A Blight Returns to Gotham
Someone is trying to take down the Wayne-Powers Corporation with some classic corporate espionage. Meanwhile, Paxton Powers has been mysteriously released from prison months before parole. Are these events connected and can Bruce and Terry smoke out the culprit before it is too late?
The Good
After four relatively slow issues re-establishing the Batman Beyond universe and Terry’s various relationships, things really start to pick up as one of Terry’s original big bad guys shows up and he does so in a big way at the end of this issue as the clear mastermind behind the plot against Wayne-Powers. This lays the groundwork for a great three part story arc that looks like it will be chock full of the kind of action we were starving for in the first four issues of this monthly.
The Bad
While you have this great conspiracy theory main plot going, you still have several sub-plots established in the first four issues of the series carrying over and taking up precious space and time. And as much as I enjoyed seeing Terry and Dana's relationship coming to a head in this issue, you still follow her and her home issues and this means that the “break-up” was all just lip service and wasted precious pages.
This means that either Terry’s personal life is going to have to become as interesting as his Batman life, or Adam Beechen is going to have to start phasing out Terry McGinnis as a person more and more because I’m just not caring about him outside of the Batsuit right now.
The Verdict
Even with the slow progress of several sub-plots in Terry’s personal life, the fast-paced action that he sees while wearing the Batsuit will bring a smile to the face of anyone who has been a long time fan of Batman Beyond, especially as this is the first time we’re seeing even a tease of some big-time action in this new monthly.
The beginning of this conspiracy theory laden three part story arc is a great place to come into as well as you’ll bypass all the re-introductory garbage old school fans of Batman Beyond had to sit through in the first four issues.
Pick up this issue if you are a fan of Batman Beyond because even with the distracting sub-plot interjected into the middle of the issue, this is a fun comic that features the return of one of Terry’s major bad guys supported by some great action and main plot.
