A lot has changed in Neo-Gotham over the last year. Now balancing college, family, and crime fighting, Terry McGinnis still dons the red and black suit as Batman. Bruce Wayne is no longer chirping in his ear, however, replaced by the former Nightwing himself, Dick Grayson. One thing that never changes, though, is someone’s always looking to bring the city to its knees.
Called in to investigate the death of Mayor Davis, Batman and his allies sense foul play. When someone frees the inmates held in Davis’ pet project, the new Arkham Institute, those suspicions become dangerous reality. But the menace behind these attacks is someone Batman has never faced before, an unknown quantity. Calling himself Rewire, this electrically charged villain has plans for Neo-Gotham -- starting with the end of Batman!
It’s a new era for Batman Beyond as writer KYLE HIGGINS (NIGHTWING, DEATHSTROKE) and artist THONY SILAS (Venom) plug you into BATMAN BEYOND 2.0: REWIRED (collects stories from BATMAN BEYOND UNIVERSE #1-8)!
World: I like the art, it's not quite the show and it has a more complex and serious tone to the art. I like it. The world building was solid, building upon the Night of Joker and moving the animated series world forward with characters. The call backs were also very wonderful.
Story: The Rewire story was interesting but nothing we've not read before, it's the characters in the story that make the story mean something, otherwise I'd be meh. The Langstrom story is also good with the call back from the past it's good.
Characters: Good stuff with Terry and Dick I did not see that but I really like it. The stuff with a Langstrom was great.
Solid but if not for the characters it would have been forgettable.
This was my first experience with Batman Beyond besides seeing a couple clips of the cartoon. This is definitely *not* the place to jump onboard, though, as it continues an existing story, and at some point the new Batman, Terry, had a falling-out with the original Batman, Bruce, so now Dick is his mentor. I don’t know if in this continuity Dick was ever Batman or only Nightwing. DC continuity is so completely screwed up that I have no idea what is even relevant any more.
The stories here are fine, but I’m missing some context. I’ve always liked the design of the future Bat-suit, even if the face part doesn’t make sense. It molds to his face and around his moth somehow? Nanotechnology or something, I guess. Nice to see Commissioner Gordon on the case, except of course it’s Barbara, Batgirl herself, which adds another layer, and I quite enjoyed seeing the return of Man-Bat. For him, at least, we do get a complete backstory, since this seems to be his first appearance in the future, and that complete backstory does a lot of heavy lifting for both plot and the theme of second chances.
The art is good despite switching artists for different installments. I guess I should read the older books to see what happened. Maybe I’ll do that. Maybe.
I was a bit excited to see Higgins on this title but he's way too much of a Dick Grayson fan and not enough of a Terry McGinnis fan. Also, I don't understand why so many comic writers refuse to use Batman Beyond's rogue's galleries.
Kyle Higgins and Thony Silas return readers to the comic world of Batman Beyond in this 2.0 collection. With Terry now in college, working under Dick Grayson, and separated from both Bruce Wayne and Dana, the world of Neo-Gotham has changed for the future Batman. Things get worse when an electrical villain dubbed Rewire murders the Mayor at the new Arkham Asylum and sets loose the inmates. After tangling with Shriek, Spellbinder, and Inque, Terry must rely on help from Bruce and Dick to pull the plug on his latest adversary. The second arc brings back the original Man-Bat, Kirk Langstrom, as a broken beast trying to reclaim his lost family via any means necessary. Higgins does well with the status quo shake-up, bringing readers up to speed with the Dick/Terry partnership without forgetting the classic Bruce/Terry duo. Old faces like Melanie (Ten) Walker and the McGinnis family also reappear, offering Batman a chance to remain grounded amid the life upheavals thrust into his world. The art duties from Thony Silas are solid, often evoking the cartoon feel of the original Batman Beyond series. However, the characters faces tend to fall into similar patters; his best work comes when using the colorful costumes of Gotham's notable residents. Charge yourself up for a Rewired volume of Batman Beyond, and enjoy the sparks of something new.
As a fan of pretty much all things Batman, I'm especially one of Batman Beyond. Partly because of having someone other than Bruce in the role, partly because of the typical young angst, partly because of the new rogues gallery - it's always been one of my favorite Batmedia examples. So how do I feel about the Batman Beyond mainstream comic series?
Well, for starters, it's different to see it in a style other than the show's. Not to imply that's a bad thing, though - the art is detailed, and the show costumes are retained, rather than using the ones from the main DC comics. Terry's in college now, rather than high school, and is having drama issues with Dana. The biggest change to the status quo, though, is that Dick Grayson has replaced Bruce as Terry's mentor. It's nice to see Dick Grayson in Batman Beyond style, since he never appeared in the show, and something interesting to note is that out of himself, Bruce and Barbara, Dick has probably aged the best. I mean, he'd be in his mid-late 60's, but looks younger, whereas Barbra, in her mid-sixties, looks more like she's in her seventies. Being the police commissioner is a stressful job, I'm sure.
So yeah, the drama is good, even if it's not much different from the typical stuff you find in comics focused on young protagonists. It's also nice seeing a futuristic version of Kirk "Man-Bat" Langstrom, and seeing him with a beard is both cool and hilarious.
