Batman's Darkest TV Episode Received A Comics-Only Sequel

When WB demanded a teen-focused Batman show from the creators of "Batman: The Animated Series," they thought outside the box and came up with "Batman Beyond." Set in a cyberpunk Neo-Gotham, the series followed teenager Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle), the protege of an aged Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy), as he becomes the new Batman.

In this future, Commissioner James Gordon has passed away, but his daughter Barbara (Stockard Channing/Angie Harmon), the former Batgirl, has taken his place. The new Commissioner Gordon was a relatively rare returning character. "Batman Beyond" reused a few old villains, like Mr. Freeze, Ra's Al Ghul, and in a spin-off movie, the Joker, but it mostly focused on new characters. References to Batman's good ol' days were usually kept vague, reaffirming that Terry's adventures in the "present" were what mattered most.

The "Batman Beyond" tie-in comic, though, explores Barbara in a way that the TV show never did. The story, titled "Commissioner Of Fear," directly follows-up one of the darkest and best episodes of "The New Batman Adventures," aka "Over The Edge."

In this episode, Batgirl falls (literally, from a skyscraper) in the line of duty fighting the Scarecrow. Her father learns Barbara's secret identity after her death and, blaming Batman, issues a city-wide manhunt for him.

Of course, it turns out that Scarecrow didn't murder Barbara, he just dosed her with Fear Toxin. The episode was her nightmare about what would happen if the two men she cares about the most came to blows. A cartoon like "New Batman Adventures" could never actually kill off a main character or blow up its status quo like this, but "Over The Edge" let its creatives explore a story the censors would've never let them tell without a caveat.

If "Commissioner of Fear" is to be believed, however, Barbara still had nightmares about "Over The Edge" decades later.

Published in issue #13 of the "Batman Beyond" comic, "Commissioner of Fear" was penned by Hilary J. Bader and drawn by Min S. Ku. Bader had previously written on "New Batman Adventures," and even though "Over The Edge" wasn't one of hers (Paul Dini wrote it), her experience still explains why she chose to follow up the episode.

In the story, Barbara is working on a kidnapping case. While chasing a suspect across rooftops (remember, she was Batgirl), she's overcome with a fear of falling, remembering how she "died" in the Scarecrow's nightmare. It turns out that Scarecrow's Fear Toxin never completely left her system, and every four or five years, she suffers a relapse of hallucinations and panic.

So, Barbara turns to Terry (who she usually doesn't trust), filling him in on the events of "Over The Edge" and asking for his help in rescuing the kidnapped little girl. They eventually track the kidnappers to a construction site, but the height triggers Barbara's fear. When Terry tries to reassure her that Batman is protecting her, her dismissing attitude towards him comes out: "You're not him, you know. You'll never be him."

But when the kidnapper Sweeney Thompson makes Barbara's fear come true and kicks her off the building, Terry swoops in and saves her. 

DC Comics

The episode ends a lot like "Over The Edge" did, with Barbara awakening in the Batcave with Batman (but this time Terry, not Bruce) by her side.

"Commissioner of Fear" is a good read for "Batman Beyond" and DC Animated Universe fans. "Over The Edge" is definitely an episode those fans remember, so it having a long-lasting impact on Barbara makes sense; it's an episode that's important and beloved enough to get a sequel.

Barbara accepting Terry as Batman, as she does at the end of this story, is also an important beat for their characters. But while "Commissioner of Fear" is strong enough that it could've been a true "Batman Beyond" episode, it's a bit too similar to the episode "Eyewitness." In that story, the villain Spellbinder places Barbara in a hallucination and makes her believe Batman murdered a criminal. Her distrust of McGinnis seemingly confirmed, she puts Batman at the top of Gotham's Most Wanted.

"Commissioner of Fear" is a literal sequel to "Over The Edge," but "Eyewitness" is a spiritual one, placing Babara in the role she once feared her father would play.