Batman (Terry McGinnis)

Terrence McGinnis is a fictional superhero appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The character was created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and first appeared in the pilot episode of the animated television series Batman Beyond (1999–2001), voiced by Will Friedle.

Terry McGinnis
Batman
Terry as Batman Beyond
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceBatman Beyond
"Rebirth, Part 1 (1999)"
First comic appearanceBatman Beyond #1 (March 1999)
Created byPaul Dini (writer)
Bruce Timm (artist)
(Based on Batman
by Bob Kane & Bill Finger)
Voiced byWill Friedle
In-story information
Full nameTerrence McGinnis
Team affiliations
PartnershipsBruce Wayne
Barbara Gordon
Dick Grayson (comics)
Notable aliases
  • Batman II
  • The Tomorrow Knight
  • The Second Dark Knight
  • The Dark Knight of Tomorrow
  • Batman of the Future
  • Batman Beyond
Abilities
  • Genius-level intellect
  • Skilled martial artist, street fighter, and hand-to-hand combatant
  • Expert detective
  • Utilizes high-tech equipment and weapons

Terry McGinnis is the vigilante known as Batman in the future, having taken over the mantle after the aging Bruce Wayne went into retirement. In the DC animated universe continuity, he eventually learns that he is the biological son of Bruce (under a covert genetic engineering by Project Cadmus) unbeknownst to him and Bruce at first being that the former was conceived and raised by Warren McGinnis, whose reproductive DNA was rewritten to match Bruce's.

Publication history

McGinnis was created for the Batman Beyond animated television series, as a continuation of The New Batman Adventures, originally meant as a character for the DCAU. For a long time, he was not considered a character for the main DC Universe. Countdown introduced Earth-12, an alternate universe with its own version of Terry McGinnis and other Beyond-like characters. Superman/Batman (comic book) #22 (2005, which predates Superman/Batman Annual 4) was the first comic to depict McGinnis as existing in the future of Batman and the characters of the mainstream comic book DCU. In Batman # 700, Terry's mentor is not Bruce, but Damian Wayne, who had become the third Batman after Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson (in other words Terry would be the fourth Batman).

The 2010 story Superman/Batman Annual #4 returned to the DCAU Terry's story, as later did a 2011 Batman Beyond miniseries. From 2012, DC began publishing three Terry-related comic books: Batman Beyond and Justice League Beyond most prominently, though the character also appears in Superman Beyond. Terry officially entered mainstream DC continuity in the 2014 New 52 maxiseries, The New 52: Futures End.[1] It has since then produced two separate comic book series, the first in 2015 where Tim Drake has replaced Terry as Batman, and the second one in 2016 which is part of DC Rebirth where Terry has become Batman once again.

Fictional character biography

Batman Beyond

Terry was born in Gotham City to Warren and Mary McGinnis, a research scientist at Wayne-Powers and an astronomer at Astro-Tech respectively on August 18, 2023, approximately three to four years after Batman is last seen. By his own admission, he was once a "bad kid". As a former member of a street gang run by youthful racketeer Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow, Terry as a small-time criminal had his fair share of run-ins with the Gotham City Police at age fourteen while his parents were going through a divorce, even serving a three-month stint in juvenile hall (having been underage, he is spared Charlie's three-year sentence where Charlie, who by then was already old enough to be tried as an adult).

A 16-year-old Terry McGinnis; from the animated series Batman Beyond.

Twenty years after Batman's disappearance from Gotham due to Bruce Wayne's retirement on account of failing heart problems, Terry finds himself on the run from the Jokerz, another street gang, who have modeled themselves after the long-dead Gotham City legendary criminal, the Joker. Terry flees onto the grounds of Wayne Manor, where an aged Bruce comes to his defense, together they subdue and ward off the Jokerz. The strain of the fight places substantial stress on Bruce's weak heart, so Terry helps Bruce into the mansion and gets him his medication; Bruce proceeds to fall asleep afterward. Terry attempts to leave but Bruce's dog Ace stops him with hostility, he then tries to call his father but then notices a bat stuck inside a grandfather clock. As he tries to free it, he stumbles upon the entrance to the Batcave and realizes that the elderly man was the city's heroic Dark Knight. He is then forced out by an enraged Bruce.

Terry returns home to find his father murdered, ostensibly by Jokerz. He later discovers that Derek Powers (who has assumed leadership of a merged Wayne-Powers) ordered Warren's death after the latter discovered Powers' plan to mass-produce biological weapons. Powers' right-hand man Mr. Fixx leads a raid on the McGinnis home and shoots Warren McGinnis. (In the comic books, he orders one of his henchmen, Jake Chill, who is a great grand-nephew of Joe Chill, the one who murdered Bruce's own parents to shoot Warren).[2] Terry then seeks Bruce's assistance in bringing Powers down but cannot convince the old man to inflict swift justice - Bruce is still shaken from an ordeal 20 years earlier of having relied on a handgun for self-defense (the event that forced him to retire as Batman for good) as well as the traumatic event of the Joker's death and Tim Drake's psychological torture in the flashbacks of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Bruce suggests that Terry take the evidence against Powers to the current commissioner of police, his former partner Barbara Gordon, who retired as Batgirl by then but, after a scuffle with Powers during which Derek is able to reclaim the evidence, Terry takes matters into his own hands and steals the latest incarnation of the Batsuit. Despite some initial mistrust, their similar backgrounds convince Bruce to aid Terry. Terry successfully derails Powers' plan, exposing Powers to his own viral weapons in the process, resulting in his mutation into Blight.

