Terry McGinnis is the vigilante known as Batman in Earth 12 Gotham City of the Multiverse. Like his predecessor, Bruce Wayne, Terry fights aganist crime and injustice with his own restless personality to bring peace and justice back to the streets.
Born with a partial strand of the original Batman's DNA, Terry McGinnis was a reformed juvenile delinquent who stole the Batman suit to avenge the murder of his father. Under Bruce Wayne's guidance, Terry became The Tomorrow Knight of futuristic Neo-Gotham: Batman Beyond.
Background[]
Terry was born in Gotham City on August 18, 2023, to Warren and Mary McGinnis, a research scientist at Wayne-Powers and an astronomer at Astro-Tech respectively. By his own admission, Terry was once a "bad kid." A member of a street gang with his close friend Charlie "Big Time" Bigelow, Terry has his fair share of run-ins with the Gotham City Police while in his early teens, even serving a 90 day sentence for shoplifting at age 14 and a three-month stint the next year, both in juvenile hall. Years after the Batman had disappeared from the streets of Gotham, Terry finds himself on the run from another gang, the Jokerz, a street gang modeling themselves after the deceased Clown Prince of Crime. Finding himself cornered on the grounds of Wayne Manor, to his surprise an old and decrepit Bruce Wayne comes to his aid and together they defeat and chase off the gang. The strain of the fight places substantial stress on Bruce's already weak heart, and he nearly collapses. After helping Bruce make his way back to the mansion, Terry gets him his medication; with the strain from the fight having exhausted him, Bruce falls asleep immediately. On his way out Terry notices a bat stuck inside a grandfather clock. Trying to free the creature, Terry stumbles upon the secret entrance to the Batcave. Entering the Batcave, Terry realizes who the old man actually is, but his discovery is interrupted by a now-awake Bruce, who abruptly chases Terry out with his cane.
After Bruce kicks him out, Terry returns home, only to be greeted by police and his mother, and he is told that his father is dead. The apartment is covered in graffiti, which seems to clearly be the result of the Jokerz getting revenge for their humiliation earlier that day. Terry moves in with his mother, heartbroken that his last conversation with his father was a fight, just prior to his run in with the Jokerz.
While looking at a small framed photo of his father, Terry discovers a small data disc hidden in the frame, left by his father right before his death. Terry takes the disc to Bruce, who checks the contents with the Batcave's computer. The data disc contains information on a biological weapon, and raises questions as to whether or not his Dad was killed by Jokerz. Bruce has a reluctant Terry take the disc to the police commissioner Gordon, but before Terry can deliver it to her, he is intercepted by Derek Powers, his Dad's boss and the one who would be exposed if the data reached the police, as well as Powers' bodyguard Mr Fixx, who attempts to capture Terry and the disc. Terry escapes, but has to use the disc to distract them, and leaves empty handed. With nothing to take to the police and no way to do anything but escape, Terry tethers Bruce's dog Ace to the perimeter fence, and goes back into the Batcave.
Stealing the newest Batsuit, He heads for the Wayne-Powers headquarters, intent on taking revenge for the murder of his father. Bruce discovers the theft, and contacts Terry demanding he return the suit. Bruce admonishes him through the suit's communicator, and even shuts down the suit, leaving Terry helpless in a fight. Terry, however, is able to convince Bruce to help him confront Powers, after all, he sees himself in Terry, they both lost their parents and Terry in stealing the suit has a chance to stop Powers..
In the end, Terry stops Powers from shipping the bio-weapon, Powers shoots a canister trying to hit Terry, resulting in him becoming the radioactive Blight. Mr Fixx boards the transport and tries to escape with it and the load of gas, Terry boards it to stop the shipment and in doing so is confronted by the real murderer, Mr Fixx, and after defeating Fixx, he destroys the transport Fixx was guarding, and Fixx goes down with it.
Convinced that there is still a need for a Batman, Bruce hires Terry as his "personal assistant" and begins secretly training him for his new role as Batman. In addition, Bruce assists Terry in the field primarily by keeping in continual contact with the boy at the Batcave.
After Powers' criminal identity is revealed to the public and he finally brings retribution to his father's killers, Terry decides to continue his role as Batman to make up for his past sins, in hope that his heroic role is his chance at redemption.
Terry goes on many adventures as the Batman, growing into his role to the point where eventually even Bruce accepts him as his heir as the Bat. Eventually, he is recruited by Superman to root out a traitor in the team... who turns out to be Superman himself, under the control of the extraterrestrial creature Starro. Though initially the rest of the team distrusts him due to his perceived inexperience, Terry gains their trust by saving their lives and freeing Superman from the alien's mind control. However, he says that he would prefer to be like his mentor and only partially serve on the Justice League.
Involvement[]
- Batman (Terrence "Terry" McGinnis) currently does not appear in the game.
Associated Equipment[]
- Beyond High-Tech Costume Style
Trivia[]
- Terry McGinnis first appeared in the episode "Rebirth" of the Batman Beyond (1999) animated series, before being introduced into the main DC continuity.
- Throughout his time as a delinquent and becoming Batman, Terry has shown to be an able street-fighter. Along with the training he has received from Bruce, he has become an extremely adept hand-to-hand combatant, but not to the high levels of Bruce's other surrogate sons Tim Drake and Dick Grayson, let alone Bruce himself.
- Despite his role as the second Batman, Terry leads a very different, far less privileged life than Bruce. In addition to coping with his father's death, Terry struggles to keep his double life secret from his mother and younger brother. Because of his responsibilities as Batman and personal assistant to Bruce, he is not afforded the same licenses the Robins enjoyed and is expected to be on the call whenever he is needed. As a result, Terry is just barely successful at balancing out his dual life, on several occasions prompting both men to reconsider Terry's reliability. This is evidenced by him perpetually sleepy during the day, struggling to stay awake for school or to have time for his family and girlfriend.
- The Batsuit worn by Terry is the last incarnation created by Bruce before his retirement. Though the technology in the suit is at least 20 years old, it is still considered cutting-edge. In addition, after Terry becomes Batman, the suit is updated numerous times, and after it is damaged, he and Wayne are seen rebuilding and modifying it.
Gallery[]
See also[]
External links[]
- Terry McGinnis Wikipedia
- Terry McGinnis DC Database