10 Insane Movie Moments You Couldn't Believe Directors Actually Went There

3. The Twisted Torture Of Tim Drake In Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker

Batman Beyond Return of the Joker
Warner Bros.

While Batman: The Animated Series was a revolutionary show that holds up as a magnificent depiction of the Caped Crusader and his world, one thing the series couldn't do was have any of its nefarious schemes ever come off.

Like such shows before and since, the restrictions placed on this series meant that the rogues of the piece could make all kinds of threats, but the Dark Knight would always find a way to triumph.

As such, fans of BTAS had seen the Joker promise to do all kinds of heinous things to Gotham City, yet the Clown Prince of Crime would always be foiled before anything truly terrifying could happen. Then, there came 2000's Batman: Return of the Joker movie.

Tied to the future-set Batman Beyond cartoon, this feature film saw the Harlequin of Hate reappear in the 2039 landscape of Neo-Gotham. As the tale unravels, we get a flashback detailing the death of the Joker years prior, and we also find out why Tim Drake - the former Robin - decided to get out of the superhero game.

To this day, this flashback remains utterly chilling and absolutely unsettling. Director Curt Geda's Paul Dini-penned movie releases the shackles from the Joker and has him in genuinely disturbing form.

Here, we see the captured Robin tortured by the Jester of Genocide and eventually groomed into Joker Jr., but the real anguish comes when the corrupted Tim suffers a breakdown after murdering Mr J in cold blood.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.