TwistedEncore

Well this is nice. We’ve made it into another year. Happy 2011, everybody! I always get so excited about the start of a new year. It holds so much promise. Who knows what I might achieve?

"If you believe in yourself, and with a tiiiiny bit of magic, all your dreams will come true!"

Why, this might be the year I graduate from college, set out into the real world and find my chosen career. I mean, probably. I’m not really sure how I might find a decent job… Well, whatever. Maybe I’ll get a lot of writing done that I intend to. Or maybe this is the year that I find that special someone who I’ll spend the rest of my life with. I’m one of those people who likes to believe in destiny and all.

Of course, it’s never exactly worked out for me so far. Even though I tell myself every year something good will happen. In fact, the more I think about it, I can’t really remember any of my New Year’s expectations coming through.

I’m really depressed now…

Ugh. I could use a pick-me-up. Is there anything to look forward to in this new year?

Wait… What’s this..?

Gentlemen, BEHOLD!

Get out. DC is coming out with a “Batman Beyond” comic? Starting this Wednesday? This. Is. Awesome.

Insert Sparta joke here.

For those of you that don’t know what’s going on, I probably should explain. Back in the early ‘90’s, writer Paul Dini and artist Bruce Timm (bow to their greatness!) worked to create a little cartoon called “Batman: The Animated Series.” And it kicked ass. It was everything that made Batman awesome. It was dark. It was complex. It was artistic. It was fun. It drew inspiration from the recent Tim Burton movies and the Batman comics as a whole, and was a step above anything else at the time. Even now it’s still great to go back and watch.

Anyway, “Batman: The Animated Series” kicked so much ass that eventually Dini, Timm, and friends expanded their cartoon universe to include “Superman: The Animated Series,” “The New Batman Adventures,” “Justice League,” and “Justice League Unlimited.” All of which were great, filled with style and a serious grasp of the source material. Art, voice acting, storytelling… all were consistently top-notch.

Look! There's Superman! And Batman! And, uhh... those other guys...

But perhaps my favorite of the bunch came after “The New Batman Adventures,” when Dini and Timm were looking for a new direction, something to do with the DC Animated Universe that had never been done before. This new direction was “Batman Beyond.”

Started in 1999, “Batman Beyond” did something virtually unique in the world of comic book-storytelling: it was a cartoon about the future of the DC universe. Think about that. With characters like Batman and Superman that have existed as they are and unchanged since the 1930’s, “Batman Beyond” was a show that actually looked at the future, the progression of time. How radical is that?

In the TV series, “Batman Beyond” takes place 40 years after the present day. Bruce Wayne, the original Batman, has long since hung up the cape and cowl and aged into a reclusive old man.

"I like soup." "Shut up, grandpa."

The Gotham City of the future has grown even bigger into an urban techno-sprawl. And crime and gang warfare are just as prominent as ever.

Enter Terry McGinnis, a troubled teenager with a history of being caught up in street gangs and crime. One day when forced to run from gang members (“Jokerz.” In the future the Joker has achieved cult status) who try to attack him and his girlfriend, Terry ends up at the gates of Wayne Manor. With Bruce’s help they manage to fend off the gangsters, but, being an old man, the stress takes its toll on Bruce’s heart. Terry takes the old man back inside the mansion to recuperate… and stumbles upon the Batcave.

Bruce angrily kicks him out, but when Terry returns home and finds his father murdered he decides to “borrow” the most recent (and technologically supped-up) Batsuit and seek justice. Naturally, Bruce is at first opposed, but eventually decides to take Terry under his wing and mentor him into becoming Gotham’s new Dark Knight defender.

FINALLY designed a Batsuit that can fly.

The series pushed further into being darker and edgier than the original “Batman: The Animated Series”, a lot of it having to do with the idea of a dark and slightly dystopian future. It actually tackled a lot of deep issues for a cartoon, such as the trappings of technology, racism, revenge, loyalty, and free will. It was new, strange, and pretty darn good.

One of the show’s biggest highlights actually came in the form of a direct-to-video called “Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker,” which centered around the original Joker resurrecting himself in the future using stolen genetic technology.

Dear Mark Hamill: THANK YOU.

Which was cool enough… but the most mind-blowing moment came in a flashback that showed how the original Joker died in one final confrontation with Batman. I don’t want to give anything away (go find this movie for yourself. Seriously), but this thing was dark. It had to be edited to be appropriate for kids, and then afterwards an unedited Director’s Cut was released. That should give you some idea of how crazy this thing was.

But I loved all of it. The edgier style, the futuristic setting, especially the idea of Batman passing the torch on to a successor… someone who wasn’t a sidekick and brought a different personality to being Batman separate from Bruce’s dark and brooding one. It was a great show to watch simply because of how much depth it brought to the DC Animated Universe. “Batman Beyond” was a cartoon unlike anything that had come before.

And, thanks largely to a devoted fanbase, “Batman Beyond” is an idea that has continued to live on. Not much has been done over the years, mostly just quick cameos in other comics, until last year. In 2010, DC ran a 6-issue “Batman Beyond” miniseries about the further adventures of the Tomorrow Knight as a way to introduce the character into the mainstream comics’ continuity proper.

Even in the future, Tommy Elliot STILL teaches you to never have childhood friends. Ever.

Fan reaction was overwhelmingly positive… which brings us right back up to now. Because of the miniseries’ success, DC has decided to make “Batman Beyond” an ongoing mainstream comic series, starting with issue #1 this Wednesday. Check it out. I know I will. And if you get the chance, check out the “Batman Beyond” cartoon, which you can probably find on DVD.

Well look at that. Maybe this year won’t suck after all. Maybe.

- Natron out