\"New Gotham. New rules. Even a new Batman...\"
An epilogue.
It's a a really nice concept, isn't it? A little footnote or short story that tells us what happens after "The End".
In 1999, Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett decided to create a series that served as an epilogue to the now-beloved DCAU, which at that time was still in its heyday. As its title implied, said series was all about the next person to inherit the role of Batman.
Having grown up as a fan of Batman Beyond, I figured it's only appropriate that such a concept serves as the definitively final story in my revision of the DC Extended Universe. A rewrite in which I imagined a franchise created in the 1990s and running all the way through the 2010s.
Two years since I started this lengthy rewrite, I'm finally set to close the book and pitch my own take on Batman Beyond that fits into the continuity I've outlined. A series broadcast on The CW (but hopefully supported by a higher budget and top writers).
From the creator of AMC's The Walking Dead, it's time to look to the future in...
BATMAN BEYOND - 2011
Showrunner-
Frank Darabont
Music by-
Bear McCreary
Starring-
Neo-Gotham
Sam Witwer as Batman (Terry McGinnis/Ibn al Xu'ffasch/Damian Wayne), Alec Baldwin as Bruce Wayne,
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Barbara Gordon, Sonequa Martin-Green as Max Gibson, Maggie Q as Dana Tan,
Marcia Gay Harden as Mary McGinnis, Andrew Lincoln as Warren McGinnis, Idris Elba as Sam Young
The Bat-family
Chris O'Donnell as Dick Grayson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tim Drake, Edward Furlong as Jason Todd,
Demi Moore as Selina Kyle, Monica Bellucci as Talia al Ghul
Rogues Gallery
John Slattery as Blight, Tony Todd as Mr. Fixx, Robin Wright as Inque,
Colin Morgan as Willie Wyatt, Norman Reedus as Spellbinder, Dominic Purcell as Shriek,
Phil LaMarr as as Stalker, Sebastian Stan as Paxton Powers, Alice Eve as 10,
Sarah Shahi as Nyssa Raatko
Returning Villains
Rutger Hauer as Joker (flashbacks), Dennis O'Hare as Joker (reborn),
Jeff Goldblum as Scarecrow, Danny Trejo as Bane, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze
The Justice League
Kirsten Dunst as Superwoman, Theo Rossi as Aztek, Lauren Cohan as Aquagirl,
Milo Ventimiglia as Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), Lucy Lawless as Hawkwoman, Rhona Mitra as Wonder Woman,
Billy Campbell as Clark Kent, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Diana Prince
****
The series is composed of three seasons, based on both the DCAU and particular comic book arcs. Given the lengthy format of a TV series, I'll list individual plotlines in bullet-point form for the sake of conciseness.
Except for the third season, which takes a good deal of inspiration from the plot of real-life film Batman Begins and certain more... familial Batman tales. On that last note, there is a twist regarding Terry McGinnis that may be a little controversial.
But bear with me.
Season 1
Neo-Gotham
Bruce Wayne and the Bat-family
- Following the events of the Darkseid War and the Kingdom Come crisis, Bruce Wayne's journey through time is recapped in 'Part 1' of the series' pilot episode. An aged Bruce returns in the year 2042, to a futuristic world he does not recognize.
- Bruce finds Wayne Manor abandoned, and a Bat-family that has been retired for a decade as Gotham City has undergone renovations and seemingly emerged from its crime-ridden state.
- Though Bruce's family is overjoyed at his return, it's clear they all bear significant trauma following their "last mission". A mission which saw the death of the infamous Joker.
- Picking up ten years later, Bruce Wayne works to keep Neo-Gotham stable through philanthropic efforts. It's clear the end of his life as Batman has left him aimless, unsure what to do with his life. As a result, Bruce has largely withdrawn from the world.
- Making things worse is Neo-Gotham's slow descent back into the chaos that once dominated it.
- Bruce Wayne's meeting and subsequent mentoring of Terry McGinnis, the new Batman, reinvigorates the retired hero and encourages him to try a new lease on life. Including a long-overdue proposal to Selina Kyle.
The Next Batman
- Terry McGinnis, protagonist of the series and successor to the Batman mantle, is reimagined as a young man in college.
- Terry is an orphan, presumably from Neo-Gotham's slums before Warren and Mary McGinnis adopted him.
- Across the first season his journey as Batman sees him
- Learning the ropes of crimefighting
- Earning the trust of Bruce Wayne's past allies
- Finding a place on the Justice League
- Getting justice for Warren McGinnis's murder
- As Bruce Wayne regains much of his optimism and comes out of his shell, Terry learns to become more guarded and protective of his double-life, with only a select few knowing his secret.
Vigilante to Hero
- Terry and Bruce work together to battle the corrupt magnate Derek Powers, who establishes himself as Batman's new arch-foe.
