Hope, Love, and Bikinis: Starfire #12

The following is my review of Starfire #12, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

There are some characters who are simply beyond redemption and not all of them are clones, robots, or Nazis. Sometimes, a character goes in a direction that takes them past the point of no return, rendering them a punchline and a cautionary tale. That's not to say Starfire got close to that point, but she came closer than most after DC's New 52 reboot.

It's hard to forget the bland yet buxom persona that Starfire wielded in the early days of Red Hood and the Outlaws. That version of the character had the presence of groupie for an '80s hair metal band and only a fraction of the personality. She carried herself in a way that makes a Kardashian seem reserved. It marked a complete departure of the lovable yet immodest character that is supposed to embody the heart and soul of Teen Titans. That makes the journey that ends in Starfire #12 all the more satisfying.

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti take on the daunting challenge of making Starfire lovable and interesting in a way that doesn't involve presenting her as a walking Playboy centerfold. It's challenging because it's easy to make a beautiful woman appealing, even if she's an alien with orange skin and liberal attitudes towards nudity. It's like a cheat code on a difficult video game, tempting writers to enter it every time they get stuck.

Beautiful female characters will always have a certain level. The forces of evolution hardwire male brains into being drawn to them. The real challenge is building on top of that appeal so that it doesn't completely define the character. Conner and Palmiotti succeed in that challenge any number of ways throughout this series, giving Starfire new friends, new roles, and new opportunities to do more than just look good in a bikini. Starfire #12 takes those successes and celebrates them, literally at one point.

This isn't a sad, solemn goodbye. This isn't a tragic, depressing memory in the making that will require therapy at some point. Starfire is leaving the home she built in this series, but she's leaving it with a smile and a sense of hope. At a time when DC Comics can't resist the urge to kill Superman in every possible medium, it's a breath of fresh air that brings out the best of character who badly needs it.

The friends that Starfire made in this series are the main ingredient that make this series work. Stella, Sol, and Terra aren't just supporting characters who manage to move Starfire's story forward without dying. They each have their own story to tell. Those stories make up vital moments throughout this series and Starfire #12 acts as a culmination of those stories.

Stella, a wonderfully balanced female character with a crass sense of humor, acts as an anchor of sorts for Starfire. She helps reveal both the harsh and not-so-harsh truths of living in a world populated by humans who don't share Starfire's strength, powers, or attitudes towards nudity. She's crass at times, but in a loving sort of way. She's a perfect complement for Starfire, being all too human at times and having a good sense of humor about it. When there are so many jokes to be made about Starfire's sexualized persona, this kind of attitude is practically necessary.

In addition to Stella's friendship, Starfire enjoys a more intimate connection with her brother Sol, but not in the typical Baywatch tradition. There is chemistry. There is sincerity. It is not on par with Superman and Lois Lane, but it's more meaningful than 95 percent of the relationships Tony Stark has ever had.

Sol isn't some nerdy, Big Bang Theory stereotype either. He does rescue work for the Coast Guard and recently lost someone dear to him. He's as well-rounded and sympathetic a character as anyone can be without being too much like Batman. The culmination of his story actually helps bring out another important component of Starfire's character that sets her apart and makes her appealing, regardless of whether or not she's wearing a bikini.

As Starfire is making the hard decision to leave Key West, she finds out that Sol is now romantically involved with a co-worker. This isn't a love triangle though. There isn't another Wolverine/Jean Grey/Cyclops scenario where someone gets heartbroken or goes on a cosmic-powered rampage. Starfire, once again showing some very alien attitudes, is genuinely happy for Sol. She loves that someone she loves has found love. It might sound like the kind of hippie philosophy that only works on communes and dirty movies, but it actually highlights an important part of Starfire's character.

Because of how she looks, what she does, and how she does it, it's easy to forget sometimes that Starfire is an alien. She comes from a very alien culture. She's even explored that culture at various points in this series, making it clear that her people are loving and empathic. To them, the idea of being upset that someone else has found love seems irrational and cruel. It creates an important context for Starfire's character that's easy to overlook when she's wearing a bikini, but it gives her a level of depth and sincerity that makes her easy to love.

