Batman Beyond Unlimited #18 – Review

By: Scott Peterson (writer), Annie Wu (artist), Andrew Elder (colorist) 

Back-up by: Adam Beechen, IV (writer), Adam Archer (artist), Andrew Elder (colorist)

The Stories: It’s a two-for-one deal on Batgirls and Terry teams up with the Metal Men.

The Review: Though it’s the last issue of the series, you’d never know it. This month’s installment of Batman Beyond Unlimited is all about what’s to come.

The big news for most people is the introduction of the new Batgirl, a concept that’s been played around with numerous times, as far back as the second season of the show, but never came to fruition. Indeed, the main story is all Batgirl, all the time, with none of that pesky Batman to get in the way.

Some people might complain that their not getting their monthly dose of McGinnis, but he’s in the backup, so worry not and enjoy. Scott Peterson makes the wise choice to ground our tale around a familiar character, Commissioner Barbara Gordon. If you’ve ever loved Barbara, especially her slightly embittered Beyond incarnation, you’ll be in heaven for this issue. This story is thirty pages of pure Gordon badassery. Admittedly, Barbara needs a little help with the heavy lifting, but the woman’s pushing seventy and the issue opens with her jumping off a roof and taking out two roided up gang bangers, so I give her a break. Best of all, the issue hints that she was holding back! I love it!

The new Batgirl is a pretty great character too. The decision to give her a more contemporary looking costume avoids the risk of dating the character and hints at just how tough she is. Terry always had that muscle enhancement batsuit to protect him. This girl follows the long line of bat-ladies to take on the mantle without permission and, presumably, doesn’t have access to schway tech like that. It’s just her, a couple of escrima sticks and your face out there. Throw in a brusque but never obnoxious personality, the skills to back it up, and a beautiful character design and you’ve got the makings of an incredible character.