Batman Beyond (comics)

DC animated universe tie-in

After an initial six-issue limited series released in March 1999, Batman Beyond had its own comic book series, running through November 1999 until October 2001, for a total of 24 issues. They were set in the same world of the show and aimed at younger readers.

Originally, Batman Beyond #3 (the monthly series) was to focus on the Terrific Trio from the episode "Heroes". The story would have 2-D Man and Magma trying to revive their former teammate, Freon. It was rejected due to their resemblance to the Fantastic Four.

Terry also appeared in Superman Adventures #64. The story has Terry/Batman traveling to the present and teaming up with Superman against a futuristic version of Brainiac.

A comic adaptation of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker was released in 2001.

Collected editions

Cameos

In Superman/Batman #22 (written by Jeph Loeb), a Batman wearing the Beyond costume appears, making his first foray into the regular DC Comics continuity. The plot involves Bizarro being transported to an alternate version of Gotham City. In issue #23, this Batman is named "Tim". The packaging for the action figure created by DC Direct based on this appearance in Superman/Batman identifies Batman Beyond as Tim Drake.

On March 3, 2007, Dan DiDio announced that Terry McGinnis may be showing up in the DCU sometime that year. Terry appeared in Countdown to Final Crisis #21, Earth-12.

A Green Lantern implied to be from Earth-12, a universe within the multiverse similar to that of Batman Beyond (though not the same GL represented in the animated series) was a participant in the Countdown: Arena series (2007) leading towards Final Crisis.

The character also made a cameo in Justice League of America #43, which was released May 2010.

Mainstream contemporary continuity

In Batman #700 (June 2010), Terry McGinnis is included in the one-off as a part of the DC Universe presented, having a history with Damian Wayne, who rescued him as Batman from Two-Face-Two when he was held hostage as an infant. Two-Face-Two believed Terry McGinnis was one of a pair of twin boys who were the sons of billionaires rather than Warren and Mary McGinnis. Two-Face-Two transformed Terry into a miniature duplicate of the Joker with the Joker's toxin. Damian administers the antidote after he rescues Terry. In the following page, a teenage McGinnis is seen behind the Batman cowl, battling the apparently-resurrected Joker, with Damian as his mentor, instead of Bruce.

Superman/Batman Annual #4 (2010) is a single oversized issue featuring Terry McGinnis' Batman. Author Paul Levitz penned the story, with experience collaborating with Paul Dini and Alan Burnett in the past. It picks up after Superman's first meeting with the new Batman taking place in the DCAU, and supposedly jibing with the DCU's "Batman Beyond" verse. Terry made his New 52 debut in the 2014 maxiseries, The New 52: Futures End.

2010 miniseries

Batman Beyond is a 2010 six-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics. The series is an attempt to mesh the DC animated universe television series Batman Beyond with the mainstream DC continuity. The comic series is penned by Emmy Award-nominated writer Adam Beechen with art by Ryan Benjamin. Beechen stated his comic book arc will open the door for the "legendary" DCAU to enter into the mainstream DC Universe (comics), tying into both continuities. The story features Terry McGinnis, the future Batman, now a seasoned hero, and his mentor Bruce Wayne, the former Batman, dealing with their straining relationship over the demands of the role of Batman, as a new killer emerges with ties to the original Dark Knight's past.

Creation and development

Beechem was approached by Dan DiDio in December 2008 regarding the possibility of the project. Beechem responded by pitching DC Comics editor Ian Sattler in a two-worded email, the title to opening story arc. The series was green-lit during Comic-Con 2009. The series was first announced during the Emerald City ComiCon in March 2010. Summarizing the series to The Source.com Beechem stated:

The arc opened in a single issue focusing-on and featuring Terry McGinnis and Superman in Superman/Batman Annual #4. Following the issue, the miniseries began in June 2010, under the title Future Evil. In August 2010, the series was announced to continue following the completion of the first arc as an ongoing series.

Plot

The plot revolves around future Batman Terry McGinnis and his investigation into a series of murders involving former enemies of the original Batman, Bruce Wayne. Worried about who this new villain might be, Bruce keeps a tight rein on Terry due to his concern that he has not sacrificed enough time and effort into being a worthy Batman.

Storyline

Hush Beyond

At Project Cadmus, an inmate escapes from the Neo-Gotham based facility. During the escape, he notices that a fight is occurring above him and, upon realizing that it is Batman, expresses his disgust that someone new has taken on the mantle of the Bat. After the new Dark Knight, Terry McGinnis, successfully captures Spellbinder, Justice League Unlimited member Micron arrives and attempts to recruit Terry to the League. This is not the first time someone has tried to recruit him, and McGinnis remains resolute in his refusal to accept the League's offer. When Terry returns to the Bat Cave and mentions that a member of the League tried to recruit him again, Bruce Wayne, Terry's mentor, immediately replies to "tell them no".

The death of a minor costumed criminal, Signalman, prompts Bruce, to send Terry out to investigate. They discover that the M.O. matches Two-Face, who had disappeared years ago during his final battle with Bruce. Reports of alarms at St. James Hospital disrupts them and Terry investigates, it has been the home of the Mad Hatter since Arkham Asylum closed down. After checking in on the Hatter, who has become docile and somewhat senile, Terry discovers a nurse under attack by a man in a trench coat. The mysterious rogue flees at the sight of Batman and Terry checks on the nurse, who says the man told her to "Hush".

This leads on a hunt for Hush, with Bruce explaining what took place during his last confrontation with Hush. During a fight with him, Hush dived through a window and was shot by the homeowner. Bruce then fled without inspecting the body, but was satisfied with the report that it was Thomas Elliot, for a while. Bruce admits Hush's skill for strategy and plastic surgery meant that Thomas could have planned the entire scenario. After a brief encounter and chase with a new Catwoman, Terry discovers that another villain has been killed, this time with the use of the Penguin's classic trick Umbrellas. Attempting to stay ahead of their foe, Terry and Bruce search out the Calendar Man, Julian Day, upon confronting Day, Terry is suddenly ambushed by "Hush".

