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Batman/Static: Beyond
In the not-so-distant future, young hero Terry McGinnis patrols the neon-lit streets of Neo-Gotham as Batman Beyond. Meanwhile, Virgil Hawkins—better known as Static—forges a new technological revolution in Dakota City with his groundbreaking invention, the Q-Wave Energy Grid, promising clean power for all. Together, and alongside the Justice League Beyond, the heroes are united in anticipation of Earth’s long-awaited induction into the interplanetary alliance known as the Cooperative. Everything seems to be going smoothly…until the menacing new villain Shutdown arrives on the scene, creating chaos and putting the planet’s future at risk. At the center of all this mayhem is the unlikely but dynamic duo of Static and Batman Beyond, who must set aside their differences and work together to save the world before it’s too late
- GenresDc ComicsGraphic Novels
184 pages, Paperback
Published August 4, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Review of advance copy
As both a massive Static and Batman Beyond fan, this book was a must-buy. I read this in single issues as it came out; at the time of writing this review, issue 6 just dropped. I wanted to like this more than I did. The art by Nikolas Draper-Ivey and Miguel Mendonça is great and the premise is solid, but the writing falls short.
Evan Narcisse did not capture the voices of these characters for me. Virgil Hawkins/Static is depicted as more verbally abrasive than normal and even aggressive toward Terry/Batman Beyond. Terry does not sound like himself in parts and neither do other characters (Blight, Micron, Raquel, etc). It's a characterization issue, with choices these characters would not make and dialogue that doesn't ring true to prior depictions. There's some leeway here, since this is an alternate timeline with different versions of the characters we know, but it doesn't fully cut it. For newer readers less familiar with these characters, it may not bother them. For me, it hampered my reading experience somewhat.
The antagonist also did not work for me. Shutdown gets his powers and immediately becomes a supervillain; dude went from zero to a hundred in seconds. That turn felt sudden and forced for plot contrivance instead of gradual and organic. Also the subplot with the Cooperative was interesting, but the resolution fell flat at the end.
That said, I enjoyed seeing the Justice League Beyond again. And seeing Gear, Rubberband Man, Ebon, and the debut of Amistad Ervin as Beacon. The series is a stew of elements from the DCAU/Beyond Universe and Milestone Returns continuities in a brand-new timeline, honoring what came before while still introducing something new. Beacon was definitely a highlight, and luckily we got a bit more of him in the New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident one-shot. Dakota Incident even retroactively makes this series hit a little more poignantly.
If you're a Milestone or Batman Beyond fan, pick this up. 3/5.
Evan Narcisse did not capture the voices of these characters for me. Virgil Hawkins/Static is depicted as more verbally abrasive than normal and even aggressive toward Terry/Batman Beyond. Terry does not sound like himself in parts and neither do other characters (Blight, Micron, Raquel, etc). It's a characterization issue, with choices these characters would not make and dialogue that doesn't ring true to prior depictions. There's some leeway here, since this is an alternate timeline with different versions of the characters we know, but it doesn't fully cut it. For newer readers less familiar with these characters, it may not bother them. For me, it hampered my reading experience somewhat.
The antagonist also did not work for me. Shutdown gets his powers and immediately becomes a supervillain; dude went from zero to a hundred in seconds. That turn felt sudden and forced for plot contrivance instead of gradual and organic. Also the subplot with the Cooperative was interesting, but the resolution fell flat at the end.
That said, I enjoyed seeing the Justice League Beyond again. And seeing Gear, Rubberband Man, Ebon, and the debut of Amistad Ervin as Beacon. The series is a stew of elements from the DCAU/Beyond Universe and Milestone Returns continuities in a brand-new timeline, honoring what came before while still introducing something new. Beacon was definitely a highlight, and luckily we got a bit more of him in the New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident one-shot. Dakota Incident even retroactively makes this series hit a little more poignantly.
If you're a Milestone or Batman Beyond fan, pick this up. 3/5.
September 8, 2026
Fantastic story and art
Generally great storyline with Static’s essential humanity and kindness shining through the action. I had a laugh seeing how the adult Static was drawn; for most of superhero comics history, the male heroes are drawn like crotchless Ken dolls. But in this one, when Nicolas Draper-Ivey is drawing? Whew, boy - emphasis on the boy. Miguel Mendonça is the better artist, but he tends to tone down the endowments given to Draper-Ivey’s figures.
Draper-Ivey has grown substantially as an artist and visual storyteller since his teen Static days. His teenagers (and the Batman in this volume is still a teen and being mentored by the 36-year oldish Static) look like teenagers. But the problem with Draper-Ivey’s art has always been a lack of clarity. It’s like he’s trying to combine graffiti, anime and comic realism into one hybrid style but it doesn’t work. While significantly better in this volume, he’s torn between the compositional strategies of anime and the free-style, all-over graphic expression of street art.
Still, I value this story arc and Milestone’s comics. They are deeply important. They give full voice to the anger and sense of injustice, betrayal and futility felt by many people of color, but the stories answer these feelings not with Pollyanna platitudes but with a vision of hope and strength that emerges out of the reality of these feelings.
Generally great storyline with Static’s essential humanity and kindness shining through the action. I had a laugh seeing how the adult Static was drawn; for most of superhero comics history, the male heroes are drawn like crotchless Ken dolls. But in this one, when Nicolas Draper-Ivey is drawing? Whew, boy - emphasis on the boy. Miguel Mendonça is the better artist, but he tends to tone down the endowments given to Draper-Ivey’s figures.
Draper-Ivey has grown substantially as an artist and visual storyteller since his teen Static days. His teenagers (and the Batman in this volume is still a teen and being mentored by the 36-year oldish Static) look like teenagers. But the problem with Draper-Ivey’s art has always been a lack of clarity. It’s like he’s trying to combine graffiti, anime and comic realism into one hybrid style but it doesn’t work. While significantly better in this volume, he’s torn between the compositional strategies of anime and the free-style, all-over graphic expression of street art.
Still, I value this story arc and Milestone’s comics. They are deeply important. They give full voice to the anger and sense of injustice, betrayal and futility felt by many people of color, but the stories answer these feelings not with Pollyanna platitudes but with a vision of hope and strength that emerges out of the reality of these feelings.
Review of advance copy
As a big Batman Beyond fan I enjoyed this but they definitely didn’t write him like his character usually is. A solid story that feels a bit rushed at the end but I like the plot and think it does good at pairing up Batman and Static.
August 9, 2026
I wanted to like this more but it’s perfectly fine.
August 22, 2026
I enjoyed the Batman stuff but I know nothing about static so I didn’t really enjoy that. Plus there’s this weird alien subplot with other dc characters I don’t know
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews