Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		5.0

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

A first-rate animated series in the Batman mythology shines on Blu-ray

Reviewed by Neil Lumbard November 12, 2019

One of the greatest DC animated universe series to date, Batman Beyond is a high-tech and futuristic animated series which continues the Batman legacy with all new heroes and villains set within the world of Gotham City. Inspired by the legacy established by Batman creator and comic book legend Bob Kane, Batman Beyond takes place over forty years following events established in the original Batman: The Animated Series and the follow-up works as a perfectly fine-tuned sequel.

Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy, reprising his iconic role from Batman: The Animated Series) has to put up his beloved Bat-suit. As a mortal superhero, Bruce Wayne ages like any other human being on the earth. As an elderly man the once unstoppable hero is now unable to fight crime as well as he used to and an unexpected heart-attack during a fight forces him to put aside his cape. Enlisting the help of a teenage boy named Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle), the duo work together to fight new bad-guys in the futuristic landscape of Gotham.

Much like Bruce Wayne, a murder-scene shapes Terry McGinnis into Batman. The life of his father is stripped away at the beginning of the series. Having lived with his father (who was separated from his mother), the young hotshot hero now moves in with his mom Mary McGinnis (Teri Garr) and younger brother Matt McGinnis (Ryan O'Donohue). Wanting to avenge his father's murder, Terry seeks to meet Bruce Wayne (and the rest is history). Terry must transform into Batman and work with Bruce Wayne (behind-the-scenes) to help save his city from a new age of diabolical villains.

Unlike Bruce Wayne, Terry attempts to have more of a love-life and tries to find time to spend with his girlfriend Dana (Lauren Tom). Yet the Bat-suit and hero duties keep getting in the way time and time again. In the sophomore season of the animated series, a African American girl named Max (Cree Summer) is transformed into Terry's side-kick (in a role which often mirrors that of Robin). The collaboration of Bruce, Terry, and Max is sometimes the exact mix needed in order to save the day. With Barbara Gordon (Stockard Channing) aiding as commissioner, the story and universe of Batman expands greatly with Batman Beyond.

One of the elements which differentiates Batman Beyond from the original Batman: The Animated Series is the way in which the family-dynamic plays an important role in the life of Terry McGinnis. The mythology is expanded through this development. Even though Terry faces the tragedy of losing his father, Terry still has his mother and younger brother as a part of his life (unlike the horror Bruce Wayne faced when both his parents were brutally murdered before his eyes). The Batman story also develops newfound depth as Bruce Wayne becomes a father-figure to Terry (while Bruce gains family of his own by mentoring Terry as a new-age hero).

"Hurry up, Bruce! I have Batman Beyond on Blu-ray! Our home movies! Make some popcorn!"

Batman Beyond is everything one would want from a futuristic take on the Batman story. With a bold new Gotham inspired by Blade Runner, the animation on the series is truly remarkable to behold. The bold animated landscapes and futuristic gadgets look remarkable throughout the entire series run. The Batman Beyond suit looks fantastic and is unbelievably cool while making its own mark on the Batman storyline. The series oozes badassery which is impossible to ignore. To borrow Terry's signature line: Schway!

The first season is the best of the series with the strong dynamic between Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis taking shape at the forefront of the production. This element was always one of the most exciting things about Batman Beyond and a good reason to tune in to the program every week. During the second and third seasons there was less time devoted to the new Batman working alongside Bruce Wayne (with greater emphasis on Terry working with Max). While all three seasons are a true joy to experience, the debut season remains the absolute best for this reason.

Season 1 has classic episodes such as “Rebirth Part 1”, “Rebirth Part 2”, “Meltdown”, and “Ascension” while Season 2 fan favorites includes “Splicers”, “Eyewitness”, “Sneak Peek”, “The Eggbaby”, and “Zeta.” The final season also has gems such as “The Call” and “Unmasked.” Each episode of the production has creativity and originality in spades.

Kristopher Carter composed excellent electronic music for the series run (while iconic cues created for Batman: The Animated Series by composer Shirley Walker also get another opportunity to shine). The series has excellent writing and direction (with new villains and memorable new characters adding to the Batman mythos). The staff of Batman Beyond brought originality and wonder to the table and helped shape the creation while remaining true to the legacy of what came before. Combined with memorable guest voice- actors including the likes of William H. Macy, Tim Curry, Patton Oswalt, George Takei, and Mark Hamill (reprising his role as The Joker for Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker), Batman Beyond creates a recipe that any and all Bat-fans can expect to look forward to.

Having grown up watching every episode of the series as it originally aired on network television, it's been a joy revisiting Batman Beyond after so many years. Producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, and Glen Murakami created a classic that stands out as one of the greatest animated series in DC animation history. From beginning to end, it was a blast to re-watch all three seasons of the series. The kid in me was smiling the entire time. Batman Beyond is a futuristic classic (pun intended!) that still manages to be just as action-packed and exciting as it was when it originally aired on TV. Don't overlook this animated gem.

