Batman Beyond Disappearing

The two Inque episodes not only introduce the character but also serve to strengthen Terry McGuiness' relationship with Bruce Wayne. First comes Terry's first rounds with Inque, culminating when Inque infiltrates the Batcave and attacks Terry, nearly killing him by jamming his throat with fluid - he is rescued by Bruce and manages to vomit the fluid out. Inque nearly destroys the Batcave but Terry uses a weapon from Batman's past - Mr. Freeze's raygun - to finally stop her; he then says to an approving Bruce, "That's it, you're showing me everything!"

Next up, Inque is freed by a disgruntled employee who wants the same power she has - and becomes a grotesque blob as a result. This episode displays an even more powerful Batsuit that Bruce uses - but also makes clear to Terry why he had to retire. It is these little character touches that add power to what are otherwise extreme chase dramas, albiet more exciting than most.

The pattern continues in the superior "Shriek," introducing an engineer (voiced by Chris Mulkey, from First Blood) who uses focused soundwaves to destroy anything - and can cancel out all soundwaves; this leads to a tremendously effective scene when Batman and Shriek fight it out on Gotham's streets with all the sound suppressed, and Terry learns just how dependent he is on sound to function.

The effects animation in these episodes is often extremely good.


Three entertaining, action-packed episodes.   February 19, 2000
Cowardly Toad (Ireland)
"Disappearing Inque" features three Batman Beyond episodes, "Black Out", "Disappearing Inque", & "Shriek".

In "Black Out", Batman encounters an extraordinary industrial saboteur in the form of Inque, a deadly and very capable shapeshifter whose body appears to be composed of an inky fluid that she can twist and warp into a variety of shapes or nasty weapons. She's been hired by Derek Powers to disrupt the activities of a rival corporation and it's up to Batman to stop her.

"Disappearing Inque" sees the return of Inque, now confined to the only prison that can hold her - a block of ice in a cryogenics facility. When an infatuated and disgruntled former employee of the cryo facility releases her, Inque plans to revenge herself on Batman for her capture at his hands and her period of imprisonment.

"Shriek" concerns Derek Power's attempts to rid himself of a meddling Bruce Wayne once and for all. A scientist working for Wayne-Powers corp., who has developed a device that can produce destructive beams of focused sound, is ordered to kill Wayne so that Powers plans for the levelling of an historic part of Gotham - opposed by Wayne - can proceed.

The animation in all three episodes is fine, though nothing special. The two episodes featuring Inque are action-packed - Inque is a fascinating adversary. You also get to see Bruce Wayne back in action when he dons a fabulous armoured exo-skeleton and goes toe-to-toe with Inque!

"Shriek" is also quite enjoyable - the villain's use of his sonic weapon is quite interesting. There's even an unusual fight scene which takes place in total silence thanks to an "anti-noise" feature of the weapon.

Overall, worth buying.