During Terry's fight with "Hush," it is revealed that he is not only capable of matching Terry, but is also aware it's not Bruce Wayne. "Hush" reveals his plan while regarding Terry as an 'imposter', and states he'll 'orphan' Batman all over again by killing Batman's rogues gallery. "Hush" escapes, leaving Terry to decide whether or not to pursue him or rescue Calendar Man, who is bound with a bomb attached to him. Choosing the latter, Terry arrives too late as a bomb detonates, killing Day. After he returns to the cave, Terry receives a talk from Bruce about commitment to Batman. Meanwhile, Amanda Waller talks with Doctor Reid about reports of the murders; Reid insists that they report their role in this, but Waller shoots down the option.

Terry returns home and lives a normal life for the day, meeting up with his girlfriend, Dana. Unhappy about their lack of time together, she asks whether anything long term will ever come out of his working for Wayne. Terry soon after returns to the cave and confronts Bruce but finds nobody around and investigates Bruce's secret new "gadgets". The "gadgets" turn out to be Bat-Wraiths, robotic drones created to help assist Terry in his duties. Terry decides that he will prove himself to Bruce, without the drones and sets out to capture "Hush" once and for all. Terry's first lead is to check on Tim Drake confirming that Tim has been under constant physical and psychological observation since his time as the Joker. Terry then proceeds to confront and question Dick Grayson. We see "Hush" hired the new Catwoman to plant a tracking device on Batman so that he can monitor his whereabouts, before proceeding to betray and strangle her to death as part of his 'vendetta'.

Using a Bat-Wraith, Bruce attempts to apprehend Hush, allowing Catwoman an opportunity to escape. The attack fails as Hush attempts to hack the Drone, forcing Bruce to activate the Wraith's self-destruct. Meanwhile, Terry talks with Dick Grayson, who now runs an athletics training center. Dick explains that he retired as Nightwing after he was shot, resulting in losing an eye while aiding Batman. He then retired in disgust at Bruce's lack of concern for Dick's health after the shooting. As Terry leaves, Dick warns Terry but Terry disregards it. At Cadmus, Waller learns that Doctor Reid has gone missing. Attempting to lure Hush into a trap, Terry uses a hologram to pose a villain, only to be hit by Hush using Shriek's Tech. Mocking Terry, Hush unmasks himself and reveals himself to be Dick Grayson, determined to replace Bruce Wayne once and for all.

In an alley, Reid is preparing to provide information to Commissioner Barbara Gordon regarding Hush's origin and motives. However, she is being pursued by Cadmus' security, under Waller's orders, but Reid manages to escape. Dick Grayson arrives and saves the doctor, however Reid is terrified and faints after seeing Grayson's face. Elsewhere, the other Dick savors the moment over an incapacitated Terry, and spares him so that he can witness his plan. Catwoman arrives after the second Grayson departs, and saves Terry's life from his wounds. Bruce deduces Catwoman's true identity as the daughter of supervillain Multiplex. In the Batcave, all of the Bat-Wraiths have been activated and controlled by Hush after developing his own remote sparing Bruce as the drones leave. At Cadmus, more inmates have escaped, including Killer Croc and Waller deduces that Hush must have done it.

At Gotham Central, Reid reveals that Hush is a clone of Grayson created by Cadmus, due to Waller insisting that "the world must always have a Batman." Waller believed that Bruce's psyche was too unstable, and Grayson was seemingly the next best candidate, as he shares Bruce's passion, as well as other factors. However, the clone escaped before he was ready, believing himself to be the real Dick Grayson and wanting to replace Batman as Gotham's champion. Reid also reveals that she is a granddaughter of Thomas Eliot, and is seeking to atone for her family's sins by working for Waller. In the Batcave, Bruce begins treating Terry's wounds, he monologues that he has been making faults in Terry's actions where none existed. Terry had regained consciousness during his monologue, to which Bruce confirms to Terry that everything he heard is true. Hush reveals by transmission that he, inspired by Gotham's last earthquake, will save the city by performing mercy killings of its corrupt, by a mass of explosives at the epicenter to set off another quake.

The wounded Terry, aided by Dick Grayson and Catwoman, confronts the clone, with Grayson unable to convince Hush that he is merely a clone. The group defeats Hush when Bruce temporarily overrides Hush's control of the Bat-Wraiths, resulting in the clone being accidentally impaled on a Bat-Wraith. Catwoman departs quickly and Grayson departs despite Bruce's attempts to offer an apology for how things ended between them. Terry returns to Bruce where they discuss the ideals of heroism. Bruce offers Terry a chance to step down as Batman, Terry refuses, stating that it's better than anything else he could do. Unknown to them, Waller has escaped blame for her role in Grayson's cloning by claiming that Reid was acting alone, and is now aided by a new geneticist, Doctor Thawne. Waller has begun research into a new line of clones, stating that recent events have merely confirmed her belief that the world will always need a Batman.

Reception

The first issue of the series was well received and met favorable reviews for both writing and art. Ian Robinson of Craveonline.com noted the series was both blended well with and matured from the animated series. Jesse Schedeen of IGN provided a favorable review, but commented that while the writing transitioned well from small screen to comic, the art was 'haphazard' and 'inconsistent.'

Batman Beyond (2011)

Batman Beyond was published as an ongoing series that lasted for 8 issues. It featured two major storylines, the first of which featured the Justice League Beyond and a person who would become the Matter Master of the future. The second storyline featured the return of Blight, Terry's original nemesis. Two issues also provided an in-depth exploration of characters Max Gibson and Inque, whose origins were revealed. Several plot threads were not resolved and left for 2012 relaunch. Also in 2011, a comic book one-shot titled Superman Beyond #0 was released, set in the "Beyond" timeline and featured a cameo of Terry McGinnis.

Digital comics (2012-2014)

The Beyond universe returned as a tri-weekly digital issues, which will be published on a monthly basis in print as the Batman Beyond Unlimited ongoing 48-page comic book. This monthly title will include Batman Beyond, Justice League Beyond and Superman Beyond.

