Batman (Terry McGinnis)

Terrence "Terry" McGinnis (Batman 2) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the television series Batman Beyond. In Batman Beyond, Terry has succeeded Bruce Wayne as Batman, the protector of Gotham City. He is voiced by Will Friedle.

Biography
Terry was born in Gotham City on August 18, 2023, to Warren and Mary McGinnis. By his own admission, he was once a "bad kid." A member of a street gang run by youthful racketeer Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow, Terry has his fair share of run-ins with the Gotham City Police while in his early teens, even serving a three-month stint in juvenile hall. Years after Batman is last seen, he finds himself on the run from another street gang, the Jokerz, who model themselves after the deceased Clown Prince of Crime. Terry flees onto the grounds of Wayne Manor, where an aged Bruce Wayne comes to his defense. The strain of the fight places substantial stress on Bruce's heart, and he collapses. Terry helps Bruce into the mansion and gets him his medication; Bruce proceeds to fall asleep afterwards. Before leaving, Terry notices a bat stuck inside a grandfather clock. As he tries to free it he stumbles upon the entrance to the Batcave.

After Bruce kicks him out, Terry returns home to find his father murdered, and later discovers that Derek Powers --- who has assumed leadership of a merged Wayne-Powers — is responsible. He seeks Bruce's assistance in bringing Powers down, but despite Terry's insistence, Bruce, still shaken from an ordeal years earlier of having relied on a gun for self-defense, maintains that he has given up the cowl. Terry takes matters into his own hands and steals the latest incarnation of the Batsuit. Bruce admonishes him through the suit's communicator, and even shuts down the suit, leaving Terry paralyzed in a fight. Terry, however, is able to convince Bruce to help him confront Powers, who ordered Warren's death after the latter discovered Powers' plan to mass-produce biological weapons. In the end, Powers, who has been exposed to his own hazardous chemicals, experiences the onset of his mutation into Blight.

Convinced that there is still a need for a Batman, Bruce hires Terry as his "personal assistant" and begins secretly training him for his new role as Batman. In addition, Bruce assists Terry in the field primarily by keeping in continual contact with the boy at the Batcave.

After Powers' criminal identity is revealed to the public and he finally brings retribution to his father's killers, Terry decides to continue his role as Batman to make up for his past sins, in hope that his heroic role is his chance at redemption. As a student, he aspires of being a doctor, but his past always comes into his mind. Even though Bruce decides to fight crime after his parents were murdered, Terry has a different reason to continue; before Warren was murdered, Terry always felt guilty about letting his family and friends down because of his past as a juvenile delinquent. Because of this, he always tries to find a way to make up for what he's done – trying his best at school, joining athletic teams, and helping others, in the hope that someday people will see him differently. Terry originally assumed the role of Batman for his father, but eventually sees it as a chance to help people and to look like a worthwhile human being again, in his own eyes if in no one else's.

The Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue" reveals that Terry is Bruce's biological son due to Amanda Waller's "Batman Beyond" project. The project caused Terry's father to have his reproductive DNA overwritten and made Bruce's reproductive DNA dominant when Warren McGinnis took a fake flu shot. This makes Bruce the biological father of both Terry and his brother Matt, even if Warren McGinnis raised them.

Bruce Wayne
Despite his role as the new Batman, Terry leads a very different life than Bruce. In addition to coping with his father's death, Terry struggles to keep his secret identity from his mother and younger brother, much like Tim Drake did during his tenure as Robin in the comics. Because of his responsibilities as Batman, he was not afforded the same licenses the Robins enjoyed and was expected to be on the call whenever he was needed. As a result, Terry was just barely successful at balancing out his dual life, and the issue of him sacrificing his civilian life for his costumed one or neglecting his duties as Batman due to personal commitments became a source of tension between mentor and pupil, on several occasions prompting both men to reconsider Terry's reliability.

Terry and Bruce developed a respect for each other, with Terry regarding Bruce as a surrogate father. This was demonstrated in the episode "Sneak Peek" where Terry pays reporter Ian Peek a visit to plead on Bruce's behalf:

Peek: "He was the original Batman, wasn't he? Wasn't he?" Terry: "I don't care what you do to me, but he doesn't deserve this. He's done too much for this city to wind up in the middle of a media circus." Peek: "He means a lot to you, doesn't he?" Terry: "Yes... he does."

