Heroes might be one of the most heartwrenching stories in Batman Beyond. It was the story I remembered most from watching Batman Beyond as a kid, and upon hearing the show was based on a comic, I relished the thought of reading the original arc to see what they left out.
Except... that original arc doesn't exist. This is it. 22 minutes, sans ads.
It's impossible. Infuriating. "Heroes" moves at breathless, breakneck speed. These characters are likable, memorable, oozing with personality--but there's almost no chance to really sit with any of them.
Weeks, months are implied to pass between scenes. Character arcs have been sharpened down to the finest possible edge--it feels like each character only gets a dozen or so lines in the entire episode. There's a lot to be said for minimalism in art, but the story had to be tortured to fit into a timeslot this small.
The setpiece fight of the episode is a US general launching an all-out invasion on a skyscraper in the middle of a major American city, attempting to cover up his conspiracy to turn a group of people into living weapons without their knowledge or consent. The kind of crime that would make some of the Rogue's Gallery blush.
None of the actual consequences of this are even hinted at. The ending left my jaw on the floor. "That's it?! He just leaves?!" There are no answers about what happens to the manipulative friend, or to the general, or to what Terry will do to try and bring justice to the perpetrators. It seems to imply that all three of the trio are permanently dead, which feels very, very at odds with Batman's so-called 'no killing' rule.
And I guess that has a meaning all it's own. The story feels brief, nihilistic and shocking, because that's probably how it felt to the Trio. Their entire lives, changed and then completely ruined in the blink of an eye. Lacking in meaning, resolution, or justice.
But I wish that wasn't all we were left with. This has the bones of a truly great story. It just couldn't afford to add anything else. This should have been a two-parter, at minimum, with about half as many action scenes and twice as many character scenes.
This story desperately needs a full-length comic adaptation. I'm unable to give it a number rating, because I'm not sure whether to give it a 10 for what I wish it was, or a 1 for how sad its limitations make me.
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