Batman Beyond

Batman Beyond
File:Batman Beyond logo.jpg
Genre	Superhero Action/Adventure Cyberpunk Mystery Suspense
Voices of	Will Friedle Kevin Conroy Stockard Channing Cree Summer Lauren Tom
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	52 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Jean MacCurdy Shaun McLaughlin
Producers	Alan Burnett Paul Dini Glen Murakami Bruce Timm
Running time	21-22 minutes
Original release
Network	The WB (Kids' WB), Cartoon Network
Release	January 10, 1999 (1999-01-10) – May 18, 2002 (2002-05-18)

Batman Beyond, also known as Batman of the Future, is an Emmy Award-winning American animated television series created by The WB Television Network in collaboration with DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation as a continuation of the Batman legacy. Depicting the teenager Terry McGinnis as a new Batman in a futuristic Gotham City under the tutelage of an elderly Bruce Wayne, the series began airing on January 10, 1999, and ended its run on May 18, 2002. After 52 episodes spanning three seasons and one direct-to-video film, the series was put on hold for the new Justice League animated series despite the network having announced plans for a fourth season. However, there was a short-lived spin-off, The Zeta Project. 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." The continuity of Batman Beyond has made various crossovers into comic books published by DC Comics, including an ongoing series beginning in 2011.

Batman Beyond is set in the chronological future of the DC animated universe, although it was released before Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Static Shock. Some characters from the series appeared two years later in "Future Shock", an episode of Static Shock, and then again in "The Once and Future Thing", episodes of Justice League Unlimited. The character of Terry McGinnis was revisited a final time in the JLU episode "Epilogue", which tells much about the future of Batman.

Batman Beyond is said to exploit the darker side of many Batman projects, playing on key elements such as emotions, personal relations, the fear of the unknown, technological malfunctions, and the disturbing psychological elements of the character of Bruce Wayne. As such, it was considerably darker than most other children's programs at the time, although producer Bruce Timm recalls it was conceived as a kid-friendly Batman cartoon. It is also the first Batman series to portray the hero as a teenager. IGN named the show 40th on their list of "Top 100 Animated TV Series".

Batman Beyond began airing on The Hub network in October 2010. The show is currently airing on the UK channel Kix! under the title of Batman of the Future.

Story

The pilot episode, entitled "Rebirth", begins in 2019, set on Earth-12, where an aging Batman, equipped with a high-tech Batsuit, takes on the kidnappers of Bunny Vreeland (the daughter of Veronica Vreeland, one of Bruce Wayne's girlfriends). During the battle, Batman suffers a heart attack which leaves him unable to fight, forcing him to betray a life-long principle by threatening a criminal with a gun. By this point, Bruce Wayne's assistants, Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox, had both passed away. It is implied by virtue of his lengthy career as Batman, and his retaining the Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl costumes, that a tragic occurrence had transpired that caused Bruce to sever his ties with the Justice League and forbid his allies to assume their alter-egos (the events which caused all of this are revealed in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker). Afterward, Bruce reluctantly decides that his time as Batman is over and vows "never again" as he shutters the Batcave.

The story fast-forwards to 2039 in Neo-Gotham, a futuristic megalopolis equipped with staggering high rises and flying vehicles. Bruce Wayne is a recluse living in bitter isolation in Wayne Manor with no companion but his guard dog, Ace. Terry McGinnis is an athletic 16-year-old high school student and reformed troublemaker with a deeply ingrained sense of personal justice. His first act in the series is to defend a fellow passenger on a commuter rail from a member of the Jokerz gang. After trying to defend his girlfriend from a gang of Jokerz, Terry engages in a high-speed chase which ends on the grounds of Wayne Manor, where he runs into the elderly Bruce Wayne. Bruce and Terry fend off the Jokerz side-by-side, but the exertion aggravates Bruce's heart condition. Terry helps Bruce back to the manor, and, after Bruce nods off for a bit, stumbles upon the entrance to the Batcave. He is chased out by a recovered and angered Bruce.