In turn, Bruce treated Terry the same way he treated Dick Grayson and Tim Drake, possibly because of Terry's youth and inexperience. In time, Terry grew into the cowl, and Bruce grew to accept him as his heir to the Batman legacy. The Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue" reveals that Terry is Bruce's biological son due to Amanda Waller's "Batman Beyond" project. This twist may be foreshadowed by the Batman Beyond season three episode,"Inqueling", when Terry notes that Wayne may be more of a "father figure" than Max realizes. The project caused Terry's father to have his reproductive DNA overwritten and made Bruce's reproductive DNA dominant when Warren McGinnis took a fake flu shot. This makes Bruce the biological father of both Terry and his brother Matt, even if Warren McGinnis raised them.

With his family
Terry valued his mother, Mary McGinnis, and his younger brother, Matt, as the closest family he had left. At the time of his death, Warren was divorced from his wife and their sons split between them: Terry with his father, Matt with his mother. After the divorce, Terry's relationship with his father was shown in the episode "Rebirth" to be strained. After Warren's death, Terry moved back in with his mother.

Even though there existed the obligatory spark of sibling rivalry and tough love between him and Matt, Terry would be there to raise his brother's spirits when he was feeling down, notably on one occasion in the episode "Revenant" when Matt was reminiscing about their father.

As far as Mary and Matt were concerned, Terry was simply employed by Bruce Wayne to run errands. They found the idea of Terry being Batman to be absurd, and ridiculed him when he once attempted to reveal his secret in the episode "Sneak Peek".

Max Gibson
Maxine "Max" Gibson was Terry's classmate and closest friend. Exceptionally capable when it came to computers and electronics, Max created a program that succeeded in uncovering Batman's secret identity. After unmasking Terry, she insisted on being a part of his secret life and helped him with everything from computer hacking to babysitting to detective work to coming up with excuses for him to give his girlfriend, Dana. Terry and Max remained close, but their relationship was never shown to exceed the boundaries of friendship. Max is, essentially, Terry's version of Alfred Pennyworth, and Terry even jokingly referred to her as such on one occasion.

The show has been revisited several times since its end, in Justice League and in the movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, but Max has not been seen nor mentioned in any of these.

Dana Tan
Although Terry flirted with several girls throughout the show, his true love has always been Dana Tan, whom he met while attending Hamilton Hill High School. In the episode "Big Time", she recognized Charlie Bigelow by sight, suggesting that Dana and Terry were already together at age 14. Despite their commitment to each other, their relationship was strained as Terry struggled early on as Batman to balance his dual obligations. The two verged on the possibility of breaking up multiple times, especially when Terry met Melanie Walker, AKA Ten of the Royal Flush Gang.

However, as the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue" reveals, Terry ultimately grows into full acceptance of his role as Batman, and somewhere along the line disclosed his secret to Dana. Although it takes him some time to get over his fears for her safety in the event that his identity is ever compromised, the episode ends with Terry planning to propose to her.

Melanie Walker/Ten
In the midst of a breakup with Dana, Terry meets Melanie Walker and the two become attracted to one another. However, Terry is crushed when he learns she too leads a double life—as Ten, the youngest member of the latest incarnation of the Royal Flush Gang. In a burst of clarity, he discards a note Melanie had left him before he apprehends her as Batman, choosing instead not to read it, and goes back to Dana, while Melanie remains in the dark about her enemy and her love being the same person.

Terry has additional encounters with Ten and the Royal Flush Gang; each time, he advises her to turn straight, showing that he still cares deeply about her. Their relationship is somewhat reminiscent of the one the original Batman had with Catwoman, and Bruce even notes it.

Commissioner Barbara Gordon
Terry upheld tradition by forging an alliance with Gotham City's Police commissioner, Barbara Gordon, the daughter of James Gordon and formerly Batgirl, the original Batman's trusted ally. The alliance started out a rocky one, as Barbara never failed to take Terry's juvenile record into account and believed he was too reckless for the role of Batman. The fact that Terry occasionally ruined police stakeout operations by intervening without fully assessing the situation sometimes bore that belief out.

Barbara was reluctant to assist the new Batman and to have a teenager as Gotham's new protector. The direct-to-video movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker revealed that Barbara remains haunted by the torture and humiliation Tim Drake long ago suffered at the hands of the Joker. She advised Terry to give up being Batman, and once tried to arrest him after he was framed for murder of criminal Mad Stan by Spellbinder. However, realizing that she couldn't deter him anymore than she could've been deterred from being Batgirl, Barbara relented.

