"Batman Beyond is a futuristic sequel - sort of Batman: The Next Generation" - Paul Dini
The Future: Fifty years from now ... Is this the future of Gotham, or just a possible future? The
producers have said that they are considering Batman Beyond as a possible future, not necessarily the
only possible future.
The Setting: Gotham City has grown, a new slick "bladerunneresque" megalopolis has risen over the
remnants of the familiar city. Buildings are now impossibly tall, and more multi-cultural, with street signs
printed in several languages. The megalopolis will have lots of neon, sleek futuristic vehicles, and gigantic
people movers. In short, Gotham has become a modern city, sleek and efficient. However, waiting just
below the seemingly orderly surface is still the chaos that means Gotham has need of its legendary
protector.
The Beginning: 20 years ago Bruce Wayne hung up the Bat costume, no-one knows why, but it's
rumored that the death of The Joker may have had some link to the Batman's sudden disappearance.
Until suddenly the Batman reappears ! Bruce Wayne is back, wearing a new exo-skeleton suit to
augment his aging body with near superhuman strength and speed. However the suit had a drawback -
Wayne's aging body couldn't handle the stress and "the first time out he had a heart attack." This time he
hung up the suit for good, until ....
Terry McGinnis, a 17-year-old seeking to avenge his father's death, discovers that Wayne was Batman. Terry gets a high-tech Batsuit from Wayne and a new superhero is born in Gotham City.
"Batman Beyond" is the brainchild of the Warner Bros. trio who produce "Batman": Alan Burnett, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. Although he's no longer Batman, Bruce still will play a key role in the new show. The producers liken the Bruce-Terry dynamic, the series' emotional lynchpin, to the old samurai turning over his sword to the young warrior-only with a lot of sparks.
"They don't really get along," says Timm. "They kind of have a co-dependent relationship. Terry needs Bruce because he has got all the crime-fighting gear, and Bruce needs Terry because he can't be Batman anymore." Although Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl, is the police commisioner in the future of Gotham City, don't look for a lot of ties to the modern-day Batman show.
THE NEW BATMAN BEYOND ACTION FIGURES ARE OUT!
I GOT MINE AT WAL-MART!
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©1998 Chris Herrmann