Convinced that there is still a need for a Batman, Bruce hires Terry as his "personal assistant" which is a cover for secretly training him as Gotham's new Dark Knight. In addition, Bruce assists Terry in the field primarily by keeping in continual contact with him from the Batcave while also helping him out in the field occasionally and if necessary. Beyond the vigilante duties as Batman, Terry is also Bruce's chauffeur and provides assistance with Bruce's daily business and personal tasks at his home and office, which also allows him to earn money to support his mother and brother as well as bond with Bruce's dog Ace when he helps him care for the Great Dane. In time, the pair develops a bond of trust and respect, and confide in each other not only just their mutual missions, but also life issues as well, similar to a father and son. Bruce would even trust Terry over Barbara Gordon's words when the villain Spellbinder frames Terry for murder with another one of his illusions. Terry while getting his own unique rogues' gallery in addition to contending with some of his mentor's former foes also makes allies, such as high school student Maxine Gibson and despite initial hostility between them, even Commissioner Gordon herself (in the comics he also eventually meets and works with Bruce's other ex-partner the former Robin/Nightwing, Dick Grayson). He also meets Wayne's old allies Superman and the Justice League even being offered membership after he saves them from Starro's nefarious plot though he turns it down preferring to work alone like his mentor did.

In the comics he eventually meets and works with Bruce's other ex-partner Dick Grayson.

After Powers' criminal identity is revealed to the public and he finally brings retribution to his father's killer, Terry decides to continue his role as Batman to make up for his past sins, in the hope that it is his chance at redemption. Later in his career as Batman, after Bruce began suffering from kidney failure he ran a DNA test for suitable donors and discovered that not only was he suitable, but also a perfect one, he then learns that he is the biological son of his mentor, who had discovered the truth himself sometime before but kept quiet out of respect for Warren, who was the one who raised Terry. Seeking answers, He then has a confrontation with an elderly Amanda Waller, Bruce's acquaintance from his days with the Justice League, who reveals that she engineered his origin to create a replacement Batman for Bruce Wayne. McGinnis learns that Wayne is his biological father; Waller used nanotechnology to ensure that Bruce Wayne's DNA overwrote the DNA in Warren McGinnis's reproductive cells. She had intended to take things one step forward and recreate the tragic circumstances that drove Bruce into becoming the Batman (by hiring The Phantasm to murder the young boy's parents in front of him), but her hired assassin refused at the last minute. In conclusion, Waller tells Terry that while he does not possess Bruce's level of deduction and analytical skills, he does possess the same heart. Terry while initially disillusioned with who he was eventually reconciles with the truth and continues to have a relationship with Bruce while also planning on proposing to his longtime girlfriend Dana Tan. He is also revealed to have joined the Justice League but like Bruce before him is only a part-timer.

Project Batman Beyond

In the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue", which takes place 15 years after Batman Beyond, Terry discovers the shocking truth about his paternity. When Bruce requires tissue for the cloning of a kidney to transplant, Terry is checked for compatibility. To his surprise, his DNA is almost identical to Bruce's. After hesitating for a time, he runs a DNA test and finds out that Bruce is his biological father. Terry tracks down Amanda Waller, the only person in the world he believes can answer his questions. As he does so, he imagines scenarios where he leaves the people important to himself because he believes his life was a lie.

Terry vents some of his frustration about Bruce and his plans to Waller, only to be surprised when Waller reveals that it was not Bruce who was responsible for Terry's genetic makeup - it was her, without Bruce's consent or even knowledge.

Decades earlier, Waller was the government liaison to the Justice League and she slowly began to realize and believe that Batman was the most capable person in the League; despite not having any powers, his willpower, body strength, and acute intelligence made him the most balanced and reliable fighter in the entire League. Because of this, Waller slowly began to respect and trust Bruce Wayne. However, Waller noticed something as the years went by: Batman was human. As such, he was getting older and more and more unable to handle the day-to-day intensities as a crimefighting superhero. She knew that one day Batman would have to retire, or there would be the chance that he'd be killed by one of his enemies eventually. Fearing that fact and believing the world always needed Batman, she decided to create a new one.

Waller, with old connections to Project Cadmus, gathered the technology necessary for her movement, codenamed "Project Batman Beyond." Bruce Wayne's DNA was obtained from a mission where he got injured - a small blood sample on a piece of gauze left at the scene of the mission. Years later in Neo Gotham, she found a couple that was psychologically identical to Bruce's parents. Warren McGinnis was called in to get a routine flu shot that was actually a Project Cadmus nanotech solution that was used to reconstruct the DNA within his reproductive system to match Bruce Wayne's. A short while later - approximately one year - Mary McGinnis gave birth to Terry, who was a combination of her and Bruce.

Waller executed the final phase of her plan when Terry was eight years old (who was a spitting image of his younger brother Matthew when he was in this age). She hired an assassin - Andrea Beaumont, Bruce Wayne's former fiancée and the enigmatic Phantasm - to kill Terry's parents so that the trauma of seeing his parents murdered in front of him may motivate Terry to someday become Batman. However, Beaumont got cold feet at the last minute and realized that to commit murder in Batman's name would dishonor his legacy. Waller, realizing that Beaumont was right, cancelled the project, resulting in Matt being born later. Nevertheless, eight years later, Terry's father was murdered and the young teen encountered Bruce, sealing Terry's fate. Waller's admission of guilt and affirmation of Terry's destiny allowed Terry to overcome his anger and bitterness. Terry then decided to propose to longtime girlfriend Dana.

According to episode co-writer Dwayne McDuffie, Bruce, as a master detective, becomes aware that Terry and Matt are his genetic offspring at some point after Terry assumes the role of Batman (owing to he has been treating Terry's injuries since he should have stumbled upon this fact), and figures out the machinations of Waller and Project Cadmus; however, he never brings it up out of respect for Warren McGinnis, and because he wants Terry to be his own man. He also comes to love Terry and Matt as his sons.

This project was used in the Batman Beyond original comic book miniseries, with the Beyond version of Hush being a twisted clone of Dick Grayson created after the original Dick was badly injured in a fight; Waller had reasoned that a clone of Grayson would be easier to control than one of Bruce, but the new Grayson went insane, killing most of Batman's survived-but-retired villains and nearly triggering a new earthquake before he was defeated by McGinnis, the original Grayson, and the new Catwoman.