- In a mission with the North American branch of the Justice League Unlimited, Terry helps the team fight a probe of the feared alien conqueror Starro.
- Bruce spends the mission catching up with his former teammates and close friends Clark Kent and Diana Prince.
Sub-Zero
- Derek Powers coerces the aid of reformed criminal Victor Fries in his fight against Batman, threatening the children of his deceased wife Nora.
- In the years after he obtained a cure for her illness, Victor remained a patient at Arkham and encouraged Nora to live a full life.
- Because of his condition, Victor ages slowly compared to others.
- Unable to have children, Nora adopted several and raised them until she passed away.
- In the end, Victor gives his life to help Batman save Nora's children. Batman offers to save him, but Victor sees little point as Batman is likely "the only one who cares".
- Ironically, Victor is mourned not only by Terry and his allies, but also an aged couple Terry suspects to be Pamela Isley and Harleen Quinzel. Two former supervillains who vanished years ago.
Batman Reborn
- The season finale sees Batman battle Powers, whose exposure to a chemical weapon transforms him into the psychotic villain Blight.
- Blight is seemingly killed, and his son Paxton Powers assumes control of their family's company with Batman promising to keep an eye on him.
- The new Batman enters a testy yet steady partnership with Neo-Gotham's GCPD, headed by Commissioner Barbara Gordon.
Season 2
Return of the Joker
Old Enemies
- The Joker returns to Gotham, in a body rejuvenated by the mysterious substance called Dionesium. A liquid metal used in the construction of the Lazarus Pits used by the once-mighty League of Assassins.
- Joker's resurrection is aided by a cult who worship the "Pale Man of Gotham", an urban legend that may have inspired his motif as a criminal.
- The truth of the Joker's final battle with the Bat-family in 2032 is revealed.
- Having spent years catatonic in Arkham Asylum, Joker realized the Batman protecting Gotham after the Darkseid War was not the Batman he knew.
- Springing one last escape, Joker attacked the Bat-family one by one and poisoned them into becoming Joker-ized versions of themselves, to attack whom he saw as a phony stealing his darling nemesis's act.
- In a violent final confrontation, Dick Grayson was forced to shoot and kill Joker to save his friends.
- The trauma of the conflict drove Dick to give up the mantle of Batman and retire the Bat-family's mission.
- Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon and even Bruce Wayne try to persuade Terry McGinnis not to fight the Joker, to no avail.
Revenge
- Joker deduces Terry's secret identity and targets those close to him. His gang, a reformation of the disparate Jokerz, burns Terry's home and pursues his friends.
- Dana Tan is almost killed in a car bombing, with Joker himself meeting the "Bat-fake" in person. The Dionesium-enhanced Joker is more than a match for him in the ensuing fight, but the wounding of Dana awakens some hidden anger and violence in the new Batman, who wounds him grievously with a batarang in the eye.
- After some initial shock, Joker remarks that Terry really is a chip off the old block before he retreats, rapidly healing from his wounds.
Endgame
- Joker leads a hostile takeover of Gotham's criminal underworld, with the goal of finally destroying the city through the use of a wide-spread plague that Joker-izes Gotham's citizens.
- Bitter towards Bruce Wayne for appearing to forget about him, Joker injures him and Selina Kyle in Wayne Manor and dresses them in crude costumes of their past aliases for Terry McGinnis to find.
- To cement Gotham's destruction, Joker hijacks an orbital laser weapon to mark his "Joker Territory".
End of a Rivalry
- While Bruce and Selina recover, the Bat-family work together to stop Joker's satellite and cure Gotham's poisoned citizens. Meanwhile, Batman faces off against the Joker at his new lair.
- Batman decides to play dirty and deconstructs Joker's entire obsession with Bruce Wayne, as well as his needing an audience for his crimes. After subduing the distracted and angry Joker, Terry tosses him into the Dionesium pit.
- Batman poisons the pit with a formula he and Bruce concocted, watching Joker's rejuvenation reverse. Joker is reduced to a desiccated corpse, dying once and for all.
Reconciliation
- With their greatest enemy gone for good, the Bat-family faces a chance to heal from their old wounds.
- Bruce and Terry have a talk about the dangers of being Batman and what it means for the people they love. Bruce, remembering the lesson he once learned in accepting both his life as Batman and Bruce Wayne, encourages Terry not to lose sight of that.
The Final Mystery
- In the Batcave, Bruce observes recordings of Terry's fights against Joker. His almost inhuman speed and reflexes when angered, and his merciless fighting style when Joker threatens Dana.
- Bruce starts to suspect something regarding his pupil, and his true origins. But he remains silent.
Season 3
Legacy
****
From here is a more at-length plot breakdown. Heads-up, it gets a little lengthy.
