Comic Book Review: Batman/Static: Beyond #2

In this review of Batman/Static: Beyond #2, Terry’s classmate has transformed into a new villain who can short-circuit powers both super and electric citywide!

BATMAN/STATIC: BEYOND #2
Written by EVAN NARCISSE
Art and cover by NIKOLAS DRAPER-IVEY
Variant covers by DUSTIN NGUYEN and RAHZZAH
$4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 12/24/25

This review contains spoilers

As Batman/Static: Beyond #2 begins, Melvin Kim wakes up in the hospital with a sharp pain every time he touches technology. This pain allows him to shoot out energy that destroys technology of all kinds. He flees the hospital, realizing he’s been hit with a dangerous amount of Q-Juice: the exact chemical that caused The Big Bang twenty years ago. Melvin sets off to stop The Q-Grid stations from using more Q-Juice, preventing what happened to him from happening to anyone else.

Batman/Terry McGinnis alerts Static about Melvin’s accident and disappearance, infuriating Static the night before he delivers a speech to the world on utilizing Q-Juice for good. While presenting the noble intentions of the Q-Grid to various leaders of the world through com-link, he and Terry stay in communication as power grids all throughout Neo-Gotham are shorting out, with the direction of the blackouts heading towards Dakota. Static orders Terry to stay put while he goes to handle Melvin, taking his old friend Richie Stone a.k.a. Gear with him.

Melvin appears in a mask and costume, now calling himself Shutdown. He’s first intercepted by a superhero named Beacon and defeats her easily, before being confronted by Static and Gear. Gear notes that Shutdown’s powers appear to be telekinetic before getting knocked out. Static resolves to zap Shutdown of his abilities just before Batman arrives to assist. In the distraction, Shutdown uses the rainwater on the ground to not only take out the two heroes but all of the power in Metropolis, Dakota and Neo-Gotham.

Analysis

As a fan of not only both Static and Batman Beyond but also the recent “Season One” relaunch of the Milestone Comics, specifically the new Static as embodied under the pen of artist Nikolas Draper-Ivey, this series was always going to be of interest to me. The brief animated crossovers between Terry McGinnis and Virgil Hawkins were fleeting but fun, and seeing a Batman Beyond adventure with prime adult Static was a solid idea for fans of all kinds.

For the most part, I think writer Evan Narcisse and Draper-Ivey stick the landing. While the first issue had a slightly confusing lead-in with an action sequence featuring a dogfight with alien combatants, this Melvin Kim/Shutdown plotline involving the use of Q-Juice has made for a strong reason to bring the two headliners together. Batman/Static: Beyond #2 reads like a perfectly wholesome Season 3 episode of Batman Beyond – one where there would be more references to other heroes like the Justice League Unlimited. Of course it was in Static’s own animated series Static Shock where the teen hero visited the Tomorrow Knight in the future and met his adult self. And ‘est I leave out the best crossover, the JLU Season One finale “The Once and Future Thing: Time, Warped” had both Batman and Static in his coolest look ever. Part of me wishes Draper-Ivey employed that James Tucker design of Future Static for this story, but that was a different continuity. Static’s meant to be in his thirties in this story, which actually makes Bruce Wayne’s age dubious, since that couldn’t make him be in his 80s. Oh well…

But Batman/Static: Beyond #2 is solid. Writing wise, Narcisse isn’t the most deft with exposition delivery, sometimes needlessly falling into informational tangents seemingly to get a rise out of those in the know. It’s one thing for Richie to appear, and it’s great that we see him as Gear, but Static saying “You’ve just taken down the best man I’ve ever known”…why would he say that? It was more than enough for the two to fight alongside each other a’la season 3 and 4 of Static Shock, we know that they’re buds. It’s also just odd dialogue to say to an enemy/complete stranger. It’s writing like that which also kind of crowds the script and prevents more character based moments. Terry’s character a touch bland in these two issues so far. He’s playing the role of the young hero, underfoot with the older experts on the field, something we’ve seen before. It’s not out of bounds, but not much new to chew on. I’m hoping we see more of him and Static interact that goes beyond simply yelling out information and stating that they’re worried. Same goes for Max, Raquel, and the other cameos.

As far as the artwork, Draper-Ivey is a peculiar case. He is a fantastic artist, but his strengths lie chiefly in spot illustrations moreso than sequential storytelling. Often times his work can look muddy and unfinished, especially where the anatomy is concerned. The future setting also crowds a lot of the panels, although this issue looks better than the last. The dark, cyberpunk aesthetic of Neo Gotham is well achieved.

This series is imperfect, but it’s still fun for longtime fans. It’s also cool to see a third chapter in the continuity of Season One Static. Two issues in, I’m enjoying where we are.