DC Main Universe

The Batman Beyond concept became DC Comics canon in the pages of Superman/Batman issues 22 and 23, wherein Bizarro is transported to an alternate reality somewhere in Hypertime which resembled the Batman Beyond-era Gotham City, with Batman Beyond in action with the 1999 animated black-and-red costume and the 1992 Batplane from the original animated series. This version of the character is in radio contact with Bruce Wayne, but was referred to as "Tim". The Batman Beyond cameo was enough to garner a DC Direct action figure, the character's first in years, listed as "Tim Drake".

Also, in Countdown to Final Crisis, former Robin Jason Todd, former Wonder Girl Donna Troy, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, and Bob the Monitor travel to "Earth-12," which resembles the DCAU's future. They witness from the rooftops someone in a Batman Beyond costume defeating members of the Jokerz gang (although they do not know who is under the mask of the future Batman), to which Jason Todd says: "Huh. The more things change, the more they stay the same." The group speculates that either Tim Drake or Dick Grayson is under the mask. However, The Monitor confirms it is indeed McGinnis.[3]

Dan DiDio announced in a July 2009 questions segment with Newsarama that Terry McGinnis would be appearing within DC Comics again in the future.[4]

The Batman Beyond miniseries began its run on 16 June 2010, set in 2039 Neo-Gotham, revolving around the assassination of anyone who had anything to do with Bruce Wayne's Batman, foe or friend. Dan DiDio stated that this "Terry McGinnis mini-series" is in response to the interest expressed by the "fans of the character."[5] It will be penned by Adam Beechen, a non-DCAU Batman television writer. According to Beechen, the comic book arc will open the door for the "legendary" DCAU to enter into the mainstream DC Universe (comics), tying into both continuities. The series will take place after McGinnis had defeated the reborn Joker and pick up where Bruce Timm initially left off, but years before he learns that Bruce Wayne is his biological father.[6][7][8]

In 2010, Terry appeared alongside Superman in the oversized issue Superman/Batman Annual 2010, where it picks up after their first meeting together taking place in the DCAU, and also jibing with the DCU.

Terry became officially part of the DCU canon in Superman/Batman Annual #4. In "The New 52" reboot following the 2011 Flashpoint comic book crossover, Terry made his debut in DC Comics' latest continuity in 2014.[1]

On October 6, 2010, it was announced at New York Comic-Con that Batman Beyond would start as an ongoing series in January 2011.[9] The series ended with only eight issues in August. However, a new series titled Batman Beyond Unlimited will serve as a return to the Beyond universe. The title will feature Superman Beyond, Justice League Beyond and Batman Beyond starring McGinnis.

Terry McGinnis officially entered mainstream DC continuity in the 2014 New 52 maxiseries, The New 52: Futures End.[1]

Relationships

Bruce Wayne

Despite his role as the second Batman, Terry leads a very different, far less privileged life than Bruce. In addition to coping with his father's death, Terry struggles to keep his double life secret from his mother and younger brother. Because of his responsibilities as Batman and personal assistant to Bruce, he is not afforded the same licenses the Robins enjoyed and is expected to be on the call whenever he is needed. As a result, Terry is just barely successful at balancing out his dual life, on several occasions prompting both men to reconsider Terry's reliability. This is evidenced by him perpetually sleepy during the day, struggling to stay awake for school or to have time for his family and girlfriend.

Terry and Bruce develop an unspoken respect for each other, with Terry regarding Bruce as a surrogate father, not knowing his biological connection to Bruce at first. This is demonstrated in the episode "Sneak Peek" where Terry pays reporter Ian Peek a visit to plead on Bruce's behalf:

Terry: "I don't care what you do to me, but he doesn't deserve this. He's done too much for this city to wind up in the middle of a media circus."
Peek: "He means a lot to you, doesn't he?"
Terry: "Yes... he does."

Even though the stern attitude of Bruce with Terry is meant to ensure that he pushes Terry both emotionally and physically, and even though Bruce can at times be very emotionally distant to the young Batman, there are occasions where he also shows genuine concern and love for Terry. In one instance he defended Terry to Commissioner Barbara Gordon when Shriek held Gotham hostage in exchange for Batman's life:

Bruce: "What are you saying Barbara? That I should just hand Terry over to Shriek?"
Barbara: "No, give him to me. I'll figure out something. I had some pretty good teachers, remember?"
Bruce: "I remember, but you work for a mayor who would sell out the kid at the drop of a hat."
Barbara: "Look, if you've got a better plan..."
Bruce: "All I know right now is this: That kid's done a lot for this city, it's time the city did something for him."

In turn, Bruce initially treats Terry the same way he treated his wards Dick Grayson and Tim Drake. In time, Terry grows into the cowl, and Bruce grows to accept him as his heir to the Batman legacy, demonstrating a great deal of faith in him despite his criminal past; in the episode "Eyewitness," when Terry was framed by Spellbinder for murder, Bruce trusted Terry's claims of innocence even after Barbara Gordon told Bruce that she had seen Terry kill a man. Over time, the generally private Bruce Wayne even told Terry about some of his old enemies and adventures as Batman, such as his old relationship with Selina Kyle, with Terry also doing his own independent research into individuals such as Talia al Ghul, although Bruce rarely discussed the Joker due to the intensely personal nature of his confrontations with the villain and the traumatic final fight they had.

The Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue" reveals that Terry is secretly Bruce's biological youngest son (since Damian, who was conceived via Bruce's tryst with Talia) due to Amanda Waller's "Batman Beyond" project to ensure Batman's continued legacy. The project caused Warren McGinnis to have his DNA re-written into an exact copy of Bruce's when he had what he thought was a flu shot; this would make Bruce the biological father of Terry and his younger brother Matt McGinnis, even though they were born to Warren and Mary McGinnis. When Terry was eight years old, the same age Bruce lost his parents, Waller then hired assassin Andrea Beaumont, AKA: The Phantasm, Bruce Wayne's former fiancée, to kill Warren and Mary as they were coming out of a movie theater with their son, hoping to recreate the same psychological trauma that resulted in Bruce becoming Batman within Terry, but at the last minute Beaumont abandoned the job, believing it would go against everything Bruce stood for: this would eventually lead Waller to completely abort the project - however, Warren's death at the hands of a criminal ironically cemented Terry's destiny as the next Batman. This twist seems to be foreshadowed in a number of Batman Beyond episodes, as references to Bruce being a father figure are occasionally made, both by Terry and other characters, as well as the similarities the two men share. Both of Terry's parents are shown as having red hair in Batman Beyond, which is usually a recessive trait, which would make it extremely unusual for them to have biological sons with black hair. Additionally, at the end of the episode "The Call", Superman implied he knew of Terry's true lineage when Terry said that "Maybe the old man and I do have something in common" and Superman replies "More than you think son, more than you think".

Family members

Terry values his mother, Mary McGinnis, and his younger brother, Matt, as the closest family he has left. At the time of his death, Warren McGinnis was divorced from his wife and their sons split between them; Terry with his father, Matt with his mother. After the divorce, Terry's relationship with his father is shown in the episode "Rebirth" to be strained. The last time they spoke Terry and his father have a heated argument, something Terry is never completely able to forgive himself for (even after finding out that Warren was not his real father). Like Thomas Wayne, Warren's death inspired Terry to fight crime as Batman. After Warren's death, Terry moves back in with his mother and brother.

Even though there exists an obligatory spark of sibling rivalry and tough love between himself and Matt, Terry would be there to raise his brother's spirits when he was feeling down, notably in the episode "Revenant" when Matt reminisces about their father. The Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue" shows that Terry was strongly resembles to Matt as an eight year old. Matt is also an obsessive Batman fan, which is ironic considering that he never realizes his brother and the hero he idolizes are one and the same, and oblivious of his biological relation to the original Dark Knight.

As far as Mary and Matt are concerned, Terry is simply employed by Bruce Wayne to run errands during the series, finding the idea of Terry being Batman to be absurd, ridiculing him when he once attempts to reveal his secret in the episode "Sneak Peek".

In the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue", Terry tells Bruce Wayne that he never once doubted that Warren McGinnis loved him with all his heart, and would have taught Terry right from wrong if the young man had been willing to listen.

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Matt McGinnis is aware of his brother's secret identity after Terry revealed it to him when he rescued Matt from a crumbling bridge. He becomes more active in assisting both Tim and Terry when they take on the mantle of Batman, and possibly hopes to inherit the mantle himself one day. However, in Rebirth, Matt became the new Robin instead. Their mother is also deceased as a result of Futures End.[10]

Max Gibson

Maxine "Max" Gibson, a classmate of Terry's and later one of his closest friends, is an African American girl with short dyed pink hair who attends Hamilton Hill High School with Terry. Her parents are separated, and she has one older sister who often works late hours. Max is exceptionally intelligent and talented with computer programming, even among her peers. It is revealed in the episode "Babel" that the Gibsons own a seal-pointed Siamese cat.

Max becomes curious about Batman after his "return" to Gotham City. Exceptionally skilled with computers and electronics, she creates a program that is designed to uncover Batman's secret identity to satisfy that curiosity. After unmasking Terry (following an incorrect assessment of him being a Jokerz hooligan), Max insists on being a part of his secret life and helps him with everything from computer hacking to coming up with excuses to give his girlfriend Dana. She even expressed a desire to want to be the next Batgirl at some point, but both Bruce and Terry refused to allow that possibility to become a real one.

Max's importance is similar to that of Barbara Gordon's in the comics, as the resident hacking genius. Terry and Max remain close, but their relationship is never shown to exceed the boundaries of friendship, which is in contrast to the relationship between Barbara and Bruce, who were briefly involved. Max is, essentially, Terry's version of Alfred Pennyworth; Terry even jokingly referred to her as such on one occasion.

The show has been revisited several times since its end, in Justice League Unlimited, Static Shock and in the movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, but Max has not been seen or mentioned in any of these. However, she has made an appearance in the fourth issue of the ongoing comic book series Batman Beyond and presently of the first issue of the current Batman Beyond series that was released as part of DC Rebirth,[10] which is part of a separate continuity that is part of the New 52 universe.

Notable episodes

In the episode "Hidden Agenda", Max reveals that she is writing a computer program to analyze all the data available on Batman and deduce his secret identity. She informs her friends Terry McGinnis and Dana Tan that she believes that Batman is a new person in the old suit, and is somehow connected to their school. This concerns Terry, who is in fact the new Batman.

When the school is vandalized by a gang of Jokerz, Max reconfigures her program to search for Jokerz instead. Unknown to her, the vandalism was targeted at her personally: the leader of the Jokerz, Terminal, is actually an honor student named Carter Wilson, and Max's standing is higher than his, outperforming him academically; at the current rate, she will be valedictorian instead of him.

Terry, as Batman, discovers that Max is a specific target and mistakenly believes that it is because of her computer program. He convinces her to stop running the program, but when Max goes to delete it, she learns that it has completed its analysis. Much to her surprise, Terry's name comes up on the list of potential Jokerz, and she becomes convinced that Terry is Terminal and sends him a message, threatening to expose his secret if he does not meet her. Further confusing the issue, Terry does not get the message until late, and Terminal (who was following her) shows up at the meeting place with his Jokerz. Terry arrives as Batman and rescues Max, revealing Terminal's true identity in the process.

Max later admits to Terry that she had thought he was one of the Jokerz, but has now figured out the truth. She goes to delete her program, but Terry advises her that it has already been wiped after Bruce hacked into the school's computer systems. Max then immediately proves herself an asset by providing an alibi for why Terry did not call Dana the previous night when he was saving Max. Max tells Terry that he cannot call her Robin; he instead jokingly calls her "Alfred". (Naturally, she fails to understand the reference, given Alfred's lack of exposure in Batman's exploits to the public).