Probably the issue I enjoy most in the book, though, is #16, where Dick and Babs talk for the first time in years. She believes that he's held Sam against her for all these years, which Dick denies - though before that, he says he always liked Sam, and Barbara snarks, "you almost said that with straight face." The audience doesn't see his expression, which is a clever touch. Their meeting ultimately ends with feelings of reconciliation, and feels bittersweet. Sadly, the exact nature of their breakup is later expanded on, in a plot development many Batfans, myself included, are not fond of. Read issue #26 to find out exactly what I'm talking about.
So, if you're a Batfan, especially Batman Beyond, the book is a recommendation. If only because it provides some character development, and some cool fight scenes.
I only remembered that I had collected some of these Batman Beyond comics but ended up donating them all except for this one. I'm not sure why I kept this one out of the others—it's not particularly interesting compared to an average episode of the animation. Maybe it was better than the others?
I actually don't remember having read this before, though. I know I did, but the story is so forgettable. Terry has broken up with Dana (not the other way around). Melanie/Ten has shown up at his college. The current mayor, William Dusk, . There are a LOT of man-bats (and like one woman-bat). The stories are *okay* but I've already mostly forgotten them despite JUST having read the book! And here I thought I LIKED the series!
Recommended for fans who are clearly more dedicated than I am—I probably liked the show more for it being rather different at the time, but in the end it's just Teen Batman. Probably also doesn't help how I have a hard time parsing action in graphic novel form than when animated.
First of all, kudos to the art team on this book. Thony Silas' pencils are very dynamic and Andrew Elder's colors do a fantastic job evoking the mood and look of the Batman Beyond tv show. The script does a good with this too. There are no inner monologues this time so the story is being told in a familiar fashion to the tv show as well. The antagonists in this volume aren't great, but the relationship drama between the characters is great and promises some big reveals. The story featuring Eric Weight's art is great too. It's a slightly sketchier version of Bruce Tim's style and looks really great. This book feels like the 4th season we never got, which is great, but it's also written for people who are very familiar with the show and care about those characters. So while I think the book is fantastic, there's no guarantee a newcomer and just jump into the series.
3.5 Reasonably entertaining, and I quite enjoyed the artwork a lot. The Man-Bat arc is good, the Rewire arc is okay, and the Dick Grayson/Barbara Gordon one felt a little lazy.
BUT
Except for Barbara Gordon, pretty much every female character is there as an accessory--a love interest, a mother, a friend. A few female villains appear very briefly, except the one who's a love interest--she gets a few lines and a back story. All the police officers are male. Most of the Arkham Institute inmates are male. All the government officials and consultants are male. A new supervillain, unburdened by canon, appears--male. Really? And poor Dana is burdened with a supershort '90s slipdress while everyone else gets nice futuristic clothes.
Davis Dusk aka Rewire basically kills his father in a power move... Releases Gotham's tech-heavy criminals Ghoul. And faces off against Terry "THE BATMAN OF NEO-GOTHAM" McGinnis . Rewire was also about restarting old relationships that were presumed dead Dick-Barbara, Dick-Bruce while there's a new triangle of Dick, Barbs and Terry. Terry seems to be in a love triangle with Dana and Melanie. The saddest story was how Dr. Kirk Langstrom lost his wife and it caused him to succumb to the idea of The Man-Bat. It is a story about the idea of not having a second chance.
I really enjoyed as a fan of Dc and Batman Beyond animated series and movie. I was so excited to buy this and even more so to read this and I am glad I did because it was so excellent, the multiple stories were exciting and followed on so well that you didn't lose the momentum from one to the other. But what was truly great was that the return of one of my favourite characters Dick Grayson aka Robin aka Night wing who I've been a fan of ever since he was created can't wait to read the second volume.
2.5 stars I fell in love with the Batman Beyond animated series as a kid. A modern, futuristic story of a retired Bruce Wayne taking on a new heir to take up the Batman mantle. Even though it was an updated new take on the Batman mythos, it still had that same wonderful style that the original animated series had.
This volume has a decent plot, nothing overly original or mind blowing. And the art is good, except for a lot of the action sequences that were often very hard to follow. Ok, though I wouldn't bother reading it again.
It had a little bit of a saving grace in the last issue with the Nightwing-Barbara story, but as a whole I didn’t care for it at all. Despite being labeled as issue 1 it references past things that I don’t care enough to try to find. Rewired was ok, but the Man-Bat story was infuriating for me with the bone-conduction headphones being drawn on the jaw and just overall illogical nature. That may be specific to people with a slightly above basic knowledge on hearing though. Definitely a bummer I didn’t enjoy it more though since I always like the tv series.
Batman Beyond is still a fun read. Terry McGinnis is a Batman that we've truly never seen. He started his career as Batman with no baggage. His new partnership with Dick Grayson is interesting and helpful for him. While there are some lackluster villains, they are perfect for the book. Reading this always reminds me of Batman: The Animated Series which is a very good thing. The art was rushed at times but still good. Overall, an uncomplicated treat.
