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Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Directed by	Curt Geda
Produced by	Alan Burnett Paul Dini Glen Murakami Bruce Timm
Written by	Comic Book: Bob Kane Story: Paul Dini Glen Murakami Bruce Timm Screenplay: Paul Dini
Starring	Kevin Conroy Will Friedle Mark Hamill Angie Harmon Dean Stockwell Teri Garr Arleen Sorkin Tara Strong Mathew Valencia Melissa Joan Hart
Music by	Kristopher Carter
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	December 12, 2000
Running time	Rated Version: 74 min. Uncut Version: 77 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (also known as Batman of the Future: Return of the Joker in Europe and Australia) is a direct-to-video animated film featuring the comic book superhero Batman and his archenemy, the Joker. It is set in the continuity of the animated series Batman Beyond, in which Bruce Wayne has retired from crimefighting and given the mantle of Batman to high school student Terry McGinnis. As in the TV series, Will Friedle and Kevin Conroy star as Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne, respectively. Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker opposite Conroy in Batman: The Animated Series, returns in the title role.

Before its release, the movie was cut by almost four minutes to remove scenes of violence, and some dialogue was altered. The original version was subsequently released on DVD and is notable for receiving a PG-13 rating from the MPAA for violence, a rarity in American animation.

Mephisto Odyssey and Static-X contributed the song "Crash (The Humble Brothers Remix)" on the film's soundtrack, along with a music video featured on the DVD.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Connections to the television series 3 Cast 4 Re-editing 5 Comic Adaptation 6 Soundtrack 7 Trivia 8 Jokerz 9 Goofs 10 External links

Return of the Joker, as the title suggests, features the return of Batman's archnemesis, the Joker, who disappeared some 40 years before the film takes place. Wayne, who knows the reason for the Joker's long absence, is certain that this can't be the same man, and he and Terry set out to discover who he really is and what he's up to. Along the way, it is revealed what happened not only to the Joker, but also to several other Batman-related characters who have been absent from Batman Beyond, such as Batman's old sidekick Tim Drake.

The seemingly immortal Joker has taken control of a faction of the Jokerz, a street gang devoted to the Clown Prince of Crime's image. He commands them to steal high-tech equipment which Batman had been tracking for weeks. The gang escapes, leaving Batman to return to the Batcave. The next night, Bruce is about to announce his return to Wayne Enterprises when the Joker and his cronies interrupt. After the Joker reveals himself, Terry seeks answers about his mentor's former nemesis. He first visits Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl, but she refuses to tell him anything. Terry, who has always suspected that Bruce hasn't told him everything about his career as Batman, asks Bruce if he, as Batman, killed the Joker to prevent the Clown Prince of Crime from committing a particularly heinous crime. Bruce does not respond, and asks Terry to give back the Batsuit. Terry refuses, saying that fighting crime as Batman makes him feel like a worthwhile person. Bruce is unsympathetic, and Terry, angered, throws the Batsuit to the floor and storms out of the Batcave. Later on, as Terry is dancing with his girlfriend Dana at a nightclub, he is attacked by the gang of Jokerz that he'd fought as Batman. At the same time, the Joker attacks Bruce in the Batcave. After sending the Jokerz running, Terry rushes to Wayne Manor; when he arrives, he finds Bruce half-dead from Joker venom. As Bruce recovers, Barbara tells Terry the truth about the Joker's death.

The story switches to a flashback of the New Batman Adventures timeline, where Dick Grayson (as Nightwing) has left Gotham City to protect its neighboring city, Blüdhaven. While on solo patrol one night, Tim Drake, the second Robin, is kidnapped by The Joker and his sidekick, Harley Quinn. The Joker subjects Tim to a series of brutal physical and psychological tortures, bleaching his skin white, dyeing his hair green and contorting his lips into a rictus reminiscent of the Joker's. Eventually, Tim is driven insane, and the Joker "adopts" him as his son, "J.J.". During the torture, Tim reveals to the Joker all of Batman's secrets, including his secret identity as Bruce Wayne. When Batman and Batgirl locate Joker and Quinn and see what has been done to Tim, Batman flies into a rage and chases Joker around the abandoned Arkham Asylum.

