“Batman Beyond: The Complete Animated Series” Limited Edition Blu-ray Set Review

Fans of the Batman Beyond animated series are in for a treat! Courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, you can go ahead and own the Batman Beyond: The Complete Animated Series Limited Edition Blu-ray set right now. Of course, it comes with collectibles and tons of extra features!

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free Batman Beyond: The Complete Animated Series Limited Edition Blu-ray set for review. The opinions I have shared are my own. 

Batman Beyond is an American animated television series developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett. It premiered in January 1999 and ran for a total of 3 seasons, concluding in December 2001. The current home release coming out this year fits the series because the pilot opened in 2019 with Batman (Bruce Wayne voiced by Kevin Conroy) contemplating the need for someone younger to become the Dark Knight. After that, the pilot jumped to the year 2039 to introduce us to Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle), or the Batman of the future.

I’m not sure if human beings will be able to debut all of the scientific advancements the show’s writers thought would occur in 2039, but I still remember it was quite fun, as a kid, to see an animated version of a possible future. Another interesting thing about Batman Beyond was getting to see older versions of certain characters from the Batman lore. For example, Barbara Gordon/Batgirl went on to become Commissioner. 

The current Limited Edition set includes all 52 episodes as well as the highly-enjoyable Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker – The Movie – The Director’s Cut. I ended up watching this animated film numerous times as a kid. It was one of the reasons I had really hoped Jared Leto’s Joker in Suicide Squad was actually Tim Drake.

While I understand Batman Beyond didn’t rise in popularity to stand next to Batman: The Animated Series (the entire series was released on Blu-ray last year), I think it’s still a respected entry in the Batman animated franchise. I liked seeing a futuristic and anime-inspired Gotham. The narrative also tackled darker themes and didn’t shy away from featuring broken characters. Also, seeing Terry interact with an elderly Bruce never gets old.

Though this release contains all 52 episodes, only 41 of them have been fully-remastered from their original 35mm film source due to either age or loss of the original negatives. However, the resolution in those episodes has been enhanced.

The 11 non-remastered episodes are:

• Eyewitness
• Final Cut
• The Last Resort
• Armory
• Sneak Peek
• The Eggbaby
• Zeta
• Plague
• April Moon
• Sentries of the Lost Cosmos
• Speak No Evil

Additionally, an approximate 3% loss of screen image (aspect ratio change) was the result of the remastering process.

The resolution of the video is 1080p with the encoding being AVC MPEG-4. The aspect ratio is 1.33:1.

In my opinion, the 2D animation looks great because of the remaster. This is a very stylistic series and the visual presentation makes sure to showcase just that.

The audio presentation for the episodes in this release is English 2.0 DTS-HD MA. The animated movie features English 5.1 Dolby Digital. Fans of this series might remember the awesome rock-heavy soundtrack it had. The current home release makes sure to keep those tunes intact. Furthermore, the dialogue is clear.

As for the extras, there’s a lot to go through, especially if you don’t own any of the previous original DVD releases.

This 6-disc Limited Edition set contains bonus material from the past DVDs. There is also a bonus disc that has new features for fans to enjoy. Other than that, there’s also a Batman Beyond Funko Pop! as well as four lenticular collector cards featuring original animation artwork.

Here’s a breakdown of the discs!

Season 1 – Disc One

• Rebirth, Pt. 1
• Rebirth, Pt. 2
• Black Out
• Golem
• Meltdown
• Heroes
• Shriek
• Dead Man’s Hand
• The Winning Edge
• Spellbound
• Disappearing Inque
• A Touch of Curare
• Ascension
• Extra Content:
  • Commentary on the episode “Rebirth, Part 1” by producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini & Glenn Murakami, and director Curt Geda.
  • Audio Commentary on episode “Shriek” by producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini & Glen Murakami, director Curt Geda and writer Stan Berkowitz
  • “Music of the Knight” (SD, 15:00) – producer Bruce Timm introduces a feature allowing access to key scenes from the series, accompanied by the compelling score created for the series.
  • “Inside Batman Beyond – Meet the Creators” (SD, 9:42) – producers Alan Burnett, Bruce Timm, Glen Murakami, and Paul Dini discuss the creative process behind the first season. Jason Hillhouse moderates.
  • Batman 80th Anniversary Collection trailer.

Season 2 – Disc 2

• Splicers
• Earth Mover
• Joyride
• Lost Soul
• Hidden Agenda
• Bloodsport
• Once Burned
• Hooked Up
• Rats!
• Mind Games
• Revenant
• Babel
• Terry’s Friend Dates a Robot
• Extra Content:
  • Commentary on the episode “Splicers” by producers Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami, storyboard artist James Tucker, casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano and Will Friedle, the voice of Terry McGinnis.

