The final issue of Batman/Static: Beyond #6 is here, and it’s a big one. As Virgil Hawkins and Terry McGinnis fight to stop Shutdown from destroying a supply of quantum vapor in Neo-Gotham, they also have to contend with an invading alien force. If that wasn’t enough, the government’s also set out a kill squad to take out the metahuman inhabitants of Dakota City, led by Terry’s old foe Blight. The fate of Neo-Gotham, Dakota, and the world lies in the hands of Virgil and Terry, not to mention their allies.
If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. While Evan Narcisse manages to tie up every plot thread introduced throughout the series, the main conflict between Static, Batman and Shutdown nearly gets lost in the bigger stakes of “alien invasion.” I’m also not sure why Narcisse brought in Blight this late in the game. It does provide another connection to Batman Beyond lore, but it also will make Batman Beyond fans wish that Terry was facing off against Blight instead of Ebon, particularly given that the nuclear menace is responsible for his father’s death.
The wildly large stakes aside, Narcisse does wring some genuine emotion out of Virgil and Terry’s final confrontation with Shutdown. When all’s said and done, this is a kid who got powers he didn’t ask for, felt abandoned by his parents and a world that embraces technology over meaningful connections, and wanted to make everyone know how he felt. But as Terry so rightfully puts it, what happened to Shutdown was an accident, while he’s actively choosing to hurt others. This, and an emotional reunion with his parents, finally leads Shutdown to choose the side of the angels.
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Thanks to everything going on, Miguel Mendonca manages to deliver some incredible fight scenes. The Justice League using all of their power to halt an alien invasion is an incredible sight, whether it’s Superman and Icon tearing through ships like they were paper or Big Barda sending them flying with blows from her war club. Ebon vs. Blight is a truly eerie sight to witness, partly because they are both beings of pure energy. It’s Static and Batman, though, who get some standout pages. Mendonca illustrates Terry as a living shadow wrapped in black and red who hits like a freight train, and Virgil as a dynamo of electromagnetic energy.
His work is further enhanced by Wil Quintana’s color art, which gives certain characters a unique hue. Obviously, Batman has black and red while Static carries a mix of white, black, and yellow due to his power set. But the best use of color goes to the fight between Ebon and Blight, as the former is a living mix of purplish-black shadows while the latter is a glowing green skeleton throwing off nuclear energy. The end result is both horrifying and compelling.
Batman/Static: Beyond #6 manages to wrap up a mountain of plot threads and keeps its emotional core in the process. It also sets the stage for more team-ups between its titular heroes, which DC should definitely expand upon in the future.
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