This was excellent. It felt like watching the television show in its prime. Each voice captured the characters and provided strong emotional depth. Art was fantastic and drove the Neo Gotham image home. What set this apart was the empathy created from emotional complications in character relationships. Seeing them work over obstacles and grow by the end of each story made the difference in reaching a 5 star rating. Loved it!
Definitely more along the lines of what I expect from this series! We get Bruce Wayne, Terry McGinnis, and Dick Grayson working together and lots of badass Barbada Gordon! Both arcs "Rewired" and "The Bat Men" are entertaining, explore conflict between characters, and have that quintessential Batman feel.
With an art-style that's true to this title's animation roots, this was familiar in a good way and I remember enough of the few episodes of the show that I saw when it originally aired to catch some of the references to the "future lingo" used in the show. Some interesting classic Batman characters who may or may not have made an appearance in the show appear here.
The Rewire character wasn't anyone special but it was fun to be back in the DCAU as someone who grew up watching the cartoons as a kid. Seeing Dick Grayson was interesting given how he was never shown once in BB. I would've liked to see villians like Inque, Shriek, etc instead of Rewire but still an enjoyable read.
when I was a kid this show was my favorite thing on cartoon network. After years of Batman to see a sequal in the same universe was amazing to me. To this day Batman Beyond is my favorite batman ever and Terry one of the greatest characters
Being a digital first comic meant it had some very power art and lazy layouts. Not a terrible book but not really enough to keep my attention. I keep trying to get into Batman Beyond but the series writers just aren't doing it for me.
Ooof. I hate the time jump for the sake of dragging out why so many things have changed... some pretty poor art work too. Oh and my copy is falling apart...
Really solid continuation of the Batman Beyond comics that captures the atmosphere of the show impeccably. I liked seeing Dick and Babs return as supporting characters.
This is an interesting effort to revisit the Batman Beyond world and even add a new character to his rogue's gallery. It's still very Batman but also giving room for Terry to find his own path and really get past Bruce's controlling influence. Pretty exciting stuff and a testament to the brilliance of the core concept behind this whole spinoff. I'm glad that we're getting more stories.
Terry McGinnis is a young man juggling a superhero alter-ego alongside studying at university and girl troubles. He battles an electric supervillain while trying to live up to a father-figure’s hopes for him. Terry McGinnis is… Spider-Man! I mean, Batman Beyond!
Batman Beyond 2.0: Rewired is made up of two stories. Rewired, where Terry goes up against a lame Electro-type villain, and The Bat Men, as old Kirk Langstrom aka Man Bat gets up to his old tricks again and Terry teams up with elderly Bruce Wayne to defeat him.
This is my first Batman Beyond book and I didn’t watch the TV show so I know nothing about the character, but right away it felt very Spider-Man-y and only superficially Batman-esque. Batman Beyond is a weaker Batman character and series than the original but especially for drawing so many comparisons between the two and falling short in all of them.
Everything has this self-consciously futuristic veneer that feels naff like the multi-coloured glasses everyone wears (because The Future!). There’s the very ’80s-futuristic-sounding Neo-Gotham, the Arkham Institute (which sounds like an R&D firm rather than the modern version of the Asylum), and Commissioner Barbara Gordon. Batman’s rogues gallery is one of the best parts of the character. Beyond’s rogues, Spellbinder, Inque, and Shriek, all have generic powers – super-sonic scream, shape-shifting – and boringly all look like robots. They’re terrible rogues!
I did like that Terry’s Batman doesn’t have a cape and has some kind of cloaking tech and gliders that appear when needed. And that outfit is really good, the black and red go together so well. But otherwise I’d say the highlights for me were seeing familiar characters in new situations. Bruce is still brooding but alone, except for a Titus-looking dog; Dick Grayson is Terry’s mentor, rocking the Nick Fury look; and Babs is the new Commissioner. She even does the rooftop meeting with Terry that her dad did with Bruce!
The first story is definitely the better of the two. It deals with legacies and kids living up to great fathers. Rewire (awful name for a villain by the way) trying to live up to his civic minded father, while Terry, Dick and Barbara’s lives are also defined by their predecessors’. I’m not sure why Terry and Bruce don’t get along in this book but, seeing as Bruce hasn’t changed, it probably has something to do with him being overly paranoid, along the lines of the recent Death of the Family storyline.
That said, both stories aren’t that great. The two are very forgettable with the second not even bothering to be a Batman Beyond story – it’s basically the same old Batman/Man Bat story that’s been done before, albeit with Bruce replaced with Terry (and bearded Man Bat, to show his age, is just silly-looking!).
I did like the short backup that closes out the book where Barbara and Dick meet at a diner for a coffee and a reminiscence about old times. For Dick, Barbara’s the one that got away and you can see he’s always regretted that. Barbara on the other hand got married but you can tell she knows. I suppose it is sentimental but I thought it was sweet and I liked the batarang ending.
Batman Beyond 2.0: Rewired didn’t impress me like I’d hoped. There’s a lot of potentially good elements here but the collected whole is underwhelming and disappointingly bland. I’d be tempted to read more of the character one day though that day will likely be a ways off!