Heroes

Batman feels his thunder is being stolen by the Terrific Trio, a team of super-powered heroes: the 2-D Man, who can flatten and stretch his body to amazing lengths; Magma, a walking hulk of molten rock; and Freon, a woman who can turn to vapor and freeze objects with a touch. At Bruce’s direction, Batman keeps a wary eye on them — until he finds out that the accident that created them was no accident. The Batman Beyond creators are avid Jack Kirby fans, and this episode is one of the few that pays direct tribute to the King of Comics in almost every scene. Comics aficionados will get a kick out of the many homages to the Fantastic Four, right down to the Terrific Trio’s origin, character interactions, and gadgetry.