Terry returns home to discover that his father had been murdered, apparently by the vengeful Jokerz. Soon after, he finds out that the man actually responsible for the murder was Mr. Fixx, the bodyguard of Derek Powers—CEO of a merged Wayne-Powers and his father's employer—because he possessed knowledge of illegal chemical weapons being produced by Powers. Terry "borrows" the Batsuit, intending to bring Powers to justice. Bruce initially opposes his efforts and vehemently demands Terry return the suit (at one point paralyzing the suit while Terry is wearing it), but Terry convinces Bruce to let him take on the Batman mantle, and he subsequently defeats Mr. Fixx. Realizing that crime and corruption are running rampant in Gotham without Batman's presence, Bruce offers Terry the chance to assume the role of Batman.

Terry's first foe is Derek Powers, now mutated through a combination of deadly chemical gas and radiation into the radioactive monstrosity Blight. Terry soon comes to develop his own rogues gallery: the seductive shape-shifter Inque; the hypnotist Spellbinder; the bitter, deaf sound expert Shriek; the deadly assassin Curare; the insane terrorist Mad Stan; the cybernetically-enhanced African big game hunter Stalker; the nerdy psychokinetic Willy Watt; a new version of the Royal Flush Gang; and the Jokerz, a gang idolizing the notorious Clown Prince of Crime. On occasion, Terry is also forced to face his mentor's old foes, such as the rejuvenated Mr. Freeze; common criminals using Bane's strength-enhancing Venom substance in the form of slap-on patches; the immortal Ra's al Ghul; and, almost inevitably, the Joker himself.

Bruce also reveals to Terry some details behind the death of Alfred Pennyworth. He explains that shortly before the incident in the first episode of Batman Beyond (where Bruce retires as Batman), Alfred had left Gotham City for England to attend his son's graduation at Oxford University. Despite Alfred's promise to return, he never did, and Bruce never hired another manservant. When asked by Terry as to why Alfred failed to return, Bruce typically refused to answer.

Terry also makes allies in Neo-Gotham: Maxine "Max" Gibson is a 17-year-old computer genius who discovers Batman's secret identity and helps Terry with everything from computer hacking to babysitting. Max plays an integral part in Batman's war on crime, essentially as Terry's ersatz Alfred. Terry also forms a begrudging partnership with Gotham City Police Department Commissioner Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl. She is unhappy with the idea of a new Batman, especially a teenager, as she is still haunted by the same subsequent events that led Bruce to retire. However, she knows that she and the police under her command need Batman, whether she likes it or not. Furthermore, she understands from personal experience that she can not deter Terry any more than she could have been deterred from being Batgirl. Passing conversation between Barbara and Bruce suggests that, at the time of Batgirl's retirement, the suit had bullet holes in it that have since been repaired.

Episodes

Main article: List of Batman Beyond episodes

Characters

Main characters

• Terry McGinnis: The current Batman. Voiced by Will Friedle.
• Bruce Wayne: The original Batman, and Terry's employer. Revealed to be Terry's biological father in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue". Voiced by Kevin Conroy.
• Maxine "Max" Gibson: A friend of Terry's who knows his secret. Occasionally helps Batman. Voiced by Cree Summer.
• Dana Tan: Terry's girlfriend. At the end of "Epilogue," Terry phones her, asking her if they are still on for that weekend while holding an engagement ring. Voiced by Lauren Tom.
• Ace the Bat-Hound: Bruce Wayne's pet Great Dane. Fiercely loyal to Bruce, he eventually develops a bond with Terry. Voiced by Frank Welker.

Terry's family

• Warren & Mary McGinnis: Terry's divorced parents. Warren is murdered at the start of the series. Terry moves in with his mother after his father's death. Voiced by Michael Gross and Teri Garr.
• Matt McGinnis: Terry's younger brother. voiced by Ryan O'Donohue.