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from WB, Batman Beyond features a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation in the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The series has been newly remastered using the best available elements. 41 episodes from the series run have been given excellent new scans from the original 35mm source footage or from the digital camera negatives. The remaining 11 episodes did not have available prints for brand new scans to be produced (due to time-related damage to the original materials) and were given an upscaled presentation utilizing a standard definition source.

The affected episodes are mostly from the second-half of the second season (and there is one episode of the third and final season which was also affected). The affected episodes were each presented with an upscaled presentation as follows:

Season 2:

"Eyewitness", "Final Cut", "The Last Resort" "Armory", "Sneak Peek", "The Eggbaby", "Zeta", "Plague", "April Moon", "Sentries of the Lost Cosmos"

Season 3:

"Speak No Evil"

There is a lot to chew on with regards to the release of Batman Beyond. The first season arguably looks the best of the three seasons and has a filmic appearance which is impressive. The original scans show some minor signs of dust and debris on the prints which were not removed from the source animation (in order to preserve the quality of the cell animation). Some DNR (digital noise reduction) has been applied to the image. Though a presentation featuring DNR is never preferable to one without it, the degree of digital noise reduction is less obtrusive here than what was found on the release of Batman: The Animated Series. Colors are robust and have never looked better than they do on this release. The often shadowy and futuristic landscapes look stunning. Though the picture quality for season one will never look as pristine as an entirely digital production, there is a beauty to the film scans which makes the experience feel more cinematic.

The second season is an improvement over the first with regards to the amount of dirt and minor wear found on the source footage. The first disc of the season has more impressive scans showcasing the series with bold colors and beautiful line artwork. The majority of the second half of season 2 is upscaled from the standard-definition source and the results are comparatively underwhelming. The line art is not as crisp throughout and though the image has a modest boost from it's original standard-definition source animation it's simply not as pretty to look at.

Detail is not as impressive on the upscales and there are other drawbacks worth mentioning as well: the movement is not as fluid and can sometimes appear a little choppy compared to the smooth frame-rate appearance on the scans from the original negatives. This is especially noticeable on the "Eyewitness" episode. The animation doesn't shine as much with these presentations and the difference in quality is immediately noticeable. The average quality of the upscaled episodes is disappointing but given the lack of quality materials WB attempted to give viewers the best possible presentation. If there is any positive, there are no signs whatsoever of any dirt or debris on the upscaled episodes as the source is completely digital so there is no time-related wear to the footage.

In reaching the third (and final) season, the animation in Batman Beyond has a significantly different appearance. The animation has a digital sheen which also lacks any signs of dirt or debris but has a boost in resolution and detail. With the exception of the upscaled episode "Speak No Evil" some viewers might even find the third season to look the best of the bunch (though I prefer the more cinematic style of the season-one scans). The DNR is a bit more noticeable on these episodes and elements such as line-art are affected. However, most viewers will likely find the application of the DNR less obtrusive than on a film-based presentation and the colors appear significantly more robust and beautiful.

While Batman Beyond fans hoping for a more"digital" appearance to the animation will prefer the presentation on Season 3 to the previous seasons, to reiterate: Season 1 looks stunning and to have the animation scanned from the film-based source was something that shows a lot of extra care went into the production of this Blu-ray release. If there was any drawback, it's a minor error noticed in the first episode of season one. During a sequence in which Batman has a heart attack, the strobe light special effects showcased over the animation are no longer found. The scene feels every bit as effective but fans might take issue with the error: the special effect was most likely added in post-production and was therefore not on the original film scan. Other than this minor issue, the season looks great.

Lastly, a few words need to be said about the presentation of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. The disc remains the same (it is bit-for-bit identical) to the original Blu-ray reviewed by Blu-ray.com critic Kenneth Brown here. It's an excellent presentation which fans will continue to find pleasing in regards to color reproduction and clarity. However, the release of the Batman Beyond series on the Blu-ray format seemed to be a perfect opportunity for the feature-film to be revisited with a reconstructed remastering.

Unfortunately, WB did not take the time to re-create the widescreen version of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (originally released in a letterbox format on DVD). The production of the DTV feature seems to have been poorly thought-out with regards to the aspect ratio presentation. The image was composed with a open-matte full-frame aspect ratio (as is found on the Blu-ray presentation) but the image was animated with a widescreen scope ratio in mind (cropping out the top and bottom). Though that does result in a loss of some animation, the artists created storyboards for the film in this style so it would have been wonderful to see the widescreen version included. Perhaps WB could reconsider the decision to only provide the full-frame version and a 4K remastered reconstruction of the widescreen film could one day be released as well. (Fingers crossed.)