Superman Beyond ceased publication with its 20th digital release, in June 2013. Justice League Beyond then ceased publication with its 25th digital issue, in June 2013. Batman Beyond eventually ceased publication with its 29th digital issue, in July 2013.

After the cancellation of Batman Beyond Unlimited, the Beyond line was relaunched. Starting in August 2013, Batman Beyond 2.0 and Justice League Beyond 2.0 began publication, with each digital title receiving new creative teams. The print release was relaunched as Batman Beyond Universe, The new series takes place a year after Batman Beyond Unlimited. Terry is now a freshman at Gotham University and now has more experience as Batman. One of his classmates is Melanie Walker. Terry is no longer working with Bruce, instead it is Dick Grayson sitting at the computer. The Justice League also must deal with Superman when his powers go out of control and an old foe from his past also returns. After the final arc 'Justice Lords Beyond' the series concluded in 2014.

10,000 Clowns (Prelude)

Bruce and Barbara have noticed an influx of Jokerz lately that have all gathered to Gotham from around the globe. Meanwhile, Terry goes to Dana's house and meets Doug. Dana tells Terry that she broke up with him because she's increasingly felt like less of a priority in his life and is open to him making it up to her in the future, but still thinks they should still keep their distance. Later, Bruce sends Terry to the park when he and Barbara suspect a large group of Jokerz. Batman is attacked by a small group of hammer-wielding Jokerz and easily defeats them. Bruce tells Terry to leave as he realizes they're just being tested by the leader of the Jokerz, who is revealed to be Doug."

The Trigger Man

A group of Russians who formerly made frequent deals with Mad Stan (who is thought to be dead) host an arms deal with a group of British Jokerz, who are aware that they have a device that can set off any remote explosives. Mad Stan and his dog, Boom-Boom, arrive and busts the deal as revenge for the Russians using his houseboat behind, taking the device in the process.

Back at Dana's home, her father confronts Doug in the bathroom and orders him to take his medication. Doug fractures his father's skull and runs off while Dana witnesses the ordeal in shock.

Meanwhile, Bruce uses his new power as Wayne Incorporated CEO to provide the police with upgraded weaponry. Bruce also introduces Terry to the two new Chief Liaisons to the Police Department: Lucius Fox Jr. and Tim Drake. Shortly after, they get word of a gunfight near the boathouses between Mad Stan and the Russians. Batman primarily goes after Stan and lets the Russians escape. Stan defeats Batman and is determined to go after the Russians as they've kidnapped Boom-Boom, threatening to blow up Gotham in the process. After interrogating some criminals, Terry is requested by Max to meet her at a diner, where she plans to tell him about Undercloud. Before she can, a distraught Dana arrives and tells Terry about Doug's past and what he did to their father. Afraid of what her brother will do, she requests Terry to use his connections to Bruce to find and stop Doug. Terry agrees to help her, but before he and Bruce make that task a priority, they decide to focus on taking down Mad Stan first due to his immediate threat to the city.

Mad Stan and the Russians agree to an exchange between the device and Boom-Boom at an old supermarket. Stan learns from one of the dealers about the device's functions and prepares to use it to activate nearby bombs, but he and the Russians are stopped by Batman. Bruce agrees to make finding Doug Priority One. At prison, Stan's lawyer convinces the judge to let Stan see Boom-Boom twice a month."

Legends of the Dark Knight: Jake

This side story focuses on the great grandnephew of Joe Chill, Jake. Jake is an alcoholic who lives in the lower streets of downtown Gotham through government checks wracked with guilt. He was formerly a security guard at Wayne-Powers Industries before being upgraded to a special security that Derek Powers called his "Quiet Squad" under the command of Powers's right-hand man, Mister Fix. He enjoyed upgrading his weaponry and the money and pleasure he got from the job until he was ordered to kill Warren McGinnis.

After Warren's death, Jake became depressed after watching Warren's funeral on television and seeing the family that Warren left behind. He descended into alcoholism and was fired after Batman defeated Powers and Fix and the temporary management at Wayne-Powers discovered the Quiet Squad's existence. He didn't look for another job and was evicted from his apartment, which led him to the lower streets. During the night Jake is narrating this, he finds a group of thieves ransacking his house and lashes out at them, using his experience in fighting to gain the upper hand. After defeating the criminals, he finds a new purpose in life and takes out his old armor from his Quiet Squad days. Jake begins planning on upgrading his equipment and becoming a new hero in Gotham to make up for his sins.

10,000 Clowns

The Jokerz have launched a simultaneous attack on the city, taking over the Ostrander, the Water Treatment Plant, and St. Caspian's Middle School. Bruce has Terry go to the Middle School since the police have the Ostrander under control and there are other power plants to make up for any damage done to one of them. After checking on Dana in the hospital, Terry returns to Wayne Manor, where he finds Bruce under critical conditions. Bruce is quickly rushed to Gotham Mercy Hospital, where he's revealed to be in the final stages of liver failure due to his injuries from his days as Batman and the over usage of painkillers. The doctor tells Terry that Bruce is at the top of the organ donor recipient list, hinting that he's known about this for a long time.

In a suburban graveyard, Doug has gathered all the Jokerz from around the world for a common goal of chaos, and has now dubbed himself, "The Joker King."

After two days in the hospital, Bruce wakes up. Terry and the doctors refuse to have him leave. Bruce was aware of his impending liver failure well before he met Terry and has made a large effort behind the scenes to figure out a way to fix it. After Terry storms out, the doctors start panicking as one of them tells Terry that there was a suicide bomber on one of their floors. Terry puts on his Batman outfit and heads outside, where he sees another explosion and dozens of more people dead. When he tries looking for someone responsible on the scene, he finds an armored man and attacks him. The man defends himself, but before they fight anymore, he claims to be on Batman's side and says he's trying to find the person responsible for this. After Batman says that Gotham doesn't need more vigilantes, he dubs himself "Vigilante."

