Fresh Question #77: Your Season 4

[Nightwing]

Hi everyone. Well the BB train is trucking along, and I think that means we should too. Here's the next FQ:

As usual, we have to band together and declare the glass is half FULL. So with that in mind, tell me this. If you were putting together a fourth season of Batman Beyond at Cartoon Network's request, what stories would be in it?? Hint hint, a perfect oppertunity to get Blight back into the works. Hehehe ;)

[Bird Boy]

mainly just a Dick Grayson 2 or 3 parter...and just a few more episodes with Batman fighting his usual villians.

I'd really like to see Blight back..he's one hot (pun..I know..pun pun pun! it's punny!! :D) dude..

-BB

[Trent Lane]

I'd like to see 18 episodes to round the series off to an even 70. The Dick Grayson story is a must, I'm dying to know what happened to him, and if he possibly trained someone to take his place. More with the JLU, possibly use Blacklight again, or go with a really bad***** new villian that would almost tear the team to pieces. A Blight comeback, final showdown of course, definitly involving Bruce in a more active role, and maybe even an appearance by Erica Electra from the BB comic (am I the only one who thought she was a cool character), to take on a villain by Batman's side... I think that's about it...

[Calhoun07]

Aside from the return of Blight (that would make a KICK ASS MOVIE!) and the obligatory Dick Greyson multi parter, I'd want to see other villians from Batman's past either Beyondized or we at least find out what happened to them. And maybe I'd introduce a continuing plot thru the series about Bruce's health deteriorating and how Terry responds to that, by upping his training, and perhaps even considering bringing somebody under his wing. Robin Beyond??? I don't know if I'd like to see that, but I'd like to add some drama in the show where Terry has to face the day he has to either continue the Batman legacy solo or give it up.

And Max is so gone.

[superfreak]

Move Terry out of high school. Focus on his role as batman more. Also I like to find out what happen to Dick Grayson. I like to see a multi-part explaining the stranded relationship between Bruce and Dick.

[JLU Dude]

Blight's returns would be in Episode 1 of my idea for a 4th sesaon. Dick Grayson would be back in Episode 2 and we'd get hint for what he's been doing. Joker would return in Episode 3. He and Blight would team-up though-out the rest of the sesaon begining in Episode 4. The JLU would return in Episode 5. Supes, Bruce, Tim, Barbara, and Dick would get thrown into the Lazarus Pit in Episode 6, hence getting de-aged to their ages in TNBSA and no undoing it and making them FAR more active & Supes would go back to the Red, Yellow, and Blue costume. Episode 7 would have Ra's Al Ghul's return. Episode 8 would have Mr. Freeze. Episode 9 would have Freeze and Ra's team-up against Joker and Blight. I do agree with flhero311 that Erica Electra from the Batman Beyondshould be in an episode. Episode 11 would have Dana being kidnapped by Joker. Episode 12, 13, and 14 would have The JLU, Bruce, Terry, Barbara, Tim, and Dick (with The old Bat-team in their old/TNBSA costume) fighting against Joker & Blight and Freeze & Ra's (with Ra's & Freeze and Joker and Blight fighting the other group). Dana would be saved, All the villains would go to jail, and the series is left open Season 5.

[joker]

id like to see a 4 parter on dick grayson, to see what heppend to him. id like to put more depth into more of the minor chars. by giving them more screen time and maybe focusing more on terrys normal life. id like to see terry get into a confilict on weather he should or should not be batman and it would last for a while, not just an episode. maybe him leaving the bat suit in the cave for a while causing gotham to revert back into a hell hole, then to see some really bad villian emerge causeing terry to come back.

[Shriek]

I want to see more of Shriek. Possibly Shriek even dying or hurting someone close to Bruce. And we reallly need a return of Blight to make him and Batman have the final battle. We need to see a Dick Grayson four parter towards the end of series. Where him and Bruce get all of their differences straightened. And when that happens Bruce sadly passes away, making Terry, finally The Batman.

[batE]

I'd like to see Blight as well. Spellbinder HAS to come back, and I want a four-part Nightwing ep. Maybe throw Tim in there, too, for good measure.

