Review: Batman Beyond Vol. 2- Rise of the Demon

Quick Summary

Pros: The opening chapters introduce a variety of interesting conflicts that add suspense to the rest of the book. The main storyline is compelling and remains so for the entire read. The artwork mostly suits this comic’s unique aesthetic.

Cons: The main villain’s role in the book’s conclusion is handled poorly.

Overall: This is a satisfying continuation of the Batman Beyond series. It has all of the action that was found in the previous volume while also managing to double down on suspense. Meanwhile, the general progression of the comic’s overall narrative works and, along with a few great twists, keeps things interesting. Fans who enjoyed the previous volume or who are interesting in jumping into this unique, futuristic series should consider this collection.

Story

Batman Beyond Vol. 2: Rise of the Demon, by Dan Jurgens, might be even more interesting and exciting than its predecessor. This volume starts out with a strong hook that immediately pulls the reader into the narrative while also building up great levels of suspense. These factors play out well as the book progresses too, erupting into intense bouts of conflict and some compelling story developments. The book then closes with an added bit of worldbuilding and a satisfying change of pace. All in all, this is a volume that reads well from beginning to end.

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The opening chapters of Rise of the Demon immediately introduce several layers of conflict into the comic’s overarching narrative. The threat posed by the League of Assassins is direct and serves as a catalyst for this book’s central conflict. Meanwhile, the threat posed by Terry’s suit serves as a way to introduce tension into the read as a whole, as it makes it seem like the suit could physically and mentally corrupt Terry at any point. Plus, readers see Terry struggle with his commitment to a life as Batman, adding some long-term conflict into Terry’s character development. All of this is introduced relatively early and gives the volume some immediate appeal.

The volume then takes this foundation and builds on it to create a mostly entertaining storyline. Terry takes on the League of Assassins, wages a mental battle with his own suit, and ends up working with all of his allies, and one of his former-enemies, in order to save the day. This volume also recaptures its predecessor’s capacity for compelling twists, as it is revealed that this collection’s main villain is Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian. Seeing all of this play out, particularly when combined with the tension introduced at the book’s start, creates a satisfying reading experience.

The only real stumbling point is Damian’s part in the book’s conclusion. Damian’s commitment to his world-changing/ending plans is completely abandoned due to a few words from his father. I actually like that this was done but disagree with how it was done, as I felt like there should have been a bit more justification behind the change-of-heart.

Finally, Rise of the Demon concludes with a single chapter focused on members of the Bat-family helping out in one of Neo-Gotham’s overlooked communities. Seeing some street-level problems acknowledged in a series that has been focused on world-ending threats is a nice change of pace. This plus the fact that the story is entertaining makes for an enjoyable interlude.  

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Art

The artwork in Rise of the Demon looks nice and suits this comic well. Bernard Chang’s visuals work well in crafting moments and depicting characters in both the past and present. These visuals also work really well with the action in this book, combining dynamic layouts with cool scenes to create fights that have a great level of energy to them. Marcelo Maiolo’s colors help further emphasize the tone differences when flashbacks come up and also help emphasize specific moments of intense action within the fight scenes. My only complaint is that there are a few pages that look a little static, however, this problem is minor as these pages are in the minority. Overall, the visuals here are positive and suit the book.

Continuity

Batman Beyond Vol. 2: Rise of the Demon continues the story from Batman Beyond Vol. 1: Escaping the Grave (Review).

The story here continues in Batman Beyond Vol. 3: The Long Payback (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The story behind Damian’s connection to Goliath is told in Robin: Son of Batman #6, collected in Robin: Son of Batman Vol. 1: Year of Blood (Review).