Pretty much everything Starfire does in Starfire #12 helps make her a lovable character again. She surrounds herself with her new friends, gives them a sincere goodbye, and then leaves. It might not sound exciting, but it conveys the necessary drama, making the narrative of the overall series feel complete.

For those who didn't follow the series from its inception, it might be difficult to appreciate the story as a whole. It does lack action and excitement compared to previous issues, but Starfire #12 doesn't need a final showdown or an elaborate boss battle. It just needs to complete this portion of Starfire's journey as a character and it's a journey she needed to take, even if she didn't do some parts of it fully clothed.

After Starfire #12, Conner and Palmiotti can now boldly claim that they rebuilt Starfire's character. They made her lovable beyond her innate sex appeal. It's a remarkable accomplishment in the grand scheme of superhero characters. When a female character can be both lovable and sexy, everybody wins.

Final Score: 8 out of 10

Work/Life (Im)balance: Batgirl #45

The following is my review of Batgirl #45, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

When it comes to work/life balance, too many people see it as an either/or proposition. You work for 30 hours a day, toiling endlessly in the reckless pursuit of advancing a career that may or may not have room to advance. Or you can work with the same spirit as a Dilbert cartoon, seeing it only as a chore that gets in the way of whatever your true interests might be. There's a vast gray area in which most people operate, but it's also an area that is ill-suited for Batman and others like him.

In that sense, Barbara Gordon makes the most concerted effort of the Batman family to balance work and life. She doesn't dedicate three-fourths of her day to living in a cave, analyzing crime patterns, and endlessly debating with Superman. She actually tries to have a functioning personal life in addition to being Batgirl. She's a college student now, trying to live off a diet of lattes and Ramen Noodle while fighting crime. For the most part, Barbara has managed to avoid having the kind of nervous breakdown that most ordinary college students have during midterms. But like tuition hikes and overpriced textbooks, there are bound to be complications.

These complications in Barbara Gordona's life, both in and out of the mask, have been slowly developing. Batgirl #45 attempts to accelerate that development. While the pace isn't going to be hazardous to anyone with a heart condition, it at least develops the parts of her life that usually get overlooked. It might not be as exciting as a fist-fight with the Joker, but it's still refreshing and meaningful.

There's no crime to fight in this issue. This isn't a case of Peter Parker getting a pay cut because the Hobgoblin attacked him on the way to work. The most pressing concern for Barbara and Batgirl in this issue is her friend Alysia's wedding. On the surface, it's mundane by Batman standards. Unless the wedding is subject to a random attack by Clayface, it doesn't seem like an event worth exploring. But Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher make the case that there is something compelling here.

Usually, when there's a wedding involving superheroes, it's only compelling if it coincides with a disaster that makes the first two Hangover movies look tame by comparison. We've come to expect the life of a superhero to make major events like weddings a magnet for super-villains, assassins, and the occasional killer robot. None of those threats show up at Alysia's wedding, but someone disruptive does enter the picture. And his name is Dick Grayson.

This is where the tone of the Batgirl series as a whole sets itself apart. Rather than put Barbara in a situation where her superhero life gets in the way of her personal life, Stewart and Fletcher blur the line between those lives. They put Barbara in a position where she has to deal with someone who was and still is part of both lives. It's an awkward position to be in, even when it's not on a friend's wedding day. But it's that awkwardness that makes it compelling and not in the same mold as a typical Jennifer Anniston movie.

While there's no major crime for Batgirl to fight, she does don her costume. She does end up chasing Dick in a way that helps them relive their history together. It's a history where major complications have kept them from developing a serious relationship. And Dick being "dead" is hardly the biggest complication.

Throughout the course of the Batgirl series, Barbara has focused on moving forward with her life. She's established herself as both a superhero and a college student. She even managed to find time to make new friends, some of which act as de-facto allies to the Batman family. She also has a new love interest in her life in Luke Fox. These are the new facets of her life. Dick Grayson is one of those old facets. He's not one of those bitter exes that would post embarrassing pictures on Facebook, but he makes clear that he still has an impact on Barbara.

