Batman Beyond Volume 2

by Dan Jurgens and Bernard Chang

[Quirky Cat]

I am so happy that Batman Beyond is continuing; even if it is in comic form (can somebody with the power to make the show come back do something about it? That would be amazing). While the circumstances for Terry have changed pretty dramatically, he’s still the guy we know and love, so needless to say I’m still invested in what happens to him. After what happened in volume one, I wasn’t really sure what they were going to do next, but after taking some time to think about it, I think they made a pretty logical jump (even though there’s some things I would have done differently).



There’s actually quite a lot going on in this volume, but all of it weaves together to the point where it takes a bit to dissect it all. Max and Bruce Wayne are sort of trying to figure out how to work together (their mutual fondness of Terry being the main thing they have in common), Curare makes an appearance (woo!), as does Barbara Gordon and Dana. A few other unexpected guests are around, but everything I’ve mentioned actually happens early on, believe it or not.
I can tell you how much squeeing occurred when I saw Curare and Barbara Gordon fighting together against the League of Assassins. I mean, come on, that’s so cool. Moving on from my fangirl moment though, things get pretty tense during this fight, mostly because of Terry once again trying to find a balance in his life. Unfortunately, when one has as many things up in the air as Terry, finding balance usually means you drop the ball in one area or the other. This is something that Terry is aware of, being that he had sacrificed his personal life for years (and having seen the repercussion of that choice in the life Bruce Wayne currently lives).
As for the major twist in this plot? At least I was pretty shocked, but in a good way. Then I realized that my interpretation of events was incorrect, that they had actually pulled the punch. That was a little disappointing. (Spoiler warning) I honestly would have preferred that Ra’s al Ghul had done to Damien what he had done to Talia (that is, take her body for his own to save his life). To me this would have carried a lot more weight. Partially this is because it would have totally been something that Ra’s would do (I mean, he didn’t even hesitate to take his daughter’s life, why wouldn’t he do it to his grandson as well?) but because it would have given a sense of permanency to the action. Having Ra’s take Damien’s body would have been about as dead as one can get (like back in the day where “he’s Bucky dead” meant something).
Having Damien be himself, but still in charge of the League of Assassins? While I can absolutely see that happening (he’s also struck me as a gray scale character trying to find his place in the world) I just don’t feel like it carries the same impact. But at least the way things were done they were able to wrap everything up in a single volume, something I doubt they would have been able to do with my alternative preference.
Despite my few complaints about this plot, I’m still really happy to see Terry again, as well as Max and crew. I hope Terry manages to figure out how to be Batman and not be alone at the same time. I feel like having Max and his brother around will help, but how much?


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