Hi all!
You may remember my not stated but extremely obvious love for the Batman that shone through during my eighth top ten list. It can not be denied. I love the guy, from the no tent or marshmallow left behind camp fest that is the original 1966-68 Batman series, to the dark, gritty comic book legend that is The Dark Knight Returns.
I've loved the guy for many years, but it all started back when I first watched Batman: The Animated Series. It was beautiful. It wasn't too colorful or nutty, it was perfectly fun just the way it was, with action and style to boot. And since then, there've been plentiful Batman shows throughout the years, all of which I've enjoyed. Batman: The Brave and the Bold was a great departure from the norm, Beware the Batman oozed with ideas and opppertunites, and, hell, I'm one of the people who really likes The Batman. But, out of all the shows, today we're here to talk about the one that really took a risk: Batman Beyond.
Thought by many to be some cheap way to revive Batman and get someone "relatable" into the costume, the show surprised many with the epic two-parter that acted like tight pants and made an impression. It was sad, it was exciting, and our new hero, Terry McGinnis, was just plain likeable. (Personally I was sold with the announcement that Kevin Conroy was old Bruce.) And it didn't stop there! Whilst not as good as the original BTAS, Batman Beyond had a multitude of great stories and proved it was indeed a worthy successor to the one that started it all.
It didn't end there either. Following its cancellation, Batman Beyond continued to cast it's handsome shadow over animated medium, featuring crossovers with the acclaimed Justice League, releasing a feature film, and even recieving a new, recent short film for Batman's 75th anniversary.
And today, we're going to be delving into the top (non-comic book, sorry folks) ten stories taking place in the myself-proclaimed Batman Beyondverse! So...let's go!
(Note: The Once and Future Thing is disqualified for not having this time period in it for half the episode, and for otherwise taking first place for Bruce of the future and Bruce of the past conversing.)
10) "Shriek" (Batman Beyond episode)
Written by: Stan Berkowitz
Synopsis: Derek Powers hires an assassin who utilizes the ability to manipulate sound in an attempt to run Bruce Wayne out of his shared control of Wayne-Powers.
And Because?: The introduction of one of Batman Beyond's many inventive supervillains, as well as one of the rarer Beyond episodes to focus on Bruce. It's an intriguing story that also manages to focus on Season One's ongoing Powers storyline.
09) "Terry's Friend Dates a Robot" (Batman Beyond episode)
Written by: John P. McCann & Paul Dini
Synopsis: Hopeless nerd, Howard Groote's purchase of a beautiful android designed to be his girlfriend backfires when her possessive nature goes overboard at a party.
And Because?: The best of the comedic-focused Beyond episodes, and McCann's only DCAU story. It's one of those rare comedic looks at what crappy and nasty ideas will probably come into play within humanity's future, namely the sexbot.
08) "Zeta" (Batman Beyond episode)
Written by: Robert Goodman
Synopsis: Warned by the government of a shapeshifting android of their's gone rogue, Batman's attempt to find it soon leads to Max's kidnapping.
And Because?: Like "Countdown" (which did not make the list), this is a Zeta story that manages to be better than his entire spin-off. A robot with a conscience is a far overused story trope, but a major part of this one's success is it's ability to provide a storyline revolving around that trope that doesn't feel tired or too familiar.
07) "Eyewitness" (Batman Beyond episode)
Written by: Hilary J. Bader & Rich Fogel
Synopsis: Terry pleads for innocence after the Comissioner witnesses him murder an opponent in cold blood. On the run from the police, Terry must find the true culprit before he's captured.
And Because?: Over the Edge without the cop-out ending. Barbara's evolution into and story as what seems like possibly a harder comissioner than her father was underused in Batman Beyond, but this was the closest we got to a story revolving around her. It was also nice to see how much Bruce trusts Terry, something that wouldn't have worked as well earlier in the show.
06) "Meltdown" (Batman Beyond episode)
Written by: Hilary J. Bader & Alan Burnett
Synopsis: As a test to see if the same can be done for Derek Powers before his permanent distortion, Victor Fries, a villain of the original Batman's, is given a new body.
And Because?: Mr. Freeze was the center around some of The Animated Series' best stories, bringing us such classics as Heart of Ice and Sub-Zero, and that streak is no different with Batman Beyond. This is probably the best villain redemption story of the lot, and it finishes with a bang, showing us a three-way battle between Batman, Blight, and Mr. Freeze that the series never again really replicated.
