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Batman Beyond: Year One

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Batman Beyond: Year One (Web Video)

The year is 2059

It's been years since the Batman's disappearance

Gotham has rebuilt itself as a city of the future, now
known as NEO GOTHAM

New villains run the streets now in the absence of
the Caped Crusader


That is, until a young TERRY MCGINNIS takes on the mantle

Batman Beyond: Year One is a 2024 Fan Film based upon the Batman Beyond cartoon. It is written and directed by Michael Yu, and stars Ryan Potter as Terry, Isabelle Hahn as Melanie Walker, Justin Vancho as Spike, Fiona Dorn as Dottie, and Koki Tomlinson as Jack.

The film follows a night in the life of Terry McGinnis, heir to the cape and cowl, as he attempts to fight crime in Neo Gotham, take on an old enemy, and score a date with a pretty lady.

The film is free to watch here.


The film contains examples of:

  • Adaptational Badass: In the show, Jack was a competent fighter but otherwise normal like the rest of the Royal Flush gang. The fan film has him give Terry a run for his money. Furthermore, his knives can return to him after thrown a la magnetism.
  • Being Evil Sucks: Similar to her portrayal in the animated series, Melanie isn't really thrilled about her life with the Royal Flush gang, especially since it involves her constantly moving around. The start of the fan film has her complaining to Terry how her family is always on the move, giving her little time to make any real friends or connections.
  • Birds of a Feather: Although they start off just flirting with each other, Terry and Melanie bond over their shared struggles about meeting other people's expectations, Melanie's being her status as a member of the Royal Flush Gang and Terry living up to the Batman legacy.
  • Casting Gag: Roger Craig Smith once again fills in for a version of Batman / Bruce Wayne originally portrayed by Kevin Conroy.
  • Clothes Make the Superman: Bruce attempts to discourage Terry from relying too heavily on his Batman suit, but it takes a close encounter with Jack to fully set him on the right path.
    Bruce: Cool it, kid. Remember, the suit doesn't make the man.
    Terry: Maybe. But it sure does help.
  • Deadpan Snarker: After fending off two Jokerz from a hapless civilian, Melanie praises Terry for his heroism, to which he replies his wrestling training paid off. Melanie dryly asks if the wrestling team is turning everyone into superheroes.
  • Establishing Character Moment: Terry is introduced protecting an innocent woman from an assault carried out by Spike and Dottie, two members of the Jokerz. After the battle is done, he goes on to flirt with Melanie and the two seem to form a genuine connection.
  • In Medias Res: Although taking inspiration from the two-part pilot episodes of Batman Beyond, the film shows Terry having already embraced the identity of the new era's Caped Crusader, though based on Bruce's dialogue, he hasn't been active for very long.
  • I Warned You: After Terry narrowly survives his fight with Jack and Ten, he pre-empts Bruce about relying too heavily on the upgraded suit. Bruce starts to bring it up anyways, but decides to wait until Terry is back at base so they can talk about it more thoroughly.
  • Pragmatic Adaptation: This version of the Batsuit is fully masked, with a mouthplate going over the area where Terry's mouth is usually visible in the cartoon. The same goes for Jack and Ten.
  • Properly Paranoid: When Terry runs into Jack, Bruce warns him to get out of there. Terry is confidant he can deal with them since it's just one guy, but Bruce counters him by saying "it's never just one". True to his word, Terry gets blindsided by Ten after he momentarily stuns Jack.

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