In the episode "Hooked Up", Max attempts to join Terry on patrol as his partner, even though both he and Bruce do not approve. Trying to prove her worth to Terry, she becomes addicted to Spellbinder's illegal VR technology, but fights off its influence and knocks Spellbinder out before he can injure Terry. Although Terry remains unwilling to allow her to physically assist him, he accepts her as his partner after she helps him defeat Curaré and disarming Mutro Botha's nuclear weapon in the episode "Final Cut".

Terry initially hides Bruce's identity from Max, but Max already has enough information to deduce that Terry's employer is actually the original Batman. In "Where's Terry?", when Terry goes missing in Gotham's maze of subway tunnels, Bruce and Max look for him together and manage to come to an understanding regarding their respective importance to Terry, although Bruce steadfastly refuses to allow her to become involved in rescuing Terry. In times, Bruce and Max eventually become friends, despite the former repeatedly annoyed of her contacting Terry for discussing high school issues.

Dana Tan

Terry flirted with several girls throughout the show, but his main love interest has always been Dana Tan, his Chinese-American long-time girlfriend. In the episode "Big Time," she recognizes Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow by sight, suggesting that Dana and Terry knew each other since their early teens, although in "Rebirth", Terry's mother notes that Dana, Terry's "friend", left him her number, suggesting that they became an item over the course of the series. Despite their commitment to each other, their relationship is strained as Terry struggles early on as Batman to balance his dual obligations. The two have been on the verge of breaking up several times, especially before Terry meets Melanie Walker, AKA Ten of the Royal Flush Gang, but despite being close to breaking up several times over, Dana somehow manages to forgive Terry for his absences, believing that Terry sees Bruce Wayne as a father-figure and doesn't want to fail him. The two are usually shown together many times through the series, including the motion-picture movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.

However, as the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue" reveals, Terry ultimately grows into full acceptance of his role as Batman, and somewhere along the line discloses his secret to Dana. Despite knowing his secret, Dana shows to have accepted his double life and is willing to be with him, even if her safety is threatened. She is also frustrated with the fact that they have been dating for years and have not married. Although it takes him some time to get over his fears for her safety in the event that his identity is ever compromised, the episode ends with Terry planning to propose to her.

In the comics, it was revealed that Dana had a brother named Doug who led an assault on Gotham as the leader of the Jokerz. Dana requests Terry and Bruce's help in finding him, but Doug manages to kill thousands of people by sending a large group of Jokerz as suicide bombers around the city. Doug confronts Dana and her family in the hospital (after he fractured their father's skull), but before Doug can kill them, Bruce manages to call Batman in to save the Tans, eventually resulting in Doug's death. Batman's rescue led Dana to figure out that Terry was Batman and what his connection to Bruce was. Bruce and Terry trusted Dana enough to keep the secret, and Dana's family agrees to implant Bruce with Doug's liver to save Bruce from dying of liver failure.

Melanie Walker/Ten

In the midst of a spat with Dana, Terry meets Melanie Walker and the two become extremely attracted to one another instantly; however, Terry is crushed when he learns she too leads a double life: as Ten, the youngest member of the latest incarnation of the Royal Flush Gang. He discards a note Melanie had left him without reading it, choosing to be with Dana instead in his anger due to the betrayal, leaving Melanie apparently oblivious that her enemy and boy who she's is in love with are the same person.

Terry has additional encounters with Ten and the Royal Flush Gang; each time, he advises her to turn straight, showing that he still cares deeply about her. Their relationship is somewhat reminiscent of the one the original Batman had with Catwoman, and Bruce even notes it. Melanie is later shown to have gone straight and has abandoned the life of a criminal for a normal one.

In a comic book series based from the continuity of the animated series, Melanie is now enrolled in Terry and Dana's college, continuing the love triangle between them. After Batman and Ten stop Inque and Queen from stealing Two-Face's coin, Terry accuses Melanie of stealing the coin, leading the two to break up as Melanie accepts that she can never get Terry to trust her again no matter what she does.

In the 2016 DC Rebirth series of Batman Beyond, Melanie, at that time under rehab supervision by Jack Ryder, burgles Wayne Manor for a picture of Terry, who had moved there with Matt after his mother's death.[11] She later helps Terry against Dr. Stanton, who assumed his son Kenny's identity as Payback,[12] and then against a new Scarecrow. In the course of the latter fight, Terry is forced to unmask himself to calm his mind-controlled brother, thus revealing his secret identity to Melanie, and she is subsequently introduced to the Bat Family.[13]

Commissioner Barbara Gordon

Terry upholds tradition by forging an alliance with Gotham City's police commissioner, Barbara Gordon, formerly Batgirl/Oracle and the daughter of James Gordon. The alliance starts out on an uneasy and sour note, as Barbara never fails to take Terry's juvenile record into account and believes he is too reckless for the role of Batman. The fact that Terry occasionally ruins police stakeout operations by intervening without fully assessing the situation sometimes worsens their relationship. In addition to this, Barbara, actually the last of the Bat-Family to retire from vigilantism, revealed she and Bruce were romantically involved at one point after her ex-boyfriend Dick Grayson left Gotham, but his unwavering focus on his mission strained their relationship and put it to an end, thus having a new Batman appears to have opened up old wounds for her.

Barbara is reluctant to assist the new Batman and to have a teenager as Gotham's new protector and sternly warns him to stay away from police matters. The direct-to-video movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker revealed that Barbara remains haunted by the torture that Tim Drake long ago suffered at the hands of the Joker. She advises Terry to give up being Batman, and once tries to arrest him after he is framed for murder by Spellbinder; however, when the truth comes out, Barbara rewards Terry with a civic service award as an apology. Barbara eventually relents, however, upon realizing that she could not deter him any more than she could have been deterred from being Batgirl.