Recurring characters

• Barbara Gordon: The no-nonsense Gotham City police commissioner, and the former Batgirl. Hardened and determined through the years of personal tragedy to her friends, the new Commissioner Gordon is not entertained by the notion of Batman's heir, and often clashes with Terry on several occasions, though time helps her to realize his value to the new Gotham. Unlike most Batman universes, she has never lost the use of her legs or become the Oracle, although the event that in the comics led her to become the latter was referenced in the A Touch of Curaré episode. Voiced by Stockard Channing and later Angie Harmon.
• Sam Young: A Gotham district attorney, and Barbara's husband. Voiced by the late Paul Winfield.
• Howard Groote: A nerdy student at Hamilton Hill High School, and a friend of Terry. His design was based on producer Paul Dini. Voiced by Max Brooks.
• Bobbi "Blade" Summer: A popular student at Terry's school. She never has a steady boyfriend, and occasionally goes out with different boys. Blade is seen to be friends with Terry, Dana, Max and Howard. Voiced by Melissa Disney.
• Chelsea Cunningham: Another Hamilton High student, she's the best friend of Dana and Terry and former girlfriend and crush of Nelson. Voiced by Yvette Lowenthal and Rachael Leigh Cook.
• Nelson Nash: An athlete and bully at Terry's school, who eventually matures and becomes more friendly during the series. He seems to be popular with the girls, but never has a steady girlfriend. He was most likely inspired by Flash Thompson from the Spider-Man universe. Voiced by Seth Green.

