How would you end Batman Beyond?

[Domino]

Now that all of the episodes have been seen (in the US anyway), how would you have ended Batman Beyond if you knew you had one last episode or two-parter to wrap it up?

[Mr. Obsession]

First, I'd need more than one two-part episode to finish off the series. So if I could get a fourth season then I would tie up some of the plot lines that never got resolved, explain some but not all of the mysteries of Bruce's past, and add some character to the villains that really need it (Spellbinder I'm looking at you). Then I'd end it with an episode that after Terry defeats one of his villains he's out patrolling the streets. An ending that leaves you with the feeling that if there are more episodes then that would be great, but if it's that last one, well you can live with it. Kind of like the way B:TAS and TNBA went out.

[TheScarecrow]

Like Mr. Obsession, I too would try to get a fourth season so I could tie up loose ends. Then for the last one I would do a two part ep that involves the return of Blight, who gains revenge on his son by killing him, and then goes on a major crime spree throughout Gothom in an effort to draw out the man who helped cause his skin condition, Batman, for a fight to the death.

Along the way, Blight somehow learns that Terry McGinnis is Batman, which interests him because he now knows that it was the son of Warren McGinnis that tormented him all along. Part one ends with the death of Max by the hands of Blight (after she does something stupid of course) and Terry holding her dead body in his arms, in a storyline similar to the Batman comic book entitled "Death in the Family" where the second Robin was killed by The Joker.

Part two is where Terry is full of rage due to the fact that Blight has killed both his father and his best friend and is tracking him down so he can kill him. Bruce warns Terry that if he goes over that line, he cannot be Batman any longer, which causes friction between them.

Blight kidnaps Terry's little brother and tells Terry to meet him at a certain location so they can fight it out, and to come alone without cops or Matt gets it like Max did. Blight nearly kills Terry in the battle, but Terry gets the upper hand and is about to finish off Blight when he realizes he isn't worth it. Something happens which causes the "death" of Blight (I can't think of what it would be so just use your imagination :p ), and Terry and his little brother go home. Bruce and Terry have a talk, and then Terry ends the ep and the show itself by going out on patrol.

So what do you think? :D

[MattL.]

I would want it to end basically with a DTV that would feature a meeting between Terry and Dick Grayson. Because spiritually, Terry is what happens when you combine Batman and Robin into the same character.

Also, the one thing that would truly end Batman Beyond in a mythical fashion (also Paul Dini and/or Bruce Timm are the only people I trust to pull this off)...the death of Bruce Wayne.

and I really would want Bruce, Barbra and Dick to reconcile before he died. That would be key.

[Manhunter]

Originally posted by TheScarecrow
Like Mr. Obsession, I too would try to get a fourth season so I could tie up loose ends. Then for the last one I would do a two part ep that involves the return of Blight, who gains revenge on his son by killing him, and then goes on a major crime spree throughout Gothom in an effort to draw out the man who helped cause his skin condition, Batman, for a fight to the death.

Along the way, Blight somehow learns that Terry McGinnis is Batman, which interests him because he now knows that it was the son of Warren McGinnis that tormented him all along. Part one ends with the death of Max by the hands of Blight (after she does something stupid of course) and Terry holding her dead body in his arms, in a storyline similar to the Batman comic book entitled "Death in the Family" where the second Robin was killed by The Joker.

Part two is where Terry is full of rage due to the fact that Blight has killed both his father and his best friend and is tracking him down so he can kill him. Bruce warns Terry that if he goes over that line, he cannot be Batman any longer, which causes friction between them.

Blight kidnaps Terry's little brother and tells Terry to meet him at a certain location so they can fight it out, and to come alone without cops or Matt gets it like Max did. Blight nearly kills Terry in the battle, but Terry gets the upper hand and is about to finish off Blight when he realizes he isn't worth it. Something happens which causes the "death" of Blight (I can't think of what it would be so just use your imagination :p ), and Terry and his little brother go home. Bruce and Terry have a talk, and then Terry ends the ep and the show itself by going out on patrol.

So what do you think? :D

This is sort of similar to an idea I had.Guess great minds think alike. :D

[James]

I agree with parts of all here.

Definately end with Blight. It started the concept with him, and so it should end. Dana would discover his identity (through Max). This would be a two part episode. The whole final episode would be set just before they graduate from the school.

I'd give it a dramatic ending so it would be remembered. Like Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, Blake's 7, Twin Peaks etc..

Not horrifying (Kids maybe watching!), but the death of Bruce would be on the cards. This would also give closure to the concept.

Once Bruce was gone, Terry would finish being Batman - but keeping the suit until again it maybe needed... I feel Batman is a curse and Terry, unlike Bruce isn't so far down the road to rely on Batman as Bruce did.

It would be nice to think that Bruce's time with him helped him to appreciate what he's got and help him find who he is.

The battle would be possibly taken to the school as Blight takes the fight to the home turf. Max, Dana and co fight for their lives.

