Batman Beyond

We’ve already seen on a number of occasions that DC doesn’t share characters well between the movie and TV branches (with the exception of The Flash), but could Legends of Tomorrow at least stretch its timey-wimey magic to bring us a future Batman? Producers think it’s a stretch, but then again, if fans made Supergirl and Flash’s ice cream power hour happen …

DC Comics hosted a special livestream event at WonderCon in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon to unveil the creative teams behind its DC Rebirth event, which relaunches the entire DC Universe line with new issue #1s and multiple double-shipping titles. The relaunch will set the future course of DC Comics at a time when fans are wondering whether the company will embrace a new and diversifying audience or double down on serving a shrinking core audience. The event was introduced by DC All Access host Tiffany Smith, with DC co-publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio and chief creative officer and Rebirth chief architect Geoff Johns introducing and interviewing the creative teams as they joined them on stage at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

If you thought Prime 1 Studio's Batman: Arkham Knight line was moving onto villains after the announcement of the Harley Quinn, you'll be be glad to hear there are more Batmen on the way. Well, at least one more Batman... one beyond your wildest dreams. Do you get it? Batman? Beyond? A Batman... beyond? I'm talking about Batman Beyond. The Japanese company announced the Batman: Arkham Knight Batman Beyond version as the next statue in its growing series with a teaser picture on its Instagram. As Batman Beyond is the best alternate future Batman, this is of great interest to me. Though there have been a number of Batman Beyond figures released in recent years through the Batman Unlimited toy set and the occasional Mattel Multiverse figure, we've never really gotten a truly spectacle like this statue before. It's going to be expensive as hell, but it's really something else.

Though the past few months have been filled with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad collectible news, DC Collectibles hasn't forgotten about one the greatest toy lines it ever developed. Though it's not been without its issues here and there, the Batman: The Animated Series figure line from DC Collectibles has been a hit for both the company and fans. Though most of this year's releases are already on schedule, DC's seen fit to tease a bit of what's to come in late 2016 and early 2017 ahead of Toy Fair. The reveal comes courtesy of USA Today, where DC Collectibles dished on some brilliant new additions to the expanding line, which will now also include Batman Beyond in the mix alongside B:TAS and The New Batman Adventures. Both Terry and Bruce, along with Ace, will make up the Batman Beyond box set ($50) in January 2017. While that's a long time to wait, it is perfectly timed with a certain writer's birthday, so I tip my hat to DC Collectibles for thinking of me so far in advance.

Ask a generation of cartoon watchers what their prototypical Batman or Superman would look like, and there's a pretty good chance the image that will pop into the heads of many will look a whole lot like a Bruce Timm drawing. Same goes for Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Harley Quinn, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, Robin, Batgirl, Lois Lane and dozens of other DC characters. Timm, born on this day in 1961, has made his career in animation, co-creating Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League, among other shows, but he has arguably had as much of an impact on superheroes as any living comic artist.

Typically, Star Wars and Batman aren't two topics you'd freely associate. Though both are clearly very big players in the genre geek space, the closest you'd come to a crossover of any kind is in some fan art or fan fiction that mashes the two iconic properties together. However, that's not always the case, and sometimes the universe comes together in spectacular, unexpected ways. This past weekend at Rhode Island Comic Con, both Kevin Conroy and Will Friedle were on hand for a "Voices of Batman" panel. It's one thing to get to see the longtime voice of Batman and his futuristic successor in person to chat about their experiences playing different versions of the Dark Knight. It's another entirely to witness them act out one of the most memorable scenes in cinematic history as Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis. That's just what happened when a Batman cosplayer approached the mic, and asked the dynamic duo if they'd re-enact Darth Vader's and Luke Skywalker's exchange in Cloud City.

Costume design is one of the great strengths of the superhero genre, a way to establish distinctive visual shorthand for a character and reveal key details about concept, purpose, and personality. But which is the best superhero costume of all time? This month, we’re asking you to decide, by voting up your favorites and voting down the rest. When we have your votes, we’ll compile a list of the greatest super-costumes of all time. In today's poll we look at some of costumes worn by the members of notorious loner Batman's extended bat-family, including the recently revamped Burnside take on Batgirl, the original Robin design first worn by Dick Grayson, and the same character's much later Nightwing costume.We haven't included the Nightwing costume with the fringe, as we're pretty sure that costume isn't going to win any polls.

Q: Given all that could have gone wrong, what about the concept and execution makes Batman Beyond work so well? -- @caseyjustice A: Something must be going around these days, because I've seen a lot of conversations about Batman Beyond popping up recently. I even got into a little discussion with Jordans Gibson and Witt about a few places where -- at least in my opinion -- the flaws in the show, which I otherwise love, became too big to ignore. That's actually one of the things that made me want to answer this question for this week's column. The other was how you phrased it. See, I've never considered the premise of Batman Beyond to be something that could've easily gone wrong, but you're absolutely right in classifying it as such. To me, it's always been more about how they built that show by taking the two best ideas in superhero comics and putting them together. The thing is, that should've been a pretty difficult marriage -- and most of those flaws that I was talking about show up for that exact reason.

Of all the titles in DC Comics' "Digital-First" initiative, Batman Beyond 2.0 has been possibly the biggest surprise. Kyle Higgins and artist Thony Silas launched a series that expands the beloved Batman Beyond animated series storyline from the 1990s in exciting and unexpected ways, without losing the elements that made the Warner Bros. Animation original so popular, and fans have noticed and responded. The story of young Batman Terry McGuinness and his mentor Bruce Wayne and their adventures in Neo-Gotham, DC recently upgraded the Batman Beyond 2.0 from bi-weekly to weekly, and as of Chapter #25, Higgins brought his C.O.W.L. collaborator Alec Siegel and venerable comics veterans Phil Hester and Craig Rousseau onboard the series for what the team has promised to be a particularly dramatic new movement in the young series, one that includes a return of the Phantasm, one of Batman: The Animated Series' most rarely scene yet fan-favorite foes. During a few spare minutes as San Diego Comic-Con, we stopped by the DC booth to chat with the Higgins and Siegel about their love for the Batman Beyond characters, their collaborative process, "Mark of the Phantasm", and their further plans for the book's future.

Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne are back in action in this new Darwyn Cooke 'Batman Beyond' short in honor of Batman's 75th Anniversary.