Batman/Static Beyond #1: And Then Everything Will Be Okay

Batman/Static Beyond #1 is a brand new ongoing series from DC Comics featuring both Terry McGinnis (aka Batman Beyond) and Virgil Hawkins (aka Static) sharing the spotlight. A first issue to a team-up series is always important, as it sets the bar for future issues and is generally where new readers decide whether they’ll continue collecting the series or if it’s simply not for them. So, does Batman Static Beyond #1 stick the landing?

Batman Beyond as a character has something of a cult following due to the success of the 90’s cartoon of the same name. The same can be said of Static following the Static Shock cartoon in the early 2000s that ran for one season longer than Batman Beyond’s 3-season run. Both characters have long shared an overlapping fan base, and many have asked for but never really expected a team-up series between the two.

The central thread, or “throughline” in one word, that unites these two characters in Batman Static Beyond’s first issue is the ever-enduring idea that one key change will make everything better. That Earth joining “The Cooperative” or that preventing the launch of the potentially dangerous Q-Grid power plants will save tomorrow. At the center of both of these problems are Terry McGinnis (Batman Beyond) and Virgil Hawkins (Static), who must navigate their own lives while protecting people from each other in a future equally as divided as today.

Not much can be said for Terry’s characterization in this first issue, as he’s used more as a vehicle for conflict and resolution, forced to react instead of act. However, Virgil is given the foundations for detailed and authentic character development. He takes the lead during the start of the issue in a mission for the Justice League and plays a pivotal role in a space battle with the all-familiar Khunds. Later in the issue, his conversations with the important people in his personal life give him a balanced perspective and the clear attitude of a protector, not someone who tells others what to do, but someone who will guard both the foolish and the gentle.

Evan Narcisse (The Last Annihilation: Wakanda) is able to get a lot out of both characters despite sharing a roughly equal amount of page space. With half as much time as a character is normally given in a single issue, Narcisse gives layers to the daily lives of both characters. Both in the “normal” and “super” halves of each. In a way, Narcisse is writing about four characters, two of which are variations of their normal or civilian identities.

Nikolas Draper-Ivey’s (Static: Season One) artwork is fantastic. Static’s lightning cuts across the screen, tearing at the seams of the pages. Batman Beyond’s suit is filled with cool gadgets and sleek tech, giving him a reactive answer to any threat. Will Quintana’s (Exiles) colors crackle and pop off the page, texturizing explosives and futuristic technology with life and effect.

The world of Batman/Static Beyond #1 is itself a combination of Narcisse’s writing and Draper-Ivey’s artwork. Tech is the future, and so is innovation. But just like it has been in the past, innovation is always met with skepticism and restraint. Greedy corporations push out dangerous new inventions such as untested power plants using an experimental energy source, the people protest, and in a familiar rhapsody, the voices of the people are drowned out until the arrival of clearer heroes and villains makes everyone rethink what’s best for tomorrow.