I'd have Bruce slowly dying throughout. He's an old man. He dies peacefully and when Terry realises he heads from the school to the manor where Blight follows him and the show down finishes at the manor, in the Batcave. Ace is the one who finally knocks Blight down a bottomless chasm and into the bat-anti-blight-tank. Blight dies. OR something along those lines.

Terry heads off into the sunset no longer the Bat with Dana, Max and Ace....

etc etc...

Off the top of my head anyway.....

:D

[Maxie Zeus]

Is it alright to not want it to end? It didn't seem to me that BTAS or TNBA needed a "final" episode tying up loose ends. To say that BB needs it strikes me as putting BB on a lower plane. And I don't think it deserves it.

[ZorBrak]

well, if you guys read my DTV plot, I know some of you have, I have just decided in my own lil batman universe that that is what happened :p

[DerekPowers]

it weird that we all expected bb to have a big ending to it. the previous series (btas, stas, tnb/sa) had no official endings. even though legacy functioned as a great finale for stas, they were still intending on having a season four. i think bb is probably the one series out of them all that the fans want to have more of a resolution to.

and wasnt the call 1&2 supose to be the finale eps, but wb screwed up as usual and aired the eps out of order?? it wouldnt be an official ending, but a big pay off event to end with. if thats the case, then the call would have been a great lead into the jl series, i think. and if the call was actually the last two bb eps to air, think about how much wed have read into it, saying its left undecided whether terry actually joins the jlu or not. we say no now because more eps aired after the call where he wasnt part of the jlu, but if that was the last ep to air, wed never really know for sure.

whatever, my rant ends.....now. hehehe. peace.

[superfreak]

A real cool ending is to see Dick and Terry meet each other then they can reflect on what was it like to serve under the orignal Batman.

[Calhoun07]

I don't think I can imagine a justifiable ending to the series. That's beacuse if I think of it, the only series finale that would make much sense to me would be to have Bruce Wayne finally die some how and the mantle is finally passed on to Terry in full. He then is Batman, period. No more "beyond" stuff. Batman Beyond was about Terry being taken in by Bruce to be mentored to become the next Batman, and Batman Beyond is also about the dynamic of their relationship. To end the series would be to end those dynamics, and the only logical way to do that is have Bruce finally die. And who wants to see that?

Tho I would like to see a future story of a much older Terry as Batman to see how he's handled the job.

[The Game]

I think that some of the ideas posted here are great- my personal favorite being the reconciliation of Bruce, Dick, and Babs- for old times sake.

But killing Bruce would be a terrible mistake- they would NEVER do it, I assure you.

[James]

Originally posted by calhoun07
I don't think I can imagine a justifiable ending to the series. That's beacuse if I think of it, the only series finale that would make much sense to me would be to have Bruce Wayne finally die some how and the mantle is finally passed on to Terry in full. He then is Batman, period. No more "beyond" stuff. Batman Beyond was about Terry being taken in by Bruce to be mentored to become the next Batman, and Batman Beyond is also about the dynamic of their relationship. To end the series would be to end those dynamics, and the only logical way to do that is have Bruce finally die. And who wants to see that?

Tho I would like to see a future story of a much older Terry as Batman to see how he's handled the job.

Yes, but if we are defining an end to the series. A finale - I wouldn't want to see the show past Bruce's death. I think you are right that the show is made by the Bruce/Terry dynamic. If the show were to have a finale, a THE END, no come back, then I'd kill Bruce off.

Whether the assumption is that Terry goes on is another thing. i'd say that Terry hangs up the mantle. Not because he isn't Batman, or because Bruce could be the only Batman, but because like I said before, Batman is a curse, and I don't think Terry is inflicted with that curse like Bruce and thus doesn't require to take that path in the same way.

As for what Maxie said about the previous Batman series not needing an ending, finishing BB with a finale with Bruce's end, finishes Batman - chronologically that is. That is another reason I'd end Batman with Bruce's death.

In some ways, Bruce is the curse - not Batman. It is he who pulls the others into the fray - Dick, Tim, Barbara, Terry - even (arguably) the Joker. The story should finish and end with him. The end of Batman Beyond would finish off the whole Batman series - even if they go back and write extra episodes like JL.
Chronologically, Bruce would die and the tale of the Bat would end....

[Calhoun07]

I still would hate to see no Batman in a post Bruce world. I think it would be like a V For Vendetta thing, where people take up the identity of the hero even when the person who portrayed the hero passes on.

[James]

Originally posted by calhoun07
I still would hate to see no Batman in a post Bruce world. I think it would be like a V For Vendetta thing, where people take up the identity of the hero even when the person who portrayed the hero passes on.

I used to think the same thing. I like the idea of the spirit of Batman continuing after Bruce. Recently, after listening to others and thinking it over, I see Batman as Bruce's curse and no one elses.

When Bruce dies, I couldn't see Terry continuing. Not because he hasn't the ability, I just don't think he requires the Batman to live life to the full extent. I think he'd want a normal life. He's a little like Bruce in MOTP - he's at the crossroads and could go either way. I just don't see the misfortune and personal burden will pull him down the solitary road of the Bat. Not how he currently stands anyway.

