REVIEW: Batman Beyond, #1

[CBR News]

Dan Jurgens, Bernard Chang and Marcelo Maiolo begin to beautifully integrate a once-benign character into the mainstream DC Universe in "Batman Beyond" #1, smoothly blending elements from both the current and future Bat-mythos.


Full review here.

[Panfoot]

The art was good and the writing was fine...but it's still stuck under the shadow of Terry and a regular setting(as opposed to FE robocolypse).

[TonySnark]

I still can't decide if I want to pick this up. I'm usually cool with change in comics, even legacy characters, but I'm pretty burned that Beyond is finally being given a real spot in the line and its not Terry. I mean this is a legacy character of a legacy character, not to mention we've seen "former Robin becomes Batman" stories plenty of times.

My gut says I'll eventually get around to it, since its Batman Beyond, but they have a lot of work to do to get me to care about Tim Drake in the suit, lord knows Future's End didn't accomplish that.

[Rakzo]

This was okay, not bad, not great, just okay.

[quinnzel]

This was okay, not bad, not great, just okay.

That was pretty much my reaction. I didn't think it was bad, but I didn't really think it was good, either. It just didn't really do much for me, which was disappointing because I was looking forward to it.

I probably won't be continuing with this series, but I'm glad I picked up the first issue.

[Boss607]

Late to this forum/thread but as a huge Batman Beyond fan I'm seething at Tim Drake replacing Terry. They finally have done to Batman Beyond (the comic) what I had hoped they would have done from the beginning: let it be an actual comic within the DCU rather than just a continuation of the DCAU.

But then they go and stab us in the back and stick Tim Drake in the suit. WHY? Tim is the most boring character in the Bat Universe in any decade!

I want to support Batman Beyond because I want them to know there's a market for it but I do NOT want to support this Tim Drake crap.

[oasis1313]

Late to this forum/thread but as a huge Batman Beyond fan I'm seething at Tim Drake replacing Terry. They finally have done to Batman Beyond (the comic) what I had hoped they would have done from the beginning: let it be an actual comic within the DCU rather than just a continuation of the DCAU.

But then they go and stab us in the back and stick Tim Drake in the suit. WHY? Tim is the most boring character in the Bat Universe in any decade!

I want to support Batman Beyond because I want them to know there's a market for it but I do NOT want to support this Tim Drake crap.

I boycott any rag I see Tim Drake in.

[Magda]

