I am really happy DC Comics publishes a series like Batman Beyond Unlimited. Outside of the New 52 continuity, this comic is an anthology series that hearkens back to the days of the DC Animated Universe.
These stories contain lively, cartoony artwork, and continue on with the “Beyond” label with not only Batman, but the Justice League as well. Also, the storytelling is reminiscent of the animated television shows as well, as the stories are simpler, while still maintaining serious themes.
The first story of the anthology is a story of Superman Beyond as he and the Justice League of the future attempt to end a longstanding feud between two alien races, the Mangals and the Trillians.
This was a pretty good story, as the League attempts to end the violence once and for all. Even with the presence of Superman and J’onn J’onzz among the other league members, this proves to be a difficult task. There is major hatred between these two alien races, and there are also major weapons that can cause lots of destruction, and hard to disarm.
Overall, I enjoyed this first story. While its not the first story about warring alien races, it provides a nice platform for the Justice League to intervene in. This is a good challenge for them because they cannot simply overpower this threat. Instead, the Justice League must use their brains, and their words wisely if they want to stop this war. However, it is not easy to simply talk years and years of hatred out of these aliens. Also, The Justice League is unfamiliar with some of the weapons being used, and need some assistance on that front as well. One bonus is that the artist is Howard Porter who has done a lot of major work for DC Comics, and whose art looks great.
The next story in the anthology continues Batman Beyond’s fight against the criminal organization Undercloud. I reviewed the first half of this issue last week when it came out digitally, but when it came out on print this week; the second half of the issue came out as well. After reading the first half last week, I found it enjoyable, but the second half really added intensity and context to the first half. As a result, I enjoyed the full issue much more than the parts they release digitally. I am very about that because I am a huge fan of Batman Beyond.
Undercloud is a vicious and legitimate threat. After viewing the actions of one of their members after the alloy robot is dismantled, there is no doubt that Undercloud is a vicious and murderous organization.
The art by Adam Archer was very good on this Batman Beyond story.
The last story in the anthology is about Justice League Beyond. In a futuristic military school, the final test before graduation is to kill members of the Justice League who have been captured. This group includes Batman Beyond and Warhawk.
For me, the best part of this story was getting to see Warhawk. It is great that the “beyond” characters have a place in the comics. I had a hard getting into the story, but it does not look like its over so I am definitely not going to write it off.
I enjoyed the art. I felt like it had a humorous slant. I am sure if that was the artist’s intention, but I liked the art nonetheless.
Out of the three stories, I would have to pick the Batman Beyond story as my favorite. The stakes were high at the end of the story, and it always great to be back in the futuristic Gotham City. It is really nice to see all the characters again. Adam Archer is keeping the character designs close to the show, but they still look like his own creations.
I am happy DC has a series like this to keep the “beyond” world alive. These were great characters on the cartoon shows and it is nice to see that they have not been forgotten about. I will definitely keep buying this series because the stories are good, and it is keeping an important part of DC history alive.
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