Batman Beyondis one of the most underappreciated shows to feature the hero, despite a nearly flawless three-season run. Since the character’s debut in 1939’sDetective Comics#27,Batman has been adapted into many movies, TV shows, and animated features. Some of the most well-known of these areBatman: The Animated Seriesand Christopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knighttrilogy.
Each of these stories explore the story of Gotham’s Dark Knight with respect to the core traits that make him a dark vigilante, but one of the more experimental efforts from 1999 broke the mold and reinvents the story in a thoroughly satisfying way. And it’s one that’s often missed when discussing the best Batman stories.
Batman Beyond Is A Truly Unique Part Of The Dark Knight’s On-Screen History
Batman Beyondis the proud recipient of a 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 94% score from the audience. However, despite the high praise, it is often forgotten. Animated shows often tend to get overlooked, butthis seriesdeserves to be at least acknowledged in the same way thatBatman: The Animated Seriesis praised.
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Speaking ofBatman: TAS,Batman Beyondalso features Kevin Conroy, the iconic voice of Batman fromTAS, reprising his role as Bruce Wayne. However, the story ofBatman Beyondshifts the focus to Batman’s successor, a young man namedTerry McGinnis, who fights crime in Gotham decades after the original Batman rose to become its Dark Avenger.
There Are Reasons For Every Type Of Batman Fan To Watch Batman Beyond
With the shift away from Bruce, it’s understandable whysome Batman fans may be hesitant to approach this series. On top of that, Terry McGinnis was specifically created for the series, which means it was breaking new ground and avoided inspiration directly from the comics like previous adaptations.
However, the creativity of this series, and the way it connects to the original Batman, make it positively compelling. Bruce Wayne is not forgotten, with theincredibly talented Kevin Conroyvoicing a more aged version of the hero who has retired from active duty while offering his services as a mentor to Terry.
This means that the show still has an active connection to its roots inBatman: TAS, asBatman Beyondbecomes a sequel to that story. In addition, it takes the best parts of these stories and reinvigorates them in a way that resulted in these iconic characters being translated to the pages of the comics.
Gotham is still full of familiar characters. However, the villains are often disciples, or successors to the original rivals that Bruce Wayne fought. And the futuristic setting allows for intriguing sci-fi elements. All of this combines to make one of the most inventive and elaborate Batman stories ever told, and confirms whyBatman Beyondearned its 100% RT score.
