Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

A new faction of the Jokerz gang attempts to steal high-tech electronic equipment, but they are intercepted by Batman (Terry McGinnis). The gang reports back to their leader, who is revealed to be the Joker.

The Jokerz attack a press conference commemorating Terry's predecessor Bruce Wayne's return to Wayne Enterprises, and the Joker reveals himself to Bruce, who insists that it cannot be him. After fending off the attack, Terry demands information from both Bruce and Gotham City Police Department's Commissioner Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl, but neither give him answers. Bruce orders Terry to return the Batsuit so he can investigate on his own. Only after Bruce is poisoned by the Joker (and revealing that he knows his secrets), and Terry administers the antidote, does Barbara explain the Joker's disappearance. Four decades ago, the Joker and Harley Quinn kidnapped, tortured, and brainwashed Tim Drake, then Robin, in which the former violently forced him to reveal details of Batman's secrets. When Batman and Batgirl found Tim, a fight ensued, during which Tim turned on and killed the Joker. The Joker's body was buried beneath Arkham Asylum, and Tim, after he recovered, was forced into retirement, severing his ties with Bruce.

Terry visits Tim, who denies any involvement in the Joker's return. He next suspects Jordan Pryce, a Wayne Enterprises executive, and overhears Pryce and the Jokerz conspiring on a yacht to have Bruce killed. When a laser beam strikes the yacht, Terry rescues Pryce before turning him in to the police.

In the Batcave, Terry and Bruce discover that the equipment the Jokerz have been stealing would need Tim's expertise as a communication engineer to operate. When Terry goes to face Tim, he triggers a trap set by the Joker, who he then follows to an abandoned candy factory after surviving further attacks. At the factory, the Joker reveals that he encoded his DNA and consciousness into a microchip hidden behind Tim's ear, allowing him to survive his death by slowly turning Tim into the Joker's replicate. Using the stolen equipment, he seizes control of an orbital defense satellite and plans to destroy Gotham City with it. In the ensuing battle, Terry uses one of the Joker's joy buzzers to destroy both the weapon and the microchip, saving the city and freeing Tim.

In the end, Bruce, Tim, and Barbara make amends while Tim recovers in the hospital. Both Bruce and Tim acknowledge Terry's worth to the Batman mantle. Two of the Jokerz, meanwhile, are bailed out by their grandmother, an elderly Harley Quinn who survived her apparent death and reformed.

The Joker's death in the unedited version of the film (top) compared to his death in the edited version (bottom)

The film was initially put into production after the cancellation of Boyd Kirkland's Batman: Arkham, the intended sequel to Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero.[1] When Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami were given the green-light to produce a Batman Beyond feature-length film, they decided to use the extra time to answer questions pertaining to the time period between Beyond and the rest of the DC Animated Universe.[2] Will Friedle, Kevin Conroy, and Mark Hamill reprised their roles as Terry McGinnis, Bruce Wayne, and the Joker, respectively, while Dean Stockwell and Angie Harmon joined the voice cast as Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake. Arleen Sorkin returned as Harley Quinn, a role she originated in Batman: The Animated Series.[3]

Return of the Joker was originally set for release on Halloween 2000, but, following the backlash against violence in children's media that resulted from the Columbine High School massacre in April 1999, the creative team was forced to make edits that delayed the film's release until December 12, 2000.[4] The most dramatic change was the method of the Joker's death: rather than being shot and killed by Tim Drake, he is instead electrocuted after becoming tangled in water tubing.[4]

• A comic adaptation of the film was released in February 2001, drawn by Craig Rousseau. The page depicting the Joker's death had to be redone in accordance with the edits made to the film.[7]
• A tie-in video game was released in 2000 for Game Boy Color,[8] PlayStation,[9] and Nintendo 64.[10]
• Scholastic released a novelization of the film, penned by Michael Teitelbaum, on October 1, 2000.[11]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]

Released on October 17, 2000, the soundtrack to Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker contains music composed by Kristopher Carter, as well as two tracks of music featured in the direct-to-video film.

All tracks are written by Kristopher Carter.

According to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 10 reviews, and the average rating is 7.71/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "This feature length entry in the Batman Beyond mythos sends off the Mark Hamill-voiced Joker in thrilling fashion, hitting the same caped crusading peaks of the original series."[13]

Nisha Gopalan of Entertainment Weekly praised the uncut version of the film, in particular how it "sheds light on the dark, obsessive relationship between the villain and his vigilante counterpart."[14] Gerry Shamray of Sun Newspapers said that Return of the Joker "would have made a great live-action Batman movie."[15] Ryan Cracknell of Apollo Guide called the film "an animated masterpiece."[16]

Peter Canavese of Groucho Reviews called it an "energetic and unsettling Batman adventure," adding that it "provides a memorable showcase for Hamill's celebrated take on the Joker, and allows both McGinnis and Wayne to see action and face emotional challenges."[17] Michael Stailey of DVD Verdict gave the uncut version a score of 92 out of 100, calling it "a taut, high-impact film" and "a must-buy to Bat-fans and animation lovers alike."[18]

Garth Franklin of Dark Horizons had a mixed response when reviewing the uncut version, saying that "the script is pretty solid, the animation superb, and the voice performances all work well," but added that "the Terry character's personal scenes aren't anywhere near as engaging [as the scenes featuring the Joker or Bruce Wayne], and the investigative subplot doesn't work as well as it should."[19] Jeremy Conrad of IGN gave the uncut version a score of nine out of 10 for the movie itself, six out of 10 each for video and audio, and eight out of 10 for extras, adding up to an overall score of seven out of 10.[5]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker at IMDb
• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker at AllMovie
• Batman NOT Beyond The Censor's Reach—detailed analysis of the last-minute changes
• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Edit List—The World's Finest's list of cuts and edits, includes screencaps from both versions.
• Official website
• Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker @ BYTB: Batman Yesterday, Today and Beyond