Batman Beyond: I Finally Figured It Out - Part 1: New Earth

Long-time readers will know that Batman Beyond has long been a thorn in my side. DC seems to really want the franchise around, but can't ever seem to figure out what they want to do with it, so it's been in continuity, outside continuity, in continuity but with Tim Drake as Batman...it's a headache.

However, recently I got the chance to read through every Batman Beyond series and I took copious notes to try to figure out how it should be represented on this site, and figured it out I did: there are actually three separate versions of the Batman Beyond world. In this three part post, I will describe the three versions and note the characters and concepts each one introduced. If the site has already talked about them, I'll link to that page. If not, I'll put in the new information. (Note: for the purposes of this series, I'm not taking into account Justice League Beyond or Superman Beyond. I don't have access to them, so I can't tell where they're supposed to fit. I will, however, include Justice League Beyond 2.0 in Wednesday's post. I hate that it has to be that way, but if I ever read them, I'll adjust these posts as necessary.)

Version 1: The Future of New Earth
In this version, Barbara Gordon is paralyzed, Hush existed, Batman Incorporated was a thing, and Nightwing's costume has the blue abstract pattern. Everything that was currently in continuity happened in this world, just in the past. This period covered Batman Beyond volumes 3, 4, and 5.

Terry McGinnis/Batman Beyond

Mary McGinnis and Warren McGinnis and Matt McGinnis

Dana Tan and Maxine "Max" Gibson

Justice League Unlimited (Micron, Warhawk, Kai-Ro, Aquagirl)

Commissioner Barbara Gordon - Since I didn't mention it on that page for some reason, Barbara Gordon's first appearance as commissioner in this series is a mention in Batman Beyond (vol. 3) #2 (July 2010), and then a full appearance in issue 5 (October 2010).

Armory and Jared Tate

Spellbinder

Inque

Jokerz - Despite linking to their page, the Jokerz is a very complicated concept - different groups and separate characters appearing at different times in different time frames and separate realities. So I'm also going to include more information here. They're first mentioned in Batman Beyond (vol. 3) #1 (June 2010) and fully appear in Batman Beyond (vol. 4) #4 (April 2011).

Dee Dee (for ease of reference, her first Batman Beyond appearance was in volume 5, issue 15 (December 2012), even though she had already appeared in Justice League Unlimited #1 by then)

Mad Stan

Stalker (this is just a mention)

Shriek

Mr. Fixx

Curare (a mention and an illusion, but no actual appearance)

Derek Powers/Blight and Paxton Powers

Hamilton Hill High School

Wayne-Powers is a future version of Wayne Enterprises that was bought out by Derek Powers. It first appeared in the Batman Beyond pilot, "Rebirth" (1999). It later appeared in Batman Beyond (vol. 4) #5 (May 2011).

Slappers are an illegal, habit-forming performance-enhancing drug that comes in patch form and are based on Bane's venom serum. They appeared in the episode "The Winning Edge" (1999) and first appeared in comics in Batman Beyond (vol. 3) #1 (June 2010).

Tim Drake spent time as the Joker in the backstory of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (). We learn this happened some time between the present and the time of Batman Beyond in Batman Beyond (vol. 3) #3 (August 2010).

The Batman Beyond Project was a plan by Amanda Waller to create a new Batman - by cloning the original - because "Gotham must always have a Batman", as revealed in the Justice League Unlimited episode, "Epilogue" (2005). We get our first hint that this project exists in the comics as well on the very first page of Batman Beyond (vol. 3) #1 (April 2010), with Amanda Waller standing in Cadmus Labs. Later, in issue 4 (July 2010), Hush says those very words: "Gotham must always have a Batman". We get a few more hints here and there, but it's fully revealed in issue 6 (September 2010) - fittingly enough, in the epilogue.

Foxteca was one of Wayne-Powers's biggest rivals, started after Derek Powers fired Lucius Fox from the company. It first appeared in the episode "Black Out" (1999) when Inque was hired to sabotage it. It first appeared in comics in Batman Beyond (vol. 5) #4 (March 2012).

