Another casualty is rocking DC Comics, and this one spills over into the real world as well. The recent solicitation on Batman Beyond #50 revealed not only the promise of a rollicking futuristic romp with classic heroes and deadly villains, but also the added surprise that, among the multitude of canceled titles, this most recent incarnation of Batman Beyond will also be subject to the company-wide cancelation wave which made news last month.
Terry McGinnis will suit up for perhaps the final time in the pages of Batman Beyond to face off against perennial nemesis Inque and a still youthful Wonder Woman in the midst of a criminal accusation thrown against him. And it’s possible this will not end well for him.
Batman Beyond has seen a total of 8 series since it was created as a television program in 1999, gradually moving from the cartoon continuity, called the DCAU or the “Timm-verse” after co-creator Bruce Timm into the mainstream DC Universe. Wonder Woman was originally slated to appear in the 2000 television two-parter “The Call” which featured Terry teaming up with a future version of the Justice League, before being replaced with Big Barda, who had previously cameoed on Superman: The Animated Series in the same continuity. In this way, the finale delivers on a concept introduced way back during the initial run of the character.
Despite the longevity of the concept, DC Comics’ solicitation makes it clear that the series, written by Dan Jurgens of "The Death of Superman" fame, and drawn by virtuoso Sean Chen with assistance from Sean Parsons, will end after 50 issues. The news comes after a bevy of other DC Comics titles, reportedly somewhere around 20 to 25 percent, also met the axe. Batman Beyond was an action-heavy title that explored the future for many characters in the DC Comic continuity, often with horrifying and twisted results.
Perhaps this was part of the mistake: when initially conceptualized by Timm, Alan Burnett and Paul Dini, the world of Batman Beyond intentionally avoided discussing the fates of most of the past heroes and villains from Bruce’s era for the most part, instead focusing on Terry McGinnis as a high school student and a new cast of devilish rogues with no connection to the bygone days of DC’s present day. As time went on for the series, different writers began deliberately bucking this trend, centering heavily on such past characters as Dick Grayson, Damien Wayne and Ra’s Al Ghul while bringing in new versions of villains such as Catwoman and Hush. This often brought a grand epic feel to the series which seemed more and more out of place with the down-to-earth street level tone the concept thrived on.
However, with rumors of a live-action adaptation in the works, is it possible the series will be revived? Only time will tell, but for now, this is it. Batman Beyond #50 goes on sale December 22 wherever comic books are sold.