Barbara eventually warms up to Terry, assisting him when Bruce is put out of action by a revived Joker. She states that she hopes Terry would avoid the lonely existence that Bruce leads. However, Barbara's attitude is different from Jim Gordon's, and she notes once that she is "not [her] father", never working as closely with Terry as her father did with Bruce (i.e. using a Bat-Signal, directly giving him leads, etc.).

In the comics, Barbara works closer with Terry than in the animated series and gives him the necessary information about the criminals they face. She even gives him the opportunity to take the villains down before calling in for police support. She becomes more involved when Terry starts working with her former lover, Dick Grayson. At one point, she and Dick tell Terry that her relationship with Bruce went to shambles because Barbara was seeing both at the same time, while keeping her affair with Bruce secret from Dick. Eventually, this reached the breaking point when Barbara became pregnant from Bruce, who then decided to tell Dick without gaining her consent. Because Barbara would not relent from crimefighting, she suffered a miscarriage, all of which resulted in the bitter end of her participation as a member of the Bat-Family.[14]

In 2011's New 52 reboot of the series, Barbara is slightly younger than she was in the animated series (still retaining her red hair) and isn't hesitant to work with Terry likely due to the extreme circumstances the world was put in thanks to Futures End. When Terry was presumed dead and Tim Drake was Batman, her role as the tech expert was similar to Bruce's role to Terry's Batman.

Dick Grayson

Though Terry never met Batman's former sidekick that was Robin and Nightwing in the animated series, the two did get the chance to meet in the tie-in comic. They work together to bring down Hush (who was a failed clone of Grayson), and Dick helped Terry with handling the Jokerz bombing Gotham and Undercloud. Though Dick was uninvolved in the superhero community for quite some time after losing his eye during a fight between Batman and the Joker, Terry has inspired him to return to the spotlight. When a GCPD detective outs Dick as Nightwing to the public, Terry and Max try to make the public think otherwise by having Terry interrogate the detective as a disguised, older Nightwing while Max plants alibis on the internet. Dick admits the truth to the public without jeopardizing his allies' secrets.

After learning how Bruce impacted Dick and Barbara's romance, Terry loses trust in Bruce and chooses Dick to be his new mentor. Terry finds working with Dick easier than Bruce, because unlike the latter Dick reminds Terry of his commitment to his family and to his education.

Terry also managed to convince the Justice Lord counterpart of Dick to aid him in battling Lord Superman. After Lord Superman is defeated, Dick and Terry's counterpart are inspired by Terry to continue Bruce's legacy and begin their version of Batman Beyond. Dick becomes T's mentor for fighting criminals.

Tim Drake

Although Terry and Tim cross paths in the film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. They don't officially get introduced to one another initially. After Bruce is attacked by a reborn Joker, who had returned through mysterious means and left for dead in the Batcave and Terry himself by the Joker's Jokerz while he was hanging out with his girlfriend. Terry becomes increasingly suspicious and after pressing Commissioner Barbara Gordon, learns of Tim's tragic past as to how and why he was forced to give up being the second Robin following his kidnapping, torture and psychotic break at the hands of the original Clown Prince of Crime and being turned into a miniature version of him after which he ended up killing the villain when ordered to kill his mentor, feeling sorry for him but ultimately concludes that he could very well be the link to the Joker's return and after meeting him he eventually learns to his shock that Tim is the new Joker, albeit unknowingly, prior to his death, the original Joker implanted a microchip containing his DNA and consciousness onto Tim. Terry ultimately defeats the new Joker and frees Tim from the programming. Terry then visits Tim in the hospital as the latter is recovering and gains respect and gratitude from him for saving his life and Tim acknowledges Terry to be worthy of the Batman mantle.

In the comics, Tim appears in Hush Beyond where he reveals he has undergone intense psychological observation due to his time as the reborn Joker, struggling to keep his sanity intact and Terry removes Tim as a potential suspect when he is investigating the returned Hush. Tim then helps Terry by directing him to Dick Grayson, his predecessor and warns the latter that Dick won't be as welcoming as he was. He then appears in subsequent comics offering Terry advice every now and then. Tim however does not involve himself in Terry's superheroic activities due to a deal he made with Bruce after the latter offered him a job in Wayne Incorporated and offered to pay for Tim's children's tuition.

T

T is Terry's counterpart in the Justice Lords timeline. In this timeline, Terry became estranged from his parents (his father is alive in this reality), dyed his hair blond, and became a member of the Jokerz. He was also dating the Justice Lord counterpart of Melanie, who was also part of the Jokerz.

When Terry arrives in his reality in the Justice Lords Beyond story arc, he is disgusted by T's personality and actions as a Joker. He's also upset that T is distant from his parents and doesn't take advantage of his dad being alive in this reality. In the event, Terry's near-sacrifice at the hands of Lord Superman and courage convince T to turn his life around. T and this reality's Dick Grayson assist Terry in escaping and taking on Lord Superman. When Lord Superman is defeated, T gives Terry the chance to talk to his father in return for his actions. T and Dick are inspired by Terry to continue Batman's legacy and he becomes this reality's version of Batman Beyond.

Following this, Terry makes frequent visits to the timeline to monitor T's journey as a hero and becomes increasingly impressed with T's progress. He also takes the time to make visits with T's dad. However, when Rewire blackmails Batman into giving him access to the Justice Lords timeline, Bruce destroys the portal. T and the alternate Dick make one last visit over where T tells Terry that he told his father about his situation and that he wants to see both of them. However, Terry's accepted that T's father will never be his and decides not to go back to their timeline again. He tells T to spend time with his loved ones before they are gone and gives one last goodbye before T and Dick return to their timeline.

Charlie Bigelow

Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow is a con artist who dragged Terry into a life of crime. In the episode "Big Time," Terry reveals his background with Charlie to Max, explaining that the same felony which landed him in juvie for three months had Charlie put away for three years. Guilt-ridden, Terry would e-mail Charlie periodically while he was in prison. When Charlie is finally released, Terry convinces Bruce to give him a job at Wayne-Powers. This turns out to be a ploy by Charlie to aid in a corporate espionage scheme, during which Charlie is exposed to an experimental growth compound and mutated into a monstrous, disproportionate creature.

