SPOILER ALERT: The following contains plot points from Saturday’s Batman Beyond 2.0 #2. Read at your own risk!
Haven’t read Batman Beyond 2.0 #2 yet? Read it instantly here!
Greetings, Beyonders! (Can we say that? Is that a thing?)
We’re only three weeks into “Beyond 2.0” and already we’ve seen a significant shake-up in the lives of all our heroes… and as you can see by the final panel of Batman Beyond 2.0 #2, it’s about to get a whole lot worse for Terry McGinnis!
I wanted to use this week’s “Beyond the Scenes” to give you a little bit of insight into that final panel, which shows the beginning of a prison break at the new Arkham Institute. (Yep, even in the future, Arkham’s security system could use some improvement.)
First, check out the panel description in Kyle Higgins’ script, which while not overly detailed, highlights the essentials of what he wanted to see:
10.7 …and the security guards reel back in fear as the inmates EXIT their cells into the hallway.
Thony-- feel free to include any of the villains you drew in issue 1. Also, I want to make sure that SPELLBINDER, SHRIEK, MAD STAN, the HYENA SPLICER “WOOF”, and the DEE-DEE TWINS are there. And, of course, they’re in prison clothes.
<REDACTED> (electronic)
…that means you’re free to go!
Sorry, had to redact the character name there!
So then, based on this description, artist Thony Silas began to construct the panel.
Thony, could you tell the folks at home a little bit about how you approached this panel?
THONY: When I first read Kyle's script I thought, "What could unlock one huge maximum security prison so easily?" So the first thing I wanted to show was that it needed to be something big, something that caused a lot of astonishment. I wanted to convey a feeling of fright, but at the same time, joy and suspicion from each of the inmates.
I think Woof is the one I like to draw best. I tried to explore a more aggressive, less silly side to him. The more astute villains are always a bit more cautious as you can see, so I didn't draw Shriek or Spellbinder as showing the same enthusiasm.
What comes next is totally unexpected, so place your bets!
On a personal note, one character that Kyle didn't include in his original script was Big Time. I don't know if anyone else agrees with me, but I remember those episodes in the animated series and they really shocked me—because Terry was Big Time's friend and he really seemed to enjoy the friendship, even with their differences. You know, of all the villains he seemed to be the one that had the most personal relationship with Terry and not with Batman—and now that we've let him out of Arkham, I'd love to see him explored more! Especially because of the guilt Terry feels over what happened to him.
Be sure to check out the slideshow above for the whole process, including color by Andrew Elder and lettering by Saida Temofonte!
Okay, just for you Beyonders we created a handy key, which names each villain in this final panel. But what does the future hold for these infamous inmates? Tune in Saturday, Sept. 7th for Batman Beyond 2.0 #3!
In fact, you may just want to subscribe to the whole series HERE!
See you in the Beyond!
VILLAIN KEY:
1) The Dee-Dees
2) Shriek
3) Big Time
4) Mad Stan
5) Woof
6) Ghoul’s arm
7) Spellbinder
