WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman Beyond: Neo-Year #1, on sale now from DC Comics.
Batman Beyond's Neo-Gotham already had a radically different status quo to the Gotham City of Bruce Wayne's day. Aside from the obvious name change, there was the distinctly futuristic architecture, which replaced the gothic style that made the original city so iconic. Then of course there was Batman himself. Bruce Wayne had retired as the Caped Crusader and was succeeded by Terry McGinnis.
However, a new high-tech Batman isn't the most radical change this Gotham has seen anymore, thanks to Batman Beyond: Neo-Year #1 (by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Max Dunbar, Sebastian Cheng and Aditya Bidikar). Neo-Gotham was a big step up but now it's going through its own radical changes. It started in the prequel to this new series, from Batman: Urban Legends #7 story "Wake", which saw Bruce Wayne die in the original animated series' iconic future.
Throughout the original Batman Beyond series, Bruce Wayne had always been Terry's mentor. As Terry was just a high school teen, he had a lot to learn, especially when it came to being Batman. In a way, the original Dark Knight was his Alfred. Now that Bruce is gone, it will change how Terry operates forever. The Neo-Year prequel also saw the destruction of the Batcave, Wayne Manor and a number of other pieces of Bruce Wayne's legacy. The original Batman's death is extremely impactful and its long-lasting effects haven't been explored in full just yet.
Bruce isn't the only character disappearing from Terry's life right now. In this first issue of the new series, police commissioner Barbara Gordon announced that she was retiring. Having succeeded her father in the role, Barbara was a recurring character in the original animated series. Her time as Batgirl meant that she already knew about Bruce's secret and she was therefore aware of Terry's identity from the start. Although it took time for her to warm up to the new Batman, she was a valuable ally. Therefore, her retirement is a major blow to the future Batman and isolates him even more in his new mission.
It's not just Terry these absences will affect though. Of course, they change everything about his Batman but they also have a profound effect on Neo-Gotham. With Bruce Wayne's death, there's a new person in charge of Wayne-Powers - a former criminal called the Holographic Man. This change in leadership in one of Gotham's most influential companies is sure to have a profound effect on the city. Meanwhile, a change in police chief will change how the GCPD operates, as well as their relationship with Batman.
One of the other big changes in this series is with the villain. The city of Neo-Gotham has gained sentience. The living Gotham seeks to continue Bruce's mission in a radical fashion and sees Batman as its enemy. If nothing else, all of Gotham being alive is sure to change Neo-Gotham in countless ways. After all, it is the city that radically changed itself. However, it's unlikely that this status quo will last. Batman will inevitably stop it and go back to fighting criminals the way he used to.
However, that doesn't mean it won't have a profound effect on the city. It's sure to be yet another trial that will change Terry McGinnis' Batman forever. The city has also introduced its own villains into the mix, with the Sword of Gotham coming after Terry at the end of this first issue with devastating effect.
The one thing all of these changes have in common, and the one thing that is sure to change Neo-Gotham most, is Batman. Terry has gone from a high school student hero with a support network to a lone vigilante fighting an entire city. He's changing the way he operates because of all of this, even adopting pen and paper to chronicle his crusade. This series is about Terry McGinnis finally growing up and growing into the hero he was always meant to be. A fully realized Batman Beyond will change Neo-Gotham in a way nothing else ever could.