It's this impact that gives the issue meaning. It provides a unique context to the progress Barbara has made with her life at this point. She's trying to move forward, but her behavior around Dick Grayson shows that a part of her is still clinging to the past. And it's not just because Dick Grayson has a way of making women weak in the knees. He and Barbara have a much richer history than Barbara and Luke Fox. And it's not like that history became tainted by a deal with Mephisto. It still has emotional weight.

In some ways, that's the biggest shortcoming of Batgirl #45. As meaningful as the interaction is between Barbara and Dick, there's never a sense of closure. It has emotional depth, but it doesn't give the impression that anything has changed. Barbara and Dick still can't be part of each other's lives. There's still an emotional connection between them. But beyond that, there isn't much progress in terms of character development. And what little there is certainly doesn't give the impression that Barbara Gordon and Luke Wilson will be DC's next power couple.

As a part of the story in Barbara Gordon's new life, this issue acts as a meaningful connection between the past and present. It lacks action in that this is one of those rare comic book weddings where the ceremony isn't ruined by a super-villain, alien invasion, or something of the sort. It's not meant to be the Red Wedding episode of Game of Thrones.

As such, it's not going to generate a lot of excitement or a lot of outrage from One Million Moms. It tries to do something different. It succeeds in part, but lacks the impact to make it feel complete. It's still another step forward in this new life for Barbara Gordon. The fact that she could make it through her friend's wedding without someone being abducted puts her way ahead of Peter Parker.

Final Score: 7 out of 10

Feminine, Sexy, and So Much More: Starfire #4

The following is my review of Starfire #4, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Comic book fans are known for a lot of things, including elaborately detailed costumes and a love of writers with thick English accents. There are also a number of unspoken commandments such as thoust shalt not retcon needlessly or thoust shalt not tolerate delays of the Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch variety. However, as unreasonable as many fans can be, they can also be pretty forgiving.

It wasn’t that long ago that Starfire became the buxom symbol of everything DC Comics did wrong with the New 52 reboot. She went from this overly immodest yet inherently likable alien girl to a walking sexbot with the personality of Jessica Rabbit. Her role in Red Hood and the Outlaws was so crude that even the most ardent anti-feminist would roll their eyes. More than any other DC character, she needed a fresh start. That’s exactly what Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti gave her in the new Starfire series.

As a concept, a Starfire series sounds antithetical to the recent surge in female-friendly comics that are trying to do more than just pander to every male fantasy imaginable. However, Starfire at her core still embodies many powerful feminine traits. Those traits have often been lost because of her overt sexuality. And what has made this series work is that it doesn’t try to circumvent that sexuality. It tries to build a personality around it. And in Starfire #4, the formation of that personality feels complete.

A big part of rebuilding Starfire in a more likable, less pornographic context has been dedicated to establishing a new life in Key West. Given Florida’s capacity for tolerating both diverse personalities and the Bush family, it has proven to be a fitting home. She’s teamed up with a local sheriff named Stella to establish herself in this unique environment. It’s not Gotham. It’s not Metropolis. It’s not Disney World either. It’s a sunny, tropical environment for an alien girl with orange skin and few qualms about nudity. It’s perfect for her.

With that life established, completes Starfire #4 the process by getting Starfire back to basics. That includes fighting off killer monsters, which tend to pop up in every part of the DC Universe at some point. It sounds pretty standard. A beautiful alien female beating up a monster is nothing new. Wonder Woman has been doing it since 1941. However, Connor and Palmiotti find an interesting way to make it engaging while keeping Starfire fully clothed.

They do this by getting Terra, another Teen Titans veteran, involved in the story. She’s actually the one the monster is targeting in this conflict. That alone is pretty novel because whenever a superhero sets up shop in a new town, their enemies follow them like vindictive IRS agents. The fact that Starfire didn’t attract this kind of danger is somewhat jarring, but it doesn’t stop her from helping Terra out. Starfire isn’t just overtly sexual. She’s still a superhero every now and then.

