Comics: Batman Beyond Unlimited 7

The cover to "Batman Beyond Unlimited #7"

Batman Beyond Unlimited #7 brings all the narratives full circle. From the war with Kobra ending (for now) to The Jokerz threat to Gotham becoming more and more real, this issue brings out a lot of the hidden secrets the narratives have been hiding.

Terry, the Justice League Unlimited, and Darkseid’s forces of Apokolips are successful in repealing the Kobra threat. However, as the issue concludes, the question is tasked to Superman by Darkseid: how long will the peace last?

Aquagirl’s past gets the spotlight treatment this month as the issue continues on. She was kidnapped like her older brother was, and when she was saved, her brother was blamed for not protecting her. Afterwards, her father placed heavy restraints on her traveling. However, she eventually chose to remain on the surface world as opposed to Atlantis after her traveling there made her interest peak and she met Warhawk who she might have a love with. Superman defended her choice but this did not leave Aquaman any less happy with his daughter’s decision.

The forces against Terry continue to mount as the force of “10,000 Jokers” mount their threat. While Doug Tan and his henchman “Pally” meet, the forces of Undercloud present themselves to Max giving her the results of a test she’d taken. Yet after being told she’s one of them, the mysterious woman will not give Max any more information. As Terry returns to Wayne Manor, he finds Bruce unconscious in the basement. He apparently had a liver failure, and if he doesn’t get a new one, he will not live another day. All the Jokerz are then gathered at the Water Treatment Facility in a suburb outside Gotham ready to wage war against Gotham….

However before or after Bruce’s liver failure, he fights alongside Superman against Grundy and Luthor’s daughter. Unfortunately, Superman and Batman are beat, and Batman is lucky enough to escape. However, they return to the Fortress of Solitude in good shape. What happens next is the plan of the daughter to bring Superman back out: send a robot out to destroy Metropolis.

Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs do a great job this issue with creating this issue adding intrigue to what will happen in their war against Kobra. Their characterizations of each character continue to be spot on, and I wonder whether Aquaman might not make an appearance in a future issue considering he is apparently still around in this future.

Adam Beechen continues to spin a game changing tale. This story he is telling continues to feel like it will affect the main cast as well as the supporting cast a great deal, and on the last splash page of the issue, he really seems to be going in that direction. With Norm Breyfogle’s great art adding detail to every panel and page, this story continues to get darker and darker as the forces of evil begin to assemble against the forces of good.
JT Krul’s addition of Bruce in this issue pays off a lot. The duo brings memories of their adventures as younger men when they were able to survive much longer. However, Krul manages to show how weak they’ve become as they’ve aged which works well off of Kent wondering what his place in the world is anymore. However, I wonder what his plans are as the last splash page makes me wonder where (if) any, he is taking the next issues. There is nothing bad I can say about Howard Porter. He really comes into his own in this issue. His art is perfect, and he has found the right balance of working with his inker John Livesay.

As many stories conclude (Nguyen/Fridolfs/Krul), Beechen’s continues to move ahead with full speed leaving this reviewer guessing what these teams are planning next……

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Tommy Zimmer is an upcoming writer of short stories, comic books, journalism/media reviews, screenplays, and anything related to writing. On zimmert101.wordpress.com, you can view his latest work, and see what exciting things he is currently doing!!