****
Prince of Gotham
Three years into mentoring Terry McGinnis, Bruce Wayne passes away. His funeral is attended by his found family and his surviving teammates from the Justice League. Bruce is buried in the same cemetery as his parents, James Gordon, Lucius Fox, and Alfred Pennyworth.
Much to Terry's surprise, Bruce's will left him heir to the Wayne family's resources. Paxton Powers sees the move as a threat, warning Terry that he'll keep his end of the company no matter what it takes. Desperate to keep his profits coming, Paxton decides to take the company public.
Terry's main ally in the ensuing drama is Sam Fox. Lucius Fox's son, head of Applied Sciences and Barbara Gordon's husband.
Meanwhile, Terry tries to investigate the reason for Bruce's decision, leading him to search for a secret Bruce uncovered before his passing. The trail leads to the theft of an advanced microwave emitter weapon stolen from Wayne-Powers. Soon, Batman unveils a conspiracy by a resurgent League of Assassins, resurrected by the second child of Ra's al Ghul.
The terrorist Nyssa Raatko.
Gotham's Reckoning
Batman finds himself overwhelmed by the League's resources, nearly dying when ambushed by Nyssa and a team of warriors empowered by the super steroid called Venom. Nyssa's accomplices also include an aged Jonathan Crane, once known as Scarecrow, and a nearly catatonic Bane, whose blood is used to supply Venom.
Nyssa, having long detested the Batman's idealistic crusade, aims to revive her father's past campaign of global genocides. Starting with Gotham.
A wounded Terry McGinnis is saved by other ninjas, led by a woman who shows her face following the escape. Talia al Ghul.
Legend
Talia, having buried her father's Lazarus Pits long ago, has forsaken the life of crime and seeks to honor her beloved's goal of peace. In Bruce Wayne's final days he called on her to help Terry, for reasons Talia hesitates to explain.
Talia takes Terry to a monastery in the Himalayas, where a young Bruce Wayne trained with her years ago. A second split in the League happened after Bruce Wayne's war against Bane in 1999, with Talia since reforming her faction into the more benevolent League of Shadows.
Determined to help Terry as she once helped Bruce, Talia trains him in more extreme fighting styles as to better combat her mad sister. She tells him that like his predecessor, the new Batman most become more than just a man.
Return to Gotham
When Terry is ready, Talia returns with him to Gotham, to stop Nyssa's plan.
Through a skirmish with Jonathan Crane's men and a subsequent capture of the doctor, Batman discovers Crane has invented a new, more powerful variation of his deadly Fear Toxin. A toxin that is being dumped into Neo-Gotham's water supply.
As the Bat-family and Commissioner Barbara Gordon try to lead a cleanup effort, Terry's obligations as new head of the Wayne Estates force him to host a fundraiser at Wayne Manor. But at the event, he and Talia come face to face with Nyssa again.
Knowing she will act against them quickly, Terry abruptly cancels the fundraiser. As the guests depart, he and Talia converse with Nyssa. Sure enough, she confirms her people possess the stolen Wayne-Powers microwave emitter and will use it to vaporize Neo-Gotham's water supply. Drowning the city in mass terror, and causing the deaths of millions.
Revelation
Refusing to back down, Nyssa tries to force Talia to confess the reason Bruce summoned her to Gotham. When Talia remains silent, Nyssa hands Terry a "gift" she intended to show him in their first encounter. A DNA test obtained years ago. Terry is stunned to see it is a hidden genetic code in his bloodstream. A code that is an almost identical match of Bruce Wayne's.
As Talia fumes, Nyssa elaborates on the truth of Terry's origins as a supposed orphan. Decades ago, on his road to becoming the Batman, Bruce and Talia engaged in several trysts as he trained with the League of Assassins. Still loyal to her father, Talia had obtained Bruce's genetic material as to create a "perfect" heir should Bruce ever die. But the plan was cut short following Ra's al Ghul's death, and the League's fall from power.
Following the first death of the Joker, and the dissolution of the Bat-family, Talia and Nyssa revived the plan and produced a child. A son, whom the League dubbed "Ibn al Xu'ffasch". Son of the Bat. But Talia did not see the living weapon Nyssa did. Only a baby, one she named Damian.
Feeling Bruce Wayne's misguided idealism had made her sister soft, Nyssa attempted to kill her and take the child for herself. In the ensuing civil war which splintered the League, Talia took Damian away and hid him in Gotham. Arranging his adoption by an ordinary couple, who would provide him the kind of peaceful life Talia never could. But fate, it seemed, had other plans, and now Damian is back on the path intended for him.
What is Necessary
Nyssa gives Terry one chance to join her. To take the place Bruce Wayne should have, as Ra's al Ghul's greatest student, and help her cleanse the world. Though he is shaken by the terrible truth, Terry declares he is where he belongs. Between Nyssa and his city.
