10 Most Heartbreaking Moments In The DC Animated Universe

5. Tim Drake Breaks Down - Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker

Batman Beyond Return of the Joker Tim Drake
Warner Bros.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is my favourite DC film, and it just so happens to include one of the most haunting sequences in the entire DCAU.

In a bid to uncover the truth behind the Clown Prince of Crime's return, Terry McGinnis comes to Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon (the former Batgirl), demanding answers. Bruce had never told Terry much about the Joker, and the question of what had happened to the Dark Knight's arch nemesis had been weighing on viewers' minds pretty much since the start of the series.

Barbara reveals the truth to Terry with a flashback. We learn that Joker had kidnapped Robin, aka Tim Drake, and physically and mentally tortured him into becoming his own mini Joker. Batman loses complete control and goes after the Clown Prince, only for him to get the upper hand, give a gun to the brainwashed Robin, and command him to finish the job.

As Bruce pleads with Tim, he starts laughing maniacally. He turns the gun on Joker though, killing him, before that same laughter turns to a pained cry, and he collapses into Batgirl's arms.

This is by far the darkest the DCAU has ever gotten, and Tim's fate doesn't get any easier to sit through with time.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.