I love the world of Batman Beyond. I'm her first love. With the mini-relaunch in June that DC Comics fact, launching its new universe in DC You initials, the editor offers a slew of new titles, including Batman Beyond is now part. Originally derived from the animated series of the same name, comicbook Batman Beyond was published until today on the sidelines of the main continuity of DC Comics - then in the range Beyond the New 52 in its last iteration, Batman Beyond 2.0 which, in addition to being of high quality and always a continuation of DCAU, was completed last year. Today, therefore, the change occurs because we spring the concept in continuity "principal" of the editor, 0 on Earth, but in a future that is presented as THE future of the DC Universe. As well tell you: we do not laugh a lot in this future there. There are two months, the The New 52 series: Futures End ended, leaving almost all of its outstanding intrigues, and had me greatly disappointed not to have succeeded in bringing an effective conclusion. In recent issues, Tim Drake was forced to return to Batman Beyond suit to complete the mission of Terry McGinnis, died of a terrible battle, and off again Prevent Brother Eye. Believing his mission accomplished, he then returned 35 years in the future ... and the series ended when we realized that nothing had changed: Brother Eye has always taken the quasi control on Earth, and most of the superhero Existing were transformed into monstrous robotic chimeras in the pay of the powerful satellite. But the mission of McGinnis has not been in vain, and some minor changes were made to this timeline: the changes that will allow Dan Jurgens exploit Beyond the universe as it should, while integrating it into the Earth continuity 0. Thus, if most elements we know as big fans of the animated series seem absent, one realizes that Jurgens will re-introduce one by one, but we will have s' expect a lot of changes. Thus, Neo-Gotham still exists because it is one of the few (only?) Cities to be protected from Brother Eye (an artifice that explains in the opening pages, just to have some consistency ), and we find some well-known figures such as Matt, the younger brother of Terry, Maxine Gibson and villains representative of this universe, the Jokerz. But again, do not expect to find versions of the characters you know. The atmosphere lends somehow not there.
Batman Beyond # 1 more than science fiction, this Batman Beyond is part of a post-apocalyptic atmosphere grimy. If this series is supposed to mark the cessation of New 52, ​​as you say that it is wasted, it rather belongs to its continuity. The atmosphere is dark, I hesitate to place "grim and gritty" but even Bernard Chang acknowledges that this tone is there; the characters are mostly sullen, Tim Drake faces Matt and is inevitably full of remorse. He discovered over a world in which almost everything is devastated (which gives some very pretty scenery by Chang besides, New York, to name one), and this is not the robot Superman that will come lighten the mood. In terms of history, it is in the introduction, and difficult even to say what Jurgens has in mind. For now, it seems to dive into the classic, a kind of Matrix to the DC sauce (or Terminator) in which Tim will register as elected to guide the people still alive to an exit face the Almighty Brother Eye. But I hope that things will go further, and I want to believe that Jurgens wants to surprise us. There is great potential, given the wealth of existing Beyond universe, and all the elements that can be incorporated while being changed (making new from old, the right recipe), which leaves me for the moment quite confident for the future. For if the first issue is not unpleasant to read, it does not mean unforgettable.
Regarding the graphics, Bernard Chang book boards that are, on the whole, pretty good bill. The Batman Beyond suit is controlled, and the atmosphere in mid-SF mid-post apo is very well done. As for the minutes of action, it is dynamic, but there are certain cases that remain somewhat unclear as to the understanding of what is happening, but I rather it imputerais script by Dan Jurgens. People may criticize (as is often done, whatever the designer), to have some misses some faces. For my part, I remain somewhat circumspect also on the new design of some characters (especially on the last page) but overall it's still very nice, helped by the colorization Marcelo Maiolo, whose talent is proven. This is not a slap, not a disappointment. This version of Batman Beyond CD You have the merit of offering a response to the disappointing conclusion of Futures End, and offers a large playground at Dan Jurgens for him to appropriate the concepts of this futuristic world and transform its sauce. For now, history offers few novelties, despite an overall orientation cheerfully immersed in the classic post-apo. We bet that the creative team will quickly offer us something really new!

[Boss607]

"We don't laugh here!"

Yeah, because you can't find any other grim, doom and gloom books in the DCU.

But more than that, I still don't see the reason why Terry couldn't handle this stuff and if they absolutely needed a link to the past, Tim Drake could be a supporting character.

The "its a post-apocalyptic future where no one smiles and humans try to survive from their machine overlords!" is pretty played out. Meanwhile, there's still so much potential for Terry. His relationship with Melanie (Ten) and Dana and maybe more girls. Him being a young guy that isn't nearly the mastermind that Bruce was or even most of the Robins are but still trying to fill the boots of Batman while also being in school/college would be a pretty big departure from any of the existing bat-books.

Just pisses me off because what they've changed it into seems like a trope we've seen quite a bit of everywhere before and what it was before was something more original that still had plenty of room to run.

[shino1]

This is written from the perspective of someone who didn't read Future's End.
I don't like it. First off, it's heavy on exposition and heavy-handed attempts at drama, like Terry's brother blaming Tim for his death. Constant stream of exposition slows down the pacing, and violates "show don't tell" - we SEE Superman is turned into evil cyborg, we don't need to be told "that's Superman turned into an evil cyborg!", or "this gang of terrorists who dress and behave like Joker are called Jokerz and are a terrorist gang inspired by the Joker!". It's childish and treats reader like an idiot. Whatever happened to subtlety?

