Complete Batman Beyond on DVD Today!

Terry McGinnis made a big splash earlier this year with his own Batman Beyond mini-series at DC Comics. In fact, it was so popular it’s been turned into an ongoing title. So it’s perfect timing that Batman Beyond: The Complete Series is out on DVD today.

Actor Will Friedle, the voice of McGinnis and more recently Blue Beetle in Batman: The Brave and The Bold, says his favorite part of the series was when he recorded “Return of the Joker.” “Sitting between Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill for five days was pretty incredible. I learned more about being a voiceover actor in those five days than I did in the five months before that,” he said, “Just watching the two of them work – how Mark got so into the character, completely losing himself in that role. And then there’s Kevin with that deep, booming voice, always sitting with his back straight and working perfectly with the microphone. It was an education.”

Friedle also commented he couldn’t wait to get the new script each week. “The character development was outstanding – from the new villains they’d invent to the way they brought back the old villains. And the way they treated Terry and Bruce, and their relationship. The casting was phenomenal, but even the greatest actors can’t make bad writing good – so it all comes down to what was on the page, and that’s where Batman Beyond became a great show.”

Like many of us, Friedle was a big fan of Batman Beyond‘s precursor, Batman: The Animated Series. “This was pre-Tivo, so this was one of those shows where you had to see it every day. You didn’t want to miss an episode,” he said, “So when I got a call to be the voice of a new Batman, and the series was being made with the entire team that did Batman: The Animated Series, well, that was huge.”

Only a chosen few can say they’ve played Batman and Friedle feels especially lucky to be among them. “At the time we were doing Batman Beyond, I thought the coolest thing was telling my nephews I was Batman and not being lying to them,” he said, “One time, my oldest nephew Huck came out from Brooklyn. He pulled me aside and said ‘Look uncle Will, I want you to know I’m six now. I think I’m old enough to see the Batcave.’ He actually thought I was Batman, which is very cool. It can’t get much better for an uncle.”

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series is on sale in stores and online today.