Batman Beyond: Celebrating 20 years of The Tomorrow Knight

Following on the footsteps of a critically acclaimed animated series based on DC's flagship hero is no small feat, let alone being a drastic idea of a sequel that pushes forward some decades past The Dark Knight's prime and seeing a new successor take on the mantle of the bat altogether. That pretty much sums up 1999's "Batman Beyond" - the futuristic sequel to "Batman The Animated Series" and "The New Batman Adventures" and created by the triple threat team of Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett. Set primarily in the year 2039, the story follows Terry McGinnis - a young teenager living in Neo-Gotham who meets the elderly Bruce Wayne and stumbles upon his secrets during his days as the Caped Crusader. After crime and corruption claim the life of Terry's father and circumstances see the need for new blood to defend his city, Bruce reluctantly takes the headstrong youth under his wing and trains him to become the new Batman.

Released in 1999, Batman Beyond became a critical and commercial success - thanks in no small part to the brilliant writing and animation put together by the team of Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and the rest of Warner Bros. Animation. Reprising his role as Bruce Wayne of course is Kevin Conroy - the voice of Batman - who plays the mentor role this time around as the spotlight now turns to Terry McGinnis/ Batman Beyond, who is voiced by Will Friedle.

Batman Beyond Intro (HD Widescreen)
As the show explored a time when Bruce's life moved ahead and many of his allies and villains have either grown older, retired, or died - the series reflects the toll and consequences his crusade has taken on him - his last outing (ironically set in 2019 in the Pilot epiode "Rebirth Part 1") as Batman almost cost him his life and an act of desperation caused him to almost rely on the very weapon that took his parents life - leading to his subsequent retirement and life as a recluse. However because crime never sleeps and villains new and old continue to prey on Gotham and the innocent, he is forced to reevaluate his self-imposed exile and lend his knowledge and wisdom to a new ally in Terry McGinnis. Most of Batman Beyond's episodes deal with the growing relationship and respect Bruce and Terry have as mentor and student - as both face enemies from the past and a new rogues gallery that has risen in the wake of the new Batman's emergence. Terry's crusade would see him face off new opponents like Inque, Shriek, Spellbinder, and Wayne's corrupt business rival partner turned mutant Blight, while also encountering his mentor's own adversaries who have returned in the future such as Mister Freeze, Ra's Al Ghul, and later the Clown Prince of Crime himself in the animated movie feature "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker".

As someone who grew up idolizing and admiring the adventures of the one true Batman, Batman Beyond is undoubtedly a worthy follow-up to the saga of The Dark Knight and now stands with its own legacy 20 years later. The show has spawned various merchandise, toys, and multiple comic book sequel series and spin-offs, and has become a part of the DC Multiverse canon altogether. As Frank Miller told the story of an elderly Bruce Wayne returning to fight crime in his "Dark Knight" universe of stories, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini have done the same with Old Man Wayne in their DC Animated Universe and giving him a worthy successor in Terry McGinnis. If you haven't watched this show - you are truly missing out. As they would say in 2039 - it is very "Schway".