WesternAnimation Lost Soul: Great and Important
Lost Soul is, first and foremost, a really good episode of the series. The Virtual Ghost of a ruthless tech mogul, unleashed by his nervous and unfit grandson, starts causing trouble, ultimately planning to steal his descendant's body. It also manages to get into Terry's augmented Batsuit, nearly killing him and then forcing the new Batman to go analogue, defeating it with nothing but a classic utility belt and Nightwing mask, but more to the point, with the skills, smarts, and instincts he's honed over his time becoming a capable and seasoned Batman.
It's not the most original premise in the world, sure, but I've always said originality is overrated, especially in what I see as the aftermath and wreckage of multiple big cultural events dramatically self-destructing in desperation to avoid the conventional. And who needs originality when the execution is so good?
The AI antagonist is a fantastic villain, with a memorably creepy, skull-like design and a voice that's just well-acted enough to come across as menacing rather than wooden despite mostly keeping to a controlled, even tone. It contributes to the oppressive, often scary atmosphere, as it repeatedly comes close to outright killing poor Terry to get him out of the way so it can enjoy the benefits of having a pair of hands full of combat programming. And while it's all animated on a TV budget, the execution of, say, the suit going limp when exposed to electromagnets is always fantastically realized, as are the many fight scenes.
But in the context of the show as a whole, it's one of the series' most important episodes. Critics and haters of Batman Beyond frequently (and to this day still do) derided Terry as a nothing, a nobody, just coasting on Bruce's accomplishments and relying on the suit to do all the work. That anyone could've done the things he does. This episode acknowledges those criticisms by showing that, as so many stories of that kind before and after, no, he makes the suit and not the other way around. That Terry has grown into a brave, seasoned crimefighter in his own right, willing to risk his life just because it's the right thing to do even against Bruce's advice and orders. And with a few minimal exceptions, it mostly does it through subtext rather than giving into the temptation of unsubtle, on-the-nose voicing of those complaints by the characters.
So often, landmark episodes of shows are also only interesting as landmarks. I'm glad to say that one of the most landmark episodes of Batman Beyond was also really good entertainment.
WesternAnimation If Batman Were Spider-man; Or, How To Make a Great Show Out of an Executive Mandated Premise
Batman Beyond is a fantastic-looking television program. It takes the best elements of its predecessor's famous neo-noir aethetic and adds just enough cyberpunk to be stylish without coming across as trend-chasing foolishness. It features the same high-quality-for-television animation as all the best DC shows, and was helmed by a team of steady-handed veterans who knew their stuff forwards and backwards.
It features good storytelling throughout. Even the weaker plots are well-paced and carry a variety of tones. The rogues gallery strikes a good balance between giving Terry villains of his own and giving classic Batman enemies their moments of homage. It carries on the DCAU tradition of (mostly) treating serious subject matter with maturity and respect while remaining accessible to children. And, save for the comedic episodes, the contrast between Terry's civilian life and his time as Batman is well-handled, just as in the best early Spider-man material.
Thematically, it does a better job of examining what would happen if Bruce Wayne got old than any other DC property, including both Kingdom Come and The Dark Knight Returns, as he moves from a bitter, withdrawn man who's given up to a benevolent power-backer for his city and his protegee.
But probably the best part of the show is the characterization. Terry has something Bruce rarely displays: an arc. He grows from an angry, vengeance hungry kid to a Spider-man-esque teenage superhero who struggles to balance his home life and "work" and uses humor to cope with tension, to a seasoned crimefighter who maintains the best of the Batman identity without feeling compelled to repeat some of Bruce's mistakes. The excellent "Epilogue" episode in Justice League Unlimited gives both he and Bruce something rare in Bat-media: closure. And while his family and classmates could perhaps have benefited from being a little more-deeply sketched out, they never quite become tiresome or unreasonable.
It's fashionable today to portray Batman as an obsessed jerk, barely different from the criminals he fights. But Batman Begins, like its predecessor, helps show us that it wasn't always so. While its owners have never seemed sure what to do with the property (and while it was the origin of Bruce Timm's unfortunate obsession with pairing Bruce with Barbara), there is and should be a place for it in the constellation of DC media. What started with a mandate by a clueless executive grew into a unique, interesting piece of Batman that isn't afraid to assert its own identity while still remaining recognizable as a Bat-thing.
Also, the movie was great, and you should totally watch it even if nothing I've said about the show appeals to you.