Barbara eventually warmed up to Terry, assisting him when Bruce was put out of action by a revived Joker. She stated that she hoped Terry would avoid the lonely existence that Bruce eventually led. However, Barbara's attitude was different from James Gordon's, and she noted once that she was "not my (her) father", never working as closely with Terry as her father did with Bruce. (i.e. using a Bat-Signal, directly giving him cases, etc).

Charlie Bigelow
One of the characters to have the most influence on Terry's childhood was Charlie Bigelow, a young swindler who dragged Terry into a life of crime. In the episode "Big Time", Terry states that "Charlie was 18 and I was 14. Then Charlie decided to prove himself to this big gang and he dragged me along on a heist. I didn't even know what we were doing until he was climbing in the window. Next thing I knew, the cops were shouting 'Freeze' and I was doing 90 days in juvie. That was a slap on the wrist next to Charlie. He was in prison for three years." After this, Terry carried a guilty feeling toward Charlie; he would e-mail Charlie periodically while he was in prison.

Despite Terry's friendship with Bigelow and the regret that his time in jail didn't reform him, subsequent events in the episode "Betrayal" make clear that this friendship was never truly reciprocated by Bigelow who viewed Terry as hired muscle and a pawn while he unseated a crime lord known as the Major. Terry finally lets go of his guilt toward Charlie and sees the monster he really is.

With other superheroes
Terry grew up admiring other superheroes of his day, the Justice League Unlimited. Eventually, he was recruited by Superman to root out a traitor in the team...who turned out to be Superman himself, under the control of an extraterrestrial creature. Though initially the rest of the team distrusted him due to his perceived inexperience, Terry gained their trust by saving their lives.

While Terry apparently departed the team after freeing Superman from the alien's mind control, he seems to have rejoined, as later episodes of Justice League Unlimited show him as a regular member (and possibly leader). It can be inferred from the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue" that Terry as Batman may have a professional relationship with Superman very similar to Bruce Wayne's.

When Static is sent forty years into the future from the time of the Justice League Animated Series, he is forced to work with Terry to rescue his future self from the KOBRA organization. While Terry doubted his abilities at first, the new Batman would eventually develop respect for the young superhero. The older Static is noted to be a prominent member of the Justice League, in the Batman Beyond era.

Project Batman Beyond
In the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue", which transpires 15 years after Batman Beyond, Terry discovers the shocking truth about his parentage. When the elderly Bruce Wayne requires tissue for the cloning of a kidney to transplant, Terry is checked for compatibility, and to his surprise, his DNA is similar to Bruce's. After hesitating for a time, he runs a DNA test and finds out that Bruce is his biological father. Terry accuses Bruce of orchestrating his entire life and even contemplates giving up his role as Batman, but Bruce suggests that Terry find out the truth, leading Terry to confront the elderly Amanda Waller.

Terry vents some of his frustration about Bruce and his plans to Waller, only to be surprised when Waller reveals that Bruce wasn't responsible for Terry's genetic makeup: she was. Decades earlier, Waller launched a program using her old Project Cadmus connections, codenaming it Project Batman Beyond. Despite the often antagonistic relationship she had with Batman, Waller had surmised Bruce's secret identity, and, as years passed, she came to believe that the world would always need a Batman. Retrieving genetic samples from injuries Batman sustained while fighting crime, she obtained the necessary DNA for the next phase of her project.

Tests run found a compatible couple with psychological profiles nearly identical to Thomas and Martha Wayne in Warren and Mary McGinnis. When Warren went in for a flu shot, he was secretly administered a dose of nanites that rewrote the genetic code of his reproductive material into an exact copy of Bruce Wayne's. Thus, Bruce is Terry's biological father, and Matt's by proxy.

Waller hired The Phantasm, Andrea Beaumont (the love interest and villain from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm) to assassinate Warren and Mary, to simulate the circumstances that propelled Bruce to become Batman. However, Andrea abandoned her mission at the last minute; knowing first hand what losing his parents had done to Bruce, she refused to force another innocent child to suffer, also believing that continuing the Batman legacy by such methods would betray everything Bruce stood for. Andrea managed to convince Waller of her viewpoint, and Waller never again tried to have Warren and Mary killed. In spite of this, Warren was murdered years later by Derek Powers, and Project Batman Beyond ended up succeeding.

Once he leaves Waller's home with this knowledge, Terry comes to terms with the reality that Bruce is technically his biological father, prepares to propose to Dana (who now knows his secret identity), and returns to the role of Batman.

According to episode co-writer Dwayne McDuffie, Bruce, as the world's greatest detective, became aware that Terry and Matt are his genetic offspring at some point after Terry assumed the role of Batman, and figured out the machinations of Waller and Project Cadmus. However, he never brought it up as he wanted Terry to be his own man, and out of respect for Warren McGinnis.

