It's hard to believe I wrote this fan fiction nearly 20 years ago, but I'm amazed at how successful it was and still is to this day.

I'm Jeff Walker, the writer and fanboy of Batman Beyond.

When the show ended with only 2 seasons I was pretty dismayed (much like the rest of the fan base out there) I wanted it to go on and continue with more of Terry as the new Batman and give us a deeper glimpse into the futuristic Gotham. But no, they ended it and didn't even have any closure.

Well, that didn't sit too well with me at all. I had begun writing fan fiction back in the early part of 2003, it mainly was focused on Star Wars and Doctor Who (My two big faves at the time). But then I thought, Batman Beyond never really got any closure…so I started writing a final episode I could enjoy myself.

As I started visualizing and shaping the story, I thought, "Maybe he should just leave…and then return to Gotham many years later." So thats when I scrapped the final episode and ambitiously created a brand new series idea. Yes, I wanted to write this as a whole series of stories.

Batman Beyond: The Legacy Returns was only the pilot episode for what was going to be a on-going series. How or why I thought this would work at the time was rather strange, especially as I re-read the story today. The story arc would set up the scene for the continuation of the adventures of Terry as an adult version of Batman. And I had kind of plotted out the stories to follow as I wrote each new episode.

Thus I started the title - Batman Beyond: The Legacy Continues. My first episode was going to be about a new Mr. Freeze and his link to Mr. Smiley. It showed some promise and I posted up most of the chapter up on with a lot of interest. It was going well…. until I started getting a life. I'm not going to lie, I was a very, very….VERY… lonely man. So I tended to stay home, write or draw (having failed to become a professional Graphic Designer) and pretty much sunk into a depression.

Depression is very hard to get out from. It can make you think terrible thoughts, affect your creative side by blocking it, and give you a downward look on life. So, before my life could take a very bad turn, I instead decided to turn it back… and choose to live. To make a long and boring story short….I found a great woman, got married, and have two energetic kids that keep me occupied.

I know what you're thinking right now.

"Ok…so you found happiness…whoopee doo…what happened to The Legacy Continues?"

To make an even longer topic short: Nothing happened with it.

I wrote one chapter and that was it. I've never completed the story and I didn't write anymore afterwords. Why? Well, because it was at this stage of my life I realized I wanted to create my own original stories. I was tired of writing characters created by others (fun as was to write about and fully grasp completely), I wanted to begin my own 'legacy' as it were.

Fan fiction is great practice, no doubt about it, but it can only get you so far. That, and it doesn't pay anything. If I could just get paid for writing all that fan fiction - that would be sweet! But, no…there's nothing like that. Other than Amazon's fan fiction selected (and acquired titles) that forced you two write in their confined universes. But nothing I found interesting.

So what was The Legacy Continues and what stories had I imagined?

As I said earlier, I started writing about a new version of Mr. Freeze and continuing Terry's adventures as Batman. What I have written is pretty much it. The story chapter gives him a new lair to work out of, his relationship to Max and the introduction of the new villain. Attached to the end of the story will be a summary of how the event would have turned out and the conclusion. That's all I can give you for that. Sorry, but I have no interest in continuing the writing on it any further.

I'll even give brief summaries of where the other stories where going and the ultimate end of the series - which was going to lead to other new series ideas.

If you want to continue on with the series on my behalf, contact me and let me know. Or at least give me an acknowledgement in your story of where you obtained the idea from. There was already one fan who carried over Mr. Smiley to his/her story…. I have yet to find it (It was so long ago when they asked.)

Frozen In Time - the title literally speaks volume about this chapter. It will never be finished and is forever on pause. Having re-read it (and wanting to edit it) I found that it was still rather good and held up nicely. I truly do wish I could complete the work and make this series for all of you…but I'm not in that mindset anymore. My destiny is to write my short stories and books. (Go see them at: .com )

Batman in the future was awesome to write about. Not to mention the established characters. I knew everything about them and how they would have interacted, I just seemed to enjoy delving into that universe and playing out their lives. It was fun.

To all the fans that loved The Legacy Returns…I thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy that story. As a tribute to you and the many that will discover it, I give you the unfinished work I began so long ago. I am deeply sorry for not continuing with it and hope that you will at least try to support my new endeavour. If you loved these stories…come and check out the original ones I've created.

Thank you all so very much for the support and let's hope one day they'll make a Batman Beyond movie…or…. as a new series, perhaps?

- Jeff Walker

May 25, 2019