Second, it's full of cliches, with nary an original thought. Post apocalyptic future ruled by machines with humans being rounded into concentration camps? Terminator. Humanity's last city? Matrix. Ruins of Statue of Liberty? Every disaster and post-apocalyptic movie since Planet of the Apes. Heroes being rounded up and turned into mindless cyborgs? Archie Comics Sonic The Hedgehog, of all things (first done by Sonic SatAM cartoon). Scene when someone defeats a biometric scanner with a torn-off hand? Done before a thousand times, so much that all modern biometrics check for life signs, so it doesn't even make sense. AI goes rogue and conquers the world? ... So cliched that noone today would attempt it seriously.

Third, the book just won't shut up. Does Jurgens think we will get bored if we won't read some text every panel or something? Seriously, there are total TWO silent panels in the entire book. TWO. Every other is filled with some random banter from either Alfred AI or Tim - and Alfred AI doesn't behave like real Alfred. It's obedient exposition and help machine, instead of a snarky foil, which is a HUGE missed opportunity. And Tim can only speak in action movie tough guy speak, or ask questions for the audience - again a huge step backwards from snarky witty personality of Terry McGinnis Batman from the cartoon, or dark and brooding one of Bruce Wayne Batman. Their personalities don't contrast enough and don't play off each other to make their dialogue actually interesting. The best way to read it is to just tune it out like white noise and instead of learning the story from gather the story from visual storytelling .

And THAT is probably the best part about the comic. While I don't like character designs (batsuit's huge eyes look creepy) I have to admit, art is actually good, especially regarding visual storytelling - panel use is really good; Chang really well controls flow of time within a page, making fights more dynamic; all faces are very expressive and represent their emotions well. Coloring is used really well, mixing panels colored realistically with more stylized ones colored only with flats or inks, which creates a really aesthetically pleasing and emotive experience.

My rating is "Read it for the art"/10.
Or at least it would be, if I wasn't a fan of Batman Beyond cartoon.

See, the big problem with this comic, elephant in the room? It's not Batman Beyond. It doesn't feel like Batman Beyond.
If the comic was called anything else - let's say, "Tim Drake Fu**s Some People Up Wearing A Power Armor", I'd have nothing against it, it'd be much truer to content of the book.
But it calls itself Batman Beyond despite being nothing like it.
To me, Batman Beyond cartoon consisted of three main components.
First - was Terry McGinnis. Terry McGinnis had a pretty unique personality of a believable teenager, he was a bit bratty delinquent with snarky tongue who always had a right quip for the situation. I would prefer if the book decided to have Terry McGinnis without the powered batsuit, instead of Tim Drake with the suit. The suit doesn't make the Batman.

Second, is the noir cyberpunk atmosphere of Gotham. In the cartoon you truly feel it's a bustling, living metropolis, and every episode focuses either on a noir crime story, or a cyberpunk science fiction, and unlike most cyberpunk fiction it didn't stick to ONE branch of science or technology - we had everything. Genetic manipulation, drugs, sentient androids, cloning, radioactive mutants, psychic powers, technopathy, virtual reality, corrupt corporations, brain uploading, street gangs - there was incredible variety but it really did feel like a believable future of DC Universe, almost every technology was extrapolated from something that happened in other DCAU cartoon - Splicers technology came from Man-Bat, Bane's Venom was turned into a street drug - stuff like that perfectly fit with cyberpunk philosophy of "the street finds its own uses for things". Contrast with the book, which litereally isn't cyberpunk - it's generic post-apocalypse scenario we have seen a thousand times. We don't see consequences and applications of technology, there's no social commentary, there is no focus on "low life" and "hi tech".

Third, is the originality. Every episode contained something memorable. Most episodes had some sort of ending twists, and not a single one just retreaded an old and tired plot without adding somethign new. Even recurring villains change their ways constantly - first time we see Powers, he's a CEO of a company; later, he turns into supervillain Blight while still being a CEO; and then he is exposed as a mutant and becomes a fugitive. First time we meet Spellbinder, he is hypnotising kids into stealing for him - but second time he runs what amounts to virtual reality crackhouse. No episode was filler, each one added something new to the world.
Contrast, again, with the book, where writing - as I already mentioned - is cliche riding a cliche and using another cliche as a whip to make it go faster.