Villains

• Derek Powers: A ruthless businessman, whose company Powers Technology merged with Wayne Enterprises years before. After accidentally becoming exposed to a biological weapon of his making, Powers is treated with extreme radiation and becomes the radioactive villain Blight. Voiced by Sherman Howard, who played Lex Luthor in Superboy.
• Paxton Powers: The estranged son of Derek Powers, who takesover his father's position as Wayne-Powers CEO after the revealation that the elder Powers is the supervillain Blight. However, the young Powers is also ruthless and corrupted as his father. Voiced by Cary Elwes and later Parker Stevenson.
• Jokerz: A violent street gang who dress and act out in the tradition of the infamous Joker. However, unlike the supervillain they emulate, they are merely teenage delinquents who enjoy vandalism and petty crime. They are usually apprehended by Batman quite easily, and serve as more of an irritation than a genuine threat.
  • A separate group of these criminals were actually headed by the Joker himself, and almost succeeded in destroying Gotham and the former Batman. The members includes:
    • Dee Dee: Both voiced by Melissa Joan Hart. Delia Dennis and Deidre Dennis are the identical twin sisters and teenage granddaughters of the apparently reformed Harley Quinn (voiced by Arleen Sorkin), the former henchgirl/lover of the Joker.
    • Chucko (formerly Laughing Boy): Voiced by Don Harvey.
    • Ghoul: Voiced by Michael Rosenbaum.
    • Bonk: Voiced by Henry Rollins.
    • Woof: Voiced by Frank Welker.
• Inque: Treated with a mutagen, Inque has the ability to turn her body into liquid. She is a freelance saboteur. Voiced by Shannon Kenny.
• Shriek: Walter Shreeve is initially a sound engineer hoping to improve society with his inventions. He is led down a decidedly darker path by Derek Powers, who wants a return on his investment in Shreeve's research. He thus dubs him "Shriek", based on his special suit which allows him to generate destructive sound waves and manipulate sound in a wide variety of ways. During a fight with Batman, his suit is damaged, causing it to pick up sounds at such a high volume that Shreeve is rendered permanently deaf. Though he develops a special headset to hear normally, the incident drives him insane and vengeful against Batman. Voiced by Chris Mulkey.
• Bombshell: A member of the infamous Brain Trust, Bombshell possesses the ability to fire blast projectiles from her hand. It is also hinted that she has the ability to manipulate minds, although this is never truly revealed in the series. She is later apprehended by Batman and sent to jail. Voiced by Kate Jackson.
• Repeller: A supervillain who acquired an experimental suit that could repel matter, making him invulnerable to almost any type of damage. Eventually it was revealed that the villain is actually Dr. Suzuki, a man who was developing the technology for Wayne-Powers. Voiced by Gedde Watanabe.
• Armory: Jim Tate is a brilliant weapons designer working for a large defense contractor, who is also the stepfather of one of Terry's friends, Jared. After he loses his job, he builds himself an arsenal of advanced weapons and body armor and becomes the supervillain Armory in order to make ends meet for his family, but is later thwarted by Batman. He later realizes the error of his ways and assists Batman in defeating one of his employers before he is apparently sent to jail, although it is implied that his heroic actions will lead to a reduced sentence. In the 2010 comic book mini-series Batman Beyond, he is killed with his family by a masked serial killer who takes the identity of the villain Hush. Voiced by Dorian Harewood.
• Ratboy: Patrick Poundstone is a teenage runaway with ratlike features and an ability to telepathically control the city's rat population (similar to the DC Comics' universe villain Ratcatcher). It is noted that many have a tendency to call him Ratboy, because of his strange appearance. He develops an obsession with Dana, frequently sending her love letters and gifts. He later kidnaps Dana, taking her to his home in the sewers and confessing his love for her, but she rebuffs him, and he angrily commands an army of rats to kill her. After Batman saves her, he is caught in an explosion, and is presumed dead but Dana knows he is alive. Voiced by Taran Noah Smith.
• Peek: The host of "The Inside Peek", a popular tabloid newscast, Ian Peek uses an experimental device that allows him to phase through solid objects, enabling him to uncover any celebrity's secrets and use them to boost ratings on his show. He nearly reveals both Terry and Bruce's secret lives as Batman, but due to his condition, (the device altered his body's molecular structure, making him permanently intangible) he ends up falling through the Earth's crust and into the planet's molten core. Voiced by Michael McKean.
• Spellbinder: Ira Billings is a bitter and underpaid psychologist at Terry's high school who commits crimes using sophisticated virtual reality systems and his knowledge of the human mind as Spellbinder. Voiced by Jon Cypher.
• Stalker: An African big game hunter who was enhanced with cybernetic implants after an encounter with a panther. Finding wild animals too easy to hunt with his new body, he seeks Batman as the ultimate prey and proves to be one of his more difficult opponents. Voiced by Carl Lumbly.
• Curaré: A member of the Society of Assassins, "their best" (according to Bruce Wayne and Curare's at-the-time boss, and FBI), who wields a laser-sharpened scimitar. After Batman foils her attempt to assassinate Gotham's DA, she ends up becoming a target of the Society herself, resulting in Curaré ultimately killing every member of the Society of Assassins. Voiced by Melissa Disney.
• Mad Stan: A rabidly anti-government terrorist who rebels against what he sees as a corrupt system. His solution to any given problem is to "blow it up," and as such he is an expert in explosives. Voiced by (and resembles) Henry Rollins.
• The Joker: The evil and sly Clown Prince of Crime who only appears in the direct-to-video feature Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. In this incarnation, Joker implants a copy of his DNA and personality in Tim Drake, the second Robin (in the animated series universe), allowing him to transform Tim into a clone of himself every bit as ruthless and cunning as the original. During the movie, Joker's deepest ambition is revealed: to make Batman laugh as a sign of the respect he hungers for. Voiced again by Mark Hamill.
• Mr. Freeze: The tragic villain lives on as nothing but an immortal head preserved by Derek Powers. He is used as a test subject for an attempt to clone Powers a new body. However, Freeze's new body begins to get the same symptoms as his previous body, and after Power's scientist tries to eliminate Freeze to study the problem, he seeks revenge, facing off in one final battle with Blight and Batman. Voiced again by Michael Ansara.