I wouldn't want to see a lot of old villains (Joker, Riddler, etc.) unless the storyline is really good. I also don't want anymore Dana-or-Max-gets-kidnapped eps. I, too, would like to see Terry out of Hill High (if only to get rid of any Nelson appearanes), but I want Max to play as much a role as she always has (Sorry, Max-haters :)

batE

[Blight]

I, as you all probably know, would love to see the return of Blight (I mean, Blight is my user name after all!). It would have to be the finale of course, and Blight and Batman would have a final showdown that should last for ten minutes, until Batman finally kills Blight with his bare hands! Oh yeah! But other than that, i'd like a Dick Grayson 4 parter, and I also would like to see the return of Clayface, since he is obviously still alive in BB time because of his condition. I think that's all.

See ya!
Blight

[The Old Maid]

First wish : that there must be one. This series had great potential. It's been three seasons and here we are, still stuck on Potential. But that's precisely why an improved series could thrive.

Focus on major Rogues. Most of Bruce Wayne's foes developed a personal relationship with him. Bad relationships, yes, but complex and evolving. Let Terry interact with his foes ; let the obstacles they throw in his path be more creative than a weekly beating.

Let CN never forget that this is the Wayne-and-Terry show. Rule of thumb : if Bruce Wayne isn't welcome in an episode, maybe it's because the ep isn't really a Batman story.

Bruce can't be written out of the series until Terry has learned all he ever can from him. Clearly that hasn't happened. Terry will probably be between 30-35 before this becomes a realistic possibility.

No Justice League storyarc. They introduce a fantasy element (and a bureaucratic element) into Batman's semi-realistic world. I don't like it. Don't get me wrong. I'm gratified the writers finally got to do a League series. They've been panting after the idea for years, to the point of using any show on the air (Supes, Bats, anything) to sneak in these characters. Now they can get it out of their system the way it was meant to be done.

Except for Dana, Matt, and possibly Melanie, NO ONE Terry's age or younger allowed on the set. Even the ones mentioned must actually do something. If they don't develop Terry, they don't get in.

Except for Bruce, NO PARTNERS. Obviously I've always believed Max was too conveniently perfect right out of the box -- but she's conveniently imperfect too. She was captured/kidnapped in four episodes and almost sliced to ribbons in one more ; you'd think she'd learn to watch where she's going. But it's more basic than that. Why did the original Batman take in teen partners? People usually say, "so that he has someone to talk to." This is true but insufficient. The question is what he would want to talk about. Wayne/Batman accumulated Robins to continue his legacy -- because he had grown all he could and was now ready for the next level, to teach a potential successor. When Terry takes on a partner, it's basically saying he is as good as he will ever get. That he needs help to do the job. That he will be the same Batman at 20, at 30, at 40. This makes me ill.

In the series Terry never, ever, taught Max one thing. He never once kept her safe, he never once learned or grew from anything they did together. It's too easy to argue Max was unteachable (though that theory has its fans). Let's say for now that Max was "complete." Terry by contrast became incomplete, relying on a rookie while rejecting a pro. It's not entirely fair to say Max resisted Terry's attempts to teach her, because Terry was a lousy teacher. Telling Max that it's Okay when it is not, is not doing her any favors.

Also, in eps where Terry "needed" her help ("Final cut," "Inqueling"), he makes it plain that it's not because he's too busy. It's because he doesn't know how. And again, it implies that Terry is as good as he will ever get.

So I say no partners, because if Terry has nothing to teach one and cannot protect one, he doesn't deserve one.

I found it annoying (but fitting) that "Hooked up" should be the last episode of BATMAN BEYOND on free TV. Anyone remember the ROTJ fiasco? No, not the editing fiasco. The other one. You know, the one where WB lied to us & said the profits from ROTJ would determine whether we would get a season 4? We know now they never intended that. I find this lying more insulting than the edits.

Anyhow, "Hooked up" seemed like a perfect summary of the teen-angst series we actually got (as opposed to the psychological crime drama we were promised). We already know Spellbinder's motives : he loves money & he hates kids. We know how his technology works. Now it's time to see Terry take a serious psychological pounding from this foe (a la "Perchance to dream," "Nothing to fear," or "Dreams in Darkness"). Instead Terry/Batman tags along while others have adventures. That's a pretty good summary of season 2. I've mentioned elsewhere that if we HAD to watch Terry watch others suffer, it should at least be Matt. Spellbinder has detailed files on the McGinnis family. Plus, Terry still works for a billionaire ; he is still Spellbinder's fastest, surest pipeline to a truckload of money. Instead Terry/Batman tags along while others have adventures ... which is about as exciting as watching Terry watch television.