Join me on Tuesday and Wednesday for Part 2a and Part 2b, with Part 3 and Part 4 coming soon!

Appearance Spotlight: Avengers Tower

Since their first appearance in 1963, the Avengers had been headquartered in Avengers Mansion, which was originally Tony Stark's family home. However, the Mansion was destroyed in Avengers Disassembled, so in New Avengers (2005), the Avengers moved into Stark Tower, alternatively known as Avengers Tower.

Later on, Stark Tower would be rebuilt at various times, which changed its appearance each time:

Stark Tower would also appear in The Avengers (2012), with the A in "Stark" cleverly becoming the Avengers A after the rest of the sign is damaged in the Battle of New York. However, this Stark Tower looked quite different.

Yet, despite the very distinctive appearance that pretty much everyone on the planet is familiar with, Marvel kept the design of Stark Tower they were already using. It would show up every now and then, and I can only guess to reasons why, but it would never stick. For instance, here it is in A+X #2 (November 2012), where it represents Resilient's headquarters, which could be Stark Tower or a separate building entirely:

However, during the eight month gap Secret Wars took place during, Tony Stark had to sell off Stark Tower, and in All-New, All-Different Avengers #1 (October 2015) where we learn this, it is clearly based on the movie version:

As it appears this way in another All-New, All-Different Marvel book as well, I can only assume the restructuring of Universe 7 into Universe 8 (see The Ultimates (2015) for more information) caused some MCU stuff to seep through.

Costume Spotlight: Wonder Woman (Rebirth)

One of the goals of DC Rebirth is to make the characters more closely resemble their most popular versions. In some cases, that means making a character's physical appearance look more like an adaptational counterpart. Wonder Woman is a good example.

When the New 52 started (September 2011), she was given this costume. I quite like it; it turns the gold parts on her costume to silver - which better matches her stars, stripes, and bracelets - and turns her boots blue instead of red. It also makes her chestpiece an interesting combination of an eagle, a WW, and a star (which, unfortunately, nobody but Jim Lee seemed to be able to draw correctly).

On the other hand, when Wonder Woman was introduced into the DC Cinematic Universe in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (March 2016), she had a much more Greco-Roman inspired look, with lots of armor, a leather skirt, and thigh-high boots.

In Wonder Woman: Rebirth #1 (June 2016), she gets almost the exact same look, only with an added shield.

Thirty Days of Turtles: Dark Water

Recently I decided that if I want to keep having new content on this blog, I'm going to have to branch out beyond Marvel and DC. They'll always bring in new content, and I'm sure I'll continue to find old ones I've missed, but it's time to move toward more unfamiliar territory. With that in mind, and because they have a new movie out, I thought I'd kick this new era off with Thirty Days of Turtles!

That's right: From June 3 to July 2, there'll be a post each day highlighting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles canon immigrants. Now, because TMNT canon is a little confusing, it can be hard to tell what counts as a canon immigrant and what doesn't. So for the purposes of this blog, a TMNT canon immigrant is anything (a) from the movies, cartoons, video games, toy lines, or tie-in comic series that later appeared in (b) TMNT volumes 1, 2, or 4 [because they're by the original creators] or TMNT volume 5 [because the original creators are involved, it's the new official continuity, and its goal is to use as much of the diverse TMNT lore as possible].

With that in mind, let's look at today's entry: Dark Water!

Dark Water is an elite military force that featured in the 80s cartoon episode "State of Shock" (October 1994). The episode features two members specifically: Colonel Knight and Sergeant Alex Winter. Winter was part of a super-soldier program that gave him electrical powers, after which he turned into the villain Megavolt.

Knight and Winter later appear in IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #52 (November 2016), and two issues after that, it's revealed they're working with Man in Black Agent Bishop.

Thirty Days of Turtles: Agent Bishop

Recently I decided that if I want to keep having new content on this blog, I'm going to have to branch out beyond Marvel and DC. They'll always bring in new content, and I'm sure I'll continue to find old ones I've missed, but it's time to move toward more unfamiliar territory. With that in mind, and because they have a new movie out, I thought I'd kick this new era off with Thirty Days of Turtles!

