episode "Taffy Time," but didn't make it. The second season episode, "Ro's Gift," has an appearance made by the Brain Trust from the Batman Beyond episode "Mind Games." Terry McGinnis/Batman was originally slated to appear in this episode as well, but was cut since Timm and company were working on Justice League.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Batman Beyond - Official site
- Batman Beyond at the Internet Movie Database
- Batman Beyond at The World's Finest
- Batman Beyond picture gallery
- Batman Beyond: The Tomorrow Knight index
- Batman Beyond at TV.com
- Batman Beyond: The Movie @ BYTB: Batman Yesterday, Today and Beyond
| The Bruce Timm DC animated universe | |
|---|---|
| Television series: | Batman: The Animated Series | Superman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures | The New Batman/Superman Adventures | Batman Beyond | Static Shock | The Zeta Project | Justice League | Justice League Unlimited |
| Feature-length films: | Batman: Mask of the Phantasm | Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero | Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker | Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman |
| Comic books: | Batman Adventures | Superman Adventures | Justice League Adventures | Batman Beyond | Gotham Girls |
| Web cartoons: | Gotham Girls |
| Video Games: | DCAU Video Games |