Batman and Vigilante track down another bomber and fail to stop her from blowing up near a skyscraper. With the Justice League off planet and Max kidnapped by Overcloud, Batman's only allies are the police force, Vigilante, Catwoman, and Dick Grayson. With few options left, Batman is forced to ask Tim Drake to operate the Batcomputer to aid them, requesting him to use the device he got from Mad Stan to deactivate the explosions and send drones with an antidote to rid the other Jokerz of any mind control.

Back at the hospital, Bruce requests to stay behind with Dana's family despite his conditions when the other patients are prioritized and evacuated. Doug arrives, intending to kill his family, and throws Bruce outside the room to confront them. Bruce barely manages to contact Terry to come to the hospital. Batman manages to arrive just in time to stop Doug from harming Dana or her parents as Bruce escorts them out. Doug shoots Batman with a projectile that nauseates him, gaining an upper hand in the fight. However, after dealing with the remaining Jokerz, Dick, Catwoman, and Vigilante return to save Batman. When Dana arrives to confront her brother, he grabs her, but she elbows him and causes the two to fall off the building. Batman rescues Dana, while Doug caught his foot in a large rope and slammed his head against the building, killing him instantly.

In the fallout of Doug and the Jokerz attack, Dana reflects on her life, from her brother's obsession with the Joker turning him into a super villain to meeting Terry at a dance. Dana and her mother are in the lobby of the hospital telling the police about Doug and being there for her father. Terry (who's suffering a large concussion after his fight with Doug) and his family are also there for support. After walking with Terry to talk to her father, she takes him to see Bruce to talk about Batman. Dana reveals she figured out that Terry is Batman after Batman called out her name when he rescued her from Doug, causing her to recall a lot of changes Terry went through after his father's death and that he was supported by the original Batman, Bruce Wayne. Bruce confirms Dana's suspicions and she tells them that she's ready for any consequence that will come from knowing Batman's secret identity. Bruce is then taken away for surgery, as Dana's parents have agreed for Doug's liver to be transplanted into Bruce. Dana tells Terry that they can't hold anymore secrets from each other and the two share a kiss.

Undercloud

While the Jokerz incident was going on, Max was investigating Undercloud and is taken in by the unknown, female leader named Rebel One. When Max outranked all the other hackers of the organization, Rebel One took Max to her laboratory and revealed her master plan is to create this giant robot made of large, flexible metals to destroy Gotham City, and she needs Max's help to bring it to life. Rebel One threatens to kill Max's friends and family if she doesn't comply.

After checking on Bruce in the hospital, Batman is requested by Commissioner Gordon to stop a bomb threat at a music concert. Batman discovers the villain behind the threat is Shriek, who was sent by Rebel to distract Batman while she and Max were finishing the robot. While setting up the robot, Max purposefully overloads the reasonator to cause a temporary blackout in the Batcave, allowing her to alert Terry without Rebel's knowledge. Knowing the risks of the blackout, Rebel activates the robot she calls "Alloy" to annihilate Gotham.

After taking her and Max outside, Rebel reveals her plans to destroy Gotham and rebuild it from the ground up, citing her blames on how Gotham treats the underprivileged poorly. Batman arrives to take care of Alloy, who starts following him despite Rebel's commands and blows up the Batmobile. Max and Batman encounter the creature in a moment of vulnerability, in which it's split up into six parts and knows Batman's name. Batman and Max manage to separate the six creatures by using the electricity in Batman's suit and Max rewiring Rebel's remote control to six units instead of one. The six are reformed and are revealed to be Doc Magnus' old creations, the Metal Men. Batman uses the aid of the Metal Men to stop the Reed buildings the Alloy was smashing from collapsing. Rebel tries smashing her hover car into the building with Max on it, but the Metal Men form a large net to stop her.

During this, Dick Grayson helps Commissioner Gordon evacuate the building and says that he's being more active in the superhero community lately because he doesn't want Bruce to lead Terry down a dark path. Bruce returns from the hospital to Wayne Manor while Terry and the Metal Men contain the crumbling buildings.

After Batman and the Metal Men succeed, they return to Wayne Manor, where Bruce explains that the creator of the Metal Men, Will Magnus, has been missing and presumed dead for years. To protect the Metal Men from the government and CADMUS, he erased their records, deactivated all of them, reformed them into different objects, and gave them to friends and acquaintances who had no idea who they were holding. To give them a purpose in this new world, Bruce told them they could continue Magnus' plans for them to protect the people of Earth, even providing them with the Injustice Gang's old satellite base to use as a home. The Metal Men accept this new mission and leave Bruce to talk with Terry and Max. Max thinks that they shouldn't dismantle Undercloud, but instead redirect it to contribute to society rather than destroy it like Rebel One intended. Bruce accepts the plan and puts Max in charge of handling Undercloud and looking over the mainframe for the Metal Men's satellite. Bruce tells Terry that he thinks re-establishing old connections and making new ones is important especially with his fluctuating health. He's understanding if Terry doesn't want to continue being Batman, but he still wants Terry to remain a part of the Bat-Family, as Gotham always needs a Batman.

Batgirl Beyond

Commissioner Barbara Gordon finds herself in a lower part of Gotham called Crown Point handling a riot. She starts to get overwhelmed by the rioters until she's assisted by a young woman dressed as Batgirl. The mysterious vigilante criticizes Gordon and the police force for aiding more of the richer parts of Gotham and informs her that someone has been poisoning them for the last couple of weeks.

Gordon talks with a forensic pathologist of the GCPD and finds out that there's been an increased number of individuals who had a strong poison going through their systems before they died. The poison acts as a super steroid that causes the citizens to anger more easily and grow muscles at an exponential rate, similar to Bane's Venom. She goes to the Roake corporation and interrogates the head of the company, Randolph Westley-Smythe. After testing the water and knowing that the citizens of Crown Point aren't taking any drugs, she concludes that the Roake corporation is slowly killing them as they have control over all of Crown Point's food division. Randolph confirms her suspicions and tells her that he's killing off most of the citizens to clear the area and make a profit, and they can't stop him thanks to his lawyers. When Barbara leaves, he sends his security to kill her, but she is rescued by Batgirl.