That's right: From June 3 to July 2, there'll be a post each day highlighting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles canon immigrants. Now, because TMNT canon is a little confusing, it can be hard to tell what counts as a canon immigrant and what doesn't. So for the purposes of this blog, a TMNT canon immigrant is anything (a) from the movies, cartoons, video games, toy lines, or tie-in comic series that later appeared in (b) TMNT volumes 1, 2, or 4 [because they're by the original creators] or TMNT volume 5 [because the original creators are involved, it's the new official continuity, and its goal is to use as much of the diverse TMNT lore as possible].

With that in mind, let's look at today's entry: Agent Bishop!

Agent Bishop is a recurring villain in the 2003 series. First appearing in the episode "Space Invaders, Part 2" (October 2004), he's a Man in Black whose goal is to eliminate alien threats. He also has a personal vendetta against aliens because he was abducted when he was a kid.

I hear he makes an appearance in Mirage's Tales of the TMNT, but I can't find any proof of that. If anyone has an issue number or a scan, please let me know.

Luckily, he also appears in IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #54 (January 2016), and will probably make more appearances in the future.

Thirty Days of Turtles: Street Phantoms

Recently I decided that if I want to keep having new content on this blog, I'm going to have to branch out beyond Marvel and DC. They'll always bring in new content, and I'm sure I'll continue to find old ones I've missed, but it's time to move toward more unfamiliar territory. With that in mind, and because they have a new movie out, I thought I'd kick this new era off with Thirty Days of Turtles!

That's right: From June 3 to July 2, there'll be a post each day highlighting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles canon immigrants. Now, because TMNT canon is a little confusing, it can be hard to tell what counts as a canon immigrant and what doesn't. So for the purposes of this blog, a TMNT canon immigrant is anything (a) from the movies, cartoons, video games, toy lines, or tie-in comic series that later appeared in (b) TMNT volumes 1, 2, or 4 [because they're by the original creators] or TMNT volume 5 [because the original creators are involved, it's the new official continuity, and its goal is to use as much of the diverse TMNT lore as possible].

With that in mind, let's look at today's entry: the Street Phantoms!

The Street Phantoms are a street gang in the future that first appeared in the Fast Forward episode "Future Shellshock" (July 2006). They get their name from cloaks that let them turn invisible, and they're led by a cyborg called Jammerhead.

This is pretty much the exact situation they're in when they appear in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #51 (October 2015), only this time they're in the present, Jammerhead is just "Jammer", and they ultimately work for Darius Dun.

Thirty Days of Turtles: Darius Dun

Recently I decided that if I want to keep having new content on this blog, I'm going to have to branch out beyond Marvel and DC. They'll always bring in new content, and I'm sure I'll continue to find old ones I've missed, but it's time to move toward more unfamiliar territory. With that in mind, and because they have a new movie out, I thought I'd kick this new era off with Thirty Days of Turtles!

That's right: From June 3 to July 2, there'll be a post each day highlighting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles canon immigrants. Now, because TMNT canon is a little confusing, it can be hard to tell what counts as a canon immigrant and what doesn't. So for the purposes of this blog, a TMNT canon immigrant is anything (a) from the movies, cartoons, video games, toy lines, or tie-in comic series that later appeared in (b) TMNT volumes 1, 2, or 4 [because they're by the original creators] or TMNT volume 5 [because the original creators are involved, it's the new official continuity, and its goal is to use as much of the diverse TMNT lore as possible].

With that in mind, let's look at today's entry: Darius Dun!

Darius Dun was essentially the Ninja Turtles version of Lex Luthor; while the public saw him as the upstanding head of a major company, he actually used that company for various nefarious means. Unlike Luthor, however, he lived in the next century. Dun first appeared in the Fast Forward episode "Obsolete" (August 2006).

In the IDW world, Dun plays much the same role, only he's in the present and he's working with the Street Phantoms. He first appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #51 (October 2015).