Batman Beyond
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Batman Beyond | |
|---|---|
 Cover art by Bruce Timm from the Batman Beyond comic book miniseries, depicting Batman battling Blight. |
|
| Genre | Animated television series |
| Running time | 22 Minutes |
| Starring | Will Friedle |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original channel | The WB |
| Original run | January 10, 1999–December 18, 2001 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
Batman Beyond (known as Batman of the Future in Europe, Latin America and Australia/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.
The show 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.
Contents |
[edit] Story
In the stories 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 day a heart attack forces him to betray a lifelong personal principle by threatening a criminal with a gun, and subsequently Wayne decides to retire from crimefighting permanently.
The story then jumps 20 years from the conclusion of present day DCAU (as evident by the commentary found on Batman Beyond: Season One). Gotham is a city of the future equipped with staggering high rises and hovering/flying vehicles.
Wayne 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 Wayne to severe his ties with the Justice league and forbid his disciples from ever again assuming their alter-egos. Just what happened is finally cleared up in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
One evening while out on a walk Wayne 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 (who had accidentally become involved in the revelation of a secret biological weapons development). As crime and corruption are beginning once again to rear their ugly heads in Gotham, Wayne feels he has no choice but to allow Terry to assume the Batman alter-ego.
Young McGinnis 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 most deadly of the League of Assassins Curare, the insane terrorist Mad Stan, and the African hunter Stalker. However, on occasion he 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 WayneCorp and was later accidentally mutated into a radioactive monstrosity who called himself Blight. Powers had Terry's father murdered after Mr. McGinnis 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 (voiced by Cree Summer) is a 17-year old computer genius who discovers Batman's secret identity. Since she discovered Terry's alter-ego she's been helping him 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.
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 Wayne 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. It is also confirmed during Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker that Dick Grayson (Nightwing) is still alive in this time period.
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Post-Series Cross-Overs: 2004–2005
| Series | Production Code | Title | Airdate | Episode Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Static Shock | N.A. | "Future Shock" | January 17, 2004 | Static/Virgil Ovid Hawkins 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. |
| Justice League Unlimited | N.A. | "The Once and Future Thing: Part 1" | January 22, 2005 | At the ending of this time traveling episode, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern end up in the future, being rescued by the future Batman in Terry McGinnis, Static, and Warhawk in the nick of time. |
| Justice League Unlimited | N.A. | "The Once and Future Thing: Part 2" | January 29, 2005 | Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern go to the future of Batman Beyond, where they meet a 65-year-old Static, a teenage Terry McGinnis and Warhawk working for that period's Justice League Unlimited. |
| Justice League Unlimited | N.A. | "Epilogue" | July 23, 2005 | Terry McGinnis learns the secret connections between Bruce, him, and his brother Matt, and his parents' unwitting involvements of Amanda Waller's scheme at Project Cadmus over thirty years ago. |
[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, while this episode acknowledges Batman Beyond's existence, it also deals with heavy manipulation of the time stream, which, as acknowledged by the creators of the episode (Bruce Timm and others), intentionally leaves Batman Beyond's existence vague (making it a possible future)) 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 offscreen he most likely takes a piece of it to keep in storage in the event Superman goes rogue, as seen in "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 Old Bruce stating that he didn't really trust Boom Tubes in Batman Beyond's "The Call."
- Maid Of Honor — The Princess Audrey dresses in "Spellbound" might have belonged to Kasnian Princess Audrey. In addition, a younger Vilmos Egans can be seen in the background when Wonder Woman initially enters the International Space Station reception in Part 1, 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 storyboarders 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 Batman Beyond "Lost Soul".
- Double Date — It was confirmed by Dwayne McDuffie that Edgar from Batman Beyond "Mind Games" is Edgar Mandragora, son of crimelord Steven Mandragora.
- While Justice League Unlimited sees the Helena Bertinelli/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 "Revenant", Bruce mentions in a speech 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 as well as Solomon Grundy and encounters Etrigan the Demon in the JL episodes "A Knight of Shadows" and "Kid Stuff" (along with the Batman 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 BTAS's "The Demon Within".
