Written by Adam Beechen
Illustrated by Ryan BenjaminYep, you read that right — the future of the DC Universe continues, as BATMAN BEYOND becomes an ongoing series! Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne are stronger than ever after the battle with “Hush” brought their alliance close to the breaking point. But now a super-powered criminal has gotten in way over his head — and the whole Justice League has come to Neo-Gotham to hunt him down! To top it all off, the crook’s taken hostages… including Terry’s mom! It’s the start of a story that will change Terry’s life – and the BEYOND universe – forever… so don’t miss out!
I liked the the first issue of Beechen’s Batman Beyond book before this one, but with each issue I grew less and less impressed with it. By the end, the mini — in my opinion — had suffered a huge dip in quality and squandered all the good will I had given it at the start. I’m always willing to give second chances, though, so follow the cut to see if Beechen recovered where he previously fumbled.
I don’t really care for Beechen most of the time, but he certainly did his research. This issue and the preceding mini certainly both “feel” like the Batman Beyond animated show. Terry and all of the secondary characters act and talk like they’re straight from the television series, and that certainly deserves some praise. There was one moment with Bruce where he seemed a bit gruffer than even he should be, where it was almost to the point of parody (“No. I wouldn’t know that feeling.”), but that was about the only flaw in characterization that I could find.
A lot of the familiarity in tone comes from the visuals done by artist Ryan Benjamin. Now, Benjamin’s art is hardly perfect in this; there were more than a few panels where some of the detailing just looked strange to me. However, he did a great job in getting down a style that was reminiscent of Bruce Timm, but with enough of a difference that it was clearly Benjamin doing his own thing. It clearly isn’t the same style as the DC Animated Universe, but it will certainly make the reader think of that style. As much as I might want Dustin Nguyen to do interiors as well as covers, Ryan Benjamin is far from a bad choice.
That’s about where the good things run out, though. The story of this issue was pretty bland, even for your run-of-the-mill cape comic. What was particularly groan-worthy was any instance of the antagonist’s internal monologue. Every single sentence he said was some trite thing I had heard a billion times before. Similarly, the plot itself was nothing I hadn’t seen before, especially in a Batman-related comic. Supervillain ticks off the Justice League, runs into Batman’s territory, Batman and the Justice League have a conflict, yadda yadda yadda. Yawn. I’m not saying that this comic was bad, necessarily, but there’s nothing to set it apart from the rest of the competition unless you’re already a Batman Beyond fan. If you aren’t, then this certainly isn’t going to convert you. I can’t force you to buy anything, but I’d suggest purchasing something with high-caliber writing before you buy something like this just because you like the character.
Final Verdict – 5.8 – Browse