Meanwhile, Harley forces Batgirl on the defensive with her rocket launcher, knocking her off a cliff outside the abandoned asylum. Harley loses control of the rocket launcher, and both she and Batgirl are knocked off the cliff. During the ensuing struggle, Harley falls off the cliff to her apparent death.

Meanwhile, the Joker taunts Batman as "a little boy in a playsuit, crying for mommy and daddy". An enraged Batman chases after the Joker. During the ensuing struggle, the Joker stabs Batman in the leg, leaving him helpless. He tells "J.J." to kill Batman, but the boy ultimately refuses and pushes his tormentor, who slips backwards onto a wet electrical switch and dies. A traumatized Tim breaks down in tears. Batman and Batgirl bury the Joker's body in an abandoned mine shaft deep beneath the asylum, but are unable to find Harley's body. The only people who are aware of what happened at Arkham that night are Commissioner James Gordon, who helps cover the incident up; Bruce's butler Alfred Pennyworth, and Dick Grayson. To protect Tim, they decide to keep the events of his abduction and torture a secret.

Tim is placed in the care of Bruce's old friend Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who restores the boy's sanity a year later. After Tim recovers, Batman forbids him from ever being Robin again. Tim leaves Wayne Manor, and eventually marries, fathers two children, and starts working as a communication engineer.

As the story returns to "present" time, Terry (as Batman) questions the now adult Tim Drake, who denies any involvement and expresses renounces his past life as Robin. Terry then suspects Jordan Price, Wayne's rival at Wayne Enterprises, (in a red herring, Price looks just like the Joker without make-up and is also voiced by Mark Hamill) but he finds the Jokerz on Price's yacht, trying to kill him. He rescues Price before a giant beam from a satellite destroys the boat. Realising that only the Robin costume was actually damaged in the Joker's attack on the Batcave, and recalling Tim's resentment of the costume, Terry finally deduces that Tim is behind the Joker; Tim, a communications expert, could use the stolen technology to hijack a defense satellite to fire on Earth.

Terry escapes a trap at Tim's job site, chased by a satellite beam through Gotham. He then tracks the Joker to an abandoned candy factory. After fighting off the Jokerz, he discovers the truth behind the new Joker: the Joker had copied his consciousness and DNA into Tim's body via stolen genetic microchip technology. Whenever the chip takes control of Tim, he transforms into the Joker. Soon, the Joker will take complete control of Tim's body.

When the Joker directs the satellite beam at Wayne Manor, Terry sets Bruce's guard dog Ace on the Joker and uses the distraction to destroy the beam's guidance system. The beam then heads toward the factory. The Joker attempts to escape, and he and the young Dark Knight face off in a final confrontation. The Joker proves more capable of physical combat; having access to Tim's memories gives him knowledge of "every trick the original Batman and Robin knew at their peak". Terry and the Joker fight, but the young hero soon changes his battle plan after Bruce informs him that Joker likes to talk: Terry hides in the rafters and begins to play mind games with the Joker, driving his opponent into a crazed rage. A furious Joker throws a handful of grenades at his opponent, sending Terry crashing to the floor. The Joker pins him to the ground, pulls off his mask and begins choking him. Terry capitalizes on the Joker's distraction and destroys the chip in Tim's body with Joker's own electrical joy buzzer. Terry escapes with Tim and Ace before the satellite destroys the factory.

In the city jail, two of the Joker's henchmen, the Dee-Dees, are revealed to be the twin granddaughters of the aging Harley Quinn, who is seen bailing them out while lamenting what disappointments they are. Meanwhile, Terry meets Tim properly in the hospital while Tim is talking with Barbara. The movie ends with Bruce, Barbara, and Tim reuniting in a hospital room and mending fences, while Terry dons the Batsuit once again and flies off into the heart of Gotham City.