After getting a warrant for Randolph's arrest, Gordon and Batgirl go to his office and defeat him. Batgirl figures out that Gordon was testing her when she nearly lets Randolph go. Randolph was bailed out of jail by his competition, hinting at a larger conspiracy. While Gordon doesn't approve or sanction, but won't take action against her unless she steps over the line. When Batgirl doubts Gordon's skills, Gordon proves her wrong by showing up to Batgirl's school the next day and revealing she knows Batgirl's secret identity, a teenager named Nissa.

Rewired

Nearly a year after the Joker bombings, Mayor William Dusk dies of a sudden heart attack while showcasing the updated Arkham Institute. Despite seeming like a natural cause, Commissioner Gordon and the Mayor's family suspect he was killed by an unseen force.

Terry has made a number of changes since he was last seen. He is now a freshman enrolled in Neo-Gotham University with his new roommate Ryan, has broken up with Dana, and had a falling out with Bruce which led him to choose Dick Grayson as his mentor and to work closer with Barbara and the police. Gordon tells Batman that all the inmates claimed they killed the Mayor with the exception of Ghoul. Batman interrogates the criminal, but doesn't get any useful information. Gordon receives info from the coroner, David, that someone killed Dusk by pumping his phone with electricity through the air. Shortly after, the electricity in Arkham is shutdown, leading to a massive prison break. Batman contains the breakout as best as he can, while Dick receives a call from Bruce with more information about Dusk's death. Dick ignores Bruce and tells him they have everything under control.

Greg Hoffman is sworn in as replacement mayor and expresses his distrust of Gordon as Commissioner. Terry struggles to maintain his social, academic, and family life due to his duties as Batman. While talking to his mother about his situation, Dusk's killer appears on television and demands Batman to meet him at the offshore rig alone, threatening to overload other people's cell phones for every minute he doesn't show. On the rig, Terry is seemingly pitted against the original Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Robin. However, he breaks the illusion and finds three of his recurring foes (Spellbinder, Shriek, and Inque) with the unknown criminal that killed Dusk. Batman easily takes out his familiar foes, but the electrical powers of the fourth villain are too much and nearly kill him. The criminal calls himself Rewire and boasts to the GCPD that he killed Batman. Dick shows up at the rig and saves Batman from Rewire's hands and rescues the rest of the police while Rewire recharges with Ghoul's assistance. Ghoul provides Rewire with a toxin that fuels his power. When Dick returns to his jet ski, he finds Batman missing.

Meanwhile, Gordon and her men find out that Dusk was transferring a certain amount of credits to a blind account for a long time, but stopped two months before his death. His wife claims that they were for therapy for Doctor Bennett. Bennett disappeared shortly afterwards, but is found by Gordon in a hidden compartment in his laboratory. Bennett reveals that the funding Dusk put towards therapy and the Arkham project was for his son, Davis, who is secretly Rewire and became a villain due to his hatred for his father's hunger for power and obsession with the city. Davis increases his power by using his father's machine that created renewable power through gravity.

Following Batman's disappearance, the freed criminals wreak havoc on Gotham. Bennett reveals to Gordon that Dusk put funding towards a machine in Arkham that could contain Davis and his electrical powers as a last resort. Terry wakes up in the Batcave and finds his wounds patched, his costume fixed, and all the information regarding the case. Terry leaves the Batcave without speaking a word to Bruce. He returns to Dick's hideout, expressing his frustration that Bruce had everything about the case figured out without leaving Wayne Manor. Dick tells Terry that he might never be as good as Bruce, but he should stop pushing his loved ones away and embrace his own life rather than replicate Bruce's.

Rewire uses his new power to attack the GCPD and Mayor Hoffman. Batman lures him into the containment machine by having Dick use Spellbinder's orb to disguise himself as the deceased Dusk, giving Davis enough of a distraction for Batman to knock him into the machine to defeat him. Afterwards, Terry takes Dick's advice and takes a few days off to spend with his family and friends. Back at Arkham, Davis' mother is reading a story to the incarcerated Rewire, who shows hints of his powers resurfacing.

The Bat Men

After losing his hearing in a fight with Shriek, Terry is provided with hearing aid headphones by Dick. The next day, Terry discovers that his former crush and super villain Melanie is attending Neo-Gotham University part-time. Despite her attempts to start a normal life on her own, Terry is still hesitant to talk with her after the last two times they tried to get together. As Batman he aids her in taking down a couple of criminals, and she angrily tells him not to see her again, as she's dropped all connections with her family and doesn't know where any of the Royal Flush Gang are.

Meanwhile, city assessment workers Sam Byers and Edward Sears are kidnapped by an elderly Kirk Langstrom, who is now a bearded Man-Bat capable of human speech. He's turned their sonar scanner into a long range weapon in the Historical District that could kill tens of thousands of people, and demands three pounds of kanium from Gordon and the police in 24 hours in exchange for their freedom. Mayor Hoffman plans to take wipe out the Historical District by calling in the Bureau, but allows Gordon ten (later seven) hours to break into the district, save the hostages, and disable the weapon. They pair Terry up with Bruce, as his history with Langstrom would aid Terry in this endeavor.

Batman and Bruce sneak in the sewer systems to get to the device. Bruce tells Terry and Dick aren't good for each other since they didn't take the influx of Man-Bats as a sign, but Terry tells Bruce that Dick's more trustworthy. Before they continue arguing, they are attacked by a large group of Man-Bats. They find the formula to be much stronger than Kirk's previous designs. Despite the effort of the two, they are defeated by Kirk and his lover and the new She-Bat, Tey.

The two are imprisoned, where Bruce tells Terry what happened to Kirk and his family after their last encounter in "Terror in the Sky" from Batman: The Animated Series. After Batman and Kirk stopped Francine's She-Bat transformations, the Langstroms swore off genetic research. Thanks to a grant from Wayne Enterprises, they became industry pioneers in the study of sonics and became the parents of two children, Max and Michelle. Unfortunately, Francine was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Parkinson's Disease and was given a year to live. Kirk, determined to save her, returned to studying the Man-Bat formula to find a breakthrough that would allow Francine not to lose her mind to the beast. Though he eventually succeeded, he was too late, as Francine died after falling off her chair and breaking her hip in the room when no-one was there. Kirk's children left him in anger after discovering what Kirk had been doing during Francine's final months.

