Batman Ninja (2018) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Gorilla Grodd activated his time-displacement machine (the Quake Engine) during their battle at Arkham Asylum. He intended to send Batman away so he could take over Gotham City. However, Batman's interference caused the machine to malfunction, sending Batman to feudal Japan instead of the villains Grodd had originally targeted.

• gorilla grodd
• quake engine
• time travel
• feudal japan
• batman

When Grodd's Quake Engine transported the villains to feudal Japan two years before Batman's arrival, they deceivingly integrated into the local power structure. Gotham's top criminals used their cunning to become Sengoku-era feudal lords, each controlling their own territory and battling each other until only one state remained.

• joker
• feudal lords
• criminals
• sengoku
• japan

Grodd never intended a genuine alliance with Batman. He only needed Batman's help to defeat the Joker and take control of Japan for himself. Once Joker and Harley were defeated at the river, Grodd revealed his alliance with Two-Face and turned against Batman.

• grodd betrayal
• two-face
• river battle
• alliance

After the river battle explosion, Joker and Harley lost their memories and lived as farmers. They planted special flowers that bloomed a month later, which restored their memories. This is why they returned to reclaim their castle from Grodd.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Joker and Harley escape the explosion and blow up their own ship.

• joker
• harley quinn
• amnesia
• memory
• flowers
• farmers

The Batgod was a giant samurai-monkey fusion created when Robin combined Grodd's army of monkeys with the Bat Clan ninjas. This giant warrior then fused with a swarm of bats to become the Batgod, a powerful final form used to confront the Joker's castle robot.

• batgod
• robin
• samurai monkey
• fusion
• bats

The Quake Engine creates a time displacement field that sends people to different eras. Those in the center arrive earlier, while those at the outer edge arrive later. Batman arrived last because he was in the outermost area of the effect. The engine requires power converters to function properly for the return trip.

• quake engine
• time travel
• power converters
• gorilla grodd

After capturing a power converter from Harley Quinn during the river battle, Catwoman attempted to bargain with Grodd to bring Harley back to Gotham. She used the power converter as leverage, showing her complicated relationship with Harley despite being on opposite sides.

Foreshadowing: Catwoman obtains the power converter during the river confrontation.

• catwoman
• harley quinn
• power converter
• bargain

The Bat Clan of Hida followed an ancient prophecy predicting that a foreign bat ninja would arrive to restore order to the land. When Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin arrived two years earlier, the clan took them in and trained them. When Batman finally arrived, they rescued him and helped fulfill the prophecy.

• bat clan
• prophecy
• ninja
• hida
• restoration

After defeating the Joker in a final sword duel, the Bat Clan began working to restore feudal Japan to its original state. The Bat-Family then returned the villains to the present day using the Quake Engine, effectively correcting the timeline alteration caused by Grodd's machine.

• timeline
• restoration
• bat clan
• villains
• present day

Batman arrived in feudal Japan after everyone else because he was positioned in the outermost area affected by the Quake Engine's time displacement. This caused him to arrive two years later than the villains and Catwoman, who were closer to the center of the temporal effect.

• batman
• time difference
• arrival
• quake engine