Superman/Batman Annual #4: The Return of Terry McGinnis

[theanswer]

Enter your cut contents here. The story begins with Terry, Bruce, and Ace stalking Metallo and the Jokerz. The investigation turns towards a drug laced with kryptonite, which ultimately leads Terry into a criminal mission to the Fortress of Solitude, undercover of course. Eventually the mastermind is revealed to be Lex Luthor who wanted to draw out Superman for a final confrontation before he dies. Lex uses his tech to turn his lackey into Superman's replacement. The end result of the battle is predictable, but what happens next is a little unexpected...



Earlier in this issue, Terry visits Lois Lane's grave (it's implied that Parasite killed her) and we get a hint that an event similar to Kingdom Come occurred when we see Clark's KC costume hanging with his other costumes in the Fortress of Solitude. All of these events have left him cold and tired of fighting for this world.



Mon-El intervenes and defends Clark's actions despite Zod arguing back at the Daxamite.

Apparently the Kingdom Come-ish event that occurred here ended very differently because Superman's patience with villains does not seem to have recovered at all. He has imprisoned criminals in the Phantom Zone indefinitely and gives Terry the controls, asking him to act as the parole board and release the Earthlings if he believes they have learned their lessons, but also requesting that the elderly Luthor remain imprisoned in the PZ forever.

He goes on to explain to Terry that he is leaving Earth to fight for peace on other worlds. He wants to feel the starlight of other worlds before he dies, because even though he will outlive everyone he loves he senses he is not immortal. However, before he goes, Superman has a gift for Batman.





Most of the story was focused on Superman and his rogues. It was an alright introduction to the new Batman Beyond mini starting this month, but it seemed like they wanted to get Superman out of the way for the mini even though that didn't really seem necessary. I don't know exactly how to explain it, this annual just was so overwhelmingly about Superman. However, the art was great and they did a great job of recreating the Nu-Gotham atmosphere and look.

Suggested Tags:
char: batman/terry mcginnis
char: lex luthor
char: superman/clark kent
char: zod/dru-zod
creator: jose wilson magalhaes
creator: paul levitz
creator: renato guedes
publisher: dc comics
title: superman/batman

Comments

[lyraeinne]

Whenever Beyond stuff comes up I always end up feeling the littlest bit guilty. I mean, it's certainly not as if there's anything wrong with Terry, but it's almost impossible for me to enjoy any stories involving him even a little bit, given how callously Dick and Tim were disposed of to make way for him. And his mask is just... so ugly.

But that aside, this really wasn't a bad story. I'm a little in love with old!Lex. Is that wrong?

[magnetic_regina]

given how callously Dick and Tim were disposed of to make way for him

Yeeeees. This.

[theanswer]

They weren't callously disposed of. Tim actually had a really great story in the movie and they implied that Dick still operates as Nightwing.

[lyraeinne]

And yet they were. If Bruce was enough of an asshole to drive Dick away to the point that he quite literally never speaks to him again, then I'm honestly more than a little nauseated to see him rewarded with another vulnerable kid. It kills it for me, a bit.

Tim's "great" storyline was a ploy meant to justify not addressing his absence again during the series. Dick apparently doesn't even warrant that much consideration.

[theanswer]

That's part of the storyline. It's not like they completely glossed over that. They acknowledge it several times, even in that movie.

[lyraeinne]

I guess acknowledging it isn't enough for me. I want to see it addressed. If Bruce and Dick can't reconcile, I want to know why. And I want Bruce to suffer for it, rather than be allowed to salve the loneliness he really fucking earned with someone new.

It wouldn't be quite as nice a story for Terry if he came into Bruce's life and found him surrounded - or at least vaguely orbited - by other meaningful connections. Their absence feels contrived to me.

[theanswer]

Well it's not their fault they got cancelled before they got to that.

[cmdr_zoom]

He did suffer. For years.
How much pain would be enough to satisfy you?

[lyraeinne]

The pain of actually having to make an effort to fix the relationships he'd already fucked up. If he can't, then I want to see that. Not just have those failures shunted aside and forgotten about so Bruce can have his happily ever after with the new pretty boy.

[theanswer]

They did that twice. Once with Barbara and once with Tim.

[lyraeinne]

And both treatments kind of failed at what they should have accomplished, IMHO, as they both existed mostly to justify why those relationships aren't worthy of further treatment. Which, again, just feels incredibly contrived to me. They certainly didn't give me much confidence in Bruce's ability (or worthiness) to sustain a more positive connection with Terry, which is what they needed to do if that was supposed to be the end result of the series.

And given how significant Bruce's relationship with Dick was to his development throughout the rest of the DCAU, ignoring it entirely is pretty much unforgivable, I think.

[theanswer]

Barbara did get further treatment. Tim didn't because they got canceled. Very difficult to continue on that way.

[chrysicat]

Oh, eeeew, eeeeew...
I don't even want to think about that phrase--"happily ever after with the new pretty boy".

Yes, I know we started out as a slash comm; yes, I know my squick isn't everybody's squick; but...genetic incest is just a little different in my view and oh, God/dess...

[lyraeinne]

LOL. I'm sorry. I have to say I like my boys a little fucked up in that way, but Bruce/Terry really isn't my cuppa either.