Batman: Beyond the White Knight #1 – Sean Murphy, Writer; Dave Stewart, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: It looked like the White Knight universe was over, with Bruce Wayne in prison for a long time and the Harley Quinn miniseries tying up loose ends. But this new series gives us a time jump and a new twist. Not surprisingly, it’s a reinvention of the most famous next-generation Batman story—Batman Beyond. As the issue opens, a young Terry McGinnis raids the ruins of the Batcave and recovers an experimental Batsuit equipped with flight and razor blades. Sure enough, it soon tears through guards and largely takes over for Terry as he flies towards his destination—the base of Derek Powers, who has taken over much of Wayne Enterprises and plans to create a new, more militarized version of the Bat-legacy. It’s a full-on noir reinvention of the classic cartoon, and I’m not sure the two tones really mesh well together, especially with DC doing a much more faithful continuation of the show.
But the segments that focus on Bruce and the old supporting cast are much stronger. Bruce is still locked up, largely keeping peace in the prison and awaiting a parole hearing. Jason Todd, as head of the guards in the prison, is able to find some peace in his complex relationship with his mentor (and will be getting a spinoff soon, it looks like). There are some unique twists to his places in the Bat-family as well. Meanwhile, Harley is raising her twins, now teenagers, and while her son Bryce seems well-adjusted, her daughter Jackie is quickly turning into Punchline Jr. Might have something to do with the names, maybe? Overall, this is a fast-paced first issue that drops a whole lot of twists and sets up some intriguing new directions, but its roots as a dark-and-edgy reboot hold it back a little. The cliffhanger was predictable, but I’m not sure it’ll push this story forward. Still, overall intriguing.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