Abilities and equipment
In addition to the training he received from Bruce Wayne, Terry appeared at least to be an able street-fighter. In the first part of the pilot episode, "Rebirth," he participated in his high school's wrestling team, and he fended off several Jokerz alone, displaying uncommon agility and tenacity for a civilian. Under Bruce's tutelage, Terry has honed his body to at least Olympic levels. As expected of Batman, he engages in regular, rigorous training to minimize his reliance on the Batsuit.

Terry has engaged in combat outside of the Batsuit at various instances, at one time going up against the Batsuit itself when it was possessed by a cyberpathic entity. His training has granted him exceptional reflexes, enabling him to evade gunfire and make impressive leaping attempts whether in or out of the Batsuit. In one instance, without the suit's aid, Terry survived a fall from several stories high by bouncing off a pillar that was about to crush him, and landed on his feet. Terry even managed to defeat his suit one time in single combat when it was controlled by an insane computer consciousness, armed only with Wayne's vintage utility belt's equipment.

Terry's style of combat seems to be based on agility and he usually uses aerial leaps and bounds during a fight. He also uses untraditional fighting styles and dirty methods as opposed to the martial arts styles that the original Batman used (even mentioned by the Joker in "Return of the Joker").

In "Epilogue", Amanda Waller comments that Terry has inherited all of Bruce's qualities. He possesses a genius level intellect, though Waller comments that this is not as high as Bruce's. He probably inherited it from his parents, whether biological or genetic, since Bruce is a polymath detective, scientist, and martial artist while his father, Warren, worked as a research scientist in Wayne-Powers (who mandated intellectual practicing for his son such as memorizing times tables into the double digits) and Mary works as an astronomer in Astro-Tech. He has been trained by Bruce as a detective, though his ambition is to be a physician. Under Bruce, he learned to establish cures, remedies, and antidotes. As a student, his main interests are in Health or Medical sciences and History, as seen in "Curse of the Curare" and obtains good grades in school as seen in "The Egg Baby". He seems to be a capable actor, having successfully conned his way in and out of many sticky situations.

As Batman, Terry emulates Bruce's deep, harsh tone. He does this of his own accord, to separate the entities of Terry and Batman (Terry can be heard using his "Batman voice" outside of the Batsuit in the episode "Shriek").

He also seems to have gained a mother box as seen in "The Once and Future Thing Part 2" as he calls one up.

Terry's Batsuit
The Batsuit currently worn by Terry was actually almost eighteen years old at the time of the series' inception. However, its technology is so advanced that the Batsuit is still considered state-of-the-art. One of the most notable features of the suit is that it now covers the entire face, a departure from previous costumes (though Batman's mouth is still left exposed, a possible design flaw, especially when faced with opponents like Inque). The cape has been eliminated, being replaced by glider wings under the arms. Thrusters built into the boots allow Batman to fly in the absence of wind. However, for long range flight, he has an aerial version of the Batmobile to use.

The Batsuit conforms to the size and physique of its wearer, as seen by how it was able to fit both Terry and Bruce, who had different physical statures at the time. It is very durable, being able to withstand massive concussive forces (it was able to take blows from Superman), fire, lasers, electric shocks, underwater pressure, wind force, and even radiation in small doses.

The Batsuit grants him the following abilities:


