DC Brings Two Animated Icons Together for an Exciting New Series

Two icons of DC’s animated era are joining forces to save the world from extinction. It can be hard for a DC fan to pick their favorite animated series. There’s the series that started it all, Batman: The Animated Series, as well as Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice… the list goes on and on. But holding a special place in fandom’s heart are two animated shows that expanded the DC Universe in new and exciting ways. The stars of those cartoons have worked together in the past, but they’re now uniting for a bold, new story that takes place in the future.

DC announced Batman/Static: Beyond, a six-issue limited series by writer Evan Narcisse (Rise of the Black Panther, Batman: Gotham Knights – Gilded City) and artist Nikolas Draper-Ivey (Static: Shadows of Dakota) that will be published under the DC Elseworlds imprint. The series features two of DC’s most dynamic heroes — Terry McGinnis/Batman Beyond, the cyberpunk guardian of Neo-Gotham, and Virgil Hawkins/Static, the electrifying architect of Dakota City’s future — for a high-stakes mission that could reshape Earth’s place in the cosmos.

Batman Beyond and Static Shock Team-Up to Save DC’s Future

Terry McGinnis starred in Batman Beyond, which ran for three seasons and took place in a future where Bruce Wayne had retired from being Batman. After a chance encounter with Bruce, Terry dons a technologically advanced suit to become Batman Beyond. Virgil Hawkins headlined Static Shock, which ran for four seasons and was the first animated series to revolve around an African-American protagonist. Batman Beyond and Static also appeared on Justice League Unlimited as members of Justice League Beyond.

Batman/Static: Beyond follows Batman Beyond as he patrols the neon-lit streets of Neo-Gotham, while Static pioneers a technological revolution with the launch of the Q-Wave Energy Grid. As Earth prepares to join a powerful interplanetary alliance called the Cooperative, the Justice League Beyond stands ready to usher in a new era of peace. But when a mysterious villain triggers a global blackout, the planet’s future hangs in the balance. With technology crippled and chaos rising, Static and Batman Beyond must forge an unlikely alliance and take a grounded approach to saving the world before it’s too late.

“I loved the dynamic Nik set up between Static and Batman in the Milestone 30th Anniversary Special where these characters first teamed up with each other,” said Evan Narcisse, “and the most exciting part of this new project has been exploring how different Terry and Virgil are from each other.”

“This story is intended to be a commentary on our overreliance on technology and the imminent dangers becoming complacent and too comfortable using AI to substitute our own imagination and human ingenuity,” continued Nikolas Draper-Ivey. “We now use our watches to find our phones, we use our phones to connect to everything else. We don’t rely on our own memories. We rely on technology to remember for us. That deeply concerns me. I worry that we are getting to a point where if all these things were to be suddenly taken away from us in an instant—at the rate we’re going now, humanity will be at a huge disadvantage.”

“Static is a former teen hero who grew up to take on even more responsibility for his city and the larger world, while Terry is still figuring out how to do those things in his own way,” added Narcisse. “Terry’s still a high school student but he’s also got the weight of the Batman mantle and the expectations that come with it as key parts of his life now. As an adult member of the Justice League, Virgil’s at a different part of his journey. But he’s driven by an adolescence where systemic injustice changed what it meant to live in his hometown of Dakota. Their approaches to making the world a safer, more just place are extremely different. That difference energizes the big question they have to deal with: can they learn to work together during a critical moment when everything they’ve taken for granted has fallen apart? The whole creative team is going to try and answer that question in Batman/Static: Beyond with a story where deep emotions collide against the backdrop of an uncertain future.”

Batman/Static: Beyond #1 goes on sale Wednesday, November 12th. Let us know your thoughts on the team-up between Batman Beyond and Static in the comments below!

Batman Beyond is Stuck in the Present (And So Are These Other DC Heroes)