Batman Beyond: The Complete Series (DC)

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Like many older fans that had seen Bruce Timm and crew create some of the most successful animated DC programs of all time in Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond was viewed with caution upon arrival. It was radically different from DC’s earlier animation efforts, embracing a new set of characters and aimed at a much younger crowd than before. Terry McGinnis (voiced by Will Friedle) is a former juvenile delinquent that assumes the mantle of Batman under the careful watch of Bruce Wayne, now an elderly man in his eighties. His father’s murder pushes him to steal Bruce Wayne’s Batsuit, changing young Terry’s life forever. Terry is a normal high school kid by day, with Dana as his girlfriend and the tomboyish Max always helping him out of trouble. All episodes come with adequate 2.0 DTS-HD MA audio. The lossless sound is dominated by a loud and frequently energetic techno/electronic score. A far cry from the austere symphonic scores that highlighted DC’s previous animation, Batman Beyond’s music and score never really worked for me. It’s heard in clear fidelity with substantial top end and slightly narrowed dynamics.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (76:45 in HD; 5.1 DTS-HD MA) – The acclaimed hit animated film from 2000 is included in the box set. Included on a separate disc, it is identical to the standalone 2011 BD. Inside Batman Beyond: Season 3" - A fascinating discussion on season three of Batman Beyond with producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Glen Murakami and Paul Dini.Audio Commentaries – Enlightening audio commentaries by producers and voice actors for four key episodes: “Rebirth, Part 1”; “Shriek”; “Splicers”; and “The Eggbaby.” Diving into the discs, and much like last year's Batman: The Animated Series Blu-ray release, the HD remasters on this set are at times jaw-dropping. The traditionally-colored episodes (the first 26) look crisp and clean for the most part, though there's still dirt and scratches due to the quality of the source material. However, the digitally-colored episodes (the second 26) look crystal clear and beam with color. However, it's worth noting that, due to time-worn irreparable damage, 11 of the 52 episodes had to be "smart rezzed" from standard definition Digibeta video (the list of the up-scaled episodes can be found after the review). For what they had to work with, the episodes still look quite good, though there are unavoidable issues with the upscaling. Edge enhancement is rampant, colors look a little muted and motion and images can be jagged at times. It's apparent but eventually you stop noticing. Don't let that take away from that fact that these episodes have never looked better. They look great - Batman: The Animated Series HD-remaster level great. The level of detail, the sharpness of the image, the colors, it's legitimately stunning. Tomorrow Knight: The Batman Reborn” (10:31 in SD) – Storytellers explore the rise of Terry McGinnis as Batman and Bruce Wayne’s relationship with the young hero as he mentors a new Dark Knight for modern times. Knight Immortal" (All-New Featurette) - A visual and visceral celebration of the Dark Knight's 80 years of crime fighting, narrated by storytellers of the past, present, and future.

Gotham: City of The Future" - A Close-Up Look at Gotham City Circa 2039, the modernization and the inspirations for its high-tech design and massive scale. Of the 52 original Batman Beyond episodes, 41 have been fully-remastered from either their original 35mm film source or the uncommon format “OCND,” the original camera negative digital (a digital scan of original negative). Lines and resolution have been enhanced, and dust and dirt have been removed – however, cell dirt remains to not disturb the original picture. Included in the remastering was the removal of grain, resulting in enhanced colors. The remastering process does cause a slight aspect ratio change (approximately 3% loss of screen image).

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