While there are some minor drawbacks to the Blu-ray debut of Batman Beyond, the release is still exceptional on the whole. Having grown up watching the series as it originally aired on broadcast television, I never expected to one day find such a wonderful presentation of the entire series to be available on home media. WB has done a terrific job in bringing together the best available source elements to create this collection and fans will absolutely enjoy revisiting the show with such a high quality release The bold, futuristic Blade Runner inspired animation has never looked better than it does here. An impressive effort.

Please Note: Screenshots #1-#10 are from Season 1. Screenshots #11-15 are from Season 2 (and showcase the upscaling). Screenshots #16-20 are from Season 3.

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release features an exceptional quality DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 sound presentation. The quality of the track is consistently impressive with excellent bass and overall dynamic punch to the series sound-mix. Dialogue reproduction is exceptionally crisp and clear from start to finish. Each of the three seasons has excellent detail with the lossless, high resolution sound making a great impression. From the essential electronic score to the action-packed sound effects during high-octane moments in the series, the sound presentation is superb. Even during the episodes featuring a standard-resolution upscale (with regards to the source video) do not exhibit noticeable drawbacks with regards to the audio fidelity. The presentation is consistently strong and the quality is commendable.

By comparison, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker sounds a little flat and less dynamic than the series itself. It's a fine audio presentation but the audio mix seems a tad outdated now by comparison. For more information on the audio for the feature film, please refer to the original review by Kenneth Brown.

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release is jam-packed with supplemental features new and old. The release contains the original bonus features previously released on DVD in addition to some brand new surprises. The release also comes packaged with a Chrome Batman Beyond Funko figure and a set of lenticular art-cards. The set features digi-pack style packaging and will look right at home on the shelf next to the deluxe edition of Batman: The Animated Series and features a shimmery design with superb embossing on the box. The Funko figure seems like a throw-away addition (and one can see reflections on the figure) but the nice art-cards (with superb lenticular effects) and deluxe packaging are worth the wait.

The on-disc extras are as follows -

Disc One:

Audio Commentary on "Rebirth" featuring producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, and director Curt Geda.

Audio Commentary on "Shriek" with producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, director Curt Geda, and screenwriter Stan Berkowitz.

Music of the Knight (SD, 15:00) is a short featurette which includes an introduction by producer Bruce Timm where he discusses the significance of the score music and it's importance to the series production. The extra also includes a sequence of short clips from the series with isolated score music.

Inside Batman Beyond: Meet the Series Creators (SD, 9:42) is a fun humor-filled extra featuring a sit-down discussion with the series showrunners, including producers Bruce Timm, Glen Murakami, Alan Burnett, and Paul Dini. The creative team discusses the development of the series from its initial inception. The panel features moderation by Jason Hillhouse.

The disc also includes Trailers (HD, 3:54) for The Death and Return of Superman and Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans.

Disc Two:

Audio Commentary on "Splicers" by producers Bruce Timm & Glenn Murakami, storyboard artist James Tucker, iconic voice-director Andrea Romano, and Terry McGinnis (aka "Batman Beyond") voice-actor Will Friedle.

Disc Three:

Audio Commentary on "The Eggbaby" by producer Bruce Timm, director James Tucker, producer Glen Murakami, voice-director Andrea Romano, and voice-actor Will Friedle.

Inside Batman Beyond: The Panel (SD, 11:51) is a panel discussion featuring series producers Bruce Timm, Glen Murakami, Alan Burnett, and Paul Dini as the creative team discusses the second season and changes made to the production since its debut season. The group talk about the addition of some new characters and some of the most successful episodes produced during season two and why they found these storylines to be essential to the series and its development.

Disc Four:

Inside Batman Beyond: Season 3 Panel (SD, 9:30) is a sit-down discussion featuring producers Bruce Timm, Glen Murakami, Alan Burnett, and Paul Dini discussing the development of the third (and final) season of the series. The producers discuss some of their favorite moments during season three and their surprise when it came to the series final episode (which remained unaired for quite some time until it was broadcast on Cartoon Network as a special during syndication). The series was never officially given a cancellation notice but it was never picked up for a season four (thus ending the production run). There are insightful tidbits of information from the creative team that are well worth exploration by series fans.

The disc also contains an assortment of featurettes discussing the third season outing. There is a "Play All" (SD, 19:52) option on the menu or viewers can select individual featurettes to play one-by-one.

Inside Batman Beyond Season 3: Close- Up On... is a short featurette with a sit-down panel including producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, directors Butch Lukic and James Tucker, and voice-actor Will Friedle (Terry McGinnis/Batman) as they delve further into their favorite moments from the third season of the series and what resonated with them the most during the series run.

