10 Most Heartbreaking Moments In The DC Animated Universe

1. Batman Finds Another Way - Justice League: Unlimited

I'm going to double stamp a MAJOR SPOILER WARNING on this because you're best off going into Epilogue - the first of the DCAU's two finales - blind. It features some massive twists and provides one of the most emotionally edifying conclusions in superhero fiction, so if you haven't watched it, there's no time like the present to dive into Batman Beyond and Justice League from the beginning.

With that out of the way, it's time to talk about one of the most heartbreaking Batman moments ever recorded. Epilogue is itself a fascinating celebration of the Dark Knight and his status as a flawed but compassionate hero. He doesn't always get things right, but there's no escaping the fact he does what he does to help people.

The episode features the bombshell reveal that Terry McGinnis, the Batman of the future, is secretly Bruce Wayne's and not Warren McGinnis' son. In a bid to ensure the world would never be without a Batman, Amanda Waller authorised an operation to secretly take Bruce's DNA and then to bring about the conditions that would create another Dark Knight.

What sparked such a scheme? Seeing Batman's compassion first hand, as Ace, a metahuman who was also a member of the Royal Flush Gang, began to deteriorate. If she died, she'd send out an intense psychic burst that would kill thousands, lest someone use a special device to kill her before such an event could come to pass. Batman volunteers for the role, but has no intention of using the weapon.

Instead, he sits next to Ace, providing her comfort until she dies peacefully, an act that not only typifies Batman as a character, but the DCAU's maturity as well.