Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

The Joker never truly returned from the dead. Forty years ago, after kidnapping and brainwashing Tim Drake, the Joker was killed when Tim briefly regained his senses during Batman's rescue. The Joker was buried beneath Arkham Asylum, and the truth was kept hidden by Commissioner Gordon. What returns in the present is a copy of the Joker's consciousness encoded onto a microchip implanted behind Tim Drake's ear, allowing him to inhabit Tim's body and manipulate events from within.

The Joker's return is foreshadowed early when he reveals he knows Bruce was Batman and that Terry is his successor, knowledge only someone with a deep connection to the original Batman would possess.

The Joker and Harley Quinn kidnapped Tim Drake, then Robin, and subjected him to brutal brainwashing for three weeks at an abandoned Arkham Asylum. Batman and Batgirl eventually discovered Tim, who briefly regained his senses during the struggle and killed the Joker. Harley Quinn fell into a ravine and was presumed dead. Tim spent the following year recovering with help from Leslie Thompkins, eventually retiring from superheroics and severing ties with Bruce to build a new life as a telecommunications engineer.

Barbara's initial reluctance to share information with Terry hints at the traumatic nature of what happened to Tim.

The Joker encoded a copy of his consciousness into a microchip implanted behind Tim Drake's ear. This allowed the Joker to survive his physical death and later inhabit Tim's body, taking control of his actions and speech. The Joker explains this during the climax when Tim transforms into the Joker, revealing that the microchip enabled permanent possession of Tim's body.

Tim's expressions of bitterness about his past and his denial of involvement hide the fact that he was unknowingly hosting the Joker's consciousness.

The Joker chose Tim Drake because of his connection to Batman as Robin. By kidnapping and brainwashing Robin, the Joker could inflict maximum psychological damage on Batman while using Tim's body as a vessel for his own survival. Tim's skills as an engineer also made him useful for executing the Joker's technological schemes decades later.

The Joker's attack on Tim was foreshadowed by his brutal display of power over Bonk, a demonstration of his willingness to use and manipulate those close to Batman.

The Joker used stolen high-tech equipment to construct a jamming system that could seize control of a laser-armed military satellite. With this capability, he planned to kill Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis's loved ones, then destroy Gotham City. The satellite was the ultimate weapon in his vengeful scheme against the future of Gotham.

Bruce and Terry's deduction that the stolen equipment could form a jamming system to control the satellite was built from earlier clues about the Joker's technological ambitions.

The Joker discovered Bruce Wayne's secret identity decades ago during his original encounters with Batman. This knowledge was confirmed when, during the Jokerz assault on the Batcave, he revealed to Bruce that he knew he was the original Batman and that Terry McGinnis was his successor. The Joker used this information to taunt Bruce and target those close to him.

Bruce's denial that the attacker was truly the Joker despite his knowledge hints at a personal history between them.

Harley Quinn survived the fall into the ravine decades earlier. She eventually reformed and became the grandmother of the Dee-Dee twins, bailing them out after their arrest at the end of the movie. Her survival was kept secret, and she now lives a civilian life separate from her criminal past.

The Dee-Dee twins' mysterious connection to someone who could bail them out foreshadows the reveal of Harley Quinn's new identity.

Tim Drake killed the Joker during the rescue attempt because the Joker had brainwashed him into a 'Jokerized' state for three weeks. When Batman and Batgirl found Tim, he briefly regained his original senses and used the moment of clarity to kill his captor before the Joker's influence could fully take hold again. This traumatic event led Tim to retire from superhero life.

Tim's bitterness about his past when Terry confronts him hints at the psychological toll of these events.

Terry used one of the Joker's own electric joy buzzers to destroy the microchip behind Tim Drake's ear. This destroyed the Joker's consciousness and severed his hold over Tim permanently. The satellite then destroyed the Joker's lair as Terry and Ace escaped with the unconscious Tim.

The Joker's use of joy buzzers earlier in the film set up this ironic countermeasure.

Jordan Pryce was a Wayne Enterprises executive who collaborated with the Joker in hopes of seizing control of the company. He was not the Joker himself, but an accomplice who hoped to profit from the chaos. During a confrontation on his yacht, a directed-energy weapon attack occurred, and Terry rescued him before handing him over to the police.

Pryce's resentment toward Bruce for blocking his ambitions was established early in Terry's investigation.

Barbara Gordon withheld Tim's unwitting involvement in the Joker's scheme to protect him from the legal and psychological consequences of being revealed as the Joker's unwilling vessel. Tim had already suffered greatly from his past trauma, and Barbara believed protecting his new life was more important than exposing what the Joker did through him.

Barbara's earlier explanations about Tim's recovery and retirement showed her commitment to his well-being.

Ace was poisoned by the Joker during the assault on the Batcave but survived. He later helped Terry subdue the Jokerz at the abandoned candy factory during the climax. Ace's recovery and return to action demonstrated his loyalty and resilience alongside the Batman team.

The Joker's poisoning of Ace was a cruel tactic to hurt Bruce emotionally and demonstrate his knowledge of Batman's life.