Batman Beyond #41 – Dan Jurgens, Writer; Sean Chen, Penciller; Sean Parsons, Inker; Chris Sotomayor, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The addition of the new Batwoman has kicked Batman Beyond into high gear, and the reveal last month that Dick Grayson’s daughter Elianna is under the mask was a great cliffhanger to set us up for this penultimate chapter in Batman Beyond #41.
An amnesiac Terry has been captured by Blight and his minion Constance, with the plan to place Derek Powers’ mind in his body. With the countdown to Derek going nuclear getting closer, an injured Batwoman reenters the fray to try to save Batman before it’s too late. The best part of the first half of Batman Beyond #41, though, is definitely the interaction back at Wayne Manor as Dick tries to grapple with the reveal that his daughter followed in his past after all. I’m amused that they keep dancing around who Elianna’s mother is (her name is never said), but I’m very pleased to see this book sink the Bruce/Babs ship from the past continuity hard and hint at some more Dick/Babs.
Dan Jurgens has quietly established himself as one of the best Dick Grayson writers, writing him excellently as both an amnesiac twenty-something in Nightwing and a grizzled fifty-something here. Maybe he should get to write him at his baseline for a while?
The end of the issue delivers some of the tensest storytelling in awhile, as the mind transfer hits one problem after another and Terry gets his memory back in an unexpected way. Constance pushes too far, Batwoman arrives at the exact right time, and a daring escape leaves Blight without a body and with only hours before he hits critical mass – so he plans a final assault on Wayne Manor for next issue. After a tricky start due to past stories, this book has really found its footing as a great modern reinvention of the cartoon. It’s certainly made me want to go back and binge the original.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
