Batman Beyond (1999-2001)

aka Batman of the Future (1999-2001)

52 episodes, approx 22 minutes each, split over 3 seasons.

The team that created Batman Beyond (aka Batman of the Future) achieved the near-impossible: they made a show that's the equal of Batman: The Animated Series (1992-95) in tone and content and they did it without having Billionaire Bruce Wayne as the lead! Holy personnel changes, Batman.

It's set in 2039, forty years after TAS' successor, The New Batman Adventures, and continues the continuity set up by both it and TAS. The era of the original caped crusader has passed and the world has moved on.

Even Gotham has evolved, into Neo-Gotham, a towering, high-tech megalopolis wherein crime and corruption is as rife in the shiny office buildings as it is on late night docks.

Bruce (Kevin Conroy) is still around, possibly because like one of his contemporaries said he's too stubborn to die. He is, however, a retired, cranky and cynical recluse that rarely leaves the seclusion and safety of Wayne Manor.

Enter, then, Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle), a seventeen-year-old high school student with a criminal record. Terry has the kind of family upbringing that was denied Bruce, but they've something in common, nonetheless: they share a similarly strong moral belief and a desire to see justice carried out. When Terry takes up the mantle he becomes both the symbol that teaches and the student. Bruce, through a two way communication device in the new bat suit, provides advice and support, but it's Terry that takes the weight (and the punches and kicks, etc).

- Terry, looking uncharacteristically shifty, but it's the best quality image of him in his daytime clothes that I can find at present, so it'll have to do. -

The show references the past in many ways, one of which is the biker gang that terrorises the city and its citizens. They're like a cross between the typical garden variety thug and the Clowns from Akira (1988). They're the painted-faced Jokerz, styled after the original Joker, who decades before was one of Batman's greatest enemies, a twisted thorn in his side.

It'll occasionally go further and build an entire episode around something from the past, but never as a means to milk old glories or hide failings. Instead, it's a knowing nod to TAS fans, because Batman Beyond stands firm on its own two (rocket-powered) feet.

While it follows the 'criminal of the week' format much of the time, it also introduces a new roster of semi-regular villains and madmen, some of whom are more memorable than others. My personal favourites are the tricky Spellbinder (Jon Cypher), the mysterious Inque (Shannon Kenny), and the clumsy but dangerous anarchist Mad Stan (Henry Rollins).

One thing that isn't as memorable as BTAS is the opening credits sequence. It's a mishmash of mixed media and flashing imagery that doesn't capture the tone of the series, as a whole. Also, the music by Kristopher Carter — while admirably reflective of New Gotham; i.e., more 'modern' and hostile — lacks the timeless quality of a full orchestra, and can feel paradoxically dated.

To end, a word on the pictured Blu-ray edition. The original press release claimed that the collection included 'a newly-remastered Blu-ray presentation of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker'. It does in the US, but not in the UK. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment substituted the Blu-ray of the movie for a DVD version that was CUT. In short, they screwed the UK market. [1]

- "It's WB. What did you expect?" -

True for both markets is that of the 52 episodes, 41 have been remastered from either their original 35mm film source or an OCND (a digital scan of the OCN), which leaves 11 that haven't.

By way of explanation, the same press release states: 'Lines and resolution have been enhanced, and dust and dirt have been removed – however, cell dirt remains to not disturb the original picture. Included in the remastering was the removal of grain, resulting in enhanced colors. The remastering process does cause a slight aspect ratio change (approximately 3% loss of screen image).' The 'removal of grain' in that statement means DNR bullshit. They screwed everyone.

For the record, the eleven episodes that have been 'smart rezzed' (i.e., upscaled from Standard Definition Digibeta video) are Eyewitness; Final Cut; The Last Resort; Armory; Sneak Peek; The Eggbaby; Zeta; Plague; April Moon; Sentries of the Lost Cosmos; and Speak No Evil.

[1] If possible, seek out the uncut version. I'll post about it soon.

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