Batman Beyond Universe #7 – Review

By: Kyle Higgins, Christos Gage (writers), Thony Silas, Iban Coello (art), Emilio Lopez & Ulises Arreola

The Story: Brainiac continues his plan, manipulating everyone and everything around him and attempting to prove himself the greatest intelligence in the known universe. Unfortunately so does Bruce Wayne.

The Review: Kyle Higgins slows things down a little bit in this month’s chapter of The Bat Men. Last month I complained that the story had lost its energy, but, now that we have a little more context, it seems that this was part of a transition. This installment is similarly focused on character moments, however, while there’s even less attention paid to fight scenes, it’s a much more engaging issue; the result of the brilliant relationships that Higgins has crafted between Terry and Bruce and Bruce and Kirk.

As all out war between the Cult of the Bat and the FBI looms, threatening to destroy Gotham, Bruce and Terry have been captured. Especially in a genre where captivity rarely lasts, especially with these characters, it’s kind of nice that Higgins uses this as a moment to decompress and provide some lively exposition. The tale he fashions is a sad one and, while it’s by no means ground breaking, it’s tinged with truth enough to elicit genuine sympathy.

Higgins continues to write a positively infuriating Bruce Wayne, in the best possible sense. Bruce’s inability to communicate and sheer skill make him an impossible partner, but it’s telling how he relates to his supposed friends. Bruce actually doesn’t accomplish anywhere near as much as he pretends to in this issue and, despite a number of reasonable contributions from Terry, he simply can’t bring himself to acknowledge them, opting to take swipes at his former partners instead. Only alone with Kirk can he admit the profound errors of his ways, tragically unaware of how recently he’s reaffirmed his choice. This one-on-one interaction between the Bat-Men really sells the history between the two men.

Batman Beyond Universe #6 – Review

By: Christos Gage & Kyle Higgins (writers), Iban Coello & Thony Silas (artists), Rob Lean (inks), Ulises Arreola & Emilio Lopez (colorists)

The Story: Bats or robots: pick your poison…

The Review: We open this month in the midst of Brainiac’s invasion. From the first moment, Christos Gage makes it clear that this is no standard supervillain plot. Brainiac’s monotone arrogance comes through crystal clear and Gage imbues him with just enough malice to make him particularly detestable, without losing his connection to rationality. The first sequence aboard Brainiac’s skull-ship is a great example of what Gage has to offer.

As Brainiac’s natural nemesis, Superman receives similarly strong dialogue. His speeches, though slightly corny, manage to express the natural leadership and sincerity that make Superman primus inter pares in most every version of the Justice League. Even so, there’s a touch of desperation in him, perhaps even fear, that keeps the threat that Brainiac poses in constant play.

But despite his gift for writing the Boy Scout, I sincerely hope that, when this saga is ended, Gage will pen some stories starring the other members of the league. Six months into the print run of Justice League Beyond, we’ve still seen relatively little of many of the League’s members. It’s great to have such an strong version of Superman on the stands, especially as that’s been something of a rarity of late, but it seems like a waste, especially after seeing Gage’s handle on Scott and Barda this month.

The large cast all get lip service, but the best moments belong to Mister Miracle, Big Barda, and a certain classic Leaguer I won’t spoil. It’s impressive that Gage can keep so many balls in the air, especially as he continues to grow the cast, but there aren’t many places where we get to breathe and absorb this information unless you count scenes that don’t catch your fancy.

Batman Beyond Universe #5 – Review

by Kyle Higgins, Christos Gage (writers), Thony Silas, Iban Coello (art)

The Story: Terry learns better than to ask for advice. And this month in Justice League Beyond: old people complain about technology.

The Review: First up is Kyle Higgins with the first installment of his title’s sophomore arc. There’s no denying that this is something of a transition issue, as we both take stock of where we stand and establish a number of plot threads for the upcoming arc. Such a story could easily be clunky, but, though things are a bit scattered, Higgins does an admirable job of pacing his tale. Few, if any, of the numerous segments feel underdeveloped, which is fairly impressive.

Shriek is still on the loose after the events of Rewire, allowing us another entertaining battle with one of the Beyond era’s most well-loved villains. Unfortunately, despite his top-tier status, Shriek definitely loses something in the translation to print. Clever as the ideas that Higgins introduces are, the resulting combat is rather unclear. At one point it kind of looks like Terry is plotting the murder of a squirrel.

Batman Beyond Universe #4 – Review

By: Christos Gage & Kyle Higgins (writers), Iban Coello & Thony Silas (artists), Tom Mason & Andrew Elder (colorists)

The Story: Superman is trapped in the Phantom Zone without his powers and surrounded by the worst killers and criminals Krypton has ever seen. Meanwhile, Batman has his hands full with a living lightning rod and the world’s most passive aggressive mentor.