• The Jokerz uncovered the Clown Prince of Crime's remains from the mine shaft sometime after Bruce and Barbara buried him, and have been using it for their initiation rituals to those who are joining their gang (seen in the Batman Beyond episode "Joy Ride").
• In the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue," it was revealed that the genetics technology used by the Joker had been stolen from Project Cadmus, possibly during the episode "Wild Cards," when he freed a group of metahumans from a government facility who would call themselves The Royal Flush Gang.
• The third season finale of Justice League Unlimited showed the future Justice League members (including Terry McGinniss) and Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern fighting an enhanced version of the Jokerz seen in Return of the Joker.

Actor	Role
Will Friedle	Terry McGinnis / Batman
Kevin Conroy	Bruce Wayne / Batman
Mark Hamill	The Joker & Jordan Price
Angie Harmon	Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon
Dean Stockwell	Tim Drake
Teri Garr	Mary McGinnis
Arleen Sorkin	Harley Quinn
Tara Strong	Barbara Gordon / Batgirl
Mathew Valencia	Tim Drake / Robin
Melissa Joan Hart	Delia & Deidre Dennis / Dee-Dee
Don Harvey	Charles Buntz / Chucko
Michael Rosenbaum	Stewart Carter Winthrop III / Ghoul
Henry Rollins	Benjamin Knox / Bonk
Rachael Leigh Cook	Chelsea Cunningham
Frank Welker	Woof the Hyena-Man & Ace the Bat-Hound
Lauren Tom	Dana Tan
Mary Scheer	Mrs. Drake
Vernee Watson-Johnson	Ms. Joyce Carr

The movie was initially released amid the backlash against violence in movies and video games aimed at children that followed the Columbine High School massacre; as a result, the movie was substantially re-edited shortly before release to tone down the violence. Many of the changes were controversial, particularly those made to a key scene in which the Joker is killed. The original unedited version has been released as "The Original Uncut Version." This story was broken by Jim Harvey from Toon Zone.

The following are scenes that were changed in the edited-for-content version:

