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Batman Beyond: Paul Dini Shares "Return of the Joker" Twist Notes

Batman Beyond co-creator Paul Dini shared a look at his notes about the plot twist in the 2000 animated feature "Return of the Joker."

It's hard to believe it's been 23 years since the end of the futuristic Batman Beyond with the animated series' memorable run from 1999-2001 across Kids' WB to Cartoon Network. It marked one of the biggest changes from the Batman traditional narrative, where an elderly Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) passed the mantle of the Caped Crusader to a successor in Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle). Bruce finds himself in an unfamiliar position, not as physically capable as he once was, and serves as Terry's operations guide like his late butler Alfred Pennyworth and Oracle/Barbara Gordon once did for him during his time as Batman. Set in the then-future 2019, Bruce finds he can't defeat Father Time as the next generation of Gotham's seedy underworld and supervillains emerge, with the teenage McGinnis being the city's last hope to fight crime. Creator Paul Dini shared on social media his notes on the 2000 film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker which features the return of Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker with a dark twist.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Writer Paul Dini Shares Notes on Film

Dini, who co-created Batman Beyond with Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, wrote, "Huh. The things one finds jotted down on old legal pads deep in the trunk of one's car." The note on the legal pad reads (with a 24-year spoiler alert), "Joker has transferred his genetic code into Tim Drake. Over time, it grows stronger. Tim's guilt at killing the Joker and resentment at being turned away by Batman causes the Jekyll and Hyde changes. Final battle Tim/Joker is trying to get Terry to wear original Batsuit – calls Batman "Bruce." Forces Batman to fight him. Terry laughs at Joker – this unnerves him. Joker calls down satellite – it carves a giant happy face around the city." At the bottom of the paper is Dini's drawn smiley face.

Drake is the second Robin after Dick Greyson in the DC Animated Universe, originally voiced by Matthew Valencia in Batman: The Animated Series. In the comics, Drake was the third Robin after the unpopular Jason Todd, taking up the role following Todd's death at the hands of the Joker. Todd wouldn't stay dead as he returned as the Batman villain, the Red Hood, but that's a story for another time. Valencia reprised his role as the younger Tim Drake, while Dean Stockwell played the older version in Return of the Joker. In the flashback scene that reveals how Joker died in the film, Bruce is trying to save Tim as Batman, but not before the Clown Prince of Crime reveals how he brainwashed Tim since his kidnapping and turned him into "Joker Jr," voiced by Andrea Romano, who also served as the casting director for the DCAU.

Nearly overwhelmed by what his archnemesis has done, Joker informed Batman that he broke Tim during his programming, forcing him to reveal his secrets, including his alter ego identity as Bruce Wayne. In a moment of truth, while struggling to overcome Joker's influence, Tim shoots him in the chest, killing him. As we fast-forward to the present, it's revealed that hidden behind Tim's ear is a microchip that retains Joker's essence and physically transforms him into the new Joker with memories and personality retained. Terry, who senses Joker's persistent chip (pun intended) on his shoulder over how Batman always bested him in their younger years, forces New Joker to lose his focus, which allows Terry an opportunity to use one of Joker's electrocuting joy buzzers to destroy the microchip, returning Tim to his self.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is arguably the darkest entry of the DCAU, and it features a star-studded cast that includes Angie Harmon, Tara Strong, Arleen Sorkin, Melissa Joan Hart, Michael Rosenbaum, Henry Rollins, Don Harvey, Frank Welker, Lauren Tom, Rachael Leigh Cook, Terri Garr, Ryan O'Donohue, Vernee Watson-Johnson, Mary Scheer, and Jason Stanford.

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