• Ra's al Ghul: Living on by using a computer process to overwrite his daughter Talia's mind with his own personality, the seemingly immortal Ra's intends to take over Bruce Wayne's body and gain control of Wayne Enterprises as a means of revenge against his former foe. Voiced again by David Warner and Olivia Hussey as Talia.
• Dr. Able Cuvier: A doctor who starts a trend in infusing animal biology, also known as "splicing," with human DNA. Using his research to commit crimes before ending up on the wanted list, Curvier mutates himself into a genetic chimera to battle Batman before getting a massive overdose that further mutates him into a monster. Though the technology of splicing becomes outlawed shortly after his presumed death, it continues to surface as an illegal subculture throughout the series. On the two-parter episode, "The Curse of the Kobra," it is hinted that he is a member of Kobra. Voiced by Ian Buchanan of The Bold and the Beautiful fame.
• Bane: In the years since Bruce Wayne's retirement from crimefighting, Bane's constant use of the super-steroid Venom has destroyed his body, leaving him a withered, wheelchair-bound husk of a man kept alive by the very drug that once gave him superhuman strength. When someone begins selling Venom-laced "slapper" patches to teenagers, it is discovered that Bane's personal attendant, Jackson Chappell (voiced by Larry Drake) now has the formula and is mass-producing it. During a battle with Batman, Chappell overdoses on the slapper patches, apparently sending him into a coma.
• Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow: Charlie Bigelow is a loudmouth hoodlum and a former friend of Terry McGinnis. Three years prior to Terry becoming Batman, Charlie was arrested for burglary and sentenced to three years in prison. It is revealed that Terry was also arrested during the burglary, but avoided prison because he was underage at the time, and that Terry's early life of petty crime was largely the result of Charlie's negative influence. Charlie attempts to reconnect with Terry after he is released, but is rebuffed due to his continuing criminal behavior. Charlie later becomes involved with a gang of thieves-for-hire who plan to rob a Wayne-Powers research lab to steal an experimental chemical for a rival company. During the robbery, Terry (as Batman) intervenes. Charlie is exposed to the chemical during the fight, and later mutates into a deformed, super-strong giant, an event which leaves Terry wracked with guilt. Voiced by Stephen Baldwin (pre-mutation) and Clancy Brown (post-mutation).
• Royal Flush Gang: A crime family of five members; the husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Walker as "King" (Voiced by George Lazenby) and "Queen" (Voiced by Amanda Donohoe and later Sarah Douglas), their daughter Ten (Melanie Walker) (Voiced by Olivia d'Abo), their son Jack (Jack Walker) (Voiced by Scott Cleverdon and later Nicholas Guest) and their bodyguard Ace (an android). Melanie develops a relationship with Terry, similar to the original Batman's relationship with Catwoman.
• Willie Watt: A nerd at Hamilton Hill High who is constantly picked on by bullies at school and his overbearing father at home. Seeking revenge, he stole a mentally-controlled robot called the GoLeM (Galvanized Lifting Machine) from his father's construction company and used it to attack his tormentors, but the machine was destroyed by Batman and he was sent to juvenile detention for 3 years. However, his experience with GoLeM caused him to develop a telekinetic ability, which he uses to bring terror to his fellow detainees and secretly leave-and-return at will in the facility. He attempted revenge on his schoolmates again by using his powers to convince everyone the school was haunted. Voiced by Scott McAfee
• Terminal: A popular student at Hamilton High, obsessed with being the best at everything he did. He led a gang of Jokerz in an attempt to kill Maxine Gibson, who had scored higher on an important test than he had, and was going to be voted Class Valedictorian instead of him. Voiced by Michael Rosenbaum
• Terrific Trio:A group of scientists tragically transformed into monsterous superpowered beings. At first they tried to use their powers for the benefit of society, but their conditions slowly drove them into insanity, and when they learned that the lab accident that had given them their powers had been set up by one of their coworkers, they set out to exact revenge. They are voiced by Robert Davi as Magma / Dr. Mike Morgan, Laura San Giacomo as Freon / Mary Michaels and Jeff Bennett as 2-D Man / Stewart Lowe.
• Earth Mover: After accidentally being buried by radioactive waste, Tony Maychek becomes an insane monstrous creature capable of moving the ground with his own mind. Voiced by Stephen Collins.
• Robert Vance: After uploading his mind into his company's computer systems before his death, Robert Vance attempts to resurrect himself by downloading himself into the mind of his grandson, Bobby. Voiced by Stacy Keach.
• Invulnerable Man: An accomplice of Bombshell. He has an ability of putting his mind over the matter of his own body, makes himself invulnerable. Voiced by Victor Rivers.
• Ma Mayhem: Ma Mayhem and her sons, Howard and Slims, are dysfunctional family thieves. Ma was voiced by Kathleen Freeman while Howard and Slim are voiced by Max Brooks and Andy Dick respectively.
• Kobra: Terrorist organization bent on world domination. Its members include:
  • Zander: The heir of the organization's leadership. Voiced by Alexis Denisof.
  • Dr. Childes: Voiced by Xander Berkeley
  • Falseface: A thief-for-hire with the ability to temporarily alter his appearance to resemble anyone he wants, but whose normal appearance is disfigured and easily recognizable. Voiced by Townsend Coleman.
  • Other faction leaders: Voiced by Keith Szarabajka (on episode "Unmasked") and Lance Henriksen (on Static Shock episode "Future Shock").
• Payback: A troubled-yet-gifted child, Kenny Stanton, lacked the attention from his father due to his work as a psychiatrist. Kenny believes that the only way his father is able to spend times with him is the solve his patients' problems by taking revenge on his father's patients' tormentors. The boy is able to built his own suit of powered exoskeleton, arms with an advance laser cutter, and takes the costumed persona, "Payback." Believing himself to be a superhero standing up for children, Kenny tries to imitate his idol: Batman. Stanton is voiced by Adam Wylie, while in disguise voiced by Bill Fagerbakke.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

