Two of the most important legacy superheroes in comics, DC’s Terry McGinnis/Batman Beyond and Marvel’s Miles Morales/Spider-Man, have massive shoes to fill from the start. Placed in an era where supervillains have evolved with the transformative times, these heroes need to adapt in order to prove a worthy challenge. The future Spider-Man and Batman require a certain distinctiveness that sets them apart from their original mentors.
To align with the futuristic setting of the Batman Beyond world, Terry’s Batman suit is not a standard suit and cape attire but a new technological marvel. The suit is equipped with rocket boosters, electromagnetic pads, retractable wings and claws, and even built-in cloaking technology to conceal Batman from enemies. Writer Dan Jurgens (The Adventures of Superman, Booster Gold) and artist Sean Chen (Teen Titans, Green Lantern)’s Batman Beyond #50, titled Curtainfall, put Terry’s new state of the art Batsuit on full display, highlighting many of its high-tech capabilities. After being falsely incriminated by a villainous doppelganger, Terry McGinnis, the real Batman must put his advanced suit’s invisibility mode to the test in order to evade pursuing authorities.
Unlike Terry, Miles Morales’ capacity to activate his invisibility in the form of the Spider-Camouflage is a natural byproduct of his spider-based abilities. Miles doesn’t require the use of a suit to activate his camouflage talent. The Spider- Camouflage allows Spider-Man to blend in with his local surroundings, embodying that of invisibility. Miles’ ability to activate the Spider-Camouflage further deviates himself from the original wall-crawler and permits Miles to overcome obstacles that Peter Parker can’t.
Terry and Miles have both demonstrated feats of concealment in their respective media interpretations as well. Miles relied on his camouflage to counter the attacks of female Doctor Olivia Octavius (voiced by WandaVision‘s Kathryn Hahn) in Sony’s animated blockbuster Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, while Terry continually used his invisibility against several Gotham criminals throughout his debut Batman Beyond television series.
Superheroes in the future are already facing pressure from multiple facets to live up to the heroes of the past. While invisibility is not a superpower as mighty as optic blasts or telepathy, it can still prove a formidable weapon against foes when used to its full potential. Not every mission requires an all-out brawl; some take stealth. As any Batman Beyond or Spider-Man fan could confirm, there is not a superpower that accomplishes a stealth mission better than the art of camouflage/ invisibility.
