10 Most Messed Up Batman Moments
4. Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker
In Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker, we find out that the Joker subjected Tim Drake, while he was Robin, to torture, sometime in the distant past. The Joker physically alters Drake to look like a miniature version of him, complete with the pure-white skin and suit. The young ‘Joker Jr’ kills his tormentor, his laughter turning into tears as he collapses in Batgirls arms. The Joker, however- as he does- returns, though many years later.
Not only that, but it is revealed that the Joker encoded himself into a microchip stored behind Tim’s ear, and the clown-prince is now close to completely taking over Tim’s body and mind from the inside.
Terry, the new Batman of Batman Beyond, is able to free Tim of Jokers influence. But the sheer trauma and tragedy inflicted on Drake from such a young age is nothing short of tragic, and most definitely well and truly messed up. So messed up in fact that on release the movie was initially censored and many of the key elements of the story missing. The DC Animated Universe however, always specialized in balancing pathos with pain, with Return Of The Joker being just one of many examples.