The Best Batman Beyond Episode Was Actually In Justice League Unlimited

batman bruce wayne bruce wayne batman or have you met not now in a pre-mcu world the dcau was the crown jewel of superhero adapted media and justice league unlimited seemed just about as good as it could get and then in the final episode of jlu season 2 the show made the craziest turn it possibly could have and permanently altered one of the most beloved characters in the dcau canon forever honey bruce didn't overwrite your dna with his i did the dcau began in 1992 with the inaugural episode of batman the animated series on leather wings and ran until the final episode of justice league unlimited season 3. encompassing eight tv shows multiple direct-to-dvd films and even a theatrical release the dcau was a towering achievement within the superhero media landscape and justice league is arguably the best show in the canon originally formatted as a one hour prestige format show focusing on the big seven the show was then rebooted after its second season as a half hour program with an emphasis on a much larger cast faster paced stories and a world building that the dcau had never previously seen and yet much like their four color counterparts justice league wasn't immune to many of the flaws and tropes of their artistic brethren the story in question is the best example of a retcon that is simultaneously the strangest most unpredictable thing that could have happened in the dcau and maybe its brightest stroke of genius today we're delving into jlu season 2 episode 13 epilogue now the key ingredient that makes epilogue such a strange season 2 finale is it's less a justice league story and more a batman beyond story for the record terry mcginnis's batman appeared in multiple episodes of the justice league shows usually time travel stories like in the jlu season 1 two-part finale but the show never really incorporates terry into its cast which makes it all the stranger when epilogue sees a 31 year old terry mcginnis breaking into the home of the shadowy government operative amanda waller in order to ask her some very pressing questions he wants to know why he's an exact match for the dna of bruce wayne he wants to know why he's a clone this concept was originally bandied about as being a sequel to return of the joker it would have been a film that focused on the return of dick grayson's nightwing and ultimately would resolve in terry uncovering the fact that he was a clone of bruce however the reaction to return of the joker was controversial to say the least that's not funny until justice league dusted off the old batman beyond cal and said just watch this contrary to the usual formula of the show epilogue jumps back and forth in time using a dialogue time transition a call and response between the current and past versions of the characters they're in dialogue with each other through time this structure is visually delineated through a full color modern setting and black and white pass setting in many ways batman beyond was about terry learning to inhabit the role of batman we saw him stumble and make mistakes and learn what it takes to be the dark knight in epilogue we see him fully as batman and we also see what the ravages of time have done to bruce he's now a decrepit shadow of his former self justice league unlimited has a global view on what it requires of an individual to be a hero it follows an expanded cast of characters who are all working together from the watchtower high above the earth in orbit it's a show about the joy of being a part of a large do-gooding team batman beyond was never that and as such this episode is about the wait it takes to be batman since the episode takes place 15 years after the events of batman beyond we find terry and his longtime girlfriend dana are still dating but can't get married due to terry's fear that it would place her at too much risk if the villains in his rogues gallery ever discovered his secret identity as the episode progresses and we get further and further into the personal life of terry and bruce's relationship through these past and present call and response mechanics we learn that bruce claims he had no knowledge of terry's dna being altered however in a quintessential bruce wayne move he makes no effort to consultary or comfort him he simply states that it's a good thing that you're almost a clone of me the world does need a batman back in the present amanda waller tells terry a story of how batman went above and beyond to help a dying child who had a men's psychic powers who could have destroyed gotham she tells it to terry to attempt to illustrate that bruce isn't a one-dimensional taskmaster devoid of human emotions terry doesn't believe it was out of kindness that bruce helped her terry is convinced that it was a cynical ploy to attempt to manipulate the situation to his advantage and this is where we get the biggest turn of the episode amanda waller chief antagonist of the justice league threw out all the cadmus arc admits she did it she altered warren mcginnis's dna using nanotechnology to make terry not a clone but a son of bruce wayne in these sections of the episode the flashbacks that have amanda illustrating how she created terry aren't in black and white why because thematically she's shedding light on bruce's past she's dispelling terry's preconceived black and white view of his mentor ultimately this conversation with amanda reshapes terry's perspectives not only on bruce but on what it means to be batman yes the world will always need a batman but that doesn't mean it has to be a curse it can mean whatever the individual makes it this fate is what terry must decide it's going to be batman has been the spine of the dcau he's been a central figure throughout its entire existence so this episode epilogue on a thematic level serves as a coda to the entire universe it's intended to book in the decade plus of work which makes it all the more risky that mcduffie tim and reba chose to do it with a retcon they chose to build out a character that at the time was beloved into something that's hopefully more but with this added context would it be too much would there be a fan backlash that could take the legacy of the show the idea that terry initially thinks he's a clone of bruce but then ultimately realizes he's his heir mirrors that real-life discourse perfectly additionally the burden he's been given of the mantle of batman is viewed as a curse but it's actually a gift that's a meta textual commentary on the dcau as a whole when batman beyond was first introduced it was with the crass commercial goal of making a metaphorical clone of batman the animated series show that would have followed bruce as a young man this was a mandate from wb execs but since canonically batman didn't fight crime as a teenager bruce tim pitched the idea of shifting it to the future with an older bruce mentoring a younger new batman so for this justice league unlimited supposed finale to focus on terry fully embracing the role of batman and all that it means on his own terms that's a beautiful thing it's a meta commentary on the next stage of the dcau the justice league and batman one that we'll never see but one that is filled with promise it's the perfect book into the entirety of the dcau this is symbolized by the final shots of the episode we see terry holding a wedding ring and asking dana if they still have a date later that week and when she agrees we know that he's going to be batman outside of bruce's shadow we know that he's choosing to be a batman who has human connections we then see shots that mirror the on leather wings batman flying through the city and then a police officer saying did you see that this all happens because amanda waller gives terry the jarring line that sets him on his course you want to have a little better life than the old man's take care of the people who love you that's the emotional key to everything in this episode justice league unlimited stands as one of the best runs of superhero stories ever and epilogue just might be the best story made during the show's run which is all the more impressive because it doesn't utilize any of its primary cast members from its themes of self-definition and examining the past to the thrill of seeing the furthest point of the dcau timeline and what old bruce and amanda are up to the episode delivers on multiple levels but always leaves you asking a central question will terry succeed in embracing a better way of life than his predecessor maybe maybe not but the fact that he's trying that's all that really matters well that's all i have for this episode thanks so much for watching what do you guys think though will we ever get that live action batman beyond episode they've been threatening to make for decades let us know down below and as always like comment and subscribe for more episodes of nostalgic

Channel: Nerdstalgic

Views: 1,145,653

Keywords: Batman, Batman Beyond, Batman Animated Series, Batman Comics, Batman Movies, Nerdstalgic, Nerdstalgic Batman, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Justice League Animated, Justice League Snydercut, Justice League Movie, Justice League History, Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman Movie, Wonder Woman Animated, Wonder Woman 84, Superman, Superman Animated Series, Superman Movies, Superman and Lois, The Flash, The Flash Movie, New Rockstars, Corridor Crew, Screen Crush, IGN, Nerdist

Id: 8-K1A3XbsrE

Length: 8min 50sec (530 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 14 2022