From 1999 to 2001, the animated series Batman Beyond followed the adventures of Batman. It is based on the same-named comic book series and follows Terry McGinnis, a 16-year-old Batman from a future Gotham City. Meanwhile, an elderly Bruce Wayne serves as this Batman’s Alfred, sort of.
Early on in the game, he faces off against a character known as the Stalker. He is a skilled hunter who feels Batman is the only prey that can truly threaten him. As a result, he wishes to engage in a fierce struggle with the Bat and eventually triumph.
Stalker was originally the name of swords and sorcery antihero. The animated series, on the other hand, portrays a futuristic version of the character, complete with tribal insignia, darts, explosives, a staff, and a distinct backstory. That is precisely what we will be discussing in today’s video.
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The Stalker’s Dangerous Backstory
The Stalker is one of Terry McGinnis’ several opponents from Batman Beyond. He made his first appearance in the episode Bloodsport, which is in Season 2 Episode 6 of the animated series.
The Stalker is an impeccable African game hunter who has always reveled in his skillset. Even before his physical abilities had been enhanced, he was a wanted man on three continents.
One day, as he hunted a wounded black panther, the tide turned in his favor and he became the prey instead of being the predator. His very human abilities weren’t enough to fight back a panther and he ended up with a spine that was broken in five different places.
Following this, he underwent a painful surgery where his backbone was replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic spine. But instead of being a liability, it went on to become his greatest asset. It multiplied his strength, dexterity, and reflexes to a huge extent. He soon left the hospital and sought revenge against the panther who caused him his trouble.
He found the same black panther once again and killed it with his bare hands. However, it was too easy. The new power took the fun out of the sport of hunting for him. Nothing came as a challenge to him anymore and Stalker was literally, suffering from being so powerful. Soon after, the Batman returned to protect Gotham City.
This ignited a spark in the Stalker as he believed that Batman was a soul that inhabited the greatest warriors from each generation, oblivious to the fact that excessive money and wealth are the real magic elements. He found his purpose once again and this time, it was to hunt the Batman. Naturally, he went to Gotham City to prey on his new target.
In the episode Bloodsport, the Stalker breaks into the Casemore Tribal Arts Gallery. Bruce Wayne relays this information to Terry’s Batman, who heads to the gallery to check what’s happening. He is subsequently attacked by the Stalker who overpowers the Bat. After a tough fight, Batman managed to escape the situation. However, he was unaware of the fact that the Stalker had already marked him with his grenade.
Terry returns home and complies with the wishes of his little brother who wants to go to a gaming parlor called Cheesy Dan’s. The two head there and meet Terry’s friend Max. However, Terry spots Stalker walking above the building. He leaves his brother with Max and pursues his opponent.
Bruce Wayne asks Terry to make Stalker lose his trail but that becomes a hard task with the grenade marking which can be detected by Stalker’s cybernetic eye. Terry tries his best and escaping via the bullet train and a crowded station seems to be effective. Stalker gets enraged and comes up with a plan to make Batman come for him instead. He abducts Terry’s little brother from Cheesy Dan’s and locks him in a cage as bait to use against Batman.
Terry goes to Bruce Wayne who has found out two things – the fact that Terry has been marked, and the Stalker’s trap-ridden whereabout. Terry gets into his Bat-suit and rushes to his brother’s rescue, where he has no choice but to fight Stalker. Meanwhile, Stalker tells Terry’s brother about the incident with the panther and the cybernetic spine. This is easily the standout moment of the episode because of the animation and the colors used for the art in general.
Anyway, Batman appears and overwhelms the Stalker with his first few attacks. However, three of Stalker’s traps put Batman at a huge disadvantage, with the last one keeping him stuck to the ground. Fortunately, Batman manages to break it by making the Stalker pierce the device with his own staff, which also electrocutes his cybernetic spine. Ironically, the thing that made the Stalker stronger was also his biggest weakness. This is due to the electrocution causing him immense damage because of the technological and cybernetic nature of his prosthetic spine.
Batman breaks the staff and charges at the Stalker, who suddenly begins to see Batman as the black panther that had wounded him. He is frightened and asks Batman to stay away, but Terry proceeds to free his brother. Meanwhile, the Stalker runs away and jumps onto the railway tracks where he is supposedly run over. However, whether he is dead or not remains ambiguous.
The Return Of The Stalker
Of course, the Stalker is not dead. He is too cool to be killed off and returns in season 2 itself for its twenty-first episode called Plague.