Terra even offers Sheriff Stella some background as to why monsters are trying to kill her. It’s a bit disorganized in that it interrupts the flow of action, but it helps build on the context. It’s also a context that evokes Starfire’s excessive compassion. That’s another trait that often got lost in her overt sexualization and it’s a trait that helps set her apart from the Supergirls and Wonder Woman’s of the world. She’ll let herself get emotional. She’ll let herself cry and hug someone whereas Wonder Woman would probably tell someone to suck it up.

It’s this trait that brings out the best in Starfire, both in this issue and throughout the series as a whole. She’s a more open and emotional character. She’ll embrace total strangers, be the Terra or some immature guys trying to buy her a drink at a bar. She doesn’t do it in a way that feels fake or insincere. At no point does she ever come off as ditzy in the Kelly Bundy tradition. She just conveys the personality of someone who is loving and affectionate to everyone around her.

It’s a trait that’s distinct to her character and distinct to feminine themes. She doesn’t try to be tough enough to fight alongside the Supermans and Batmans of the world. She doesn’t try to be too much like Supergirl or Wonder Woman either. Starfire is her own person and even when she keeps her clothes on, she’s lovable and friendly in a way that Jessica Rabbit will never match.

While Starfire #4 does a good job of conveying Starfire’s toughness and compassion, there are times the narrative gets a bit chaotic. Terra’s inclusion in the story overshadows Starfire at some point, but it’s only temporary. In addition, there are hints about other conflicts emerging that don’t involve monsters that look like they were ripped from a Resident Evil game. However, these hints are overly vague and don’t offer much insight into the complications that Starfire faces.

It still doesn’t take away from what this story has accomplished. Connor and Palmiotti have done something truly remarkable here. They took a character that once embodied everything that was wrong with female characters in comic books and turned her into someone that appeals to curious women as much as it does horny men.

Starfire is still a sexual person by nature, as shown in her love of bikinis and casual nudity. But now those sexual traits are in the context of a character who is open, emotional, and affectionate to everyone around her. She’s like a movie that is only bad if the wrong scenes are emphasized. But when the right scenes are given proper focus, it makes for an entertaining and compelling narrative. Starfire #4 is proof that a female character can be sexual, feminine, and likable while still beating up monsters on the side. She’s not going to become a feminist icon anytime soon, but she’s already proven that she doesn’t need to be in order to be special.

Final Score: 7 out of 10

Batman Beyond #4 - Secrets and Setbacks

Batman Beyond has done a lot to try and recapture the magic of the old TV show. It's also done a lot to try and be like a real Batman comic and not be some cheap gimmick that has people going "Ooh, it's Batman...from the future! Wow! Take my money!" To do this the Batman Beyond series has focused heavily not on the hardcore action or fighting of the show, but on the old school mystery element that made the Batman comics so epic. And I'm not talking about the mind-bending Lost style awesome that requires three doses of LSD and two doses of meth to at least partially follow. I'm talking about the classic mystery we got tested in back in grade school with motive, clues, and what not. Even though I got a D- on those tests, Batman Beyond is a mystery written in a way that is easy to follow and pretty damn awesome.

The mystery in this mini centers around the new Batman, Terry McGinnis, trying to uncover the truth behind a string of murders involving Batman's old enemies. The face behind these murders is supposedly Hush, the classic Batman villain who had ties to the early life of Bruce Wayne. However, that would be a bit of a stretch and not just because the guy is supposed to be dead. This is 40 years in the future and Bruce is old as dirt. Since Hush came after him when he was still in his prime, he should be withering with osteoporosis and pissing into a bag. So what's going on here? That's the question Terry has to answer.