So I have to say - this book is extremely generic and forgettable. A year from now I won't even remember I ever read it.

[AnnaSandhu]

This is written from the perspective of someone who didn't read Future's End.
I don't like it. First off, it's heavy on exposition and heavy-handed attempts at drama, like Terry's brother blaming Tim for his death. Constant stream of exposition slows down the pacing, and violates "show don't tell" - we SEE Superman is turned into evil cyborg, we don't need to be told "that's Superman turned into an evil cyborg!", or "this gang of terrorists who dress and behave like Joker are called Jokerz and are a terrorist gang inspired by the Joker!". It's childish and treats reader like an idiot. Whatever happened to subtlety?

Second, it's full of cliches, with nary an original thought. Post apocalyptic future ruled by machines with humans being rounded into concentration camps? Terminator. Humanity's last city? Matrix. Ruins of Statue of Liberty? Every disaster and post-apocalyptic movie since Planet of the Apes. Heroes being rounded up and turned into mindless cyborgs? Archie Comics Sonic The Hedgehog, of all things (first done by Sonic SatAM cartoon). Scene when someone defeats a biometric scanner with a torn-off hand? Done before a thousand times, so much that all modern biometrics check for life signs, so it doesn't even make sense. AI goes rogue and conquers the world? ... So cliched that noone today would attempt it seriously.

Third, the book just won't shut up. Does Jurgens think we will get bored if we won't read some text every panel or something? Seriously, there are total TWO silent panels in the entire book. TWO. Every other is filled with some random banter from either Alfred AI or Tim - and Alfred AI doesn't behave like real Alfred. It's obedient exposition and help machine, instead of a snarky foil, which is a HUGE missed opportunity. And Tim can only speak in action movie tough guy speak, or ask questions for the audience - again a huge step backwards from snarky witty personality of Terry McGinnis Batman from the cartoon, or dark and brooding one of Bruce Wayne Batman. Their personalities don't contrast enough and don't play off each other to make their dialogue actually interesting. The best way to read it is to just tune it out like white noise and instead of learning the story from gather the story from visual storytelling .

And THAT is probably the best part about the comic. While I don't like character designs (batsuit's huge eyes look creepy) I have to admit, art is actually good, especially regarding visual storytelling - panel use is really good; Chang really well controls flow of time within a page, making fights more dynamic; all faces are very expressive and represent their emotions well. Coloring is used really well, mixing panels colored realistically with more stylized ones colored only with flats or inks, which creates a really aesthetically pleasing and emotive experience.

My rating is "Read it for the art"/10.
Or at least it would be, if I wasn't a fan of Batman Beyond cartoon.

See, the big problem with this comic, elephant in the room? It's not Batman Beyond. It doesn't feel like Batman Beyond.
If the comic was called anything else - let's say, "Tim Drake Fu**s Some People Up Wearing A Power Armor", I'd have nothing against it, it'd be much truer to content of the book.
But it calls itself Batman Beyond despite being nothing like it.
To me, Batman Beyond cartoon consisted of three main components.
First - was Terry McGinnis. Terry McGinnis had a pretty unique personality of a believable teenager, he was a bit bratty delinquent with snarky tongue who always had a right quip for the situation. I would prefer if the book decided to have Terry McGinnis without the powered batsuit, instead of Tim Drake with the suit. The suit doesn't make the Batman.

Second, is the noir cyberpunk atmosphere of Gotham. In the cartoon you truly feel it's a bustling, living metropolis, and every episode focuses either on a noir crime story, or a cyberpunk science fiction, and unlike most cyberpunk fiction it didn't stick to ONE branch of science or technology - we had everything. Genetic manipulation, drugs, sentient androids, cloning, radioactive mutants, psychic powers, technopathy, virtual reality, corrupt corporations, brain uploading, street gangs - there was incredible variety but it really did feel like a believable future of DC Universe, almost every technology was extrapolated from something that happened in other DCAU cartoon - Splicers technology came from Man-Bat, Bane's Venom was turned into a street drug - stuff like that perfectly fit with cyberpunk philosophy of "the street finds its own uses for things". Contrast with the book, which litereally isn't cyberpunk - it's generic post-apocalypse scenario we have seen a thousand times. We don't see consequences and applications of technology, there's no social commentary, there is no focus on "low life" and "hi tech".

