“Batman Beyond” perfectly managed to combine thrilling superhero action with a great cyberpunk aesthetic. It compliments “Batman: The Animated Series” wonderfully by giving us a futuristic Gotham and a new Batman. Here’s a list of my personal favourite episodes.
- Earth Mover
“Earth Mover” is easily one of the darkest episodes in the series. A schoolgirl fears she may be being stalked. When Batman Beyond investigates, he uncovers a shadowy mystery relating to death of the girl’s father. The big reveal is definitely a little disturbing for a cartoon show aimed at kids.
- Mind Games
Batman Beyond keeps getting visions of a young girl in need of help. It turns out that she has psychic powers. In order to rescue her, he must tackle a group with various psychic abilities. This is another pretty unsettling one but it’s also got some really impressive and creative action scenes.
- Heroes
2-D Man, Freon and Magma are the Terrific Trio. They are clearly meant to be modelled on the Fantastic Four as they start off as heroes. Unfortunately, they become emotionally destroyed and lash out rather violently. It’s great to see some other heroes and I think it’s quite funny to this episode take a shot at Marvel.
- Shriek
Batman Beyond tangles with a dangerous criminal, Shriek, who uses soundwave manipulation as a weapon. The fight scene where Shriek manages to stop all the sound inside a factory is very creative. It’s also great seeing Derek Powers pulling the strings.
- The Call Parts I & II
If you were wondering about what the futuristic Justice League must be like, “The Call” shows you. Batman Beyond teams up with the Justice League. We get a thrilling plot where the whole world is at stake and Batman Beyond must defeat all the members of the Justice League when a sinister entity takes control of them. It’s so satisfying to see Batman Beyond fight Superman.
- Black Out
Batman Beyond faces Inque, a shapeshifting mercenary. She’s got some impressive moves and proves to be a real challenge for our hero. It’s a solid episode with some spectacular action.
- Out of the Past
Talia al Ghul returns and promises the elderly Bruce Wayne that he can have his youth restored so that the two of them can live their lives together. However, not everything is as it first seems and Batman Beyond must ultimately rescue his mentor from the clutches of an old foe. While the twist is undeniably a little creepy, it’s actually pretty clever.
- Spellbound
The episode that introduced Spellbinder. His powers allow for some really creative sequences where Batman Beyond is forced to figure out the difference between fantasy and reality if he hopes to survive. It reminds me a lot of some of the Scarecrow episodes from “Batman: The Animated Series”.
- Meltdown
Mr. Freeze is back. It seems that he is now a law-abiding citizen. However, when he’s betrayed, he reverts to his vengeful ways. We also get to see a three-way fight between Batman Beyond, Mr. Freeze and Blight (Derek Powers).
- Rebirth Parts I & II
The episodes that started it all, “Rebirth” brilliantly introduces us to characters and the setting. We meet the young Terry McGinnis as he is eventually taken under Bruce Wayne’s wing and becomes the new Batman. It also introduces the Jokerz gang as well as businessman Derek Powers, who becomes a recurring villain.
Honourable mentions:
Zeta and The Winning Edge