This 2000s Batman Film Has the Bleakest Twist & It’s Not The Dark Knight

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As a huge Batman fan, I’ve seen him go through some truly rough stuff – from the loss of his parents as a child to the heartbreaking death of Jason Todd. It’s those inner struggles that make him such a compelling character, honestly. But you know what’s really stuck with me? It wasn’t even in the comics themselves. It was in the animated movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Seriously, it’s incredibly dark stuff. While we’re all excited for The Batman Part II and Brave and the Bold, I think the most devastating Batman story actually revolves around Tim Drake’s time as Robin. It’s a twist that really gets under your skin.

From The Animated Series To Batman Beyond

Batman Beyond was the fourth animated series in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), following previous shows that also featured Batman. It was a continuation of the stories told in Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, but set in a futuristic Gotham City – now called Neo-Gotham – in the year 2039. The series begins with Bruce Wayne (voiced by Kevin Conroy) retiring as Batman after 20 years, following a heart attack and a moment where he nearly used lethal force. Conroy’s delivery of the line “Never again” as he shut down the Batcave for the last time was a particularly memorable and impactful start to the show.

I remember being totally shocked when Terry McGinnis (voiced by Will Friedle!) stumbled into the Batcave! It happened after he helped an older Bruce Wayne fight off some Jokerz near Wayne Manor. It turned out Terry’s dad worked at Wayne Enterprises, which was now run by this really suspicious guy, Derek Powers. Powers was seriously shady – he even had Terry’s father killed because he knew too much! Bruce, who was in his 70s at this point, didn’t have any answers for Terry, but when Terry found out Bruce was Batman, he took the updated batsuit to get revenge. Things got even crazier when Powers became the supervillain Blight after an accident with nerve gas gave him a totally new look. Eventually, Terry convinced Bruce to help him out, which meant the criminals of Neo-Gotham had a brand new Batman to worry about!

The Story of Return of The Joker

Later in Terry McGinnis’s time as Batman, a new group calling themselves The Jokerz attempted to steal advanced satellite technology – an unusual target for them. Terry was also struggling to balance his personal life, particularly his relationship with Dana. Things took a dark turn when the leader of this new Jokerz gang was revealed: the Joker himself, voiced again by Mark Hamill. He appeared surprisingly youthful and knew Bruce Wayne was Batman. After a fight between Terry and the Joker’s crew, Bruce was shocked to learn the Joker was supposedly dead – Bruce had even witnessed his death years prior. He insisted Terry stop being Batman.

A heated argument breaks out, and Terry throws the Batsuit back at Bruce, believing Bruce killed the Joker. Afterwards, the young Batman tries to relax at a nightclub with his girlfriend, but he’s tracked down by the Joker’s followers. They find him not as Batman, but as Terry McGinnis, which feels off. During the fight, Diana is seriously hurt. When Terry rushes back to Wayne Manor for answers, he finds the mansion broken into and Bruce in terrible condition – infected with Joker toxin. It turns out the Joker knew everything about them, just as he’d suggested.

Back To The New Batman Adventures

While Bruce recovers in the hospital, Commissioner Barbra Gordon (Angie Harmon) explains everything to Terry, offering a look back at the world of The New Batman Adventures – a period we hadn’t seen in over a year. This part of the movie shows a key fifteen-minute sequence filling in the story between that series and Batman Beyond. It features Tim Drake as Robin patrolling on his own, where he encounters what appears to be a woman being robbed. It’s a setup, though, and Robin is knocked unconscious and kidnapped by Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin) and The Joker. He remains missing for two weeks while Batman and Batgirl (Barbra) search for him.

Batman and Batgirl receive information that the Joker and Harley Quinn are holding Robin captive at the abandoned Arkham Asylum. Arriving at the dilapidated building, they discover the Joker has been experimenting on Tim, attempting to create a child without going through pregnancy. Seeing Batman as having other ‘children’ under his care, they took Tim and transformed him into a twisted version of the Joker – with pale skin, a manic grin, and a disturbing purple suit.

By this point, fans had become very familiar with this version of Robin, having seen him throughout most of The New Batman Adventures and in a few important episodes of Superman: The Animated Series. He was a mix of the tougher, earlier Robin (Jason Todd) and the then-current comic book portrayal of Tim Drake. Sadly, this young Robin’s time as the Boy Wonder ended in a terrible tragedy. To make things even worse, the Joker showed a disturbing video of Robin’s transformation, portraying himself as a monstrous, mad scientist. The video’s grainy, black-and-white, found-footage style was deeply unsettling for both the viewers and Batman.