Third, is the originality. Every episode contained something memorable. Most episodes had some sort of ending twists, and not a single one just retreaded an old and tired plot without adding somethign new. Even recurring villains change their ways constantly - first time we see Powers, he's a CEO of a company; later, he turns into supervillain Blight while still being a CEO; and then he is exposed as a mutant and becomes a fugitive. First time we meet Spellbinder, he is hypnotising kids into stealing for him - but second time he runs what amounts to virtual reality crackhouse. No episode was filler, each one added something new to the world.
Contrast, again, with the book, where writing - as I already mentioned - is cliche riding a cliche and using another cliche as a whip to make it go faster.

So I have to say - this book is extremely generic and forgettable. A year from now I won't even remember I ever read it.

Just say you didn't like it because it isn't the television show because your points against the book simply do not hold up.

[shino1]

Just say you didn't like it because it isn't the television show because your points against the book simply do not hold up.

First, I actually DID say I didn't like it because it's nothing like the television show and I'd be more okay with it if, quoting myself, it was completely unrelated book called "Tim Drake Fu**s Some People Up Wearing A Power Armor" -perhaps with new supporting cast and villains and new design of a Batsuit? It probably would be a better book period, giving Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang more creative freedom - currently it seems to be a new IP "in disguise", piggybacking of Batman Beyond's popularity. More seriously, why not call it something like "Red Robin Beyond"?
And this IS a valid criticism, sorry. When you use an existing property, you need to keep it's core - unless you'd be perfectly fine if I e.g. took over a Superman book, then wrote him as extremist feminist without his typical superpowers, instead having (only) control over fire, and make him burn rapists to death? I mean, sure, that could be an interesting story (morally ambiguous protagonists are good for discussion of real world issues), but you have to agree it wouldn't be Superman. I'd be tbh okay if they kept Tim as Batman, but story still revolved about solving crimes in cyberpunk city. Or if it was Terry being a regular superhero, and if machine oppression was a bit more like the Matrix so it'd still be cyberpunk. This is Batman Beyond in name only.

What points from the first part do not hold up? I'm curious.

• See, when I said that writing is set of cliches, I even pointed out which movie or comic did them first.
• When pointing out that the book has zero subtlety in it's exposition, I gave examples - a bit exaggerated, but both actual examples that happened - the Jokerz one and Superman one- both happen in this exact issue. Introduction of another recurring supervillain in second issue is even more hamfisted. The worst part is the book CAN be subtle - the only reason I assumed Alfred was an AI is his captions style, which was confirmed in second issue with Tim remarking about Alfred being non-living.
• When I was saying dialog between the two is boring I explained why - though both Tim Drake and Alfred are interesting characters in their own right, versions presented here are stripped of their most interesting qualities - Alfred doesn't do any of his usual snark, just solves problems for Tim - and here's the thing, I thought Tim Drake is supposed to be this hypercompetent superdetective paranoid guy? Because he sure doesn't act like one here, he needs his hand held by Alfred at all times, he doesn't even bother to test capabilities of his new Batsuit - and is caught off guard by his batteries running out.
• I called attempts at drama "heavy handed", since how am I supposed to treat seriously a ten-year old kid feeling remorse for not being Batman? I mean, I'm not Batman and somehow I cope with that. And let's be honest, his brother is dead and batsuit is the only thing he thinks about? Jesus.
  And I'm worried because it seems like it's a set up for an artificial conflict in the future. I'm sorry, I'm used to subtler and more nuanced human interactions.

You might say I want too much except the thing is - this is not some newbie making his first steps in the comic industry, this is Dan Jurgens, one of the writers responsible for Death and Return of Superman. If you google his name, you will see his name attached to adjectives like "acclaimed" or "legendary". I think it's reasonable to expect something better than "meh, sorta okay" from him.

