The 1999-2001 animated series Batman Beyond was a new take on the familiar Dark Knight mythos. And while the DC Animated Universe did a fascinating job of setting up much of the overarching animated continuity, Batman Beyond progressed that story into the future and showed endings for characters comics can so rarely afford to pin down. In some cases, characters get the happy ending they always deserved, but perhaps the biggest tragedy of the DCAU is Batman's sidekick Robin and the fate that befell him at the hands of The Joker.
In the present-day timeline of Batman: The Animated Series, Bruce discovers fellow orphan Dick Grayson and takes him under his wing. The dynamic duo of Batman and Robin would fight crime countless times, but eventually, a schism developed, leading Dick to move to nearby Blüdhaven and become Nightwing. Another orphan, Tim Drake, then became the new Robin. His fate in the DCAU was later revealed in the 2000 direct-to-video movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
The Transition From Tim Drake to Joker
Drake's story in the DCAU was always a mix of the character from the comics and that of Jason Todd, best known for meeting his end at the hands of The Joker. In the comics, Todd later returns to haunt Batman as the Red Hood, a sinister reminder of sin's past. The DCAU manages to hit many of these same beats using Drake while putting their own unique spin on it.
In Return of the Joker, the new Batman of 2040 learns that before Bruce Wayne retired and became further isolated from those around him, he and Tim Drake had a final bout with Joker. After Tim went missing for three weeks, Batman discovered him at the abandoned Arkham Asylum, where it turned out The Joker tortured him for information and brainwashed him into being a mini-Joker. The deeply disturbed teenager turned on The Joker and seemingly killed him once and for all, forever traumatizing Tim and forcing him to retire.
But Tim's story was far from over. Just when it seemed that Joker had survived his apparent death, Return of the Joker reveals the Clown Prince of Crime and Tim Drake are one and the same. While Tim was The Joker's captive, the villain encoded his DNA with experimental technology that could override Tim's body and mind with his physical and mental attributes. This meant that Joker not only managed to survive his death but also added insult to vast psychic injury to Batman on top of it.
With the DCAU's continuity often putting its own spin on events from the comics, Drake becoming The Joker is simultaneously one of the most inventive and faithful ways to adapt a major part of the Batman mythos. Suffering few restraints with its status as a "kid's cartoon," this animated movie managed to portray a story that was dark and disturbing. Batman is a tragic figure, and what goes along with that is turning those around him into fodder for tragedy.