Comics know nothing if not how to sell you nostalgia, and that’s exactly what the upcoming Batman/Static: Beyond is providing. Kids growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s were eating well in terms of their cartoons, especially when it came to superheroes. Two of the most popular were Static Shock and Batman Beyond. Now, their protagonists are poised to crossover in a DC Elseworlds book.
Batman/Static: Beyond will be a six-issue miniseries, with the first issue dropping November 12, 2025. From writer Evan Narcisse (Rise of the Black Panther) and artist Nikolas Draper-Ivey (Static: Shadows of Dakota), Beyond will find the heroes teaming up when the world is struck by a global technological blackout, Static and Batman Beyond align to save it.
The comic, which promises to be a “high-stakes mission that could reshape Earth’s place in the cosmos,” according to the press release, is also a timely look at some of the issues facing society today.
“This story is intended to be a commentary on our overreliance on technology and the imminent dangers becoming complacent and too comfortable using AI to substitute our own imagination and human ingenuity,” said Draper-Ivey.
Terry McGinnis’ version of Batman was originally created for the 1999 animated show Batman Beyond, set in the far future of… 2019. He was a teen who took over for Batman after Bruce Wayne retired. Static Shock premiered a little later in 2000 and starred Milestone Media’s Virgil Hawkins as the teen hero Static. The two shows ran concurrently for a bit, and even crossed over in the Static Shock episode “Future Shock.”
Though they were both teen heroes in their shows, Milestone 30th Anniversary Special paired up McGinnis with an adult Static (Batman Beyond fights crime in the future, after all). Batman/Static: Beyond will explore that dynamic as well.
“Static is a former teen hero who grew up to take on even more responsibility for his city and the larger world, while Terry is still figuring out how to do those things in his own way,” Narcisse said.
Now, if only Static, Batman Beyond, and the Teen Titans would cross over for maximum nostalgia.