05) "The Call Parts 1&2" (Batman Beyond episodes)
Written by: Hilary J. Bader, Rich Fogel, Stan Berkowitz, Alan Burnett, & Paul Dini
Synopsis: Superman arrives to offer Terry a place in the Justice League after suspecting of a traitor among them. As time passes, Batman soon finds an old enemy hiding in the shadows.
And Because?: A fantastic way to introduce the Justice League into Bruce Timm's DCAU, bringing us a group of original characters alongside such well-known greats as Batman and Superman. Having Starro is also a nice nod to both the first ever JLA issue and the STAS story "The Main Man," giving Terry possibly the biggest fight and struggle of his life, and he WINS!
04) "Rebirth Parts 1&2" (Batman Beyond episodes)
Written by: Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, & Stan Berkowitz
Synopsis: Twenty years after the original Batman's retirement, Terry McGinnis learns of his secret the same night Terry's father is murdered by corrupt businessman, Derek Powers.
And Because?: An origin story that many people consider too similar to Spider-Man's, but I particularly find it far superior. Terry's origin is nearly as sad and foreboding as Bruce's, and his first villain is a fascinating parallel to the Joker, given that Terry "creates" him in a similar fashion. The writing is also fantastic, and Bruce's depression following his near-use of a gun shows how he needs Terry just as much as Terry needs him.
03) "Out of the Past" (Batman Beyond episode)
Written by: Paul Dini
Synopsis: Bruce's old girlfriend, Talia al Ghul, arrives to offer him, with use of the Lazarus Pit, eternal youth. Sure he can help Gotham this way, Bruce accepts, but finds not all is as it seems.
And Because?: One of the many successful Batman Beyond episodes featuring characters from ye Batman of old's era, except not only is this one the best, it's also incredibly nasty. With the wonderous-ness-ness of seeing Bruce as his badass, ripped, younger self, we get the disturbing-ness-ness of Ra's taking over his daughter's body, killing her while he's at it. "Lady, that is the sickest thing I've ever heard! You're creeping me out." "You? She kissed me!"
02) Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (feature film)
Written by: Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, & Bruce Timm
Synopsis: When the Joker apparently returns from the dead with a knowledge of the Dark Knight's secret identity, Terry McGinnis must stop him before he finally destroys Gotham City.
And Because?: This shouldn't surprise anyone. Perhaps tied with Batman: Gotham Knight, this is my favorite Batman animated film, perfecting the "new Batman vs classic villain" storyline seen in the show. This one also gets even more disturbing than the entry above, showing us how much of a twisted bastard the Joker really is, as if we didn't know. We also get Tim Drake in a major role, a flashback to the Batman of old, and Mark Hamill back as the J-man! It would be the ultimate nostalgia/reference fest, if not for....
Top 5 Honorable Mentions:
01) "Disappearing Inque" (Batman Beyond episode)
Stuck in her mutated form, Inque seeks to regain her human shape and get revenge on Batman.
02) "Ascension" (Batman Beyond episode)
Nearly reaching the final stages of his transformation into Blight, Powers turns to his son for help.
03) "Splicers" (Batman Beyond episode)
Batman investigates Gotham City's latest trend, the splicing of human DNA with that of animals'.
04) "The Eggbaby" (Batman Beyond episode)
Attempting to pass Family Studies, Terry takes a simulated Eggbaby with him on a mission.
05) "Darwyn Cooke's Batman Beyond" (Batman Beyond short)
Terry must defend Bruce from an army of robotic Batmen who have invaded the Batcave.
01) "Epilogue" (Justice League Unlimited episode)
Written by: Bruce Timm & Dwayne McDuffie
Synopsis: Bitter over the choices and implications his life as Batman he has made and may have to make, an older Terry McGinnis meets a retired Amanda Waller.
And Because?: ...this one. Yes, the best Batman Beyond episode is technically a Justice League episode, but anyone who's ever seen it knows through-and-through it's really the finale to a show which unfairly never got an end. Plus, we get those fantastic scenes with both Terry and Amanda Waller, as well as dozens upon dozens of references to past episodes and films within the show, including appearances from the future Justice League, Andrea Beaumont (aka the Phantasm), the Gray Ghost, and a flashback to the timeline of Justice League Unlimited. No DCAU episode can beat this one, I'm telling you, it's required watching for any Batman/DC/animation fan.
And that's it! The show really went above and beyond anyone's expectations, even crossing over to some of the shwayest DC Animated Universe TV shows airing alongside it. Anyone reading this now should totally check it out. And speaking of you fellas, thanks for reading!
I'm out.
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