I could see Terry with a family and fighting crime in another way - such as with the Police. I think he'd keep the suit and the Batcave.. and perhaps if the Dark knight was needed again, he'd relinquish the role. But not full time.

I think the full time Bat was indicitive to Bruce's situation and his own personal burden. In the animated universe, aside from possibly Dick, Barbara and Tim had relinquished their cloaks. Seems Bruce was the only one who had the need to continue.

I think Terry would follow Tim and Babs' lead rather than Bruce.

[Calhoun07]

Then there would be a world without Batman. I don't know if that's an elseworlds story I want to see or not!

[Poison Carley]

Terry would have just finished whipping Blight who returned for a final show down. Blight have a melt down and explode finishing him off once and for all. Terry goes out on the town to celebrate with Dana. The two go for an romantic moonlight stroll in the park. Everything is going just fine and like the two sit under sometree or on a bench looking up into the beautiful sky when the Earth shakes and vines rip through the ground.

From out of the Earth rises Poison Ivy who is ageless thanks to the mixture of DNA. Appearing in somewhat of a mix between BTAS and the NBA look. Terry is amazed by her beauty as she pumps the permones. She dances by him giving him a kiss and putting him under her spell.

She was at the park because this was supposed to be the last night it was open. Expansion in the city was going to take the park and turn it into some shopping plaza. Ivy's been living on some island paradise. She only left her Eden after hearing of this and remembering the fond memories she had at Robinson park.

She attacks the Mayor and several other city officals who were having a closing ceremony. This is all over the TV and Bruce calls Terry back to the Batcave. He doesn't realize Terry is under her spell.

After a battle she finds out that she controls Batman and finds out all the juicy secrets and destroys Wayne Manor. Of course Ivy would black mail him but she would want some kind of like revenge for all the time Batman fouled her plans. So she would black mail him, Bruce would never do it and she'd just destroy everything. Take that Bruce for not having her costume! :b Or does he? I forget! :D

[DR.MID-NITE]

I think somehow Bruce should be rejuvinated to his younger self and reclaims the Batman mantle. Using someone elses idea that Bruce does not want to burden Terry with the secret life of being Batman.

[Wing Zero]

I kinda like that rejuvination idea. Maybe the effects of "Out of the Past" somehow have a lasting effect on him and he goes to young Bruce randomly. Terry needs help but he already has the batsuit, so there's only one more suit left for Bruce to put on ;) Then he goes saves terry and blah blah...yea, I'm out of ideas.

[Calhoun07]

I just think Terry's relationship is too deep with Bruce and his involvement as Batman is deep enough that when Bruce dies, Terry would continue to be Batman. Some have suggested he wouldn't cuz he wants his own life, but if he wanted his own life bad enough, he would have quit by now.

And who's to say that he would have to take on the curse of being Batman? He's a different Batman already than the Batman that came before him. As we debated in another thread, he seems to have more in common with Spider Man or some of the Marvel heroes than Batman himself, but that doesn't mean he couldn't be a great Batman in Bruce's absence. Nor does it mean he would hang up the costume when Bruce is gone. I think it would sharpen his resolve to fight on and to continue to be Batman.

Also, I think it would be great to see Terry defeat the Batman curse, to remain being Batman while being able to have a life with Dana (which would mean, of course, he would have to share his secret with her). The only question I would have is where would Terry continue to get his money from? Surely, Bruce would leave him an inheritance, but would Terry just live off on that and use that to fund being Batman or does he have the sense to be able to rise to the level Bruce was at where he can generate his own funds to continue being Batman when the inheretance money is gone?

[Poison Carley]

What if Bruce some how like downloaded himself into a new body?

[BeyondGotham]

This is something that I always wanted to touch on in a Fan-Fic. An ending to BB. How would one do it? Yes we need to see Dick come into the scene. But would it be perhaps at Bruces Funeral? In the Comic, Bruce makse Dick his legal son, therefore I'm sure that in his will, Bruce leaves almost everything to Dick.

Then we could go another way..

Have the EP start with Terry fighting someone...BLight, Spellbinder ect... And have them somehow find out Batman is. If it's Blight maybe he melts the mask off. After a breif confortation with Bruce, Blight says that he is going to destory everythig that Bruce hold dear. That would be the people close to him. His house, and even the city. Everything blows up, and we see a young Bruce awake with sweat pouring off his face. Alfred is opening the curtians and asks "Are you feeling ok sir?"

Bruce looks around, and smiles, and says yes. Just fine."

Yes..its the good ole Dream Season...but hey..it would be a great ending...

[Calhoun07]

I don't want to see Bruce downloaded into a new body or dipped into some fountain of youth. I think that would not be in his character to do what his villians have done in the past. I think that if he was to go out, it would be one final story of him as Batman, perhaps suiting up to save Terry in peril or something big that requires his return to the cape and cowl. And we don't even need to see his death, just do it in a mysterious way that leaves doubt in the viewer's mind that he may be alive.