While the idea of Batman Beyond seemed as if it was "not a proper continuation of the legacy of the Dark Knight", it gathered quite a lot of acclaim after its release. The show was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards, one of which it won in 2001. In addition, the show was nominated for five Annie Awards and won two of those nominations in 1999 and 2001.

In 2009, IGN.com named Batman Beyond the fortieth-best animated television series of all time.

Spinoffs

Batman Beyond spun off an animated series called The Zeta Project, featuring a revamped version of the synthoid Zeta from the Batman Beyond episode "Zeta." Batman would guest star in the episode "Shadows." The supervillain Stalker was to have appeared in The Zeta Project episode "Taffy Time," but did not make it. The second season episode, "Ro's Gift," has an appearance made by the Brain Trust from the Batman Beyond episode "Mind Games." Terry McGinnis/Batman was originally slated to appear in this episode as well, but was cut since Bruce Timm and company were working on Justice League.

Post-series crossovers: 2004–2005

In the third season of Batman Beyond, a two-part story entitled "The Call", which featured (for the first time) the futuristic Justice League Unlimited helped to form 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 40 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 50 years into the future to stop a time-travelling villain with the help of the future Justice League Unlimited cast, including Terry McGinnis as Batman and a future Static. 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.

Set 15 years after the conclusion of Batman Beyond, Epilogue reveals that Bruce Wayne is actually Terry McGinnis' biological father. The episode is told largely through flashback sequences.

Over the years, Amanda Waller came to respect Batman and even trust him. As the years passed, she saw that he was getting older and slower. The thought of a world without Batman was unacceptable to her, so she decided to make a new one. She used her Cadmus connections to gather the technology for "Project Batman Beyond", and obtained Bruce Wayne's DNA. She found a young Neo Gotham couple with psychological profiles nearly identical to those of Bruce's parents, and injected Warren McGinnis with a nanotech solution programmed to re-write his reproductive material into an exact copy of Bruce Wayne's. A little over a year later, Mary McGinnis gave birth to Terry, a child with genetics from his mother and Bruce.

When Terry was 8 years-old, Waller employed an elderly Andrea Beaumont (the enigmatic killer from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and once Bruce Wayne's true love) as an assassin to kill Terry's family, hoping the trauma would put him on the path to becoming Batman. However, Beaumont could not commit the act, arguing that Batman would never resort to murder to achieve his goals. Waller, however, conceded that Beaumont had been right, and made no further attempts to push Terry into becoming Batman, although she also stated to Terry that "when making a Batman, genetics is only half the story. The rest is tragedy" in an attempt to explain why she believed that doing this would put him on the path to becoming Batman. Derek Powers would later have Warren murdered, resulting in Terry becoming the new Batman. As the death of Warren proved soon afterwards, she was correct.