Despite Terry's friendship with Bigelow and the regret that his time in jail did not reform him, subsequent events in the episode "Betrayal" make clear that Bigelow saw Terry merely as hired muscle, and thus he does not care of ruining lives such as Terry's for his own selfish ends. Terry finally lets go of his guilt toward Charlie and sees him for the monster he really is. Terry and Charlie's friendship is reminiscent of Bruce and Harvey Dent, two best friends who eventually become enemies, another similarity that Bruce notes.

With other superheroes

Terry grew up admiring other superheroes of his day, the Justice League Unlimited. Eventually, he is recruited by Superman to root out a traitor in the team, which turns out to be Superman himself, under the control of the extraterrestrial creature Starro. Though the rest of the team at first distrusts him due to his perceived inexperience, Terry gains their trust by saving their lives and freeing Superman from the alien's mind control. However, he says that he would prefer to be like his mentor and only partially serve on the Justice League.

When Static is sent 40 years into the future from the time of the Static Shock series, he is forced to work with Terry to rescue Static's future self from the KOBRA organization. While Terry doubts his abilities at first, he eventually develops respect for Static. Terry also sees the resemblance in both the teenage and adult version.

Terry seems to have rejoined, as later episodes of Justice League Unlimited show him as a regular member (and possibly leader). In the alternate timeline shown in the JLU episode "The Once and Future Thing, Part 2: Time Warped," Terry fights alongside Static (of that era) and Warhawk. He is killed in the episode, though his death is undone thanks to time travel.

Powers, abilities, and equipment

Even prior to receiving training from Bruce, Terry appeared to be at least a well abled street fighter. In the pilot episode "Rebirth", he is able to fend off a number of Jokerz without aid, and appears to be a member of his high school's wrestling team. As expected of Batman, he engages in regular, rigorous training to minimize his reliance on the Batsuit: under Bruce's tutelage, Terry has honed his body to at least Olympic levels.

Terry has engaged in combat outside of the Batsuit in various instances. His training has granted him exceptional reflexes, enabling him to evade gunfire and make impressive leaping attempts whether in or out of the Batsuit. In one instance, without the suit's aid, Terry survives a fall from several stories high by bouncing off a pillar that is about to crush him and lands on his feet. Terry even defeats his suit in single combat when it is controlled by the computerized consciousness of a deceased business mogul, armed only with the equipment in Bruce's vintage utility belt. Fifteen years after the last episode of Batman Beyond, as Terry reaches his thirties, he is able to get through Amanda Waller's security systems and overpower her guards without the aid of his suit, suggesting that his skills are rivaling his mentor's when he was in his prime.

In "Epilogue", Waller comments that Terry has inherited several of Bruce's qualities: he possesses a high intellect (though Waller notes that Bruce is still the brighter of the pair) and has grown into Bruce's physical stature and build, having been significantly leaner than Bruce was as Batman during the series. Terry tends to rely on Bruce for the intellectual details when in the field, but he has received an amount of detective training from Bruce, allowing him to perform such feats as tracking down Shriek or determining a connection between Joker and Tim Drake when Bruce was incapacitated. Despite his detective training, Terry's ambition is to be a physician, and, under Bruce, he learns to create cures, remedies and antidotes. As a student, his main interests are in health or medical sciences and history; however, his responsibilities as Batman and less-than-stellar study habits have caused problems with his grades, as seen in "The Eggbaby" where he needed to get a good grade on a Family Studies practical assignment in order to pass the class.

As Batman, Terry emulates Bruce's deep, harsh tone. He does this of his own accord, to separate the entities of Terry and Batman (Terry can be heard using his "Batman voice" outside of the Batsuit in the episodes "Shriek" and "Future Shock"). Actor Will Friedle has stated that he believes Terry's "Batman voice" is not just to strike terror into the hearts of criminals, but also to conceal his adolescence.

Terry has a tendency to taunt his opponents: on one occasion, he was able to put the revived Joker off-balance to the point of blind anger. Terry is also capable of using a rather convincing Brooklyn accent when undercover ("Shriek," "Ace in the Hole"). Terry is a skilled motorcyclist, seen hijacking a Jokerz motorcycle in "Rebirth" and using it throughout the series, and has also demonstrated considerable skill in handling a flight-capable Batmobile.

Terry's Batsuit
Terry's Batsuit.

The Batsuit worn by Terry is the last incarnation created by Bruce before his retirement. Though the technology in the suit is at least 20 years old, it is still considered cutting-edge. In addition, after Terry becomes Batman, it is implied that the suit is updated numerous times, and after it is destroyed, he and Wayne are seen rebuilding and modifying it. The cowl in this suit covers the face completely, with the mouth being the only opening. The traditional cape has been eliminated in favour of retractable glider wings under the arms. Thrusters built into the boots allow flight in the absence of wind, although for prolonged long-range flight Terry typically uses the Batmobile. In case the suit is stolen, the circuitry in the suit can be paralyzed remotely from the Batcave.

This Batsuit conforms to the size and physique of its wearer, being able to fit both the physically imposing Bruce and the significantly slimmer Terry. The form-fitting material provides almost no reduction in flexibility, while muscular enhancement technology enhances the wearer's strength and also grants the wearer agility and endurance. The material in the suit is resistant to massive concussive forces (in particular, it was able to take blows from Superman), fire, lasers, electric shocks, water pressure, wind force, bullets and even low levels of radiation. After an episode where Terry nearly drowns, a built-in rebreather is added to allow the user to remain underwater for long periods or breathe in other inhospitable areas.

