10 DC Animated Universe Fates Worse Than Death
5. Turned Into A Mini Joker - Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker
The Bat Family is pretty messed up in the DCAU, even compared to the much darker and grittier comics. Pretty much everyone leaves Bruce in the end due either to disagreements with his methods or good old fashioned emotional trauma.
Guess which one of those young Tim Drake fits into?
When the Joker found himself getting on in years, he sought to ensure his brand of lunacy would go on forever. So, he found and kidnapped the second Robin, Tim Drake, to experiment on until he drove the poor boy hopelessly insane.
To top off this torture, he then painted Robin's face to resemble his own, dressing him up in a small Joker costume to complete the look of a Jokerized Mini-Me. Which would be hilarious, if that reveal wasn't immediately followed up with Joker showing Batman in excruciating detail what it took to get Robin into this state.
The idea that Robin, even after breaking free of the conditioning, would have to wrestle with what the Joker did to him for the rest of his life is nothing short of harrowing, and although Tim is eventually saved by Terry in the film, being the vessel for Gotham's most infamous tormenter is up there with the worst things a DC character has ever experienced.