Batman/Static Beyond #2: Tomorrow Comes Tonight

I was really excited going into last month’s Batman Static Beyond #1, and by the end of it I could only anticipate the sheer potential of putting these two characters together in a good cop, bad cop storyline. Terry is the truest successor to Bruce Wayne, both in the mantle of Batman and the moodiness of a dark, thinly disguised dystopian future. Static is a character who breathes rebellion and disruption of the status quo. Together a storyline with both of these characters has a powerful set of legs to stand on. Unfortunately, my hopes as a reader for this series have been damaged somewhat with December’s Batman Static Beyond #2.

The second issue of the series tells a mostly self-contained story that exists solely on the bones of last month’s issue. This is fine on its own, but the problems come out in terms of pacing. Issue #2 had 27 pages to tell a story that accomplished something in the grand scheme of the new ongoing series. A reader could expect a laundry list of possible choices, from character development or introductions to tone shifts, world building, and so on. Batman Static Beyond #2 does none of these. The narrative is never once pushed forward. There are moments where you think, “Finally, the story is starting,” but it never does.

Action scenes result in nothing but a change of scenery. Investigations yield only the most obvious results, but characters never pick up on any of the clues that are right in front of them. This would be fine if their lack of focus was being used as a character flaw or another storytelling tool. Except it isn’t; instead, it feels as if Evan Narcisse is just gently shoving the story forward with extremely repetitive dialogue and story beats that lead nowhere until the very end of the issue, which serves as reader bait for next month’s Batman Static Beyond #3.

Then there is the characterization. To keep it simple, the characterization is cheap and veers deeply into archetype. Terry is an angsty teen with no real substance in this incarnation. Static is an older mentor figure who just orders others around when what they really need is for him to teach them. Again we come back to character flaws; these are obvious hooks for long-term character growth, but the seeds are never actually planted. Terry’s angst and headstrong nature never get him into trouble, and Static never sees the failings of his approach to handling younger superheroes like Terry. These two characters should be able to help each other grow, but they never even start to try.

The artwork tries a lot of different elements here (neon cityscapes, differently textured superhero outfits, darkly industrialized architecture, etc.) that just don’t quite mesh well. Individually these elements are fine, but as a combined “finished” product they fall flat. This culminates in the issue’s motion, especially in action scenes, which doesn’t create that fluid feeling most comic readers hope for when cracking open a fresh issue. The colors by Will Quintana are a saving grace here. They make the neon pop and keep the colorful superpowers from blending into the backgrounds.