Batman Beyond
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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 2006, 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 30 years into the future an aged 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 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 is now a virtual recluse 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.
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] From Justice League to Batman Beyond
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" (however, it is to be noted that this episode deals with heavy manipulation of the time stream) and "Epilogue" make BB canon. Aside from those certain episodes, there are also bits of foreshadowing in other JL and JLU episodes:
- "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").
- "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." But 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]
- In the Batman Beyond episode "Revenant," Bruce mentions that, "I've seen it all. Demons, witch boys, immortals, zombies..."
- This is proved to be true when he fights Hades and his zombie army in the Justice League episode "Paradise Lost," Thoth Khepera in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Avatar," as well as Solomon Grundy and encounters Etrigan the Demon in the Justice League episodes "A Knight of Shadows" and "Kid Stuff" (in addition to the Batman: The Animated Series episode "The Demon Within"). The mentioning of immortals would probably be Ra's al Ghul and Vandal Savage. "Witch Boys" refers to Klarion, whom he fought in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "The Demon Within."
- In the Batman Beyond episode "Speak No Evil," Bruce noted that only "normal" gorillas didn't eat meat. This is perhaps a reference to Gorilla Grodd or the Ultra-Humanite.
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. It may have taken him years to resolve the toxicity issues of it and incorporate them into the Batsuit.
- Bruce still has his Gray Ghost merchandises 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."
[edit] Project Batman Beyond
Template:Spoiler 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] 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.
