Batman Beyond: Disappearing Inque, 1999.

Three episodes of the Batman Beyond television series:
In "Inque," a corporate saboteur has taken aim at Fox industries, owned by an old ally of Bruce Wayne's. The sabotage is being instigated by Inque, a shapeshifting puddle of black. Our new young Batman intervenes only to discover that he is overmatched. During the course of the brouhaha, Inque traces Batman back to the Batcave where Bruce Wayne has been coaching Batman from afar. Batman resorts to one of Wayne's collected trophies to defeat Inque.

In "Disappearing Inque," a lovelorn jailer aids Inque's escape and she embarkes upon a campaign of vengeance against Batman, all the while using the jailer as a stooge. When Batman is taken prisoner, Bruce Wayne suits up as Batman one more time in an experimental Batsuit exoskeleton and takes up the battle once more...briefly.

In "Shriek," a new villain who uses sound technology as a weapon appears to thwart an urban renewal and restoration project that Bruce Wayne is backing. Wayne is injured in the attacks and begins hearing voices in the hospital. Batman must act fast to thwart Shriek and rescue his boss from the mental ward.

These are the best of the episodes of this series, providing strong bad guys and very little of the high-school element.  Additionally, the relationship between the new Batman and Bruce Wayne becomes more sharply drawn in these episodes. When Wayne states in "Shriek" that he knew he wasn't crazy because he didn't call himself "Bruce" in his mind, there is a brutal and understated irony involved. This series still holds a lot of promise.
 



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