Announced this past September, DC's Batman Beyond: Neo Year featuring the return of Terry McGinnis will debut in April and DC has given Newsarama a first look at the description of the first issue along with six new covers to the series' first three issues.
The six-issue monthly series is written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing (Kang the Conqueror) and illustrated by Max Dunbar (Batman: Urban Legends, Robin).
Taking some inspiration from writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli's Batman: Year One (one of the best Batman stories ever), Batman Beyond: Neo Year will redefine Terry's role as Batman following the murder of his mentor, Bruce Wayne.
"Neo-Gotham is alive and has killed Bruce Wayne," reads DC's description of Batman Beyond: Neo Year. "It's rejected Terry McGinnis as Batman and offered him the chance to escape. Terry turned it down - he is the city's protector, and he will uphold the legacy of Batman. Now Neo-Gotham will do everything in its power to destroy Terry, including creating brand-new villains to fight him. Terry's first year without Bruce Wayne begins…does he have a fighting chance?"
And if that all sounds very figurative, it's not. In September 15's Batman: Urban Legends #7 Terry learns the killer of Bruce Wayne was the Batcomputer that gained sentience and took over all of Neo-Gotham's computerized systems.
That story leads directly into Neo Year, which DC describes as a beginning of a "new future for Batman Beyond!"
Terry McGinnis initially made his first appearance on TV in the animated series Batman Beyond. In the show, Terry is a high schooler who inadvertently discovers the retired Bruce Wayne's secret identity, becoming the Batman of the hi-tech, cyberpunk-fueled city of Neo Gotham under Wayne's guidance.
Much of this story has been adapted into the DC comic books, with Terry's story evolving even further over his time in comics. It now appears not only will Terry be operating without a net, but he'll be up against a malevolent version of all the information Batman ever collected.
Here's a look at all four covers to Batman Beyond: Neo Year #1 including the main cover by Dunbar, and variant covers by Christian Ward, Jim Cheung, and Simone Di Meo.
Plus here are the four covers to the second and third issues of the series, the main cover of each issue by Dunbar and a variant for each by Ward.
Batman Beyond: Neo Year #1 (of 5) goes on sale on April 5.
Whoever through the Batcomputer would someday become a candidate for the best Batman villains of all time? It hasn't made the list yet, but maybe someday.