The Review: This fourth installment of Batman Beyond Universe’s print run closes the first chapter of both of its stories, but in each case there are plenty of dangling threads to draw you back next month.

First Superman concludes his battle with Jax-Ur in the Phantom Zone. The pacing in this story is odd, as we’re kind of just resolving the climax that hit at the end of last issue when we enter. There’s not a lot of time to deal with this and, as it so often is, the answer comes quickly. The result makes our heroes look very capable but lacks a certain narrative punch. Thank goodness, then, that there’s still the matter of Superman being trapped in the Phantom Zone.

Despite the sound beating that Kal has been handing Jax-Ur, this thread quickly escalates, providing the fun, satisfying final clash that the issue needed. Christos Gage’s script is a little academic at times, his characters abnormally well spoken in the midst of combat and their quips sometimes feeling stiff, but I, for one, am grateful for the intelligent and nuanced way that he handles the fight’s resolution. It was a risky choice but one that pays off. While Gage makes sure to offer us the action we demand, the struggle is eventually decided by the individual drives and desires of each of the characters.

Batman Beyond Universe #3- Review

by Kyle Higgins, Christos Gage (writers), Thony Silas, Iban Coello (art)

The Story: Which would you rather see: Terry fighting Batman or Terry fighting Superman? Why choose?

The Review: Though there was something magical about seeing the original DCAU Bat-family, the cliffhanger that Kyle Higgins gave us last issue wasn’t my cup of tea. It’s probably that we know that it can’t possibly be them. So while it was a cool image, I was thrilled when this issue revealed a much more interesting reality behind the illusion.

Make no mistake; this story wants you to know that it matters. Higgins is throwing Terry up against some long odds. You’d think that setting the stakes so high would make any resolution seem underwhelming, but the story channels one of the most beloved moments from Batman Beyond and provides a clever way out that provides adequate resolution in the moment but sets up greater struggles down the line.

Likewise, Higgins does an excellent job of introducing a new villain and making him seem like a viable threat, without the awkward insistence that “NOTHING CAN PREPARE YOU FOR THIS”, that appears so often in comics.

Batman Beyond Universe #2 – Review

by Kyle Higgins, Christos Gage (writers), Thony Silas, Iban Coello (art)

The Story: Batman comes face to face with a surprising killer and Superman…goes clubbing.

The Review:  The Justice League Beyond story, which is fairly unapologetic in its really being a Superman Beyond story, picks up directly from last issue and wastes no time getting into the thick of things. We see Superman escaping a burning building, Superman on a date, and even – as promised – Superman at a nightclub, attempting to learn what the young people are into

Christos Gage clearly understands who Superman is and how his lengthy retreat from humanity has affected him. It’s actually very interesting to see, as the mainline Superman is making every attempt to appeal to a younger demographic. There’s something about just accepting Superman’s old-timey-ness that works on a basic level.

The ‘asking the league for advice’ device from last month’s issue is used again and, while it’s still entertaining, it feels like a slightly lazy way to get the rest of the JLB involved. The members of the League run the gamut in quality. At times it seems like the League’s roster is padded out with canonical characters that Gage doesn’t care for as much. Warhawk and Kai-Ro have been pretty one-note so far, and Terry…he reads a little more frat boy than I would have expected. On the other hand, the Flash, Captain Marvel, and Barda are fairly awesome and provide great contrast with Superman.

Batman Beyond Universe #1 – Review

by: Kyle Higgins (writer), Christos Gage (writer), Thony Silas (art), Iban Coello (art),

The Story:  Could your cell phone electrocute you to death? Tune in in twenty-seven years to find out! And we’ll get the weather from Aquagirl and find out why Superman is spontaneously shooting people.

The Review: Kyle Higgins has been very, very open about his love for Batman Beyond and judging by this issue it simply cannot be contained.  Other recent attempts to translate Batman Beyond to comics have generally failed to capture the tone of the beloved television show. But where many before him have failed, Higgins really succeeds.

I’m not sure but it seems likely that Higgins either watched a good deal of Batman Beyond in the process of writing this issue, or simply has the series memorized; both are strong possibilities. Whatever his method, he has a strong grasp on Terry’s voice. In truth, this is sometimes a slight detriment as Higgins’ script reveals how generic Terry can sound without Will Friedle voicing him. However I can’t blame him for so accurately replicating the series and, thankfully, many lines are good enough to summon Friedle’s iconic voice to mind. I can practically see one of the suit’s eyes widen when terry quips back, “Oh come on, it’s college. Aren’t I supposed to pull all-nighters?”

Commissioner Gordon, Ghoul, and even the news anchor all feel authentic to the show, but it’s not all fodder for nostalgia. Higgins writes an interesting plot that makes use of the Neo Gotham setting without obsessing over it. It’s still Batman Beyond but Terry’s clearly come a long way in terms of his detective work, which, given the shift in medium, seems a wise choice.