Batman Beyond may be the most surprisingly successful Batman series of all time, and it's one not even based on the comics. Rather than focusing on Bruce Wayne’s Batman in a familiar Gotham, the series opted to retire Bruce Wayne and have a teenager named Terry McGinnis wear the Batman cowl and take on villainy in a futuristic Gotham.
Similar to Batman: The Animated Series, the series continues to attract a wide audience to this day and even received a Blu-ray release in 2019, further highlight the popularity of this series. Due to the fresh ideas surrounding the series, there are several behind the scenes facts and stories that will interest any Batman Beyond fans out there.
10 Alan Burnett Imagined Batman’s Final Night
The series famously begins with Bruce Wayne’s final night as Batman. Wearing the Beyond suit, Bruce Wayne suffers some kind of heart attack while trying to rescue a kidnapping victim from a gang. As a result, Batman is incapacitated on the floor, writhing in agony as the gang attacks him.
In an act of desperation, Wayne grabs a gun and points it at the gang leader to save his life. This act makes Bruce realize that he is no longer fit to be Batman, causing him to give up the cape and cowl for good. It was series creator Alan Burnett’s idea to open the series with this somber scene.
9 Warner Bros. Prohibited Bruce Wayne’s Age From Being Revealed
One of the most interesting elements of this series is the fact that Bruce Wayne is now too old to be Batman, forcing the billionaire to act as a mentor to Terry McGinnis and allowing for a less experienced Batman to take on the role.
Despite being too old to be Batman, Warner Bros refused to allow the creators to state Bruce Wayne’s specific age, as they were worried that it would make Bruce Wayne seem too old and decrepit. All viewers needed to know was that Bruce was really old and he needed someone else to take the cape and cowl.
8 The Opening Sequence Was Made In Bruce Timm's Kitchen
The Batman Beyond intro is one of the most interesting animated intros of all time. The sequence shows fans that this is a different Batman in a different time, with everything from the music to the imagery showing that this is a Dark Knight of the future.
One of the most iconic scenes from the intro -- the one where Batman is surrounded by his enemies -- was actually conceived of by Bruce Timm in his kitchen. Timm used an action figure and a Lazy Susan to get the desired effect.
7 Will Friedle Shipped Terry & Max
Max Gibson is one of the most popular characters in the series, with the character deducing Batman’s identity fairly quickly and then acting as a kind of ‘Oracle’ figure for Terry McGinnis, helping him fight crime during the night.
While Terry McGinnis’ main love interest was Dana, some fans always held out hope for Max and Terry, a sentiment that is shared by Terry McGinnis' voice actor, Will Friedle.
6 The Terrific Trio Was Based On The Fantastic Four
This won’t come as a surprise to many, but the Terrific Trio is the show’s answer to Marvel’s Fantastic Four. As with Marvel's first superhero family, the Terrific Trio are scientists who gain their powers from an apparent freak accident (though the Terrific Trio soon learn their powers were actually no accident).
In addition to similarities in their powers and resemblances with the Thing and Mr. Fantastic, the Terrific Trio also have their own building from which they conduct their experiments and crime fighting operations.
5 The Creators Took Notes From Blade Runner & Akira
The creators of Batman Beyond leaned into other science fiction media when creating their futuristic Gotham City. While the cyberpunk cityscapes and flying cars of Blade Runner were obviously a major inspiration, the creators also used the seminal anime film Akira as a muse.
This goes far beyond the design of the city , with the creators even using one of the biker gangs in Akira -- the Clowns, led by a biker appropriately named Joker -- as the name for one of their own gangs, tying this into the Clown Prince of Crime in the process.
4 It Was Originally Called Batman Tomorrow
While the series would go on to gain the name Batman Beyond, or Batman of the Future in some countries, there were several ideas that were floated around as to what the series would be called. One of the most prominent of these potential titles was Batman Tomorrow.
However, the idea was abandoned after it was concluded that the marketing for Batman Tomorrow would be too difficult. Presumably, the marketing department would struggle to word "Tune into Kids WB to watch Batman Tomorrow, tomorrow!"
3 The Idea Of A Teenage Batman Was A Studio Mandate
The studio wanted a teenage Batman so that this new Batman could connect more with younger audiences. The idea specifically came from Jamie Kellner -- the head of WB programming at the time -- himself, and was considered so controversial that the series writers almost quit instantly.
Fortunately, they didn’t leave and Bruce Timm and company helped to create one of the most original and beloved Batman series to date.
2 Bruce Timm Voiced The Jokerz's Gang Leader
The Jokerz are one of the most iconic gangs in the series, with the troublemakers getting their name and iconography from the legendary Batman villain, the Joker. Interestingly, Joker is nowhere to be seen until the movie The Return of the Joker. That being said, the gang was almost very different from what actually made it to TV.
Bruce Timm wasn’t pleased with the actor chosen to voice the gang leader, so Alan Burnett convinced Timm to lend his voice to the character, a role that would become a recurring one.
1 Batman Beyond Was Will Friedle’s First Voice Acting Role
Not only was this series risky because it was changed the accepted focus of Batman as Bruce Wayne to Batman as a teenager, but it was also replacing one of the best Batman voice actors of all time in Kevin Conroy (though he would still voice Bruce Wayne).
Despite it being his first voice acting role, Will Friedle excelled in the role of Terry McGinnis and went on to enthrall viewers with his performances. Friedle would go on to work on various other Batman animated projects where he lent his voice as either Dick Grayson or Tim Drake.