Here, Batman finds himself on the same side as the Stalker as they have to go against a common prey – an opponent called Falseface, who is an agent for hire, and the evil organization known as Kobra.
Kobra is a terrorist group that uses cutting-edge technology for its endeavors. Here, they have a deadly virus that can cause complete biological annihilation when released. They had tested it on an island where it destroyed the ecosystem. The houses had to be burnt in the end to prevent the virus from spreading further. Kobra had subsequently made a demand for ten billion credits from the government. Failure to comply would result in the organization releasing the virus into society.
It is unknown how the Stalker managed to survive the incident with the bullet train but he was subsequently incarcerated by the National Security Agency or the N.S.A. They later recruited him to work for the government as it would take a skilled hunter to track down an opponent who can change his appearance like people change clothes.
Batman and the Stalker infiltrated the Muscle City Sweat Shop, a place that was allegedly one of Kobra’s hideouts. From there, they found out that Falseface would definitely be at Gotham Plastics. This was a factory that created credit cards among other things.
In Gotham Plastics, Falseface and his ally, Kobra One, spoke about their plan. They intended to coat the credit cards with the virus. As several people handed out cards daily to get them swiped for payments, the virus would spread in no time. The Stalker and Batman tracked them down and managed to retrieve the vial of the virus. Falseface escaped but the Stalker marked him before he could leave the facility. He also threatened to kill Kobra One, causing Kobra One to reveal that Falseface was infected with the virus as a backup plan. However, the agent himself was unaware of it.
The Stalker and Batman found him but Falseface put the Stalker out of the fight by electrocuting his cybernetic spine. Batman caught up with him again inside a building where Falseface began to burn everything, lighting the place on fire. But suddenly, his symptoms of being infected began to show up and he was shocked to know that he had been used by Kobra. Batman was incapacitated by the falling debris from the fire but before he could be killed, the Stalker arrived to help him out.
Finally, they emerged victorious and Batman was shocked because the Stalker had risked his own neck to save him. The Stalker replied by simply stating that it was not his time to die yet and he would die only by the Stalker’s hand.
Mindblowing Story Of The Stalker In Batman Beyond Comics
The Stalker appeared in the comic Batman Beyond (Volume 2) Issue number 6, created by Hilary J. Bader and artist Craig Rousseau. The story was called the ‘Most Dangerous Island’.
Here, the Stalker has taken residency on a secluded island. He has genetically altered the animals with rare dinosaur DNA for his hunting sport. However, Terry’s geeky friend Howard has booked a camping trip for their group of friends in there while being unaware of its dangers. In the jungle, Terry notices a strange device on a tree and activates it before thinking of any possible results. A high pitch signal is triggered which seems to have released the hybrid animals into the jungle.
An altered gorilla attacks the group but everyone except Terry gets trapped in one of Stalker’s traps, which is, unfortunately, the safest place in the jungle right now. Meanwhile, Terry changes into his Bat-suit and captures the gorillasaur. Soon, the Stalker appears.
He reveals how he has created these creatures. They are engineered to have short lives. However, they exist to enhance the Stalker’s abilities as a hunter and ask Batman to join him in the hunt. The Bat is allowed to hunt down any animal except the Hippo Rex, a hippopotamus meshed with the DNA of a T Rex. It is meant to be the Stalker’s trophy.
Batman is against the killing of innocent animals but he agrees to capture them if he can rescue his friends once the hunt is over. Terry rounds up his captures in one section of the island, which the Stalker has intended to use as bait. The hunter also kills the animals ruthlessly while allowing his opponent Terry to rely on his traps and devices, as he wanted the hunt to be harder for him.
Anyway, the bait works and the Hippo Rex finally appears. The Stalker wishes to take on it by himself but gets overwhelmed by its strength. Ultimately, Batman uses tranquilizers to knock out the creature, which enrages the Stalker. He attacks Terry but falls into one of his own traps, which Terry had re-engineered to work in his favor. In the end, he calls the harbor patrol who saves Terry and his friends and incarcerates the Stalker.
If you wanna know more stories about this Stalker, you can check out the 18th issue of the Batman Beyond. Following these, the Stalker also joined a team of supervillains called the Inquiry Collective and became an opponent to the Justice League Unlimited.
And with that, today’s video comes to an end. What did you think of the Stalker? Did you enjoy this video? If yes, then don’t forget to like and comment on this video. Till then, goodbye. And have a nice one!