Batman Beyond - Story

Story

The pilot episode, titled "Rebirth," begins in 2019, where an aging Batman, equipped with a high-tech Batsuit, takes on the kidnappers of Bunny Vreeland (the daughter of Veronica Vreeland, one of Bruce Wayne's girlfriends). During the battle, Batman suffers a mild heart attack which leaves him unable to fight, forcing him to betray a lifelong principle by threatening a criminal with a gun. By this point, Bruce's allies Alfred Pennyworth, Lucius Fox, Commissioner Gordon, Leslie Thompkins, Renee Montoya and Detective Bullock, as well as most of his rogues gallery, have died. It is implied by virtue of his lengthy career as Batman, and his retaining the Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl costumes, that a tragic occurrence had transpired, causing Bruce to sever his ties with the Justice League and forbid his allies to assume their alter egos (the events which caused all of this are revealed in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker). Ultimately, Bruce reluctantly decides that his time as Batman is over and vows "never again" as he shuts down the Batcave.

The story fast-forwards to 2039 in Neo-Gotham, a futuristic megalopolis featuring staggering high rises and flying vehicles. Bruce is now a recluse living in bitter isolation in Wayne Manor with no companion but his guard dog, Ace. Terry McGinnis is an athletic 17-year-old high school student and reformed troublemaker with a deeply ingrained sense of personal justice, but is currently not on good terms with his father Warren, a scientist for a merged Wayne-Powers. His first act in the series is to defend a fellow passenger on a commuter rail from a member of the Jokerz gang. After trying to defend his girlfriend Dana Tan from a gang of Jokerz, Terry engages in a high-speed chase which leads to the grounds of Wayne Manor, where he runs into the elderly Bruce Wayne. Bruce and Terry fend off the Jokerz side-by-side, but the exertion aggravates Bruce's heart condition. Terry helps Bruce back to the manor and, after Bruce nods off for a bit, stumbles upon the entrance to the Batcave, only to be chased out by a recovered and angered Bruce.

Terry returns home to discover that his father has been murdered, apparently by the vengeful Jokerz. Soon after, he finds out that Warren possessed knowledge of illegal chemical weapons being produced by Wayne-Powers, and that the man actually responsible for his father's murder is Mr. Fixx, the bodyguard of Wayne-Powers CEO Derek Powers. Terry goes to Bruce for help, but Bruce refuses, feeling he is too old and too weak to be of any use. Terry then "borrows" the Batsuit, intending to bring Powers to justice. Bruce initially opposes all of Terry's efforts and vehemently demands he return the suit (at one point paralyzing the suit while Terry is wearing it and in the midst of combat), but Terry convinces Bruce to let him take on the Batman mantle, partially by drawing on the fact they both lost a parent to criminals, and subsequently defeats Mr. Fixx. Realizing that crime and corruption are running rampant in Gotham without Batman's presence, Bruce offers Terry the chance to assume the role of Batman.

Terry's first foe is Powers, now mutated through a combination of deadly chemical gas and radiation into the radioactive monstrosity Blight. Terry soon comes to develop his own rogues gallery: the seductive shape-shifter Inque; the hypnotist Spellbinder; the bitter, deaf sound expert Shriek; the deadly assassin Curare; the insane terrorist Mad Stan; the cybernetically-enhanced African big game hunter Stalker; the nerdy psychokinetic Willie Watt; a new version of the Royal Flush Gang; and the Jokerz, a gang idolizing the notorious Clown Prince of Crime. On occasion, Terry is also forced to face his mentor's old foes, such as a rejuvenated Mr. Freeze; common criminals using Bane's strength-enhancing Venom substance in the form of slap-on patches; the longevous Ra's al Ghul; and even the Joker himself.

Terry also makes allies in Neo-Gotham: Maxine "Max" Gibson is a 17-year-old computer genius who discovers Batman's secret identity and helps Terry with everything from computer hacking to babysitting. Max plays an integral part in Batman's war on crime, essentially as Terry's ersatz Alfred. Terry also forms a begrudging partnership with Gotham City Police Department Commissioner Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl. She is unhappy with the idea of a new Batman, especially a teenager, as she is still haunted by the same subsequent events that led Bruce to retire. However, she knows that she and the police under her command need Batman, whether she likes it or not. Furthermore, she understands from personal experience that she cannot deter Terry any more than she could have been deterred from being Batgirl. She is implied to have been shot in her time as Batgirl, as she mentions to Bruce that the Batgirl costume has had the bullet holes repaired.