Season 2 – Disc 3

• Eyewitness
• Final Cut
• The Last Resort
• Armory
• Sneak Peek
• The Eggbaby
• Zeta
• Plague
• April Moon
• Sentries of the Last Cosmos
• Payback
• Where’s Terry?
• Ace in the Hole
• Extra Content:
  • Commentary on the episode “The Eggbaby” by producers Bruce Timm & Glen Murakami, director James Tucker, Producer Glen Murakami, casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano, and Will Friedle.
  • “Inside Batman Beyond: The Panel” (SD, 11:51) – An in-depth discussion with producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Glen Murakami, and Paul Dini as they talk about the show’s second season. The moderator is Jason Hillhouse.

Season 3 – Disc 4

• King’s Ransom
• Untouchable
• Inqueling
• Big Time
• Out of the Past
• Speak No Evil
• The Call, Pt. 1
• The Call, Pt. 2
• Betrayal
• Curse of the Kobra, Pt. 1
• Curse of the Kobra, Pt. 2
• Countdown
• Unmasked
• Extra Content:
  • “Inside Batman Beyond: Season 3” (SD, 9:36) – A discussion on season three with producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Glen Murakami, and Paul Dini.
  • “Inside Batman Beyond Season 3: Close-Up On…” – producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, directors Butch Lukic and James Tucker, and voice actor Will Friedle discuss their favorite moments:
    • “Inside Batman Beyond Season 3: Out of the Past” (SD, 4:32) – producers Bruce Timm & Paul Dini, director James Tucker and voice actor Will Friedle sit down together to talk about “The Legend of Batman” musical and other memorable moments.
    • “Inside Batman Beyond Season 3: The Call, Part 1” (SD, 6:19) – producers Bruce Timm & Paul Dini, director Butch Lukic and Will Friedle discuss the additional heroes and the action showcased in this episode.
    • “Inside Batman Beyond Season 3: The Call, Part 2” (SD, 4:12) – producers Bruce Timm & Paul Dini, director Butch Lukic, and Will Friedle talk about the appearance of Starro and Superman in this episode.
    • “Inside Batman Beyond Season 3: Curse of the Kobra, Part 1” (SD, 4:48) – producers Bruce Timm & Paul Dini, director James Tucker, and Will Friedle reminisce about the personal relationships in this episode.

More Extra Content – Disc 5

• “Nostalgic Tomorrow – A Batman Gathering” (All-New Featurette) HD, 53:19 – We have producers Bruce Timm & Glen Murakami, actors Kevin Conroy & Will Friedle, director James Tucker, casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano, and writers Bob Goodman & Stan Berkowitz talking about the nostalgia associated with this animated show.
• “Knight Immortal” (All-New Featurette) HD, 34:50 – A celebration of the Dark Knight’s 80 years of crime-fighting.
• “Tomorrow Knight: The Batman Reborn” (All-New Featurette) SD, 10:30 – We see an exploration of Terry McGinnis becoming Batman and his relationship with Bruce Wayne.
• “Gotham: City of The Future” SD, 5:34 – A look at what inspired the designs of Gotham in 2039.
• “The High-Tech Hero” SD, 5:44 – A look at the gadgets used by the Dark Knight.
• “Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics” (Documentary) HD, 1:30:26 – A documentary following the rise of DC Comics and the popularity of the superhero genre.

Animated Movie – Disc 6

• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker – Movie
• Extra Features:
  • A Word from the Creators – An audio commentary from Bruce Timm, screenwriter Paul Dini, art director Glen Murakami, and director Curt Geda.
  • Beyond Batman Beyond (SD, 12:00) – A standard EPK for the film.
  • Video Character Bios (HD, 5:00)
  • Confidential Batman Footage – For Your Eyes Only (SD, 5:00) – A deleted scene.
  • “Crash” Music Video (SD, 4:00)
  • Animatics (SD, 3:00) – A series of storyboards
  • Young Justice Trailer (HD, 1:00)

Fans of the Batman Beyond animated series will not be disappointed by this Limited Edition Blu-ray set. The extra content alone offers hours of enjoyable stuff for you to go through.

With everyone gearing up for the holiday season, the Batman Beyond: The Complete Animated Series Limited Edition Blu-ray set can be a great addition to your list of gifts for friends and family who like DC Comics animated adaptations.

This collection is available on Digital, too.

Feel free to share your thoughts with us.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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