Batman Beyond #4 brings where the last issue ended. Hush was confronting yet another old Batman villain (at least an updated version) in Catwoman. He had been getting help from her in his screwing-with-Batman plan and to no one's surprise, he looks to screw her over and not in a way you could make Viagra commercials about. There's still no clue as to who this new Catwoman is. She doesn't offer any hints, only that she's not related to the old Catwoman. Yeah, that's really helpful. But before Hush can finish the job, Batman shows up. However, it's not the old Batman or even the new Batman. It's a robot Batman. Don't get too excited though. It's not as awesome as it sounds.

So Hush is only fooled for a very brief moment. He's about as impressed as the readers probably are when it comes to Batman using a robot. It's not even a very good robot either. Terminator fans who may be reading this will scoff at how ineffective this robo-Batman is because Hush only takes one blow before out-smarting the machine (take that Skynet!). Well he doesn't exactly outsmart it. The damn thing malfunctions like the Windows Vista beta version. It's pretty underwhelming and with all those billions, you would think Bruce would have at least tried to work out the kinks.

While robo-Batman is giving himself a bad name, new Batman is still working the mystery angle with another old Batman ally, Dick Grayson. This is a character that never showed up in the TV show so it's nice to finally see him in the world of Batman Beyond. He's got some white hair going like the rest of the old Batman cast and like Tim Drake he's left pretty embittered by Bruce. He still made a new life for himself, teaching gymnastics and acrobatics. Terry's only mildly impressed. He gets right to the good-cop/bad-cop routine, asking for an alibi since Dick is one of the very few who knows Batman's secrets. If Tim Drake could go a little nuts, why couldn't Dick? Well he does offer an alibi and he also offers some insight into his history. While he doesn't have the rogue's gallery Batman has in his cave, he did keep one of his old uniforms (albeit riddled with bullet holes).

Dick has the potential to offer some vital clues while filling in some of the blanks the show never got to. While Terry is getting this history lesson, the battle of robo-Batman continues to unfold. Not only that, the new Catwoman enlisted the help of some robo-Catwomen as well. It must be a mark of status in the future. You're not really awesome until you have your own army of duplicates doing your dirty work. Some may find the whole robot angle pretty lame, but since this is the future it does fit somewhat. It's just that for all the supposed advancements made, the damn things are still an insult to the Terminators and every robot movie ever made. That doesn't mean they don't kick a little ass though. Batman does manage to get some fight out of his robots and give Hush a good beat down.

Where it all goes wrong is in the design. Hush may be flesh and blood, but he still has a working brain. He quickly picks out a flaw in robo-Batman's design. He guesses that the main power supply is under the trademarked Batman emblem and guess what? He's right. It's just like those lame putty soldiers in the old Power Ranger TV show. One hit to a certain point and it's done for. Not a very effective design to say the least. The only thing Bruce can possibly do to not be completely humiliated is self-destruct the damn thing. In comics, that's like standing up with a bullhorn and admitting to a large crowd that you're a pussy.

It's clear Bruce is not doing very well without Terry, but someone has to do the whole mystery game. In the process, there's a quick flashback with Dick Grayson and this is where it gets a little muddled from the show. He says that during Bruce's final days as Batman the Joker showed up and abducted Alfred. But how can that be? It was already revealed in a previous issue that the whole plot of Return of the Joker still applied. Anyone who saw that story on a late-night rerun on Cartoon Network knows that the Joker was killed by Tim Drake. So how could he show up again to abduct Alfred? Moreover, how can this be the point when Bruce retired? In the first episode of Batman Beyond, it showed Bruce still going at it as an old man in the new suit. Something is clearly very wrong here.

It's the first major hiccup in the continuity with this series. So far the book has been very good at staying true to what the old show established. This is quite a misstep because it's flying in the face of events that were already established in this very mini. If Tim Drake never made an appearance, then one could say it was a retcon. But that's not the case. Someone drilled a hole here and it's big enough for Ron Jeremy to fuck. There is some other details about Dick getting shot during this process, but for most readers that will fly right over their heads as they're too busy scratching it trying to rectify this first and blatant inconsistency.