The life-passing-before-his-eyes scene summarized the series pretty well. Along with clips from "Splicers," "Joyride" and "Earth mover," we get only two clips of Blight. We get four clips of Bruce. Then, unbelievably, we get FOUR clips of Warren. He and Terry are laughing, enjoying a good book. (Take that, Bill Gates & Howard Groote!) These were the only new clips created for the flashback. We NEVER got to see such happy memories, and we should have.

Terry has taken Wayne and put him in place of his own dead father. Blight was the one who made that happen. These nuances and relationships cannot be developed, however, if Warren, Wayne, and Blight get only nanoseconds of attention.

Instead we get six scenes of Max (all but one are the same one), which is why she dominates the flashbacks, just as she dominates the series. I find the Terry/Max relationship shallow at best, and the extortion angle she used to expose her "friend" sure didn't help. But shallow and fun is what the network is into these days. So I suppose this episode is fitting, in its way. But I would rather have seen episodes -- and relationships -- that force Terry to grow and change. Watching Terry wring his hands in helplessness didn't work for me. But then, at least we were doing the same thing he was, wringing our hands.

In the ideal season 4, Spellbinder zaps the suits, makes them pay for their crimes, steals their "Pokemon" money, and spends his golden years on a yacht in the Maldives, beloved of Batfans forever.

[Blade]

even though i need to studying my algebra 2, i suppose putting it down for a few minutes wouldn't hurt.......

i would like to see Terry and company aged a year or 2. take terry, max, dana and the rest and graduate them or put them in college.

i'd like to see matt grow up a bit so he could maybe figure out who terry is (but he won't tell terry he knows)

bruce being more in the background (let terry handle some things on his own)

dana and terry need to a) have a real relationship or b) break up because their games are getting tired

more sophisticated plot lines ( not more kidnappings, terroism, or bombings, think of something new)

absolutely no crossovers! (zeta and jla, you have your own show stay there!)

max losing the pink hair and in general just becoming a college woman, more important roles ( no more i'm sorry i messed up, rescue me and let me help and this is how you should...)

dana either give her some serious screen time or ditch the character ( a waste of ink)

and last (and this is a long shot)

have bb come on during Cn's adult hours (you know the new late night cartoon slot) get rid of the inappropriate tv7 rating, bump that baby up to tv14 and let's see some really complex storylines, kick butt action, and some good romance and more of those one liners we love ( turned up a notch)

[oranthal]

i would have everyone die! (evil cackle) in all seriousness, i would them to tie up loose ends which would involve Nightwing (of course), blight, and all the old villains in Bruce's time. maybe have bruce die and then terry looks through all the old files on the batcomputer which tells what happened to everyone.

[James]

I'd have a slight arc to resolve thie story of the new Batman.

Firstly I would include the obligotory non arc episodes. A two parter bringing Dick to the foreground, several episodes dealing with any open plotlines that need to be resolved. Perhaps a reappearance of Tim, a final Inque stand alone episode......

The arc would concern - as I have mentioned before - Max. By giving her a definate and relevant input into series 4, it would make up for the mess that she was in series 2. Series 2 could be then looked upon in a new light as fans search for meaning the older episodes.

Before I have said I would turn Max into a villain, now I'd rather bring her as the enzyme - a catalyst to change. I'd either have her accidently exposing Terry - or becoming too involved personally and thus exposing Terry to his close friends - Dana in particular..... and thus creating another slight change in format. I'd have Bruce getting ever so slightly ill..... and slowly losing control of Terry as he becomes more involved in the social dilemma that Max has inadvertantly created.

The end resolution to the series would have Terry quitting the Bat and Bruce having to resolve the final dilemma (Blight springs to mind as a good villain for a final three episodes - and thus brings us full circle) by briefly becoming Batman once more.
Blight would almost finish off Bruce, with Max possibly sacrificing herself to save Bruce and possibly Terry. Meaning that Terry would put the mantle on a final time to finish tha job and Blight for good.

Bruce would have to die from battle wounds. After much thought I'd prefer to leave Bruce as the Batman. Terry, resolving all past plotlines will lay the Batman to rest as sign of respect for Bruce. That's not to say he never was Batman, but the legend begins - and ends with Bruce.

Terry goes off to live a - ahem - normal life with Dana with Bruce's backing, I'd see him Tim and Dick using the foundation to bring law to Gotham - perhaps in a not disimilar was as in The Dark Knight Returns - afterall that's what much of BB is based on!! :rolleyes:

[Shriek]

I would also like to see what happened To Alfred. I know he must of passed of old age. But it still would be cool to see a picture of him hanging somewhere in the house.