The final season of the beloved animated series Batman Beyond continued the adventures of Terry McGinnis as a futuristic Batman. Under the guidance of Bruce Wayne, Terry has come into his own in this season and even has his own partner, Maxine Gibson. This season marks the return of several notable DC Comics characters, ranging from the villainous love interest Talia al Ghul to a new version of Justice League Unlimited with some familiar faces.
Like the first season, the third season only ran for thirteen episodes and is the only season to feature a couple of episodes with two parts. These episodes were ranked together according to the higher part's rating by IMDb users. Despite this being the last season, Terry McGinnis still lives on in the comics, arguably about as relevant now as he was when the show aired.
10 "Untouchable" (7.5)
While on the hunt for The Repeller, a criminal with an impenetrable force field who is stealing isotopes in Gotham, Terry finds himself falling for Irene, a girl with an immune deficiency that forces her to wear a force field belt reminiscent of the very criminal Batman is after.
Her condition appears to be based on a real-life condition, primary immunodeficiency, in which the immune system is more susceptible to viruses and bacteria. Batman must grapple with his feelings for Irene and his suspicions of her involvement with The Repeller.
9 "Betrayal" (7.6)
Terry's childhood friend from the previous episode, Charlie "Big Time" Bigalow returns as a mutated, hulking monster. In this episode, Bruce is losing trust in Terry, who he believes is letting his personal feelings cloud his judgment where Big Time is concerned. Big Time is attempting to coerce Terry into becoming his partner in crime while Terry attempts to rehabilitate him.
This episode is the last instance of "Big Time" ever appearing in an animated series. His voice actor changed from the "Big Time" episode, in which he was voiced by Stephen Baldwin, to the voice of Lex Luthor himself: Clancy Brown.
8 "Big Time" (7.7)
In his first appearance, Charlie Bigalow is pre-transformation, and just getting out of jail. Feeling guilty because they were arrested for the same crime but Terry was able to get a lighter deal due to his age, Terry helps Charlie get a job at Wayne-Powers. However, Charlie is just planning his next big score in an attempt to make it into the big leagues.
7 "Speak No Evil" (7.9)
Batman begins the episode by going up against a gorilla only to find the abnormally intelligent animal in need of his help. He teams up with the talking gorilla called Fingers in this episode to help him locate his kidnapped mother.
This is not the first time Batman has gone up against a gorilla. During his term under the cowl, Bruce Wayne faced off regularly against Gorilla Grodd in Justice League and a gorilla named Peaches under the control of the Mad Hatter in The New Batman Adventures episode "Animal Act."
6 "Countdown" (7.9)
Zeta, an advanced Synthroid, returns in this episode after befriending Batman in season two and starring in his own animated series, The Zeta Project. Alongside his friend and ally Ro, the two attend a science convention in Gotham in the hopes of finding Zeta's creator.
However, the two are attacked by Agent Bennett and the NSA. Zeta manages to escape thanks to the help of the recurring Batman villain Mad Stan. Unknowing of Mad Stan's villainous origins, Zeta ends up on a suicide mission with a bomb strapped to his back.
5 "The Curse Of The Kobra, Part 2" (8.0)
The second of only two multi-part episodes in this season, "The Curse of the Kobra" features Terry going for martial arts training at a special school. He makes friends with Zander, whose secretly part of the Kobra Cult. After becoming enthralled with Max, Zander kidnaps her in an attempt to force her into becoming his bride.
This two-parter makes references to Bruce Wayne's past, specifically showing flashbacks to a younger version of Terry's teacher, Kairi Tanaga. Kairi previously appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "The Day of the Samurai," in which she was one of Sensei Yoru's students. Yoru was also Bruce Wayne's martial arts instructor when he was training to become Batman.
4 "Inqueling" (8.1)
The recurring Batman Beyond villainous Inque returns, seriously injured after being betrayed. She goes to her estranged daughter, Deanna, for help and to finish her next big score.
The relationship between the two is extremely strained considering Inque has been an on-the-run mother for Deanna's entire life, only sending the money she stole to provide for her. Now, Batman finds himself contending with two criminals.
3 "Unmasked" (8.2)
In the season finale, Max tries to convince Terry to reveal his secret identity to Dana and a few select others to make his life easier and improve his relationship. However, Terry tells Max the story of how he revealed his secret identity shortly after becoming Batman to a young boy.
The episode flashes back to Terry revealing his secret to Miguel Diaz, who then shared with the media that he saw Batman's face. The young boy is then kidnapped by Kobra in an attempt to figure out who Batman is unmasked. He chooses to tell her this story to show her why he needs to keep his secret identity a secret.
2 "Out Of The Past" (8.3)
Just when Bruce Wayne is truly feeling his age during his birthday— and suffering an evening with Terry at the "The Legend of Batman" musical— one of his longtime love interests and criminal adversaries, Talia al Ghul, returns.
Retaining her youth, Talia claims she has learned how to use the Lazarus Pit without any side effects and can return Bruce to his glory days as a young man. This episode has the distinction of being nominated for an Annie Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television Production."
1 "The Call, Parts 1 & 2" (8.6)
The first of only two muli-parters in this season, both parts of "The Call" received the same highest score of the season. Terry received an invitation from Superman himself to join Justice League Unlimited. However, the other Leaguers aren't too happy with him, and Superman suspects there is a traitor in their midst.
This version of Justice League Unlimited includes Big Barda, Aquagirl, the Green Lantern Kai-Ro, Micron, Static, Warhawk, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The first part of this episode won an Annie Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production."