The suit possesses a two-way audio-visual link with the Batcomputer, allowing Terry to keep in contact with Bruce for superior tactical planning. The same applies to the Batmobile, which will automatically fly to the user's location when summoned. Directional microphones in the fingertips allow the user to hear and record audio through walls or at a distance - this data can then be transferred to a separate Integrated circuit microchip as evidence. Lenses in the cowl's eyepieces transmit visual data to the wearer, allow for various scanning abilities and allow Wayne to monitor Terry's activities from the Batcave, seeing and hearing what he sees and hears and advising him. The cowl's lenses can also scan a number of frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum allowing night vision among other things. However, as the suit's visual capabilities are entirely electronic, the user is effectively rendered blind if they are disrupted.

The suit has several defensive capabilities. A device on the belt can electrically charge the suit to repel close attackers, added after Terry's encounters with the shapeshifting supervillain Inque; this same feature can be limited to just the hands, turning the defensive technology into an offensive one if need be. The suit (and the Batmobile) also possesses a cloaking device that can render Terry invisible to the naked eye - although it cannot, however, filter ultraviolet light. Pads on the feet can be magnetically charged, allowing the user to cling to metal surfaces even when upside-down, mimicking bats' hangings.

The suit's offensive capabilities are also significant. It carries a large number of dispensable Batarangs which, when inactive, are compact enough to be invisible to the naked eye. These Batarangs come with a range of auxiliary functions, such as producing electric shocks or explosions. The Batarangs are usually thrown by hand, but can be fired from a wrist-mounted launcher (which also fires its own "Dark Knight Discuses" in the game). However, there is a limit to the amount of Batarangs the Batsuit can dispense; Batman has run out on at least one occasion. The utility belt is integrated into the suit and carries tracers, flash and smoke pellets, extinguisher capsules, flexicuffs and a detachable buzz saw on the buckle. Retractable claws on the fingers can be used to cut through objects and grip solid surfaces and the forearms are equipped with grappling hooks that can act as bolas.

Finally, the Batsuit possesses a number of other devices to aid in detective work. The right index finger possesses a retractable decoding device for electronic locks, the palms possess polygraph sensors, and the fingers can analyze most substances they are dipped into. Other, less-used devices, such as frequency scanners, also make appearances.

Prototype Batsuit

In the later comics, when Terry's suit was heavily damaged Bruce gave him a spare prototype Batsuit to join the Justice League on a mission. The most notable feature was a cape, and while the suit gave him identical physical abilities, its sensors and communication capabilities were less advanced.

Lord Batman's Synthetic Kryptonite Batsuit

While on a mission into the parallel universe where the Justice Lords reside, Terry found an alternate version of his Batsuit (hidden in the compartment where Bruce kept the prototype suit) built by Lord Batman before his death to counter Lord Superman's powers and abilities, the extra enhancements included force fields, holographic projections, and it featured synthetic kryptonite as a weapon. After defeating Lord Superman, he and Dick Grayson started upgrading his own suit with the enhancements. The upgrades include a new pair of wings on Terry's Batsuit to help him gain better capability in flight, but Bruce rejects the new wings.

The Bat Armor

Seen only twice in the series, the Bat Armor is donned by Bruce in an encounter with Inque, who had kidnapped Terry and was holding him hostage. It is a retractable powered exoskeleton composed of heavy plate armor that enhances the survivability of the wearer, boosting their physical strength and resilience to superhuman levels greater than that of the Batsuit. When retracted, Bruce was able to wear a trench coat over it and not look like he had any considerable increase in body mass, although activating the armor shredded the trench coat in the process.

Bruce created the Bat Armor years earlier in light of his increasing heart problems as a possible replacement for the Batsuit; however, during testing, using the armor nearly gave him a heart attack and he was forced to abandon that option. Understandably, Bruce only uses the Bat Armor in dire circumstances.

This armor is featured in the episode "Disappearing Inque".

In other media
Terry and Bizarro.

DCAU tie-in comics

In addition to having his own ongoing comic book, the Tomorrow Knight made an appearance in Superman Adventures #64, chasing a futuristic version of Brainiac.

Television
  • McGinnis has made a guest appearance on the Batman Beyond spin-off series The Zeta Project. He also appeared on Static Shock in the episode "Future Shock," which involved time travel and a future Static. McGinnis later appears in three episodes of Justice League Unlimited; "The Once and Future Thing, Part 1: Weird Western Tales" (at the very end), "The Once and Future Thing, Part 2: Time Warped," alongside Static and Warhawk. (He is apparently killed in the episode by Dee Dee using their energy whips, though his death is undone later, as the episode's plot involved time travel.) After the timeline is fixed and Terry's death is prevented, Terry is seen 15 years older in the JLU episode "Epilogue," which is centered on him and takes place in his timeline, serving as the series finale to Batman Beyond.
  • McGinnis has a Cameo in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, in the episode: "Night of the Batmen", McGinnis is among the Batmen from other Parrell Worlds to help Batman, Plastic Man, Shazam, Aquaman, and Green Arrow to protect Gotham.
  • McGinnis made his return to television since "Epilogue" to the DC Nation Shorts adaptation of Batman Beyond during the 75th-anniversary celebration for Batman.
  • A wallpaper of McGinnis as Batman is shown in Nightwing's house in the animated series, Teen Titans Go!, although he makes no physical appearance.

Video games

See also

References
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  3. Countdown to Final Crisis #21
  4. "Video: 20 Questions With Dan DiDio, July 2009, Part 2". Newsarama. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  5. "Newsarama by Vaneta Rogers: Monday, August 24, 2007". Newsarama.com. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  6. Ackley Design (2010-03-17). "Batman Beyond Returns!". Big Shiny Robot. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  7. "Beechen on "Batman Beyond"". Comic Book Resources. 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
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  9. "DC Universe: The Source » Blog Archive » NYCC 2010: Batman Beyond Goes from Mini to Ongoing in January". Dcu.blog.dccomics.com. 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  10. Batman Beyond (vol. 6) #1 (October 2016)
  11. Batman Beyond #15 (February 2018)
  12. Batman Beyond #17-19 (2018)
  13. Batman Beyond #24 (2018)
  14. Batman Beyond 2.0 #27 (August 2014)
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