Batman / Static : Beyond #3
Author : Evan Narcisse
Artist : Miguel Mendonca
Colourist : Wil Quintana
Superheroes and Static Forever : Issue #3 Summary
Shutdown has left Dakota in a mess after blowing up the Q-Juice powered Q-Grid—leaving the surrounding area and our superheroes broken. This leads to high tension between our superheroes and culminates with a big blow out between two of our leading protagonists.
Evan Narcisse provides us with insight into Shutdown’s motivations, building layers to his actions—looping this into his personal life and history gives more weight to his overall goal. Shutdown isn’t done with Dakota, Static or the Q-Juice energy plants—to stop this new villain, Static is going to need everything and everyone.
The World Is Watching : Issue #3 Review
WARNING SPOILERS!
Mega Powers Explode
Halfway through this six-part series, Batman / Static: Beyond #3 delivers significantly better character interactions, imbuing scenes with high drama, energy, and emotion. This provides a much-needed gravitas that makes the reader genuinely care about the players involved. Writer Evan Narcisse certainly adds fuel to the fire in this issue by bringing the accelerating triangular conflict between Static, Batman Beyond, and Shutdown to the absolute forefront of the story.
The character development in this issue feels jarringly inconsistent, making it difficult to maintain a steady connection with Terry McGinnis. Evan Narcisse crafts a version of Batman Beyond that shifts personalities from page to page—one moment I’m rooting for him, the next I’m feeling sorry for him, and by the next, I’m actively disliking him for being a jerk.
For instance, the opening of Batman / Static: Beyond #3 is a whirlwind of conflicting tones: Terry moves from desperately trying to revive Static after the power overload to randomly picking a fight with Beacon because "he doesn’t know who he is," only to heroically dive into a lightning storm seconds later to jolt Virgil awake. As a reader, I’m left baffled—am I supposed to like this guy or not?
This leads to a literal "Mega Powers" explosion when Static wakes up and immediately hurls a metal shard at Batman. While they’ve had their friction, they escalate into a full-on shouting match despite Terry just saving Virgil's life. To make matters more confusing, Narcisse writes Static’s dialogue to suggest that Terry is still a "rookie," even though the previous two issues gave no indication that this version of Batman Beyond is new to the cowl.
Therefore, to suggest that he isn’t ready implies that Bruce Wayne picked the wrong candidate or failed to train him properly. Given Bruce’s legendary track record with his various Robins, this simply doesn't track—Batman would never allow an unskilled, unprepared kid to take over the mantle of Batman Beyond.
The Ultimate Challenge
One of the stronger narrative threads in Batman / Static: Beyond #3 is the necessity for both Static and Batman Beyond to redevelop their skill sets to counter Shutdown. Static’s powers have been significantly disrupted, forcing him to relearn control from the ground up; this is a logical, compelling arc, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it unfolds over the final three issues.
However, as I mentioned, the "unprepared" logic for Terry still doesn’t resonate. There is even a moment where Virgil mocks Terry, calling him the “Dim Knight Defective.” If Terry is truly a teenager with so much to learn, it’s baffling why Narcisse would have Static utilize that brand of "mentoring." It’s hard to see how petty insults are supposed to help Terry become a better hero, making the character dynamics feel incredibly muddled.
Due to no electricity, Terry has to get back to Neo-Gotham from Dakota the old-fashioned way, petrol motorcycle and a roadmap. Narcisse alludes to the fact that Bruce Wayne had training from travelling the world “and basically learned how to be an expert at, like, everything.” Narcisse provides an out of context scene where Terry travels across the US to get back to Neo-Gotham, during the trip he randomly fights some rogue bad guys—like that’s going to help him gain the same knowledge that Bruce did when he was his age? Word of the review; confusing.
Bigger! Better! Badder!
The highlight of Batman / Static: Beyond #3 is that Evan Narcisse finally pulls back the veil on Shutdown’s motivations. While his origin involves being doused in Q-Juice following a power plant failure, his turn toward villainy feels deeply personal. At his core, he’s a teenager rebelling against parents who prioritized their careers over "mom and pop time."
While that "neglected teen" trope is standard fare, I genuinely appreciated the broader philosophical reason for Shutdown’s actions: he loathes the technology of his universe. He hates a world where there is no incentive to learn for yourself when a bot can do it for you, or where every move and purchase is logged and sold.
This provides some serious food for thought because it mirrors our own world right now. Why bother learning a skill when you can just ask an AI? Our online footprints are constantly harvested to feed algorithms that tell us what we should like via social media ads. It makes Shutdown a surprisingly relevant antagonist for 2026
In Shutdown’s eyes, the primary culprit behind this tech-driven stagnation is Static, which is exactly why he takes the fight directly to Dakota City.
The timing is particularly pointed: Shutdown strikes during the graduation of Static’s students from the Tomorrow Institute. It’s a clever bit of writing from Evan Narcisse—Shutdown isn't just trying to "shut down" the present; he wants to erase the very promise of the future. This sets the stage for a massive confrontation in Batman / Static: Beyond #4, where we’ll see Shutdown take on Virgil and his entire class of graduates. It will be fascinating to see how Narcisse balances Shutdown’s power level when he’s facing off against an entire team of "students of tomorrow."
Friendship Torn With Art
The drawing in Batman / Static : Beyond #3 was certainly more pleasing to my eye with Miguel Mendonca taking over in this issue. Each page and panel were drawn cleaner and clearer for me to see the detail, and also understand what the artist was trying to convey from the story.
With this issue having heightened emotion, coming through the dialogue from Narcisse, I liked how Mendonca captured the pure tension on each superheroes face. Especially in the aggressive exchange between Static and Batman Beyond—the lines used on Static’s face to convey how angry he is with Batman’s actions captured my attention during their verbal joust. It’s the work with Batman Beyond that really impressed me; Mendonca has only a full black mask and white eyes to work with, but the way he squinted Batman’s eyes, worked with his eyebrow ridge to display how visibly annoyed Terry was with Static was excellent.
Conclusion & Rating
Unfortunately, in Batman / Static: Beyond #3, I’m left more confused than ever by the lack of context regarding the character development. Static and Batman Beyond simply do not get along, and Virgil is making it abundantly clear that he just doesn’t rate Terry as a superhero—let alone as Batman.
While the core plot is becoming clearer—providing a steady path toward Shutdown inevitably returning to "finish the job"—the interpersonal friction between our leads feels unearned. It’s a frustrating hurdle in an otherwise focused narrative.
I am still left bemused by the notion that Terry McGinnis is making such amateurish mistakes, especially without any clarification on how long he has been under the cowl. These are the kinds of details that should have been established in the first half of the arc; instead, it feels like Evan Narcisse is trying to cram too many layers into a tight, six-part miniseries.
Despite these gripes, I am looking forward to the next issue. With Shutdown attacking Static while he’s vulnerable, the stage is perfectly set for a redemption arc for Terry. As a Batman fan, it's always a highlight to see the Dark Knight—even the one from the future—finally make his triumphant return.