Review: Batman Beyond Vol. 3- The Long Payback

Quick Summary

Pros: The majority of the book is exciting and the main conflict is engaging. The storyline continues some character development from the Batman Beyond TV show.

Cons: The opening and closing chapters are just alright.

Overall: Despite a few problems, this is a mostly entertaining book that continues many of this comic’s positive features. It features all of the action and intensity that fans have come to expect while also delivering on some fanservice for fans of the original Batman Beyond show. There are a few lackluster chapters but the vast majority of the book is worthwhile.

Story

Batman Beyond Vol. 3: The Long Payback, by Dan Jurgens, is not quite as amazing as its predecessors but is still an enjoyable adventure. The book’s core conflict lives up to the levels of excitement and action that the series has maintained throughout its run. Plus, the book returns to characters from the Batman Beyond TV show in ways that fans of the show are sure to appreciate. The biggest downside here is that the opening and closing chapters are pretty mediocre. Overall though, the majority of this book reads well and is enjoyable.

(spoilers start here)

The Long Payback starts out a little slow. The opening two chapters mostly focus on a battle between Terry and the Royal Flush Gang. This battle is alright but feels pretty mundane compared to what has taken place in the rest of the series. The only real interest here comes from the mystery being built in the background and a few pieces of information that continue character development from the Batman Beyond TV series.

Things pick up as the mystery in the volume’s opening erupts into the book’s main conflict. Here, Terry faces off against a powerful assassin before being teleported into a battle against an even more deadly foe. He ends up having to team up with a former girlfriend and is even saved by his brother, who briefly takes on the role of Robin. This portion of the read also offers an interesting reflection on Bruce Wayne’s proclivity for building a Bat-family and also continues some character development from the Batman Beyond TV series.

The Long Payback then closes with a chapter that flashes back to a moment from Terry’s earlier days as Batman. Like the book’s opening chapter, this chapter is alright but fails to really impress. It attempts to utilize an atypical form of storytelling, overlaying flashbacks within a story that is also a flashback, but the result lacks cohesion and is a bit underwhelming.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The Long Payback introduces a pretty big change for the artwork in the Batman Beyond series, as Bernard Chang and Marcelo Maiolo, who have worked on this series for five volumes, only produce one chapter here. Instead, the majority of this volume’s artwork comes from penciler Phil Hester, inker Ande Parks, and colourist Michael Spicer. The result is a volume that looks alright but is not as impressive as previous volumes.

The artwork here has a uniquely stylized look and feel to it. Crisp lines and bright colors let the characters stand out against the backgrounds, which allows their actions to really pop. However, in some places, the page structures prevent the action from flowing as well as it could have and, in other places, action is a bit static. This makes for a book with art that does the job but fails to really impress.

Continuity

Batman Beyond Vol. 3: The Long Payback continues the story from Batman Beyond Vol. 2: Rise of the Demon (Review).

The story here continues in Batman Beyond Vol. 4: Target: Batman (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The references to Bane breaking Batman’s back are specifically referring to the Batman: Knightfall arc.
• Terry and Stalker had previously worked together in “Plague” the twenty-first episode of the second season of Batman Beyond.