There may very well be an explanation for this, but for now it's a hole that this series will have to work around. There is some reprieve when another familiar face from Batman Beyond shows up, his old friend Max. Her hair is dyed a different color in this comic, but she's still clearly the new Batman's Alfred except she has boobs and no accent. She's able to give Terry a good pep talk and prompt him to quit with the detective shit and go do something about Hush and the shit he's been pulling.

What he ends up doing is luring Hush out by disguising himself as one of Batman's current villains, Mad Stan. He was one of the more colorful villains in the show, not so much a master criminal and more an overall trouble-maker. He was no Joker, but he was easy to laugh at. His appearance is more than enough to get Hush in the mix for another fight and this time he's packing more deranged madness this time. He's also got a spear, which admittedly isn't as subtle as a boomerang but even in the future being stabbed still hasn't been rendered obsolete.

The fighting is a lot more intense this time around. Hush isn't looking to taunt or tease Terry like some overpriced street hooker. He's out for blood. He rants on about how this is part of some bigger plan to do what's right for Gotham. Somehow killing Batman, the guy who has always taken it upon himself to save Gotham, is supposed to work. I don't get it either and it sounds like someone is off his meds for making this case, but Hush believes his madness the same way Donald Trump believes his own superiority. This seems to be enough because he ends up delivering a fatal blow to Terry.

Then comes the big reveal. Hush has taken down Batman. He's stabbed him, wounded him, and humiliated him. Now feeling his balls descend a bit more, he rips off the bandages covering his face to reveal his identity. Only it's not the same Hush that was described a few issues ago. This Hush is actually Dick Grayson. Yeah, the same damn Dick Grayson from earlier in the books! Somehow that alibi of his wasn't as solid as he claimed and somehow he figured out to be two places at once, fighting Catwoman while meeting with Terry. It's shocking and confusing, sort of like sitting on tasers while high on cocaine. It's certainly unexpected, but it offers more confusion rather than mystery.

So we've got Dick Grayson showing up and later revealing himself as Hush. This comes on top of that flashback that flies directly in the face of the story revealed in the cartoon. For a series that had been so streamlined and solid, it's like someone drove over a pothole laced with grease from a MacDonalds deep fryer. It didn't completely crash and burn, but it's swerving recklessly throughout a busy residential neighborhood and taking out a few kids and small kittens in the process. Even though these reveals made for some strong moments, they weren't all that striking and didn't hit an emotional chord. That in many ways is the greatest weakness of the book. Because of the confusing twists, it's hard to get really attached to it.

That doesn't mean it's been completely destroyed. This issue was not up to par with the previous three and it's really hurt the overall flow of the story. However, it certainly isn't beyond redemption. There could certainly be a worthy explanation in the next issue as there so often are with other mystery books. Perhaps that flashback in this book was a ruse. Perhaps that Dick Grayson that Terry talked to was a ruse. Perhaps even the Hush claiming to be Dick Grayson is an impostor. There are plenty of possibilities and it depends on how it brings the story together. For now though, this issue fell short of it's predecessors. That's why I give Batman Beyond #4 a 3 out of 5. It's not terrible enough to pan just yet, but it has some work to do to be awesome again. Nuff said.

Batman Beyond #3 - Expanding Awesome

For the first two issues, the Batman Beyond mini-series has done a lot to remind fans of why the show was so freaking awesome back in the day and why the whole concept of it was abandoned way too quickly. That's not to say it didn't have it's faults. I'm sure there are so many reasons why telling stories about a future Batman trying to pick up the mantle from Bruce Wayne would have to be thrown out (if there was a way to highlight text as sarcasm, I would be using it excessively right now). But for what it's done so far, the Batman Beyond mini-series has been able to capture much of what the old cartoon established, only this time they don't have to worry about bullshit censors from WB that don't allow characters to even say the world "heck" without their assholes clenching.

