The second season sizzles as a homework-laden
Terry McGinnis faces new foes and flies solo
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So, who has time to be a superhero? Young crimefighter Terry McGinnis has to juggle school, a social life and a part-time job. Big deal, you say? Well, it is when your part-time job is crusading around Gotham City as Batman in the futuristic world of "Batman Beyond." And things don't look any better for Bats in season two.
"We are going to shake things up a little bit," said co-producer Paul Dini. "We're going to bring a couple of new elements into the 'Batman Beyond' mythos."
Those elements include everything from new villains to new allies to Terry flying solo without his mentor, Bruce Wayne, guiding him. Mentor? But isn't Bruce Wayne really Batman? Okay, for those of you who missed out on the first season of "Batman Beyond," here's the scoop: Decades in the future, health conditions have forced Bruce Wayne to give up his Batman guise. Enter 17-year-old Terry McGinnis, whose father was killed by shady businessman Derek Powers. Turning to Wayne for help-[since Wayne's business merged with Powers]-Terry discovered an armored Bat-suit, stole it and became the all-new Batman, with Wayne begrudgingly becoming his mentor.
But in season two, fans will get a much closer look at Terry, with Wayne taking more of a back seat-and in some cases, no seat at all, as Terry will operate completely solo. "We're trying to explore things where Terry is being more of his own man," said co-producer Bruce Timm. "We're also going to be concentrating on Terry's high-school life. We wanted to make it less like the old 'Batman' series and look more closely at how Terry has to cope with doing homework, having a relationship with his girlfriend and being Batman all at-the same time."
Turning the spotlight on Terry's high-school life will also pave the way for a potential new member to the Bat-team. At some point, one of Terry's friends will have close contact with Batman and get drafted into the services as an outside ally, said Dini. Viewers will also be seeing more of the older Batman's former ally Barbara Gordon (a.k.a. Batgirl). Having replaced her father as Gotham's police commissioner, Gordon no longer approves of Batman and his methods. But like her father, she'll slowly find herself drawn to the Tomorrow Knight.
"We're going to see a lot more Barbara Gordon," said Dini. "Sometimes she just has to get involved [with Batman] because there's nothing else for her to do but go along with it. She does come to realize what her father realized that there are times when a city does need a Batman."
Meanwhile, Terry's beleaguered girlfriend, Dana, comes to better terms in season two with Terry's disappearances and preoccupation with his part-time job working for Bruce Wayne (a necessary cover to explain just why Terry's always hanging out with the old man). "We were making her into too much of a bitch," Timm stated frankly. "So we wanted to make her less of a stereotypical angry girlfriend."
But while Dana may be more understanding now, she might not be when she finds out who Terry's hanging out with. Love interest Melanie of the villainous Royal Flush Gang will be making a reappearance to complicate the young hero's life. "She's going to be coming back again to make both Batman and Terry's life hard," said Dini. Other returning villains include the sound-controlling Shriek, the amorphous Inque, the mind-controlling Spellbinder and street gang toughies the jokerz. But as for bigwig baddie Derek Powers, both Dini and Timm don't think he'll be showing up in season two, or possibly ever again. According to them, that storyline ended when the crazed, radioactive Powers was last seen in an exploding submarine.
Still, fear not-plenty of cool, new foes will be making things exceedingly tough for Terry. "We'll be having guest stars, like musician Henry Rollins, who will be voicing a bomber-type guy called Mad Stan," Timm said. In addition, actor John Ritter will be providing the voice for another new menace, an evil, twisted psychiatrist. Also look for a character called Stalker, a weird cross between a biggame hunter and a celebrity stalker. "He's someone who is obsessed by the idea of Batman," said Dini. "He's formed this idea that Batman is an eternal spirit that infuses the soul of the greatest warrior of the time." And if the producers have their way, fans may just see the appearance of Batman's virtually immortal foe: Ra's Al Ghul.
A total of 52 episodes of the hit series have been ordered-39 shows in addition to the original 13-with plans to have "Batman Beyond" join the daily airing of the animated "The New Adventures of Batman/Superman" once a week. But with new villains, a new ally and plenty of girl trouble, season two is shaping up to be Terry McGinnis'worst nightmare. So why continue to don the bat-duds? Don't worry. That'll be answered too.
"You're going to find out some big secrets from Terry's past, especially why he wants to stay being Batman," revealed Dini. "He's avenged his father's death. He's gotten rid of Derek Powers. He's sort of done what he set out to do, why keep doing it? Well, he's got a few dark secrets in his past. By continuing to be Batman, he's trying to exorcise his soul."
Batman Beyond Episode List | Juicealot's Cartoon Database