Batman Beyond: Encyclopedia - Batman Beyond

Batman Beyond

Batman Beyond (Batman of the Future in Europe, Latin America and Australia/New Zealand) was an 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 the future time period of Bruce Timm's still continuing universe.

The show began in 1999 and ended in 2002 with 52 episodes and one Direct-to-Video movie under its belt, and there are 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.

The final episodes of Batman Beyond (the two part Justice League Unlimited arc) was also the basis for Bruce Timm's next show - Justice League, which eventually led to the latest show; Justice League Unlimited.

The setting and characters of Batman Beyond was 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 revisted 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-travelling villain with the help of the future Justice League Unlimited cast - including Terry McGinnis (Batman). The second time occurred during the episode Epilogue, where we learn the true secret origin of the future Batman.

Batman Beyond - Story

The story is set approximately forty years from the conclusion of The New Batman Adventures. Gotham City is a darker and more futuristic city, equipped with staggering high rises and hovering / flying vehicles. An aged Bruce Wayne is no longer able to fight criminal elements as he once did. During his last battle, hampered by age and a heart attack, he breaks with a lifelong principle by threatening a criminal with a gun to keep the upper hand. Shocked and dismayed at what he was forced to do, Bruce retires from crime fighting indefinitely.

One day, he rescues high school student Terry McGinnis from a pack of Jokerz (teenage gang members who idolise Batman's archenemy The Joker, who has been missing for decades); the exertion sets off his heart condition, and Terry has to help him back to Wayne Manor. While there, Terry discovers the entrance to the Batcave, and "borrows" the Batsuit to seek vengeance against the men who murdered his father who had accidentally become involved in the revelation of a secret biological weapons development. Just as the criminal elements begin to threaten Gotham again, Bruce allows Terry to assume his 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, shapeshifting Inque, the confusing hypnotist Spellbinder, and the bitter, deaf sound expert Shriek, though on occasion he is 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 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 for discovering his 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 intended to usurp Derek's position as chairman of Wayne-Powers as well as murder his father.

Maxine "Max" Gibson is a 17 year old computer genius who discovers Batman's secret identity, Terry was the Tomorrow Knight. 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 begruged one: Barbara Gordon. Having followed in her father, James Gordon's footsteps, Barbara is now Police Commissioner of Gotham City and she isn't happy with the idea of a new Batman, especially a teenager, as she is still haunted by the Joker's torture and mutilation of Tim Drake (Robin) as seen in "The Return of the Joker". However, knowing from personal experience that she cannot deter Terry anymore than she could have been deterred from being Batgirl, she does cut hit him some slack. But, this could be more out of respect for her old mentor, Bruce. It is also implied early on in the series that Barbara and Bruce were in love for a period of time.

Batman Beyond - Episode Guide

Batman Beyond - 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 the genetic father of Terry and his younger brother Matt, due to a genetic alteration on Terry's father, Warren McGinnis, by Amanda Waller using Project Cadmus nanotechnology. At this revelation, Terry confronts Wayne whom he wrongly believes is responsible for this manipulation and decides to resign as Batman. However, he later discussed the matter with the elderly Amanda Waller who confess that she instead was the culprit. With this knowledge, Terry resumes his Batman career and proposes to his longtime girlfriend Dana, balancing the legacy of being the Batman with the personal happiness that Bruce Wayne never found.

Batman Beyond - Movies

• Return of the Joker - A direct-to-video feature in which the Joker makes his return to Gotham.

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.

Batman Beyond - DVD releases

Batman Beyond: The Complete First Season: Contains a 2 DVD set with all of the episodes from the first season as well as audio commentaries, interviews, and other special features. (Available on March 21st 2006)

Batman Beyond - Comics

Like most DCAU shows, Batman Beyond had its own comic series (after an initial mini-series), set in the same world of the show and aimed at younger readers. 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 getting transported to an alternate version of Gotham. It would appear from #23 that this Batman is not Terry but someone named Tim, presumably Tim Drake. 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.

Batman Beyond - Spinoffs

The television series had a spinoff called The Zeta Project, featuring the shape-shifting android Zeta from the Batman Beyond episode "Zeta."

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Batman Beyond", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki