In the entertainment business, cartoon characters are treated as real celebrities and public figures with full careers and accolades to match.
Terry McGinnis is no exception. As one of four known biological children born to the legendary Bruce Wayne and a potential inheritor of Wayne Enterprise, "The Tomorrow Knight" was born with the destiny of greatness on his shoulders.
Batman Beyond (known as Batman of the Future outside the United States) was an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman.
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the series began airing on January 10, 1999 on Kids' WB in the United States (5 years into Kids WB Saturday Morning War against Fox Kids). The first episode brought in 4.16 million viewers for its premiere. In the United Kingdom, it began airing on September 4, 2000. The show starred Bruce Wayne's eldest son Terrence "Terry" McGinnis (sometimes McGinnis Wayne) taking on the role of Batman in place of his father (a.k.a. Batman II).
Batman Beyond was Terry's introduction to the world. The series lasted for 3 seasons and serves as the sequel to both Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures.
On December 12, 2000, right before the last 3 episodes of the series from season 3, McGinnis starred in a feature film titled, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the series began airing on January 10, 1999 on Kids' WB in the United States (5 years into Kids WB Saturday Morning War against Fox Kids). The first episode brought in 4.16 million viewers for its premiere. In the United Kingdom, it began airing on September 4, 2000. The show starred Bruce Wayne's eldest son Terrence "Terry" McGinnis (sometimes McGinnis Wayne) taking on the role of Batman in place of his father (a.k.a. Batman II).
Batman Beyond was Terry's introduction to the world. The series lasted for 3 seasons and serves as the sequel to both Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures.
On December 12, 2000, right before the last 3 episodes of the series from season 3, McGinnis starred in a feature film titled, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
 |
| Batman Beyond film poster |
While the 2000 release was not rated, the uncut version was the first animated Batman film to receive a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association.
A comic adaptation of the film was released in February 2001, drawn by Craig Rousseau. A tie-in video game was released in 2000 for Game Boy Color, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64. Scholastic released a novelization of the film.
The film won 2 out of the 5 awards it was nominated for. Joker won an award for Best Animated Character Performance at DVD Exclusive Awards and the film itself won Best Animated Home Entertainment Production at the 29th Annie Awards.
A spin-off from Batman Beyond, an animated series called The Zeta Projejct, featured a revamped version of the synthoid Zeta from the Batman Beyond episode "Zeta". Batman would guest star in the episode "Shadows" which aired April 7, 2001.
Finally after 52 episodes, the series was brought to an end in favor of the Justice League animated series, and plans for a fourth season were cancelled. The last episode aired December 18, 2001.
During its run, the show was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards, two of which it won in 2001 for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and Outstanding Music Direction and Composition. In 2009, IGN.com named Batman Beyond the 40th-best animated television series of all time.
 |
| McGinnis on Static Shock as seen on Kids WB |
Since the show ended McGinnis has made television appearances here and there. He appeared on Static Shock's episode "Future Shock" in 2004, Justice League Unlimited's episode "Epilogue" in 2005, Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Night of the Batmen!" in 2011, a DC Nation Shorts adaptation of Batman Beyond during the 75th-anniversary celebration for Batman in 2014 directed and written by Darwyn Cooke sometimes called, Darwyn Cooke's Batman Beyond, alongside his father Bruce that same year.
.jpg) |
| The March 1999 issue of Batman Beyond comic book. |
However, it's not all about television and film appearances for McGinnis. In addition to not having made a television appearance since the 2010's as of March 2023, he has obviously been heavily involved behind the scenes with the ongoing comic book series, Batman Beyond. Having had his own comic book since March 1999 when the television series got started, the latest edition to the series has been Batman Beyond: Neo Year, released in the 2022 - 2023 year. The comic book series has seen a total of six volumes and one hundred forty-four issues to date. As well as receiving contribution from industry experts like Adam Beechen (who has worked on Ben 10, Teen Titans Go! and Guardians of the Galaxy).
No doubt he's receiving hefty checks from his comics. As for the future? More cameo appearances on television? A new movie? Who knows! His fans will definitely be watching and waiting!
👂👂🏻👂🏼👂🏽👂🏾👂🏿
Listen to the Audio Companion Here: https://youtu.be/qCVmGI8Hb2I?si=ZTCsWiR-6bO4iY2Y