A disappointed Nyssa tells Terry that like his father, he lacks the courage to do what is necessary combatting evil. Her agents spring into action, burning Wayne Manor as she duels her sister and nephew. The fight ends with Talia and Terry both trapped by burning debris, and Nyssa leaves them to their fate. To further ensure they suffer a proper end, Nyssa poisons them with Fear Toxin.
The pair are rescued by Barbara Gordon, who attended the fundraiser and snuck her way back in on the suspicion something was wrong.
Why Do We Fall?
The Bat-family reconvene to shelter Terry and his birth mother, as well as the others now privy to his secret (Max Gibson, Dana Tan, Mary McGinnis). Talia recovers first, and is scolded by Mary for not letting Bruce Wayne know the truth sooner.
After his mind survives the poisoning thanks to his training and a dram of his adopted father Warren, Terry awakes to Mary watching over him. She comforts him, telling Terry that no matter where he comes from, he is her son. Hers, and Warren's. Though his love for his "true" family remains strong as ever, Terry is still reeling from the truth. With Nyssa set to enact her destruction of the city, Terry feels he has failed. Both as Batman's successor, and as Bruce Wayne's. And his entire inheritance of both names was just a cruel joke.
Barbara, the only member of the Bat-family with whom Terry has yet to truly connect, lends her help in lifting his spirits. She tells him something Bruce Wayne once told her, a lesson he in turn learned from his father and Alfred Pennyworth. That it's okay to stumble, to fall down. That people fall, so they can learn to pick themselves up again. Though she has not always seen eye to eye with him, Barbara sees Terry as no less worthy of the Batman mantle as any of the rest. And Bruce remained sure of him, right to the end.
"He knew, in the end? And he still didn't give up on me?
"Never."
Batman Triumphant
His spirit reignited, Terry dusts himself off and suits up. Joining him in action are Bruce Wayne's pupils, older and rustier but just as determined to save their city one last time.
- Dick Grayson, donning a prototype Nightwing suit he never got to use
- Tim Drake, clad in his final suit as Robin
- Jason Todd, having maintained his Red Hood gear should the need arise to wear it again
- And Barbara, donning the Batgirl costume for the first time in decades
Talia and Selina Kyle remain to defend Terry's loved ones as Nyssa's servants target them. Flying off to face Nyssa, Batman sees she has hijacked a monorail that leads to Wayne-Powers Tower. There, at a hub connected to Neo-Gotham's entire water way, her weapon will set off a chain reaction that will douse the entire city in Fear Toxin.
As the Bat-family sabotage the monorail and dispose of Nyssa's other forces, Batman engages his aunt on the train. At first he uses a sword offered to him, but in the end Terry chooses instead to fight her his own way. Breaking her weapon, the new Batman defeats Nyssa before the train track is derailed. Nyssa tempts "Damian" to do what is necessary and follow his intended path as a killer.
But he refuses, embracing the example set by his mentor. Batman departs the ruined train, leaving Nyssa to her fate.
A New Beginning
Following the final defeat of the League of Assassins, Terry assumes full responsibility for the Wayne family estates. Deciding to play the kind of shrewd businessman Bruce once did, Terry buys most of Wayne-Powers' shares as a public company. Using his new power to have Paxton fired, Terry installs Sam Fox as new CEO.
With the future of his found family's company secure, Terry purchases a nicer home for Mary McGinnis. He also begins the reconstruction of Wayne Manor, asking Dana Tan to move in when it is done.
Though he holds no grudge against Talia al Ghul, Terry acknowledges it is best that they remain separated, as she intended from the beginning. The McGinnis family were the ones to raise him, teach him right from wrong. So he will keep their name, even as he inherits the legacy of the Waynes. Talia is in fact pleased with his decision, as are the rest of Bruce's allies. Knowing he would be proud of Terry.
When he is alone, Terry stops by Bruce Wayne's and Warren McGinnis's graves. Laying down a rose for each, just as Bruce would for his parents.
Weeks later, Batman answers the summons of a new Bat-signal on the GCPD rooftop. The commissioner reviews with him their latest roadmap in combatting several crime rings that rose in the aftermath of the League's attack.
Barbara provides Batman their first lead. Photographs taken from the site of a district attorney's murder. Caught on camera is the assassin. A ninja-like figure wearing gear reminiscent of an owl. Batman agrees to look into it.
Their partnership stronger than ever, Barbara admits she will have to make up for the time she spent distrusting him early on. But Terry, Batman, assures her all is well.
"All this time, I've never said thank you."
"...And you'll never have to."
THE END
****
That's that, then. My long-running rewrite of a live-action DC film (and TV) franchise is finally over. Sure, I'll have plenty in store for a hypothetical reboot of the properties on television, specifically series on HBO Max, but this was really special right here.
Thanks for following the past couple years, guys. It's been fun.
Stay tuned for my third post on a rebooted Suprman TV series!
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