[AnnaSandhu]

First, I actually DID say I didn't like it because it's nothing like the television show and I'd be more okay with it if, quoting myself, it was completely unrelated book called "Tim Drake Fu**s Some People Up Wearing A Power Armor" -perhaps with new supporting cast and villains and new design of a Batsuit? It probably would be a better book period, giving Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang more creative freedom - currently it seems to be a new IP "in disguise", piggybacking of Batman Beyond's popularity. More seriously, why not call it something like "Red Robin Beyond"?
And this IS a valid criticism, sorry. When you use an existing property, you need to keep it's core - unless you'd be perfectly fine if I e.g. took over a Superman book, then wrote him as extremist feminist without his typical superpowers, instead having (only) control over fire, and make him burn rapists to death? I mean, sure, that could be an interesting story (morally ambiguous protagonists are good for discussion of real world issues), but you have to agree it wouldn't be Superman. I'd be tbh okay if they kept Tim as Batman, but story still revolved about solving crimes in cyberpunk city. Or if it was Terry being a regular superhero, and if machine oppression was a bit more like the Matrix so it'd still be cyberpunk. This is Batman Beyond in name only.

What points from the first part do not hold up? I'm curious.

• See, when I said that writing is set of cliches, I even pointed out which movie or comic did them first.
• When pointing out that the book has zero subtlety in it's exposition, I gave examples - a bit exaggerated, but both actual examples that happened - the Jokerz one and Superman one- both happen in this exact issue. Introduction of another recurring supervillain in second issue is even more hamfisted. The worst part is the book CAN be subtle - the only reason I assumed Alfred was an AI is his captions style, which was confirmed in second issue with Tim remarking about Alfred being non-living.
• When I was saying dialog between the two is boring I explained why - though both Tim Drake and Alfred are interesting characters in their own right, versions presented here are stripped of their most interesting qualities - Alfred doesn't do any of his usual snark, just solves problems for Tim - and here's the thing, I thought Tim Drake is supposed to be this hypercompetent superdetective paranoid guy? Because he sure doesn't act like one here, he needs his hand held by Alfred at all times, he doesn't even bother to test capabilities of his new Batsuit - and is caught off guard by his batteries running out.
• I called attempts at drama "heavy handed", since how am I supposed to treat seriously a ten-year old kid feeling remorse for not being Batman? I mean, I'm not Batman and somehow I cope with that. And let's be honest, his brother is dead and batsuit is the only thing he thinks about? Jesus.
  And I'm worried because it seems like it's a set up for an artificial conflict in the future. I'm sorry, I'm used to subtler and more nuanced human interactions.

You might say I want too much except the thing is - this is not some newbie making his first steps in the comic industry, this is Dan Jurgens, one of the writers responsible for Death and Return of Superman. If you google his name, you will see his name attached to adjectives like "acclaimed" or "legendary". I think it's reasonable to expect something better than "meh, sorta okay" from him.

You might say I want too much except the thing is - this is not some newbie making his first steps in the comic industry, this is Dan Jurgens, one of the writers responsible for Death and Return of Superman. If you google his name, you will see his name attached to adjectives like "acclaimed" or "legendary". I think it's reasonable to expect something better than "meh, sorta okay" from him.[/QUOTE]

No, if you judge a property for what it is similar to, or adapted from, or shares a name with, you will NEVER BE SATISFIED. Want proof? Look at Spider-Man 3 or Hook, they are not bad films at all, it's just that Hook had a Peter Pan people were not used to and Spider-Man 3 had a Venom people did not like. Those two elements ruined what are otherwise good films for fans. Now as for your point about Superman? Why wouldn't that be Superman? It's that kind of perspective that has resulted in Superman literally becoming a laughing stock. People say that Superman is overpowered, invincible and the only thing that can hurt him is a green rock? I don't want to turn this into a Man of Steel discussion, but the best thing that film did was break way from the Christopher Reeve image that had been forged into people's brains with iron.