• The opening fight sequence is trimmed, cutting out a second Dee-Dee kick and completely redoing the entire Batman/Dee-Dee sequence.
• Lots of white flashes have been added to the action sequences where there were previously none. Additionally, combinations of punches have been mostly trimmed down to one punch. For example, Woof slashes the guard once now instead of twice. Batman no longer punches Ghoul in the gut; he just uppercuts him into the dish. Later on in the club, Terry's attack on Ghoul is cut to a flash and Terry running away while Ghoul falls. There is a 360-degree fight sequence in the opening battle that has also been removed, where Batman fends off the Jokerz one by one.
• When Bruce throws the Batarang, it appears as though he's simply pleased that he can still throw and catch the weapon, instead of using it to decapitate a Two-Face dummy.
• Seat belts are added to Terry and Bruce as they drive home after their first meeting with the new Joker as well as in the chase scenes in the batmobile.
• Bonk is not shot with Joker's flag-spear gun, but instead given a dose of Joker laughing gas, taking his implied death off-screen. Because of this, a: the whole "Take the trash outside, Dee-Dee" and "Are you with me?" sequence is cut, b: the flag remained on the gun, c: when Joker said "Oops. No, I wasn't," green smoke is visible, d: Jokerz staring was replaced with Bonk's deranged laughter, e: when Joker says, "That's also how we did it in my day," Bonk and the edge of the table he was lying on were added, f: the sound of the second trigger pull went from a flying rocket to a gas release mechanism activation, and g: laughter was in the background until Joker says, "New Gotham, new rules, even a new Batman."
• The club fight is changed. Chucko no longer punches Terry and says "I don't know why the boss wants a dreg like you outta the way, but hey, as long as it's fun..." He just goes for his gun and says "Slag him!"
• When Terry enters the Batcave to find it demolished by the Joker, the letters 'HA! HA!' written across the floor are changed from red to purple, probably to assure the viewer it is written in spray paint rather than Bruce's blood.
• During a montage where Batman and Batgirl comb the underworld looking for clues about Robin's disappearance, Batgirl talks to a nicely-dressed man and woman instead of two scantily clad women, clearly intended to be prostitutes, on a street corner. These two women appeared in The New Batman Adventures as Batgirl's "sources," in the episode "The Ultimate Thrill." (The blonde is based on an early Black Canary character design later seen in Justice League Unlimited)
• In the unedited version, when Batman (in the flashback) frees himself from the Joker's ribbon wrap, he throws the knife that he used to free himself with at the Joker. The Joker ducks at the last second and the blade goes through the stage curtain.
• Two of the Joker's lines are changed. One line, "I'll begin with how I peeled back the layers of the boy's mind" is changed to, "I'll begin with how I affected young Robin's makeover." In another, the words "the serums and the shocks took their toll," are cut out.
• More than half of the "Our Family Memories" home movie is cut out, only showing Robin tied up and struggling, and cutting the scene where the Joker opens the barbeque lids, picks up the voltage tongs, and shocks Robin.
• All other blood is removed. Only one example was passed over: In the flashback sequence when the original Batman smashes through the projection, he punches the Joker. Blots of blood fly from the Joker's mouth, but he is not bleeding in the next shot.
• The Joker no longer slices Batman across the chest or in the leg (originally intended to explain why Bruce walks with a limp in Batman Beyond); he just punches Batman. However, if one looks closely at the Joker's hand, the knife handle is still visible in the edited version.
• The Joker originally wanted Robin to shoot Batman with a gun, saying, "Make Daddy proud." The edited version shows that the Joker wants Robin to "Make him one of us" by shooting him with a gun designed to make Batman similar to the Joker and Robin. The Joker's line, "The last sound you'll hear will be our laughter," is kept in. Also, the gun is tossed away in the fight with the Joker. When Robin drops down to cry, the gun is right next to him. When Batgirl comes to comfort him, the gun is gone.
• The Joker is not shot, but slips in some water and is electrocuted off screen. The dialogue in the subsequent scene is changed, with no mention of the Joker being buried under Arkham Asylum.
• A lot of dialogue is changed as well; references to the word "kill" are changed.
• The Joker says "Bat-Kook" instead of "Bat-Fart."
• Barbara says "back to himself" instead of "back to sanity."
• Jordan Price says "tried to ice Wayne" instead of "tried to kill Wayne."
• Tim Drake says "I can still hear his scream" instead of "I can still hear the shot."
• Bruce says "Robin defeated him" instead of "Robin did shoot him."
• The Joker says "...has such yutzes" instead of "...has such putzes."
• Tim Drake says "It's a doozy" instead of "It's a killer."
• Joker says "Make him one of us" instead of "Make daddy proud."
• Tim Drake says "...frozen smile" instead of "...dead smile."
• In the scene where the satellite laser chases the Batmobile, it blasts an unmarked, dark, seemingly empty building. Originally, it was a lit movie theater. In the edited version, the word "cineplex" can be seen exploding out of the wreckage in the last few frames of the shot.
• The introduction to the scene on the Wayne Enterprises yacht between Jordan Price and his female friend is excised.
• When Ace watches part of a Looney Tunes episode on the TV where a dog thinks he killed Bugs Bunny, the dog on TV says "I don't deserve to live!" over and over instead of moving on to saying "I wish I were dead!" twice.

While the comic based off the movie was largely uncensored, the page depicting the Joker's death had to be redone to match the movie. The rest of the comic, however, wasn't altered. As a result, the rest of the story refers to the Joker being shot as opposed to electrocuted and killed.

• ROTJ Page Comparison

• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (Main Title)
• Industrial Heist
• Meet the Joker
• Joker Crashes Bruce's Party
• Terry Relieved of Duty
• Nightclub Fight / Terry Rescues Bruce
• A Trap for Tim
• Joker Family Portrait
• Arkham Mayhem
• Batman Defeats the Jokerz
• Joker Meets His End (Again)
• Healing Old Wounds
• Crash (The Humble Brothers Remix) - Mephisto Odyssey & Static-X
• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (End Title) - Kenny Wayne Shepard