When real life proved too much for him, Kirk became Man-Bat again and started the Cult of the Bat to attempt to have a family again. The kanium will help the other Man-Bats gain more control over themselves like Kirk. Tey was a girl who was kidnapped by the Jokerz three years ago and was rescued by Kirk shortly afterwards. Kirk gave her the Man-Bat formula after she hadn't had food or water for days, which led her to become the new She-Bat and for the two to fall in love while starting the Cult of the Bat.

Tey convinces Kirk to start the weapon when she thinks they aren't going to get the kanium. Bruce and Terry escape using Terry's headphones, which Bruce reveals that Dick got from him. Batman gives the Bureau air support while Bruce goes to talk to Kirk at the weapon. Bruce deactivates the Bureau's satellite and tries to convince Kirk not to activate the weapon. Convinced that both him and Bruce are monsters, Kirk redirects the weapon into a bomb to just kill them both. Batman manages to get to the building in time to save Bruce. Kirk tells Bruce to use his second chance wisely as he uses the device kill himself. Terry is inspired by the incident to give Melanie a second chance, and goes to the diner she works at to talk to her.

Dick and Barbara eventually meet at the diner Melanie works at to catch up with each other. Barbara thinks that Dick's held Sam against her and feels guilty about potentially ruining his life, but Dick responds that he just wants the best for her. Barbara wants them to be friends again, but thinks it's best if they just focused on their work and Terry for now. Dick snaps an old batarang in half that the two share, a specific batarang that he gave Barbara to save her father, that he was going to propose to her with, and gave to her on her the day of her wedding to Sam.

Justice Lords Beyond: Another World

In a crossover with Justice League Beyond, Batman finds himself in the alternate universe where the Justice Lords exist where he and the rest of the League try to find out what happened to Wonder Woman. When he is first transported to the world, he is confronted by this world's version of Dick Grayson, who has both eyes and is a commander of the Justice Lord Task Force. They use an EMP blast to disable Batman's suit, but Terry manages to escape. He finds his counterpart in this world, who is a blond criminal called T and a member of the Jokerz. T reveals to Terry that the Justice Lord version of Batman (Bruce Wayne) was killed years ago for standing against the other Justice Lords. Terry takes the two of them to Wayne Manor, where he finds the house destroyed. The two are cornered by the Joker gang, but defeat them when Terry finds an upgraded Batsuit in the Batcave. They are then confronted by Justice Lord Superman, who arrests T and kills Terry.

However it's revealed on the Task Force ship that Terry's death was a projection given by the suit (with similar technology to Spellbinder). Batman escapes from the ship and goes into the Batcave, where he retrieves the Batmobile and a message from the deceased Justice Lord Batman. He goes to JLTF headquarters to rescue T and convinces the alternate Dick to join them by showing that Justice Lord Batman imbued the new Batsuit with a synthetic kryptonite to use against Justice Lord Superman. T chooses to stay behind to stay alive while Dick and Terry go to the Watchtower to gain access to the Portal Generator under disguise. After the disguise easily breaks, Terry and Dick are rescued by T, who changed his mind and aided them in getting the generator to transport Terry back to his world.

Terry's kryptonite suit allows the Justice League to defeat Justice Lord Superman. He then returns to the Lords timeline to give back the suit and talk to T one last time. T, thinking Terry deserves something after all he's been through, allows Terry to meet his father. Terry gets emotional for having a chance to talk to his father again, and rewatches their conversation when he gets back to Dick's headquarters. While they watch the recap through Terry's recorder, Dick gets the chance to see his Justice Lords counterpart, who is married to Barbara and has a son named Jon. Though shocked, Dick accepts that some things are bound to be different in alternate timelines. In the Justice Lord timeline, Dick and T are inspired by Terry to continue Bruce's work as T prepares to become the Batman Beyond of his timeline.

Mark of the Phantasm

This story takes place a year before the current events and explains what led Terry and Bruce to split up. After fighting the Jokerz, Batman and Vigilante go their separate ways. During the fight, Vigilante's blood was spilled on the scene and collected by the police, who identify him as Jake Chill. While looking for the Jokerz in his apartment, Jake is attacked by the Phantasm, who demands his death for the murder of Warren McGinnis. Batman manages to arrive in time and takes in some of the gas the Phantasm spread before she escaped. Jake tells Batman about how he's trying to make up for his role in Warren's death. After finding out Jake murdered his father, Batman starts savagely beating up Jake and is only stopped by Bruce's intervention. When Terry returns to the Batcave, Bruce tells him that he inhaled some of Andrea's fear toxin and started acting irrationally. Terry questions Bruce about if he knew about Jake, but Bruce denies ever knowing him before the fight. Terry suspects he's lying given how Jake worked at Wayne Enterprises and was related to the killer of Bruce's parents, Joe Chill.

Terry goes to Dick and Barbara when he starts distrusting Bruce. The two tell Terry what led to the Bat-Family splitting up. After Tim Drake was recovering from the Joker's psychological trauma (as seen in the flashbacks of Return of the Joker), Barbara quits being Batgirl and ends her relationship with Bruce. Dick returned to Gotham after hearing what happened and felt guilty that he wasn't there for Tim. Dick and Barbara rekindle their relationship, with Dick even planning to propose to Barbara at one point. However, Barbara finds out that she's pregnant with Bruce's child and puts off telling it to Dick. Bruce tells Dick himself, leading his former sidekick to lash out at him in anger. Barbara has a miscarriage after stopping a couple of thieves in an alley. A year later Barbara would meet Sam at the D.A.'s office and eventually married him while she and Dick severed their ties with Bruce.

