![From Batman Beyond.](https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_80,pg_1,q_80,w_80/vs5xoujswp9tg3cyzndp.png 80w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_320/vs5xoujswp9tg3cyzndp.png 320w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,fl_progressive,pg_1,q_80,w_470/vs5xoujswp9tg3cyzndp.png 470w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,pg_1,q_80,w_800/vs5xoujswp9tg3cyzndp.png 800w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,pg_1,q_80,w_1600/vs5xoujswp9tg3cyzndp.png 1600w)
No one really, uhh, wanted Batman Beyond. It seemed like a weird idea, mandated by corporate executives. But it worked, and it worked really well. It’s a cool story.
It’s a story recently explored in a mini-documentary released by IGN, who put together new and old interview footage alongside well-known stories about the show’s creation to create a slick, engaging look at the origins of the show. Batman Beyond was, for many of us of a certain age, a pivotal work in our personal superhero canons, a story that made Batman and his mythology accessible in a new way. Also, and maybe this is just me, it turned young superhero viewers onto cyberpunk. It was big.
IGN does a great job here, and if you’ve never actually heard about the origins of the show, this is a great place to start. The idea of Batman, but a teenager! at first blush sounds like an absolute disaster waiting to happen. But the people behind Batman: the Animated Series produced something that was pretty incredible. I think about Terry and his Neo Gotham a lot. This series needs a successor at some point. While Kevin Conroy is still down to do the Old Bat voice.
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![Illustration for article titled This Slick Mini-Doc Explores the Unlikely Origins of iBatman Beyond/i](https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_180,pg_1,q_80,w_320/qo9mc99xzogtmnveps12.png 320w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_264,pg_1,q_80,w_470/qo9mc99xzogtmnveps12.png 470w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_450,pg_1,q_80,w_800/qo9mc99xzogtmnveps12.png 800w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_675,pg_1,q_80,w_1200/qo9mc99xzogtmnveps12.png 1200w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_900,pg_1,q_80,w_1600/qo9mc99xzogtmnveps12.png 1600w, https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_80,pg_1,q_80,w_80/qo9mc99xzogtmnveps12.png 80w)
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