• Continuity-wise, Return of the Joker appears to be set after Batman Beyond's third season episode "King's Ransom" where Paxton Powers is arrested, therefore leaving Wayne-Powers up for grabs. Producer Bruce Timm has reportedly stated that the events in said flashback take place at the end of the current DCAU timeline (post-"Destroyer" and pre-"Rebirth").
• The voice of Ghoul was provided by Michael Rosenbaum, who did several voices for the Batman Beyond TV series as well as playing The Flash in Justice League and playing Lex Luthor on Smallville. While in the recording studio, he would often do a Christopher Walken impression; When they were commissioned to create this film, they modeled the character on Rosebaum's Walken impression.
• When Bruce is checking the future Joker's voice against that of the past Joker, the clip is a newly animated (but previously scripted) segment from "Holiday Knights," the first episode of the redesigned Batman cartoon that was broadcast on the WB Network.
• Writer Paul Dini makes a cameo during the first few minutes of the movie.
• The second time Terry (as Batman) confronts the older Tim Drake, he is a hologram.
• The movie marked Mathew Valencia's last performance as Tim Drake/Robin.
• Although Harley Quinn was originally set to be killed in the flashback sequence, a short scene near the end of the movie just after the climax features an older woman who resembles Harley releasing her twin granddaughters, Delia and Deidre Dennis. When the old woman scolds the two twins, one of them replies: "Shut up, Nana Harley!" Dini included this scene in the script because of his displeasure at being asked to kill off what he felt was one of his biggest contributions to the Batman mythos; Timm chose to retain it because he felt it provided some necessary comic relief.
• The orbital weapon commandeered by the Joker is an homage to the SOL Satellite in the anime/manga Akira (just as the bikes that the Jokerz ride in the Batman Beyond TV series are an homage to the Clowns motorcycle gang from that film). Also, the Japanese animation director on Return of the Joker had previously worked on the original sequence in Akira.
• Return of the Joker marks Angie Harmon's first appearance as Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon. In the first two seasons of Batman Beyond, Commissioner Gordon was voiced by Stockard Channing, who was unavailable for the movie. Harmon took over the role for the third season of the TV series. According to the DVD commentary track, Harmon could not travel to Los Angeles to record her performances because she was also playing Assistant District Attorney Abbie Carmichael on the television series Law & Order. She would record her performances at a recording studio in New York City on her lunch break.
• During the flashback sequence in the uncut version of the film, the Joker slashes Batman across the chest with a knife, then stabs him in the leg. The leg stabbing is the cause of the elderly Bruce Wayne's limp that forces him to use a cane in his later years.
• Pipe-Bomber Luke Helder attempted to make a smiley face pattern out of his targets across America, similar to the Joker's attempt with the satellite beam.

This film featured a new Jokerz gang. The series previously featured two different Jokerz gangs, one led by J-Man, who dressed similarly to the Joker himself, and his gang were recurring antagonists in the series. Another much smaller gang was featured in the episode 'Hidden Agenda'. It is possible that the former two gangs have been since arrested, and this is the new major Jokerz gang in Gotham. This gang consisted of the following members:

Bonk- A large, arrogant member of the gang who is constantly critiscized for the others for his lack of consideration. His arrogance proves to be his undoing when he confronts Tim Drake/the Joker, saying he believes that the Joker is a fake and that he wants to quit. The Joker responds by pulling out a gun on him. Bonk, in a panic, tries to deny that he was serious. The Joker pulls the trigger and a BANG! flag comes out. Bonk and the other Jokerz sigh with relief, until the Joker pulls the trigger again, and the flag comes out and impales Bonk in the heart, sending his dead body flying across the room, putting a dead smile on his face. In the edited version, this is redone to make the scene less violent. The events are similar, except for the fact that the Joker gives Bonk a lethal dose of laughing gas. A new scene is added when the Joker tosses the used gun over his shoulder, and it lands on Bonk's laughing body.

