Batman Beyond (1999) - "Sometimes I ask myself if Batman is just the suit or the man inside"

[BibiLivesMatter]

Like others say, the show is good but never hit the highs of BTAS. However despite that, I think it was a really good series that I have to give props for doing something different and not from the comics. I do think Warner Bros and DC don't give much love to the Batman Beyond IP and lore. Like them declining a pitch from the spiderman animated movies duo a couple years back cause they thought no one would give a shit about a batman that isn't Bruce Wayne. Which I got to disagree with, cause we seen the rise of popularity for characters that aren't consider the core characters of a comic brand in the last few years.

I also liked McGinnis character and how he has a different personality and attitude than Bruce. He became the batman future Gotham needed and learning from the mistakes of the batman before him. In a way he felt more human and less of a loner. Also, McGinnis is Bruce's last chance to leave a batman for future generations. Cause if you look back, all the other kids he trained up either quit early, died, or broken beyond repair to crime fight in DCAU.

 

[A Very Big Fish]

 

[Grub]

Batman Beyond was pretty cool. It's definitely my favourite of all the weird super hero future spinoff type cartoons. I don't actually remember a lot about it though. I definitely remember the Batman animated series more. The three big 90's superhero cartoons I remember most is the original Batman one, X-Men and Spiderman. I wasn't as in to them as much by the time Batman Beyond came out. There were a lot of other cartoons around at the time and it was one of those ones I'd only put on if I was bored and there was nothing else on. But i'm pretty sure I've watched them all and I always liked the trippy futuristic cyperpunk future Gotham.

 

[Incecticyder]

Choosing to make Terry so different to Bruce as Batman was a very wise choice, it let him become his own Batman. He wasn't this bulky, silent "crusader of justice", he was a street thug who could rely on the suit to enhance his strength, had cool sci-fi tech and was an asshole who had no problem fighting dirty and taunting people when he needed to.

I also liked McGinnis character and how he has a different personality and attitude than Bruce. He became the batman future Gotham needed and learning from the mistakes of the batman before him. In a way he felt more human and less of a loner. Also, McGinnis is Bruce's last chance to leave a batman for future generations. Cause if you look back, all the other kids he trained up either quit early, died, or broken beyond repair to crime fight in DCAU.

I liked the parts that made them similar too. Their vengeful darkness, their detective skills and their sense of justice. The fact that the show portrayed scenes where they were both allowed to be wrong is a great touch too. The student learns and so does the teacher. Terry gets called to help the JL with their detective work while also remaining part time like Bruce was. And Bruce's crimes carry over too. His strained relationship with Barbara causes her to mistrust Terry even though he has been nothing but friendly with her. It is sad but feels real too. I just wish there were more original costumed rogues. There were a few but every other villain was just some guy.

 

[Car Won't Crank]

Batman Beyond is the shounen equivalent of the Batman series. It's great, feels more relatable than the mainline character that is Bruce. The show feels closer to something like original Gundam. Lot of shounen type parallels between Terry and Amuro Ray.

 

[KneeGrow]

You guys aren’t even discussing that static shock crossover

What was that robot that could put a hologram of others over itself that got a spin off from Batman Beyond?

 

[Incecticyder]

You guys aren’t even discussing that static shock crossover

What was that robot that could put a hologram of others over itself that got a spin off from Batman Beyond?

The Zeta Project or something.

 

[Xarpho's Return]

Amazing show, the only flaw was having batman inject his semen into Terry's dad's balls so that when he nut it was actually batman nut because Terry had to be related to batman for some stupid fucking reason.

Batman Beyond being DCAU canon is its fatal flaw, especially with RotJ, no reason to do Tim dirty like that. (I only assume that the idea originated as an adaptation of A Death in the Family, but then having present-day Terry face the Joker somehow).

The whole series made for a better "What If?" series instead of being actually canon.

 

[A Very Big Fish]

You guys aren’t even discussing that static shock crossover

What was that robot that could put a hologram of others over itself that got a spin off from Batman Beyond?

Who is Static? He said his name was Beyonce.

 

[Booby Jones]

It's absolutely annoying when young guy replaces beloved super hero and is one of the most vilified actions amongst fans of iconic heroes. Which is why I always wondered why this feels so right and earned despite being the first episode. It's been etched in my brain since childhood.

Why was it so good? What made this different from annoying replacement shit? I still soy out when I think about this scene and dream of them doing it justice in a new Arkham game or Beyond movie.

Also the ending theme was rad.

 

[Tor Lugosi]

Why was it so good? What made this different from annoying replacement shit? I still soy out when I think about this scene and dream of them doing it justice in a new Arkham game or Beyond movie.

The show remains respectful towards Bruce, who still has a prominent role and can occasionally kick ass, and Terry is likeable and doesn't show-up or constantly shit on Bruce. Plus, Bruce's reason for retirement is reasonable, rather than just killing him off and shoving a new person into the role.

 

[Xarpho's Return]

Why was it so good? What made this different from annoying replacement shit?

Think about every "annoying replacement" instance and then cross off every black/brown and woman from your list. What are you left with?

 

[Calandrino]

Think about every "annoying replacement" instance and then cross off every black/brown and woman from your list. What are you left with?

Well Robin's the only case where people voted for him to be beaten to death, but they usually don't ask

 

[Ensok]

I understand why he needed to go when he did, but Blight was a great villain and I wish he lasted longer into the show.

 

[Patrick Bait-man]

Batman Beyond just radiates that late 90s / early 2000s futurism and I adore it.

 

[Booby Jones]

I understand why he needed to go when he did, but Blight was a great villain and I wish he lasted longer into the show.

A much better recurring villain than that dork, Spellbinder.

 

[Michael Wade]

Great concept, excellent hero, perfect ending to Batman's story. I didn't care for a lot of the villains. There were good ones here and there I just think most of them were mid.

I'm surprised not as many people liked the final in unlimited. I thought it was awesome.

 

[Drag-on Knight 91873]

I do like old man Bruce Wayne where he's got to deal with the fact that he became an old man and honestly, the best villains in Beyond end up being his old Rogue's gallery. What happened to Fries? He became a head in a jar. What happened to Bane? Venom use caught up to him. What happened to Ra's Al Ghul? He hits like a girl. Blight and Inque and Nerdlinger (don't remember his actual name) are okay, but they're not as good.

 

[KhorneFlakes]

I do like old man Bruce Wayne where he's got to deal with the fact that he became an old man and honestly, the best villains in Beyond end up being his old Rogue's gallery. What happened to Fries? He became a head in a jar. What happened to Bane? Venom use caught up to him. What happened to Ra's Al Ghul? He hits like a girl. Blight and Inque and Nerdlinger (don't remember his actual name) are okay, but they're not as good.

In retrospect of the ending, I wonder was it their intent to go with a whole "sins of the father" type theme with the two of them. How many would have just assumed this new Batman was the kid of the old one? Ra's would probably guess it's not his kid given Talia and Bruce's relationship, and Damian not existing yet in DC, but everyone else would have just thought Batman got too old so he just spent years training a successor. I'm glad they didn't try to make that a theme of the show though, because then they'd have had to commit or subvert the trope, both of which would have stifled Terry's character.

 

[A Very Big Fish]

Great concept, excellent hero, perfect ending to Batman's story. I didn't care for a lot of the villains. There were good ones here and there I just think most of them were mid.

I'm surprised not as many people liked the final in unlimited. I thought it was awesome.

I liked the episode enough, but I think the re-writing Terry's genes was a goofy twist that kind of just gets thrown in, years after the series was over.

The flashbacks to Bruce talking with Ace in that episode though, that was good stuff.