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".

Flashback Friday: Sonic The Hedgehog celebrates 25 Years!

In what is certainly a milestone for one of the most recognizable characters in video game history, SEGA honored its most famous blue mascot Sonic The Hedgehog - as the "way past cool" hero and freedom fighter celebrated his 25th anniversary!

Naturally, Sonic's origins stem way back in 1991 with the release of the original "Sonic The Hedgehog" video game for the Sega Genesis/ Mega Drive 16-Bit platform on June 23, 1991. That game introduced us to the blue hedgehog as he fought to stop the evil Dr. Robotnik from conquering his world and enslaving his friends by turning them into robots. That platform title was a hit, and spawned an immediate sequel the next year with Sonic The Hedgehog 2, followed by a 3rd game and then more spin-offs that eventually led to the birth of a franchise.


25 Years of Sonic the Hedgehog!
To celebrate 25 years, SEGA has released a video for Sonic's birthday!

Flashback Friday: Spider-Man: 1981 TV Series turns 33 years!

Just in time for Flashback Friday and remembering an old superhero cartoon goodie, a certain show featuring our friendly neighborhood webslinger just turned 33 years old this day, and that's the 1981 Spider-Man Animated Series by Marvel!

As a kid, it was one of the first superhero shows I saw next to SuperFriends, and THE FIRST Spider-Man cartoon I was introduced to! Voiced by Ted Schwartz, Peter Parker/ Spider-Man had many adventures in the show that saw him clash with many of his greatest enemies - including the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, and even Doctor Doom!

And then there's that classic intro sequence from the show... Ah memories!

Spider-Man 1981 TV Show Intro
With Spider-Verse up on the horizon this November and so much already gone and done for the character's legacy, Spider-Man truly has come along in an AMAZING way!

Flashback Friday: Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman and "Chase Me"

With this being the FINAL Flashback Friday and following the commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm", it's time to delve a little bit further back to Batman lore and celebrate another animated Bat-film and it's accompanying short's 10th Anniversary.

Released in October 21, 2003, Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman was one of the final animated films released that was set on the DC Animated Universe and set on the same timeline as Batman: The Animated Series/ The New Batman Adventures. The film introduced viewers to a new "Batwoman", one heavily inspired in design by the costume worn by the Batman of The Future himself, Terry McGiness, aka Batman Beyond.

"Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman" (2003) Trailer
As the title notes, the identity of this Batwoman remains a mystery... Even to the deductive and brilliant mind of Batman himself. Wearing the symbol of the Bat, this Batwoman operates on a more ruthless scale, and takes down criminals and mob bosses like Penguin and Rupert Thorne without any moral restrictions like The Dark Knight and his allies practice. Ultimately, the plot thickens as Bane arrives, and the "identity" of the Batwoman is found to be quite the surprise.

Following the success of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, a film set on the timeline of The New Batman Adventures was inevitable, and Mystery of the Batwoman does not fail to entertain and does a good job of showing how intrinsic and elaborate Batman's universe can be. The Batwoman mystery was a good way of introducing a version of the character to the DC Univcrse, not to mention tying things in to Batman Beyond in a certain degree. In fact, some years later would see DC Comics adapting that approach and bring a regular Batwoman with a "Batman Beyond" inspired design to regular DC Continuity, with Kate Kane becoming the modern AND New 52 version of Batwoman to date.

Aside from the main feature of this direct to DVD release, Mystery of the Batwoman also included a short silent film featurette called "Chase Me", which saw The Dark Knight going after his on-and-off love interest Catwoman in, as you'd expect, a grand chase. The jazzy and excellent musical score just punctuates the feeling of this great showcase right here.

Catwoman: Chase Me
So there you have it... Happy 10th Anniversary to Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman and Chase Me! Next year, 75 years of Batman celebrated!