When Batman Went ‘Beyond’

He was a teenage Batman … in the future!

You’d think that because I love Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League/JL Unlimited so much, surely I would have watched Batman Beyond long ago.

No. First of all, I was in high school when it debuted in 1999, so I was trying not to watch cartoons. And more importantly, a Batman cartoon set decades in the future, featuring an all-new Batman, was a tough sell. It wasn’t even Dick Grayson or Tim Drake in the Bat-suit. Who the heck was this Terry McGinnis kid?

Futuristic versions of superheroes generally don’t appeal to me. There are rare exceptions, like the Kingdom Come miniseries (which I wrote about here), but that worked because it was more about the characters having lost their way and getting back on the right path. It wasn’t really about imagining alternate future versions of familiar characters; it just needed some distance from the present to make its point.

Many people remember Batman Beyond fondly, though, so I gave it a shot. And I can now count Batman Beyond as another rare exception—because it’s not just about a new future Batman. It’s also about an elderly Bruce Wayne who, like Superman in Kingdom Come, had lost his way and withdrawn from the world. Now he has an opportunity to make a difference again, but he can’t do it alone.

The opening scene sells the whole series, and it shows us the perfect answer to the question When does Batman stop being Batman?

Bruce Wayne is still Batman at this point, though he looks like he’s pushing 60. He wears a more advanced Bat-suit to compensate for his declining physical abilities. But no suit can eliminate the strain on his heart.

While fighting ordinary kidnappers, he suffers chest pains, which allows one crook to get the upper hand. Desperate, Batman spots a gun lying on the ground and picks it up. He aims it at the crook to scare him off. Yes, Batman aims a gun.

Batman is horrified and utterly disgusted with himself—he’s become so weak that he has to resort to using the same type of weapon that killed his parents. “Never again,” he vows.

Time passes without a Batman, and we meet young Terry McGinnis. A Joker-inspired gang attacks Terry right outside Wayne Manor, but then this surprisingly tough old man appears and easily takes them down. It’s reminiscent of when Daniel LaRusso met Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid.

The partnership between Terry and Old Man Wayne forms the core of the series. Bruce, still as sharp as ever, is the brains of the operation, monitoring everything from the Batcave and giving orders. Terry serves as the body of Batman—and also the heart, which is something the embittered old man needs.

In an earlier era, Terry would have been a Robin. The surrogate father/surrogate son dynamic is similar. The partnership benefits both Bruce and Terry, and occasional friction pushes them to be their best.

Future technology allows Terry to become Batman without the lifetime of intensive training that Bruce had endured, as the new Bat-suit includes abilities such as flight and invisibility, among other tricks. Future tech also facilitates the creation of a new rogues’ gallery of foes, which is essential for any Batman. Additionally, the show does a good job of filling out a supporting cast for Terry.

Batman Beyond never loses its sense of history, though. Look at the above clip, specifically when the punk kid cosplaying as the Joker threatens Bruce.

Punk kid: Who do you think you’re talking to, old man? We’re the Jokerz!

Bruce Wayne: Sure you are.

That wry smile has so much weight behind it. This is a man who has seen it all and endured horrors these kids can’t even imagine. They think they’re tough because they’re imitating the Joker? This old man prevailed against the real thing. Repeatedly.

This is the same Batman we watched in Batman: The Animated Series; he’s just a lot older now. And it’s the same voice. Kevin Conroy, the definitive voice of Batman, reprises the role, which is a key element in the show’s success.

Plus, some of the more memorable episodes bring in older characters. Barbara Gordon, former Batgirl, has succeeded her father as commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department. An early episode shows Mr. Freeze getting another shot at life, and a much later episode kicks off with Talia strolling into the Batcave, looking not a day older than the last time we saw her. We also meet the future Justice League, in which Superman works with the sons and daughters of the characters we know.

The best story of this series, though, is the straight-to-video movie, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.

A surprisingly well-preserved Joker reemerges in Gotham. Flashbacks show us the last time Batman (Bruce Wayne), Batgirl, and Robin (Tim Drake) faced off against the Joker, and we learn about the horrific psychological torture he inflicted on this Robin. The writers and animators clearly weren’t aiming for a kid-only audience here, but they still keep everything clean enough for younger fans. It’s the same balancing act they pull off throughout Justice League Unlimited.

Though Batman Beyond ended with a solid episode in 2001, the true series finale is a 2005 episode of Justice League Unlimited, titled “Epilogue.” It is indeed an epilogue, one that pulls double or even triple duty—it closes off an excellent JLU storyline, concludes Batman Beyond, and even pays homage to Batman: The Animated Series.

“Epilogue” would have been a fitting end to the entire DC Animated Universe that Bruce Timm spearheaded. Nevertheless, I’m glad we got one more season of JLU.

If you, like me, erred in overlooking Batman Beyond all these years, it’s still worth checking out.