Paul Levitz to write Superman/Batman Annual

In 2010 look out for former DC publisher Paul Levitz take on the Superman/Batman series. On Newsarama's "10 Answers and 1 Question" feature DCU Executive Editor Dan DiDio announced, "Paul will actually be working on three annuals for DC Comics in the beginning of next year," DiDio said. "The first one up will be a Superman/Batman Annual that Paul is writing, which we're very excited about because it features some very interesting characters from beyond, so to speak".

The beyond comment there refers openly to the inclusion of Bruce Timm's vision of the Batman of the future from his wildly popular cartoon Batman Beyond. As we saw previously Countdown to Final Crisis, the Terry McGinis Batman was shown to be an inhabitant of Earth-12, however DiDio has not clarified if the upcoming comic book appearances by the character are from that alternate earth or New Earth's future.

While it is always good to hear news about Batman Beyond, it was strange to see that his appearance in the Superman/Batman annual would not tie into the previously reported Batman Beyond mini series that is also slated for 2010. Or perhaps it is not so strange as the Superman/Batman book has often shown itself to outside of normal DCU continuity in much the same way the Marvel Ultimaverse is in no linked to regular continuity.

On a personal note I was equal parts overjoyed and saddened by Teryy's apperance in Final Crisis. Overjoyed because Batman Beyond was some of the best storytelling I've ever seen on a Saturday morning cartoon so it was great to see him again, and saddened because it was an alternate reality and not the actual future of Batman that I always hoped it would become. Personally I hope that in the merging of worlds that created New Earth Batman Beyond will no longer be from an alternate reality, but will actually be the future wearer of the cowl.