Regarding subtlety. I get that the audience doesn't need everything spoonfed on to them, and you didn't read Futures End, and you clearly did not need any of that, but did you consider that other people might. The Superman one was needed. What if that was just a robot designed to look like Superman to scare the masses and such. Why would Superman be a robot and so forth. I haven't noticed Alfred solving any problems for Tim so far, just guiding him through the future. As for Tim being competent and smart? Isn't he the guy who just manually repowered his batsuit which he knows virtually nothing about. Plus, like Tim told Barbara in the issue, his main priority is shutting down Brother Eye so that he can save lives. I find that to be very Tim Drake-like, the faster he operates, if he learns on the fly, so be it, but he will save lives because he is a hero. As for Alfred's snark, this isn't Alfred Pennyworth, it is ALFRED, an AI that was never really snarky at all. Also, as for Matt, I think you're looking at that wrong. His brother is dead, and the thing that made his brother most special doesn't belong to him? That would piss me off as well, plus, he seems older than 10, maybe 15 or 16.

To your original post, however, you mentioned cliches and mentioned them again here. As an essayist and journalist, in my professional opinion, your claim has no validity. A cliche is an element of a piece of work which has been repeated so many times in other works that it holds no value anymore. Usually this is just an expression that is presented in a piece of work, but sometimes can be a plot point. Terminator did not invent the post-apocalyptic robot world, in fact it had been done MANY times prior. Yet according to you, this is a cliche because of what Terminator did? No, it doesn't work like that, but even assuming that it did, it still would not mesh with the definition of the word cliche. This presents a post-apocalyptic society where a sentient AI is striving to please its father and bring vengeance on its other father. Terminator presents a world where the AI wants to eradicate humans to defend itself, which is the same as the Matrix. As for the ruins of the Statue of Liberty, that shows you have basic knowledge of DC Comics' history. That is meant to pay homage to Kamandi, the Last Boy series by Jack Kirby. Yes, Kamandi was only made because DC could not acquire rights to Planet of the Apes, but the origin of THAT story (Kirby's The Last Enemy!) predated the Planet of the Apes novel, so again, not really a cliche but more of an easter egg.

Again, as for you saying the book doesn't shut up. That is honestly your own opinion. You can look at some reviews and they agree with you on that point, other reviews, however, disagree and really like the art and the dialogue usage, given how it is shedding the weight of Futures End. Some reviews simply state that the only thing wrong with the book is that it is burdened by Futures End.

You are saying that Batman Beyond was three elements, right? Terry McGinnis, Steampunk Gotham, and Originality. So Commissioner Barbara Gordon, Jokerz, an elderly Bruce, Justice League Beyond, Blight, Inque, Maxine Gibson, Dana Tan, Royal Flush Gang and Matt McGinnis are unnecessary for Batman beyond if we go by your first element. Secondly, we have not spent much time in Neo Gotham here in this book yet, but it feels honestly the same as the one from the cartoon show, just with more danger. We never really traveled out of the city in the show, but it doesn't feel any different than it did there than it does here. You just talked about what Neo Gotham was there, not how it was different than the one in this book, so as Jay Z would say, on to the next one. There was no filler? Out of 52 episodes there was no filler? There was plenty of filler. The first season was no filler, I agree, they built up plot points and such, like DG on the jacket, mentioning Selina Kyle, and some backhistory between Bruce and Barbara and never mentioned it again at length. Never made it a plot point. Yeah, they addressed it all in the movie, but why not the show?

Again, you may find this book forgettable because you do not agree with it. Those points are your opinion, not fact. In fact, what you saw as an original episode, even if it was designed as filler (given that after the first season, season two was a filler season), you saw as original even though it was filler. You may see something as a cliche, when it is not. It is your opinion and I don't mean to offend you by throwing fact in your face, just so you know.

Anyways, I bet you guys anything that Brother Eye's new "Body" is that of Terry McGinnis. Tim Drake will relinquish the mantle to him and lead the Atomic Knights eventually.