Even within the generally mature tone of the DC Animated Universe, this installment is surprisingly violent. For those who grew up watching these stories around the year 2000, the shocking reveal of Tim’s betrayal would likely have been truly frightening. The scene quickly escalates as Batman, spurred by Robin’s unsettling new laugh, launches an attack. But before he can, the Joker reveals that Tim compromised Batman’s secret identity in a dramatic reveal. This sends Batman into a furious rage, leading to a brutal fight. The level of violence hasn’t been seen in this universe since Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and given the story’s dark themes, it feels justified. However, the Joker has one last trick: he stabs Batman and attempts to manipulate a brainwashed Tim into shooting Bruce.

The story behind Return of The Joker is interesting because there are, in fact, two different versions of this sad movie.

As a huge fan of Batman Beyond, I always found the story behind Return of the Joker fascinating. It turns out there are actually two versions of the movie! After the tragic events at Columbine High School in 1999, Warner Bros. made some pretty significant changes, mostly toning down the violence. The biggest difference is how Tim deals with the Joker at the end. Originally, Tim actually shot the Joker – a really shocking moment, especially since earlier in the film, Joker brutally shot one of his own guys, Bonk, in a similar way (though that was changed to laughing gas too!). In the edited version, Tim throws the gun away and traps the Joker amongst some broken wires and water, electrocuting him. But the original, more violent scene was eventually included in the “Unedited Cut” released on the DVD in 2002, and thankfully it’s been in every release since, including the Batman Beyond Blu-ray collection from 2019. It’s great they put it back in, even with the added blood effects!

The Tragedy of Tim Drake

The core tragedy of Tim Drake’s story stays consistent across different versions. A deeply traumatic event forced him to retire as Robin and permanently damaged his relationship with Bruce Wayne, even with years of therapy. What makes it even more unsettling is the eventual reveal that an older Tim (played by Dean Stockwell) is actually The Joker. While the original Joker did die, he had a backup plan: a microchip containing his memories was implanted in Tim, periodically taking control of his mind, often without Tim even realizing it.

Although the deaths of Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight and Jason Todd in the comics are tragic, the ordeal Tim Drake endured at the Joker’s hands in the DC Animated Universe is far more disturbing. Tim didn’t just suffer physical harm – he survived, but was left with lasting trauma. For decades, he battled nightmares, internal voices, and a psychological darkness that felt like a demon within him. While Jason’s death was brutal, both it and Rachel’s were relatively quick compared to Tim’s prolonged suffering. Before his capture, Tim was a spirited, though sometimes hot-headed, kid, and episodes of The New Batman Adventures, like “Growing Pains,” showed his empathy even towards villains. Seeing such a young hero go through that is incredibly painful, especially considering his bleak future in Neo-Gotham. The fact that Tim lived through it all is ultimately more devastating than if he had died. Tim is, in many ways, a casualty of Batman’s war on crime – a turning point that forever changed how Batman operated and a burden he carried until the end of Return of the Joker.

What really makes this story stand out are the incredible performances, especially from Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy, who many consider to be their best work as the Joker and Batman. This version of the Joker is particularly chilling – even more so than previous depictions in the DC Animated Universe. Hamill portrays a truly gruesome and bloodthirsty Joker, with a strikingly different look – a sleek, futuristic, steampunk-inspired costume and a shorter haircut. Years before his terrifying role in the Batman: Arkham games, Hamill demonstrated that Return of the Joker wasn’t a lighthearted story. He brilliantly captures the Joker as a deeply traumatized individual hiding behind a monstrous facade, and perfectly embodies the character’s darkness. This nuanced portrayal is what makes it one of Hamill’s finest performances as the Joker.

A Brighter Day in Neo-Gotham

Despite being involved in a particularly dark chapter in Batman’s story, Return of the Joker ultimately has a positive ending. The film concludes with a clever and exciting showdown, where the Joker proves to be more cunning thanks to Tim Drake’s technological skills. However, Terry McGinnis’s Batman was a very different hero than Bruce Wayne, using his own sense of humor, which greatly frustrated the Joker. In the end, Terry manages to disable the computer chip controlling Tim, finally freeing him from the Joker’s influence.

The movie begins and ends with Tim recovering in the hospital, and Bruce, still his usual grumpy self, visiting him. It’s the first time they’ve spoken in years, and though we don’t hear their conversation, Tim’s final words, “Hi old man,” powerfully convey their long history and shared emotions. This Batman film is deeply sad, filled with tragic moments, but ultimately it’s a story about finding peace and dealing with unresolved issues and unspoken feelings.

This idea is echoed in Bruce and Terry’s final conversation: “It’s not being Batman that gives you value, it’s the other way around.” Like Terry, Tim ultimately defeated the Joker’s evil, not because of his past as Robin, but because of the good person he always was inside. While the Joker’s actions will always affect him, Tim now has a strong network of friends to help him cope with difficult times. He tells Terry and Barbara that he’s learned to cherish the people in your life. No amount of suffering inflicted by the Joker could ever diminish that inner strength.

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2026-03-31 06:06