Bruce tells Terry that Vigilante and the Jokerz are in the library, where the gang injects an upgraded Joker toxin into Jake's system to send him into a maniacal rampage. While this happens, Andrea reunites with Bruce in the Batcave. She tells Bruce that she needs to kill Jake as she's afraid that Terry might do it, and she's aware Bruce is also afraid of the same thing and lied to Terry about not knowing Jake prior. After hearing that Terry and Jake are at the library, she leaves. Batman manages to defeat the Jokerz and prevents Phantasm from stabbing Jake, but the Joker toxin and Andrea's fear gas prove too much for Jake and he dies of a seizure.

Terry feels guilty about the whole ordeal and goes to the Batcave after finding out Bruce told Dana and Max what happened so they could comfort him. Terry decides to end his partnership with Bruce after losing his trust and seeing what happened to Bruce's former sidekicks. It's revealed that Andrea was hired by Amanda Waller to take out Jake as killing goes against what Batman represents. In the Arkham Institute, Davis Dusk meets Ghoul in the middle of his father's interview with a reporter, which eventually led into his transformation into Rewire. In the present, Rewire is released from Arkham thanks to Ghoul acting as his lawyer.

All In

Terry starts making frequent visits to the Justice Lords timeline to monitor T's training as the Batman of his world and to talk to the alternate version of his father using the portal in the Batcave. He also starts dating Melanie again, who is going through some financial struggles. After one of his visits, Terry sees some files Bruce made about the new Royal Flush Gang that Queen created.

Meanwhile, Ghoul gives Davis an apartment under an unknown name and shows him a new formula to perfect his powers. However, Davis is more interested in getting his life back rather than going back to crime. Ghoul chooses to partner with Inque instead and gives her a formula that could take away her weakness to water. Inque makes Melanie an offer to steal from the new Royal Flush Gang by trying to gain her spot as Ten back, which would allow her enough to get through college and Inque to afford the chemical process that augments her shapeshifting that would allow her to start over as a new person. Melanie reluctantly accepts the job.

After Batman interrogates Jack and gets him arrested, he sees the Batsignal and discovers Melanie was the one activating it. She tells Batman that she's playing both Queen and Inque and wants his help to bring both of them down, though Batman is hesitant to trust her. At night, she and Inque come aboard the Royal Flush Gang submarine and take out her mother. Inque plans to leave Melanie behind while taking the most valuable prize of the vault, Two-Face's coin. Melanie and Batman manage to defeat and arrest Inque and the Royal Flush Gang. Barbara notices that Two-Face's coin is still missing and theorizes it went down with the submarine. Terry thinks Melanie stole it and confronts her, and she's hurt by Terry's accusation, leading the two to break up.

Davis' attempts to rebuild his life fall flat, as his friends and family hate and fear him for his actions. After hearing about the Justice Lords incident, he steals Ghoul's formula and becomes Rewire again. He electrocutes Ghoul as he plans to cross over to the Justice Lords timeline and find the alternate version of his father.

Alternating Currents

Rewire breaks into Dick's loft and kidnaps him after defeating him. When Terry arrives to the Batcave after another visit to the Justice Lords timeline, Bruce shows Terry a video of Davis holding Dick hostage and demands usage of the portal to the timeline to see his alternate father. Bruce starts melting the portal to prevent both Terry and Davis from accessing it, citing it as Terry's weakness in the last couple of months. After Barbara tells Terry that Ghoul woke up from his coma caused by Rewire's attack, Batman interrogates Ghoul in his hospital room to get Ghoul to tell him where the anti-serum for Rewire is. Batman arrives at the docks and injects the anti-serum into Rewire, but it doesn't work.

Barbara arrives and saves Dick from struggling with a device attached to his chest that continually electrocutes him. Batman tries tiring Rewire out to eventually short out his electrical powers, but is defeated. Dick rips the device off of his chest and attaches it to Rewire, which defeats the villain but nearly kills Dick in the process. Terry returns to the Batcave to check on the portal device and is met by T and the alternate Dick. After Terry failed to show up for a baseball game he'd promise to see with his dad, Warren went to T's apartment, where T told Warren the truth about himself and Terry. Warren was accepting of T's explanation and was eager to see both of them again. However, Terry refuses the offer as he's accepted that the alternate Warren isn't his true dad and encourages T to go as he should appreciate the people he has in his life before they're gone. The two say their last goodbyes before T and his trainer head back to their timeline. The series ends with Terry, Bruce, Barbara, and Dick having a meal in Dick's hospital room.

Mainstream DCU series (2015-2016)

DC Comics announced that another ongoing Batman Beyond series will be released in June 2015. It will take place in the future of its current stories' history. Following the conclusion of The New 52: Futures End, Tim Drake will be the titular character instead of Terry McGinnis, who settles in the latter's time period and help raising McGinnis's brother Matt in his absence. The first issue is written by Dan Jurgens with art by Bernard Chang. The series concluded after 16 issues due to the DC Rebirth event.

Brave New Worlds

Following Tim's time displacement and Terry's death in Future's End, Tim finds himself in the future as the new Batman Beyond in Neo-Gotham. He allies himself with Terry's brother, Matt McGinnis, and his guardian, Nora Boxer. Max has a difficult time accepting Tim filling in for his brother's shoes. Tim finds out that Neo-Gotham is the safest and one of the few inhabitable places left on Earth following Brother Eye's destruction. With his Artificial Intelligence, A.L.F.R.E.D., Tim's first mission as the new Batman is to infiltrate Brother Eye's Lodge and rescue the older Commissioner Barbara Gordon and Terry's friend Maxine Gibson. During the rescue, he gains a new ally in the form of one of Terry's archenemies, Inque, who was allied with Brother Eye because he has her daughter, Deanna Clay, hostage on the moon. Batman and Inque escape with Barbara and a tortured Max into Neo-Gotham, but Tim finds out that Brother Eye let them escape because he downloaded himself into A.L.F.R.E.D., allowing him to pinpoint Neo-Gotham's location. Neo-Gotham is attacked by Brother Eye's forces, which included robotocized versions of Superman, Wonder Woman, and John Stewart. Due to the damage Tim's suit has taken, Barbara gives Tim the suit that her father wore when he replaced Batman. Batman manages to defeat all the robots with the help of the last surviving Justice League member, Micron. Tim is then teleported to the moon for his final showoff against Brother Eye. He manages to defeat the villain with the help of Inque, who sacrifices herself to ensure Brother Eye is destroyed and that her daughter is safe.