Chucko- An obese member of the gang, dressed in pink and always wearing a clown mask, covering his face. His face is always masked and never seen. He is tough but not as violent as Bonk or Woof and tends to work with Ghoul the most, usually with more thought and consideration than Bonk. His weapons are usually laser guns, or hand-to-hand combat. He stated that he enjoys killing and causing harm when he says to Terry McGuinness 'I don't know why the boss wants a dreg like you out of the way, but hey, as long as it's fun'. However, this line was cut in the edited version, most likely because it suggested that killing was enjoyable. In the final battle between Batman and the Jokerz (minus Bonk, who was killed earlier by the Joker), Chucko attempts to shoot down the Batwing on a large pillar with a bazooka. However, Batman makes short work of him when he cuts the pillar down, sending Chucko plummeting downwards. It is unknown whether Chucko survived the fall or not.

Dee Dee- Twin granddaughters of Dr. Harleen Quinzelle, also known as Harley Quinn. They fight with the same style as their grandmother and are arguably the best fighters in the gang. They are Olympic-level athletes, experts at tumbling and hand to hand combat. Many opponents, including Batman, underestimated their playful, Raggedy Ann-like smiles only to wind up in traction later. Without their Jokerz uniforms and makeups, they are two attractively beautiful sixteen years old girls that can bring any boy to their knees. The Deeds' motto is "Trouble on the double!" and they do their best to live up to it.^[1] In the final scene, they are defeated by Batman, and are seen later in their cell, being bought out by their grandmother. Although they are related to Harley, it has been confirmed that they are not of the Joker's heritage.

Ghoul- A Gothic looking member of the gang who resembles Batman's old enemy the Scarecrow. It is possible that his look was influenced by the villain. Ghoul is not much in a fight, but has high intelligence and does the Joker's research and infiltrates different places, usually alongside Chucko. He speaks in the style of Christopher Walken. He is last seen in the battle against Batman, when he tries to creep up on him, but is easily beaten with a single punch.

Woof- A spliced member of the group, his DNA mixed with that of a hyena which was a homage to the Joker's and Harle's old hyena pets. Woof cannot speak, only laughs and snarls, and fights rather than thinks. He is beaten by Ace the Bat-hound in the fight against Batman.

It should be noted that this particular Jokerz gang returns after this movie in the Justice League Unlimited episode 'The Once and Future Thing' in which they are working for Chronos who has found a Time Machine. Bonk is also present, despite his death. It is highly probable that he did not survive the shot and was resurrected by Chronos' time machine, or the episode happened before the Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker film. In this the Jokerz work for Chronos in exchange for new, advanced superpowers that he gives them. Bonk can change his arm into a powerful hammer, Dee Dee can duplicate themselves repeatedly, Woof has powerful mechanical arms, Ghoul can transforms his limbs into deadly chainsaws and Chucko now moves with his legs replaced with a ball and uses a double laser-sword. With these powers, the Jokerz killed most of the Justice League. During the episode, Chucko sells Chronos out to Batman, and is caught by Chronos. As punishment, Chronos sends Chucko back in time to the dinosaur age, just before the dinosaurs were wiped out. Chucko is wiped out with them. At the end, time is altered so none of this ever happened, so it is likely that Chucko returned to life and Bonk died again.

In the scene selection of the re-edited DVD, the photo of the scene where the Joker sneaks up on Bruce in the Batcave, there is still blood instead of purple spray paint.

• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker at the Internet Movie Database
• Batman NOT Beyond The Censor's Reach - detailed analysis of the last-minute changes (many spoilers)
• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Edit List - The World's Finest fansite list of cuts and edits, includes screencaps from both versions.
• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker official site
• Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker @ BYTB: Batman Yesterday, Today and Beyond

v • d • e The Bruce Timm DC animated universe
Television series:	Batman: The Animated Series | Superman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures | The New Batman/Superman Adventures | Batman Beyond | Static Shock | The Zeta Project | Justice League | Justice League Unlimited
Feature-length films:	Batman: Mask of the Phantasm | Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero | Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker | Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
Comic books:	Batman Adventures | Superman Adventures | Justice League Adventures | Batman Beyond | Gotham Girls
Web cartoons:	Gotham Girls
Video Games:	DCAU Video Games