Batman Beyond #48 – Dan Jurgens, Writer; Paul Pelletier, Penciller; Norm Rapmund, Inker; Chris Sotomayor, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: For the final arc of Batman Beyond, Dan Jurgens is throwing everything at the wall – combining surprising plot threads from the last decade-plus of stories he’s done for DC Comics long before this series. And it wouldn’t be a Dan Jurgens finale without Booster Gold, of course. Things get started in a hurry when Terry and Matt arrive back at Bruce’s base – only for Bruce to turn on them viciously, attacking them with drones and seemingly killing Matt. Before Terry can respond, he’s saved by Booster, who tells him this is the result of a brainwashing trap that happened in the past and they need to go back. This is kind of an odd partnership, since Terry is enraged at Matt’s death and more intense than he has been over the course of the run – while Booster and Skeets, as always, are jokey and fun even in the middle of the biggest crisis. That leads to some awkward moments as Terry seems ready to attack Booster at a moment’s notice.
From there, Booster and Terry teleport back into the past to Bruce before he can have a telepathic suggestion implanted in his mind to turn him into a killer – but they can’t actually make contact with him or risk destabilizing the future. The arrival of the main villain of the issue is a surprise – it’s Blanque, the evil telepathic supervillain who was the arch-nemesis of the older Superman from the pre-Flashpoint world. The events of Superman Beyond made that timeline irrelevant, but Jurgens remembers his creation and brought him back for one last hurrah. Blanque was always a strong villain, kind of like a supervillain Hannibal Lecter minus the cannibalism. But it’s another unexpected reunion when Terry rescues a little boy from a fire that provides the issue’s biggest surprise. The plot moves so fast it’s a bit dizzying, but I think Batman Beyond is headed for a strong finish.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
