Batman Beyond #43 – Dan Jurgens, Writer; Sean Chen, Penciller; Sean Parsons, Norm Rapmund, Inkers; Chris Sotomayor, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: It’s been a wild ride for Terry McGinnis and his allies over the last year, with Terry being mind-wiped and winding up with amnesia just in time for his old arch-nemesis Blight to return. Add in the arrival of Elainna Grayson as a new Batwoman, and it’s been a lot of upheaval. Now Terry’s back in the costume, but it’s pretty clear from the beginning that he’s not fully recovered from all this trauma. He’s quippy, much more like Spider-man as he takes on some armored data thieves, but he’s also rather cavalier with the safety of the villains. It starts out funny, then in the latter part of the issue it becomes clear it’s not at all. He uses high-level weaponry against D-list threats and ignores Bruce’s orders. I would object to this as out of character, but I think that’s the point – Terry isn’t well, and while he has his memories back, it’s likely going to be a whole before he’s back to the person we knew before False Face robbed him of his identity.
There is a lot going on in this issue, as Jurgens sets up multiple new plotlines in only one issue. A new group of radical League of Assassins devotees seems to have overthrown Damian as leader, sending the warrior fleeing to Gotham with Goliath’s help. With Wayne Manor destroyed, Bruce has moved Terry and Matt into a new high-tech Batcave in the city, leading to many puns about it being a “Batsuite”. Dick and his daughter can’t get on the same page about her future as Batwoman, leading Barbara to offer Elainna her support to be Batwoman under her father’s nose. That’s an interesting dynamic between the two original bat-kids. We also learn that Elainna’s mother isn’t around anymore, which makes me wonder if we’ll ever learn more about her. She’s obviously not Barbara or Starfire, or Dick’s love interest Bea from the main title (also written by Jurgens). Lots going on here and lots of unanswered questions, but a solid read.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