 * Enhanced strength by a factor of ten.
 * Minimal reduction (or increase) in flexibility.
 * Enhanced visual assistance that allows him to see in the dark (visual from the Batsuit can be fed back to the main computer in the Batcave; it can also receive visual from the main computer, allowing for superior tactical planning). The visor can also serve as digital binoculars and an infrared filter.
 * Personal communicator allows Terry to keep in constant contact with Bruce at the Batcave.
 * Enhanced ballistic protection.
 * Significantly resistant to heat, electricity, water, and vibrations, but only slightly resistant to radiation.
 * Built-in rebreather for underwater combat/exploration.
 * Dispensable Batarangs with a range of auxiliary functions, such as producing electric shocks. However, there is a limit to the amount of Batarangs the Batsuit can dispense; Batman has run out on at least one occasion. Also, the Batsuit has discs that can be fired from the tops of the hands.
 * Electrical discharges throughout the suit that can be activated by pushing the button on the belt.
 * Grappling guns built into the forearms.
 * Flashbang grenades.
 * Smoke pellets.
 * Flexicuffs.
 * Launchable tracers.
 * A retractable PIN or password decipherer in the form of a key on the right index finger.
 * Retractable wings under the arms to glide on.
 * Rocket boots enabling limited flight.
 * Electromagnetic pads in the soles of the boots for adhesion to certain surfaces.
 * Sensitive touch microphone on index and middle fingers that permits eavesdropping through solid surfaces.
 * Drug identifier, utilized by dipping fingers into the substance.
 * Built-in cloaking device that enables almost complete camouflage (this function possibly consumes a good deal of the Batsuit's power, as Batman minimizes its usage). It allows camouflage extending into the visible light and infrared frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum. A countermeasure used by Commissioner Barbara Gordon to this in one incident where she was hunting Batman down was through tracking him using an ultraviolet light to illuminate him. The origin of the cloaking device could be based on the failed light refractive polymer developed in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "See No Evil." The reason the invisibility plastic failed in the B:TAS episode was that sending electrical current through the material caused it to become toxic, affecting the mind as well as the body. Regardless, the original Batman may have saved samples of the plastic and/or the research notes and resolved the toxicity issues, incorporating them into the Beyond Batsuit.
 * Retractable claws which can be used to slice, clip, or facilitate climbing.
 * Can uplink with the Batmobile for remote piloting.
 * A remote kill function that can externally deactivate the suit from the Batcave.
 * The belt buckle also serves as a buzz saw to get out of a room quickly or to cut through denser material.

Weaknesses
The Batsuit augments Terry's physical prowess considerably, and thus he is sometimes prone to complacency in the midst of danger. Terry favors jibing his opponents, even when defusing volatile situations, though this trait may be productive depending on the opponent he is facing. When he faced the Joker, he was able to get under the villain's skin and gain the upper hand by mocking his opponent and laughing out loud – something Bruce Wayne never did. His initial brashness has also landed him in trouble, though this is a limitation he has grown to overcome. One weakness that he has as revealed in the episode "Curse of the Kobra" is that he leaves his left side open when he is fighting.

The Exosuit
Seen only twice in the series, it was donned by Bruce Wayne in an encounter with Inque, who had kidnapped Terry and was holding him hostage. This was despite the fact that Bruce was having heart problems at the time. It was a suit of heavy armor with retractable plates that enhanced the survivability of the wearer, boosting their physical strength and resilience to superhuman levels, at a level greater than that of the Batsuit.

Its full capabilities are unknown, but it was visually confirmed that the protection it offered to its wearer, as well as its strength, were well above the level of the Batsuit.

It was featured in the episode "Disappearing Inque".

Other appearances
In addition to having his own ongoing comic book, the Tomorrow Knight made an appearance in Superman Adventures #64, chasing a futuristic version of Brainiac.

The Batman Beyond concept became DC Comics canon in the pages of Superman/Batman issues 22 and 23, wherein Bizarro is transported to an alternate reality somewhere in Hypertime which resembled the Batman Beyond-era Gotham City, with Batman Beyond in action with the 1992 animated black-and-red costume and Batplane. This version of the character is in radio contact with Bruce Wayne, but was referred to as "Tim"; at a panel at Wondercon 2007, the DC panel stated that this was an error, and should be "Terry". The Batman Beyond cameo was enough to garner a DC Direct action figure, the character's first in years. However, the name is still misprinted as "Tim Drake". This may have also been an alternate reality, given that Batzarro went into one as well.

McGinnis has made guest appearance on the Batman Beyond spin-off series, The Zeta Project. He also appeared on Static Shock, in the episode "Future Shock," which involved time travel and a future Static.

McGinnis later made appearances in two episodes of Justice League Unlimited, "The Once and Future Thing, Part 2: Time Warped," alongside Static and Warhawk. He was apparently killed in the episode, though his death was undone later as the episode's plot involved time travel. After the Time Warp was fixed and Terry's death was prevented, Terry is seen fifteen years older in the JLA episode "Epilogue," which was centered on him and took place in his timeline, serving as the series finale to Batman Beyond.

Also, in the DC comic book Countdown to Final Crisis, former Robin Jason Todd, former Wonder Girl Donna Troy, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, and Bob the Monitor travel to "Earth-12," which resembles the DCAU's future. They witness from the rooftops someone in a Batman Beyond costume defeating some of the Jokerz gang (although they don't know who is under the mask of the future Batman), to which Jason Todd says: "Huh. The more things change, the more they stay the same." The group speculate that either Tim Drake or Dick Grayson is under the mask. However, The Monitor confirms it is indeed McGinnis.