Fifteen years after Terry became the new Batman, Bruce's kidneys fail and doctors need a tissue donor to clone him new ones. When Terry shows a perfect histo-compatibility match with Bruce, he runs a DNA test and found out that half his DNA was from Bruce. Terry assumes that Bruce set the whole thing up, using some old Cadmus nanotechnology to have Terry's genes rewritten to match Bruce's, similar to what the Joker did to Tim Drake. He tracks Waller down, and she reveals his origins to him. Waller also reminds Terry that he is Bruce's son, not his clone, and that despite his genetics he still has free will and makes his own choice in becoming Batman.

Whether Bruce was the genetic father of Terry's younger brother Matt as well was not clearly established, as nothing was stated as to the longevity of the alterations made to Warren McGinnis; however, the series' creators have said that this is most likely the case. Matt and Terry both have black hair, but are the sons of two red-haired people – a genetic improbability as red hair is recessive, and requires a gene from both parents in order to present as a phenotype.

Comics

Main article: Batman Beyond (comics)

Crossover episode guide

Main article: The Zeta Project

#	Title	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Original Airdate(s)
8	"Shadows"	Jim Maltby	Rich Fogel	April 7, 2001 (2001-04-07)
After a mall in Gotham City is destroyed from a conflict between Infiltration Unit 7 and Zeta, Batman seeks out the synthoid he once let free believing he was the cause of the chaos.

Main article: Static Shock

#	Title	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Original Airdate(s)
40	"Future Shock"	Vic Dal Chele	Stan Berkowitz	January 17, 2004 (2004-01-17)
Static 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.

Main article: Justice League Unlimited

#	Title	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Original Airdate(s)
12	"The Once and Future Thing, Part 1: Weird Western Tales"	Dan Riba	Dwayne McDuffie	January 22, 2005 (2005-01-22)
Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern chase Chronos to the past, where they team up with some of the greatest DC heroes of the Old West. After defeating stolen future tech in that era, they again follow Chronos to the future. Warhawk from the Batman Beyond era is revealed to be Green Lantern and Hawkgirl's son. Guest starring: Bat-Lash, Jonah Hex and other DC characters from the Old West. This episode also teases with the idea of Wonder Woman and Batman having a relationship.
13	"The Once and Future Thing, Part 2: Time Warped"	Joaquim dos Santos	Dwayne McDuffie	January 29, 2005 (2005-01-29)
Batman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman's pursuit of Chronos takes them to the future Gotham City of Batman Beyond, just in time to face a battle with a group of Jokerz beside that era's Justice League. The time travellers are taken to the JLU's refuge. An older Bruce Wayne reveals the street gang they fought together was enhanced by Chronos who lead them to kill the rest of the League of that era. The combined heroes defeat the retooled Jokerz, and Batman traps Chronos in a time loop, right before he started his first time travel. This episode contains references to Crisis on Infinite Earths. The second time in the DCAU in which Hal Jordan appears as Green Lantern.
26	"Epilogue"	Dan Riba	Dwayne McDuffie	July 23, 2005 (2005-07-23)
In the future, Amanda Waller reveals to an older Terry McGinnis that through her scientific manipulations, he is actually Bruce Wayne's son. The final scene in this episode mirrors the first scene in Batman: The Animated Series, as the creative team thought it could possibly be the final JLU episode, which was not.

Main article: Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Terry can be seen in a cameo in the last scene of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Night of the Batmen!" }}

Lexicon

To help carry off the feel of a world at least 40 years in the future, Batman Beyond employed a group of slang terms either specifically invented or with altered usage.

Schway

An adjective generally synonymous with "cool."

Rips

A verb generally synonymous with the colloquial meaning of "rules" or "kicks ass".

Slag

General purpose expletive used as both noun and verb. Incidentally the word is in usage in British slang, where it refers to a promiscuous woman.

Dreg

Generally meaning "lowlife."

