A Blight Upon Neo-Gotham In Batman Beyond #39
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
Blight has ambushed the new Batwoman of Neo-Gotham and Bruce Wayne and Matt McGinnis can only sit and watch the battle that ensues. Both are shocked to see Blight still alive and kicking and they are also impressed to see how well this new and unknown Batwoman can handle herself. Meanwhile, the amnesiac Terry McGinnis holds out in an abandoned building with Constance. Terry learns some more of Constance’s life before she was cast out onto the streets and it ties closer into his life as Batman than he could have realized. Of course, without his memory, Terry still doesn’t know how significant her history is.
Batman Beyond #39 brings the new Batwoman into a duel against the powerful Blight. She shows a lot of skill and she is able to hold her own against this villain. We still don’t learn her true identity in this issue, though it’s heavily implied that we will finally uncover that mystery in the next installment.
It’s almost comical how much Constance’s story is relevant to everything else happening in the comic, though it does add a fair amount of tension to the Terry side of this issue.
The fight between Batwoman and Blight is quite cool. The dialogue is solid, though it does have its weak moments. Bruce and Matt don’t really have anything of relevance to do in this issue beyond delivering some background info (which I was admittedly unaware) on Blight and his history with Batman Beyond. They also remind us of their current theories on Batwoman’s secret identity.
Inaki Miranda is the artist on this installment. Consequently, it’s a great-looking book. The big fight is especially impressive. The faces and body language of the characters are expressive and the overall detailing of the book is good. Chris Sotomayor gives the book a great color palette as well, giving Neo-Gotham the bright yet ominous atmosphere it deserves.
Batman Beyond #39 doesn’t advance the new Batwoman story much, though we do get to see her throw down with Blight in an extended and compelling battle. All in all, it’s a solid read and is worth a recommendation. Feel free to check it out.
Batman Beyond #39 comes to us from writer Dan Jurgens, artist Inaki Miranda, color artist Chris Sotomayor, letterer Travis Lanham, cover artist Dustin Nguyen, and variant cover artist Francis Manapul.
Final Score: 7.5/10