So far the mini has centered around bringing an old Batman foe into the future and having Terry McGinnis (a guy whose used to taking on futuristic assholes like Inque, Shriek, and Blight) take them on without coming off as a douche-bag for beating down on elders. The big villain that was revealed in the last issue is a villain that would have made the FCC shit themselves if he had made it onto the show. Hush, a guy whose face consists mostly of bandages, is a violent killer from Bruce Wayne's past that was part of one of the best Batman stories in the past decade. Now he wants to fuck with the new Batman. How he's managed to stay in such good shape over 40 years later is a mystery nobody has even touched on yet. Either he's working out with Selvester Stallone or taking a shit ton of HGH (which would also put him in league with Stallone).

At the end of the previous issue, Hush confronts the new Batman while he's looking to off another one of Batman's old villains. Calendar, another of the more notable Batman villains from the past ten years, simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was nothing more than that funky stink bait for big fish and Terry, having fully entrenched himself in some of Bruce's old (flawed) habits, walked right into it. Batman Beyond #3 begins with old school and new school going at it and right off the bat, old school kicks more ass.

Needless to say, Hush is not impressed. He knows that this Batman isn't the same Batman he fought years ago. He openly taunts Terry while kicking his ass, talking down to him in the same way seniors talk down to freshman on the first day of high school although to be fair Hush is a little less abrasive (what's that say about high school in this day and age?). Terry tries to fight back, but doesn't even get in a lucky blow. He's essentially bitch slapped by Hush, a guy who could probably qualify for social security if it probably wasn't bankrupt by this point. And he's the one with the agility-enhancing suit.

As if that weren't bad enough, Hush finishes what he came to do in the first place. He kills Calendar. But he doesn't do it in a simple, merciful way. That would be too easy. He actually takes one of Calendar's own explosive letters and shoves it into his mouth. Then while Terry is still trying to pull what little is left of his pride together, the tiny bomb blows up and cooks Calendar like a deep fried turkey. Not only that, he gives Batman the slip. If this were a battle of youth versus experience, then experience would be on trial for war crimes for cruel and excessive violence.

Needless to say, Bruce is not happy. He spends two full pages chewing Terry out for his failure. Not only did he let Hush get away, he let him murder his victim. For someone who made Batman such a legendary figure, you can't fault Bruce for being a little pissed. That's like someone pissing on the legacy that he spent decades building. Terry isn't hearing it though. He's already been wounded enough and essentially cuts Bruce off while he's still yelling at him. He then does probably the least heroic thing any Batman could do. He goes home and sleeps. By the time he wakes up, his mother and little brother are looking at him like he's a non-gay unicorn. It shows how rarely he's even home, which is another element from the show.

Although at this point, I think it's worth pointing out that the artist who drew Terry's mother may not have bothered to watch the show. She looks nothing like the show portrayed her. For one, she was not a brunette and she didn't look fucking Asian. Since this may very well be the only time they appear in this series, I'm willing to overlook it. But it's still in inconsistency in a book that to this point has been pretty damn good at avoiding them.

As if his family wasn't giving him much respect, his girlfriend Dana is just as frustrated. For pretty much the entire cartoon, Terry dated the same girl. However, Dana was about as developed as a third-world country in Africa throughout the show. She never so much as tried to investigate what Terry was doing in this job and never questioned it no matter how vague he was. Either she's the most trusting girlfriend in the world or the most gullible. Even if she is hot, she's not all that nice about it either. For just the few panels she's on, she tells Terry she hates his job. She comes off as a total bitch, but again that's about as much depth as she gets in this series.

So let's review. Terry's family think he's a mess, his girlfriend is busting his balls in a vice, and he let Hush get away after killing another victim. I think it's safe to say his life sucks right now and couldn't get much lower. But wouldn't you know it? Bruce finds a way to further dent his ego. When he returns to the Batcave, he finds that Bruce has been preparing some 'backup' for him and by 'backup' I don't mean a new sexy Batgirl. He actually has a semi-giant bat-robot in the waiting to help succeed where he's failed. Needless to say, Terry doesn't like this. He tears into Bruce the way Christian Bale turns into low-ranking stage hands. Bruce tears right back into him, showing once again what a miserable old fuck he is. Terry's response is something that might as well have been copied and pasted from the show. He says as soon as he takes Hush in, he's quitting. Yeah, they're using that plot again. As if more than a few episodes wasn't enough.