Slapper

A futuristic form of steroids, administered by a transdermal patch that is "slapped" onto the skin. It is later revealed that the drug is Venom, the same poison that gave Bane strength. (episode: "The Winning Edge") The word is in usage in British and Irish slang, where it refers to a woman dressed in revealing and offensive clothing.

Twip

Generally meaning "twerp" or "twit".

Credits (or creds)

The general currency is referred to as "credits," and are carried on plastic cards.

Atrac

A parallel of Amtrak, it appears to be a monorail-like railway service which travels nationally.

Spliced

A futuristic form of body modification which involves combining animal DNA with human DNA.

Soundtrack

Untitled

Released on August 31, 1999, the soundtrack to Batman Beyond contains many of the same composers who worked on the previous animated Batman shows. This time, due to the show's futuristic style, the compositions have become more industrial to tie in with the cyberpunk genre.

1. Batman Beyond (Main Title) – Kristopher Carter
2. Cold vs. Hot – Lolita Ritmanis
3. Terrific Trio vs. Rocketeers – Michael McCuistion
4. Bat-Slapped In Store – Kristopher Carter
5. Farewells – Lolita Ritmanis
6. Batman Defeats Chappell – Kristopher Carter
7. Batman Chases Inque – Kristopher Carter
8. Yachting With the Card Gang – Michael McCuistion
9. Batman's First Fight – Michael McCuistion
10. The Legacy Continues – Michael McCuistion
11. Hotel Scuffle – Shirley Walker
12. Trouble In the Museum – Shirley Walker
13. Inque Escapes! – Kristopher Carter
14. Nuclear Lab Destruction – Michael McCuistion
15. Golem Chases Shoppers – Shirley Walker
16. Willie Defeated – Shirley Walker
17. Genetic Theft – Michael McCuistion
18. Joker Chase – Lolita Ritmanis
19. Move to the Groove – Lolita Ritmanis
20. Batman Beyond (End Credits) – Shirley Walker

Home media releases

Season releases

DVD Name	Release Date	Episodes	Additional Information
The Complete First Season	March 21, 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	October 24, 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	March 20, 2007	13	Special Features: Inside Batman Beyond; Featurettes on 4 episodes by producers, directors and Will Friedle.
The Complete Series	November 23, 2010	52	Special Features: Creator Commentaries, Season Retrospectives, Bonus 9th Disc with 95 Minutes of New Special Features, Secret Origin The Story of the DC Comics Documentary and 3 All-New, All- Revealing Featurettes,

Individual episodes

DVD Name	Release Date	Episodes	Additional Information
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (edited version)	December 12, 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 and French.
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (original uncut version)	April 23, 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 and French.
Batman Beyond: The Movie		5	Rebirth, Golem, Dead Man's Hand, Meltdown, The Winning Edge
Batman Beyond: School Dayz and Spellbound	March 2, 2004	6
Batman Beyond: 546546Tech Wars and Disappearing Inque	March 2, 2004	6

• Note: The audio commentaries for both the edited and uncut versions of Return of the Joker were provided by the same contributors, however both versions are slightly different from each other.

Feature films

• Batman Beyond: 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, and a second, uncensored release came later. The uncut movie was rerealesed on Blu-ray April 5, 2011.

• 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. In August 2000, Warner Bros. announced that it was developing a live action film adaptation of the TV series Batman Beyond with Boaz Yakin attached to co-write and direct. The TV series' creators Paul Dini and Alan Burnett were hired to write a screenplay for the feature film, with author Neal Stephenson consulting the duo. By July 2001, a first draft was turned in to the studio, and the writers were waiting to see if a rewrite would be needed. The studio, also exploring other takes of Batman in development, eventually placed the Batman Beyond on hold in August 2001.

See also

• Batman (Terry McGinnis)
• Batman: The Animated Series
• The New Batman Adventures
• Kids' WB

External links

• Official website
• Batman Beyond at DC Beyond/Kids' WB [1]
• Template:Bcdb
• Batman Beyond at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com
• Batman Beyond on the DC Animated Universe Wiki, an external wiki