Warning: contains a preview of Milestone 30th Anniversary Special!DC’s upcoming Milestone 30th Anniversary Special is still deep in production, but a new art tease sets up Batman Beyond‘s role in the hotly anticipated Static story. The initial announcement promised that Virgil would be meeting with a version of Terry McGinnis in his early days protecting Neo-Gotham. The newly released image adds on to this by showing just how much Terry is in need of help. Thankfully the Virgil Hawkins of Earth-12 is a well-seasoned hero by now, and well-equipped to watch out for the fledgling Batman Beyond.
Originally announced during this year’s New York City Comic-Con, the Milestone 30th Anniversary Special one-shot is set to arrive at comics shelves sometime in 2023. The Static crossover story with Batman Beyond was framed as, “a short story featuring an older Virgil Hawkins and Terry [McGinnis] in his early days as Batman Beyond.” The short statement was accompanied by cover art and design images for Terry and an aged-up Static. Other information about what Virgil has been up to in Neo-Gotham is unclear, but having electricity-based superpowers in a cyberpunk city of the future must surely come in handy.
The newest clue into the story was posted recently on Twitter by Nikolas Draper-Ivey. The writer and artist behind the Batman Beyond/Static crossover project, titled “Static Beyond,” shared a glimpse of some in-progress artwork. Front and center, Batman Beyond appears with a damaged cowl and a suit that looks shredded. Given the high durability of the costume and its high-tech design, whatever adversary Terry’s facing is no joke. Someone who can dish out that level of damage is cause enough alone for Batman Beyond to need the help of a veteran hero like Static.
Static & Batman Beyond’s Legacy Runs Back 20 Years
“Static Beyond,” is notably not the first time Terry McGinnis and Virgil Hawkins have teamed up. Their other recorded meeting was in an episode of Static Shock with guest cast from Batman Beyond, called “Future Shock.” While Earth-12 of DC Comics is broadly accepted as the same reality in which Batman Beyond’s debut animated series took place, multiversal resets like Flashpoint, the New 52, and Infinite Frontier draw the canonicity of “Future Shock” into question. Hopefully, the creative team will be able to elegantly signal what’s considered canon when “Static Beyond” arrives next year.
Nikolas Draper-Ivey previously worked on Static’s journey in Static Shock: Season One as well as its upcoming sequel series Static: Shadows of Dakota, and now gets to re-envision the character with another couple decades of life experience on him. Depending on the response to this entry in the Milestone 30th Anniversary Special, “Static Beyond” may end up being the first story in a long partnership between Virgil and Terry. Of course, Bruce Wayne does the best he can as a mentor for the young Batman of Neo-Gotham, but Static can be there for Terry in ways that Bruce can’t, like advising him on how to balance high school and superheroics. Regardless, it’s clear that Terry McGinnis will need more than just advice from Virgil Hawkins, as new “Static Beyond” art teases that Batman Beyond will face immense danger in his future team-up.
Milestone 30th Anniversary Special will be available from DC Comics in 2023.