City of Yesterday

Tim starts settling into his new role as the Batman of the future with Barbara acting as his tech support similar to how Bruce acted for Terry. Meanwhile, Matt recovered John Stewart's arm after Terry's battle with the robots and uses the Green Lantern ring to find out more about the city of Metropolis. Matt runs away to Metropolis, forcing Terry to go after him. In Neo-Gotham, Barbara and Mayor Luke Fox have to deal with an overwhelming amount of citizens from Metropolis and other desolated cities who want to break into Neo-Gotham. Luke doesn't allow them due to the limited supplies they have for the inhabiting citizens as it is, but they eventually bust the wall and start overwhelming the security. In the desolated Metropolis, Terry finds himself pitted against splicers under the order of Dr. Abel Cuvier and Tuftan, members of the Evil Factory and former allies of Brother Eye. Matt finds the Justice League imprisoned within the Watchtower in Metropolis, but when he frees them to help Tim, they have a device implanted on them to make it look like every person they see are robots created by Brother Eye. They're stopped when Tim and Matt rescue Superman (who in this reality is Clark's son, Jonathan Kent). The Justice League returns to Neo-Gotham to put the intruding citizens under control and begin working to improve the world.

Wired for Death

After the Justice League's return, Terry focuses on stopping a recurring foe during his time as Batman, Davis Dusk aka Rewire. Rewire is revealed to be an alive Terry McGinnis, who was brainwashed by the villain Spellbinder (who projects himself to Terry as an old woman named Doris Shelby) into working for the Evil Factory, thinking he was Davis Dusk, and that Batman wanted him dead. Terry used the Rewire suit to instigate four nights of power outages, causing riots which kept the police and Batman distracted from Spellbinder's activities. After Rewire fights Barbara and she discovers his true identity, Terry knocks her out and brings her to Blackgate, where Spellbinder brainwashes her too. Tim shows up to Blackgate and faces off against the brainwashed Barbara and Rewire. After Tim knocks off Rewire's helmet and discovers that Terry's alive (which he discovers was caused by altering the timeline in the past), Matt takes the Batmobile to Blackgate and distracts Terry from Tim by trying to free him from Spellbinder's illusion. Tim ultimately defeats Spellbinder and Terry's memories are restored. The four of them return to the Batcave, where Tim gives the mantle of Batman back to Terry and leaves to learn more about this foreign world. Though saddened by Tim's departure, the group is glad that Terry is back as Batman.

Rebirth series (2016-present)

DC Comics announced another ongoing Batman Beyond series will be released in October 2016. It will take place after the previous series, with Terry McGinnis returning as the titular character, where he must deal the Jokerz after they take over a section of the city, where they plan to resurrect the deceased Joker. The series is written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Bernard Chang.

Escaping the Grave

Terry is back as Batman and concentrates his efforts on taking down the Joker gang with Commissioner Gordon. He and Matt are living together again with Max, who's recovered from Brother Eye's torture. He still hasn't told his ex-girlfriend Dana Tan that he's back yet. Dana operates as a social worker and is kidnapped by the Jokerz while working in the slums of Neo-Gotham. After Terry witnesses her kidnapping on the news, he goes to the streets to help people only to be attacked by a Joker that is pumped up on Bane's venom. Batman struggles to defeat the man as more Jokerz come in to assist the goliath. He barely escapes the madness and blames his shortcomings on not being Batman for the last couple of months. He comes up with a new plan to rescue Dana by disguising himself as a Joker named Trey Malone, the son of Matches Malone.

Meanwhile, Dana is taken to the leader of the Jokerz, Carter Wilson, aka Terminal. Terminal's ultimate plan is to resurrect the Joker, who died during a showdown with Batman in the winter after he was left in a bulldozer that was caught in the snowblower of an oncoming train by the Dark Knight. Terry proves his worth to Carter by having Max and Matt fly the Batmobile near the Jokerz hideout, where he would seemingly destroy it and gain Terminal's trust. Dana recognizes Terry's voice and gets a couple of chances to catch up with him when the other Jokerz aren't looking. However, when she shows Carter's plan to Terry, the Jokerz spot them and Carter reveals he knew that Trey was Terry all along (as they went to high school together). The Jokerz knock out Terry and tie him and Dana upside down above a vat of acid. Matt tries to get Terry's backpack to him to aid them. Terry manages to escape using one of his batarangs and gets Dana to the roof, where Matt gives him an upgraded Batsuit that allows him to easily take down the Jokerz. Dana is shocked that Terry is Batman and has been lying to her for a number of years. Terminal escapes with the Joker's body before Batman can find him. However, Carter's plan to resurrect the Joker is revealed to be a ruse. The comatose body he has in his possession is actually a disguised and drugged Bruce Wayne, who's bank account he's using to fund his future crimes. Terry discovers Bruce is alive through the fingerprints Carter used to get to Wayne Enterprises.

Bruce was thought to have died during the attack of the cyborgs after the monitor installation in Wayne-Powers he was coordinating the defenses in was blown up. Terminal tells his assistant he brought up into the Wayne-Powers building that he found Bruce's body under medical alert in the triage tents after the war. He kidnapped and drugged Bruce while giving him the necessary medical attention to obtain the Keystone, the world's ultimate intel gathering device. Batman emerges from the vault and stops Terminal from stealing the Keystone. Terminal's assistant wakes Bruce up and taunts him before tossing him off the building. Terry rescues Bruce while Terminal and his assistant fly away. Matt uses a rocket launcher to take down the ship, forcing the two criminals to crash in a nearby location. After Terry rescues Bruce, he ignores Bruce's pleads to go after Terminal and his assistant whom Bruce recognizes. At the crash site, Terminal's assistant is revealed to be the alive Joker and beats Wilson to death with a crowbar before walking off into the night.

Collected editions

Numerous mini-series have been reprinted under the same title as collections. This section lists only reprints from ongoing series. All were issued in trade paperback format unless noted otherwise.