While Bruce simmers in his old age, Terry goes out and starts doing some real detective work. He pays Tim Drake a visit, who if Beyond fans would recall had the unfortunate task of being the Joker's meat puppet in the "Return of the Joker" movie. He says he's better now, but Terry still wants clues. The best Tim can do is point him in the direction of someone else. It's not clear who it is, but while he's on his way to see this contact he encounters someone else who showed up in the previous issue. That someone is the future version of Catwoman, who sadly still hasn't adopted her predecessor's preference for revealing costumes.

This time Batman does hold his own and manages to prevent Catwoman from further emasculating him. He also takes the time to set this battle between them apart, having not flirting and no sexual innuendo. Now for Batman and Catwoman, that seems a little fucked up. Since so much else from Batman Beyond has echoed from Batman's past, it seems like a missed opportunity to not be a little coy with this plot. I guess the best you could say is that this series is setting Terry apart from Bruce in that he's not letting the wrong head do the thinking when it comes to this woman. Unfortunately, this doesn't get him any answers and Catwoman eventually escapes as always. This time Terry isn't totally broken up about it and moves onto the contact Tim gave him.

Batman fans and Batman Beyond fans will surely get a little giddy when they see who this contact is. He was mentioned a number of times back in the show, but never put into a scene. In terms of clues regarding Batman's past fights, he's probably best equipped to help Terry. Who might he be? Well since Batman's list of friends is long enough to be scribbled on a sheet of toilet paper with enough room for instructions on making a turkey dinner, there aren't many characters to cite. So if Dick Grayson wasn't the first name to pop into your mind, then you need to get a new brand of toilet paper.

It's an awesome moment, connecting the future and the past. Unfortunately, whatever clues Dick has to offer will have to wait until the next issue because while he's catching up with a guy who has been MIA from Batman the whole time, the future Catwoman does some social networking of her own. That little encounter from earlier was shown not to be much of an encounter. She slipped a tracer on Terry while she had him in her grasp (in a totally non-sexual manner unfortunately). Why did she do that? Why else would a sexy thief do anything? For money, damn it!

Unfortunately for her, the man paying is Hush. If this woman were the old Catwoman, she would be a lot smarter than to trust a guy with bandages for a face. That's another thing. In this scene her face is revealed, but there's no clue or even a mention of who she could be or who she's related to. Is she linked to Selena Kyle? Is she related to another Batman villain? That isn't even touched on. All that really happens is that Hush goes back on the little deal they made and prepares to kill her. Seeing as how she hasn't been all that cute or sexy with Batman, it probably wouldn't be too upsetting if he snapped her neck. It's a nice way to end the book, but again it's a missed opportunity for another revelation.

That seems to be the primary theme of this issue. There were a lot of opportunities to make it more awesome, but they were never utilized. There was no further development with Terry's family. Dana is as flat as ever. And they show Catwoman's face without so much as hinting at who she could be. I know in every comic the writers are obligated to leave some loose ends to keep the reader interested, but there comes a point when they're so loose that if it were a woman it would be more overworked than Courtney Love. It brings down some of the momentum the first two issues established while also taking a few too many plot points from the show and not doing anything different with it. Because seriously, how many times can Terry threaten to quit before it becomes an empty threat?

Despite these missed chances, the action is still solid and there were some nice moments of drama between Terry and Bruce. Plus, this issue further connected this mini with the show by citing "Return of the Joker" and giving Terry's family a brief mention. The end revelation of Dick Grayson helped things even more. It sets a lot of potential up for the next issue and hopefully it will make better use of the opportunities presented. With so much to look forward to despite so much that was missed, Batman Beyond #3 gets a 4 out of 5. It's still an awesome series and has plenty of potential. It just needs to make good use of these chances or let them go to waste. And there's nothing more tragic than wasted awesome.