- "In Speak No Evil", Bruce noted that only "normal" gorillas didn't eat meat. This is perhaps a reference to Gorilla Grodd or Ultra-Humanite.
Also, a few moments from 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 the phone call.
As well as some subtle nods to The Zeta Project:
- Secret Society — The Justice League are training with some robots. The robots 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 JL Secret Origins). Also, the term metahumans appears here, cementing Static's connection to the DCAU.
- The energy generator from Justice League "The Brave and the Bold" is also seen in Batman Beyond "Heroes"
In part 2 of 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).
- Secret Origins, Part 3 has Batman saying that when the League needs help to call him.
- Hereafter, Part 1 has the League discussing on who should be recruited after Superman's (supposed) death. Wonder Woman suggests that they should have Batman joining full time.
- In Panic In The Sky, The founding JL members decide to turn themselves in hoping prove innocent of any wrongdoing (Using their satelite to destroy a town). Batman wanting to directly prove their innocence, goes against joining them, stating that he's a part-time member.
[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's genetic father. During the time of the Justice League, Amanda Waller, the head of Project Cadmus, came to believe the world would always need a Batman. To that end, she instituted "Project Batman Beyond". Waller used Project Cadmus nanotechnology and a sample of Bruce's DNA to create a nanovirus that was injected in Terry's father Warren during a routine physical. Waller's plan was to parallel Bruce's childhood trauma in Terry to 'create' another Batman, and she enlisted the aid of an assassin to murder Terry's parents. However, the assassin could not go through with the killings, and, in a nod to the Mask of the Phantasm movie, it's revealed that Waller's assassin was The Phantasm, Bruce's former fianceé Andrea Beaumont.
The insinuation made is that Beaumont wouldn't kill the McGinnises because she knew first hand what the death of Bruce's parents did to him and what it did to her, and she refused to see that happen to another person. Waller realizes that by killing to create a new Batman she would be going against all that Batman stood for. Terry eventually mends fences with Bruce and makes the first steps towards treating him as his father. Terry also calls his girlfriend Dana Tan 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] By the end of the episode, Terry is on his way to having full lives as both Batman and a family man — a balance which Bruce was never able to reach.
It should be noted that the black and white sequences of the "Epilogue" episode are intended to represent a dream and not flashbacks.
Though it is not specified in the episode, as Terry's father's sperm was genetically reprogrammed to contain Bruce Wayne-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
- 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. 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. A "Batman Beyond: Year One" live action short fan-film was made as a tribute to the show by a group of fans.
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
| DVD Name | Release Date | Episodes | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 21 March 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 | 24 October 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 | 20 March 2007 | 13 |
[edit] Individual Episodes
| DVD Name | Release Date | Episodes | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (edited version) | 12 December 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) | 23 April 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 | 2 March 2004 | 6 | |
| Batman Beyond: Tech Wars and Disappearing Inque | 2 March 2004 | 6 |
[edit] Comics
Like most DCAU shows, after an initial 6-issues limited series released on March 1999, Batman Beyond had its own comic 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.
- Terry also appeared in Superman Adventures #64. The story has Terry/Batman traveling to the present and teaming up with Superman against Brainiac Beyond.
- Originally, Batman Beyond #3 (The monthly series) was to focus on The Terrific Trio from the episode Heroes. The story would have 2D and Magma trying to revive their former member Freon. It was rejected due to their resemblance to the Fantastic Four.[4]
But 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. 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.
[edit] Spinoffs
The television series had a spinoff called The Zeta Project, featuring the android Zeta from the Batman Beyond episode "Zeta." Batman would guest star in the episode "Shadows".
Stalker was to have appeared in The Zeta Project episode "Taffy Time", but didn't make it. Season 2 episode, "Ro's Gift", has an appearance made by Brain Trust from the Batman Beyond episode "Mind Games". Terry McGinnis as 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 |