Inside Batman Beyond Season 3: Out of the Past (SD, 4:32) is a fun (if brief) featurette including a sit down panel with Bruce Timm, Will Friedle, Paul Dini, and director James Tucker as the creative team discusses "The Legend of Batman" musical in a fan-favorite episode and the idea behind the creation of a full-length musical episode for during the series run.

Inside Batman Beyond Season 3: The Call (SD, 6:19) is a sit-down discussion featuring producer Bruce Timm, Will Friedle, Paul Dini, and director Butch Lukic as the creative team discuss the two-parter entitled "The Call" and their reactions to the production. It's a particularly interesting piece that offers plenty of insights into the views of the creative team.

Inside Batman Beyond Season 3: The Call – Part 2 (SD, 4:12) is a follow-up piece to the sit-down discussion featuring Bruce Timm, Will Friedle, Paul Dini, and director Butch Lukic.

Inside Batman Beyond Season 3: Curse of the Kobra (SD, 4:48) is a sit-down discussion featuring series producers and showrunners Bruce Timm, Will Friedle, Paul Dini, and James Tucker as they discuss the events which unfold in the action-packed two-part production.

Disc Five:

On the exclusive bonus disc featured in the complete series collection, there are a number of enticing supplemental features for series fans to appreciate. The bonus features disc includes the following:

Nostalgic Tomorrow – A Batman Gathering (HD, 53:19) is a new roundtable discussion featuring the widest group of creatives involved in the production of Batman Beyond to date: producer Bruce Timm, iconic Batman voice-actor Kevin Conroy, Terry McGinnis voice-actor Will Friedle, director James Tucker, producer Glen Murakami, voice-director Andrea Romano, and series screenwriters Bob Goodman & Stan Berkowitz.

This is the most exciting new supplemental feature to be included on the release. There are some truly insightful memories shares from during the development of the Batman Beyond series. Topics range from the original working titles of the series (which included the likes of "Tomorrow Knight") to the initial reactions from Batman fans and the executive-led pitch which ultimately brought Bruce Timm and company into the creation of the show. A must-see for series fans.

Knight Immortal (HD, 34:50) is a new and awe-inspiring tribute to the iconic hero with a cape: Batman! The piece delves into the history of Batman and the character's origins in the comics to the ongoing development of the character throughout television, film, and animation. From the original Adam West Batman to Christopher Nolan's darker take with The Dark Knight Trilogy, the legacy of pop-culture's beloved hero is discussed.

Tomorrow Knight: Batman Reborn (SD, 10:31) is an engaging featurette delving into the dynamic relationship between the elder Batman (Kevin Conroy) and the younger Batman (Will Friedle).

Gotham: City of the Future (SD, 5:34) is a piece exploring the futuristic landscape of the city Batman calls home.

The High Tech Hero (SD, 5:44) is a featurette in which the series producers discuss the new futuristic take on Batman (from the creation of a high-tech suit to the assortment of impressive gadgets).

Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics (HD, 1:30:26) is a feature-length documentary about the development of comic books and the rise of DC Comics. The documentary is enormously insightful into the pioneers of comic books as a medium beloved by countless fans. Delving into comic-book history, the film is never afraid to both acknowledge the heights of the industry as well as the pitfalls encountered (such as the embarrassing courtroom trials against comic-book publishers and creatives for "warping" the minds of America's youth). An enormously entertaining documentary, Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics is a fantastic documentary that every fan should appreciate viewing. It has a wide assortment of interviews with comic-book creatives (from Sandman creator Neil Gaiman to Stan Lee and countless others). Narrated by Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool, folks!) the documentary receives its high-definition disc debut on the Batman Beyond set (following a standalone DVD from 2010).

The final disc in the collection is Batman: Return of the Joker. On disc supplements for the film remain exactly the same. For more information on the supplemental features please refer to the original review.

Lastly, it's worth noting that the Batman Beyond conclusion given in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue" was not included on the release (though it should have been, especially given various supplemental features refer to it). Viewers hoping to see this special episode will need to purchase the Justice League Unlimited Blu-ray set reviewed here. Kapiche?

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There is no question in my mind that Batman Beyond is one of the most creative, inspired, and original series to be created in the DC animated universe. The series is a remarkable achievement and it works as a must-see sequel to the original Batman: The Animated Series. With top-notch animation, superb music, and stellar action-scenes, Batman Beyond was (and remains) cutting-edge in more ways than one.

Batman Beyond is a fan-favorite for a reason: it's a great television series (animated or otherwise). WB has done the series right with a terrific Blu-ray release featuring a noteworthy video-audio presentation and an absorbing collection of engaging supplemental features that fans cannot miss. Batman Beyond is a must-own gem for any and all Bat-fanatics. One of the best releases of the year.