Back in 1999, we had an animated Batman Beyond show that run over 52 episodes ending in 2001 and featured Terry McGinnis as the futuristic Batman after Bruce Wayne is too old to continue.
There’s a lot that happens, but if you haven’t watched the show then I would still recommend it over 20 years later.
What bothers me so much is that there have been so many different situations where Batman Beyond could become a pivotal part of anything really. From DC’s Legends of Tomorrow to the DCEU, to a standalone project.
The character has an interesting background, and also the timeline that Gotham is in, giving that it’s the future it has a futuristic vibe to it similar to Cyberpunk 2077.
In this timeline, most of the heroes and villains we know are either too old, dead, or in prison, but copycats and inspirations take their place such as the gang known as the Jokerz.
Batman is and always will remain as one of my favorite DC heroes, purely because there’s so much to the character it’s always almost impossible to fit it into a trilogy of movies, or even a show of his own.
But, this is where my point kicks in. Don’t we think we’ve had enough now? I’ll never turn down a Batman appearance in any form, and it’s one of the reasons I am overly excited for Robert Pattinson’s version of the character, but will they tell a story we’re not all that familiar with?
Probably not.
Terry McGinnis effectively comes in on a clean slate. Despite him having a show and multiple comic runs, the story pave is still very clear when it comes to telling a fully original story. It’s the exact same situation with Miles Morales over at Marvel.
I understand that the DCEU or even Pattinson’s timelines don’t yet fit into Batman Beyond’s time, and those sections of DC still need time to progress – but does it have to be?
Batman Beyond already had an animated show, and there’s definitely scope for either The CW or even HBO Max to build a show around the character. After all, it seems like WB is still super protective of allowing a full-fledged Batman in either of those companies, even if we’ve had Bruce Wayne multiple times, and a silhouette of Batman in the Titans season 1 finale.
So, give us Beyond. It’s time for it now, and if Sony can make it work with Miles in multiple projects including an animated movie, a game, and a potential introduction into Spider-Man: No Way Home, then I’m sure WB can do the same.
I feel like I’ll be dead before we get this, but it’s one of the projects I’m so desperate for. We always see Gotham pretty much run down, in anything, so having the city in a futuristic setting would be eye-opening. Not to mention a proper live-action Beyond suit, very similar to the suit you’re able to select in the Batman: Arkham Knight game.
You can see the suit below;
All in all, it’s a character that I feel deserves so much more attention than he gets currently. It feels like it’s only a minority of people that talk about him which is such a shame, considering the possibility of having him included in some way or the other.
DC & WB make some questionable decisions – and they’ve made more than they ever have recently, but this is something I feel like should definitely be on the table when the executives are pitching their ideas.
