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Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

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Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is a direct-to-video animated film featuring the comic book superhero Batman and his archenemy, the Joker. It is set in the milieu of the animated series Batman Beyond, in which Bruce Wayne has retired and handed over the Bat-mantle to a younger man, Terry McGinnis.

File:BatmanBeyond.jpg
The cover of the edited version of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

As in the TV series, Will Friedle and Kevin Conroy star as Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne, respectively. Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker opposite Conroy in Batman: The Animated Series, returns in the title role.

Most of the animation on screen has been done by Japanese studios, which give the characters a slight "anime" look.

It was heavily cut by almost 4 minutes before it's release due to the Columbine High School shootings for excessive violence. This version was subsequently released on DVD to much acclaim from fans and is notable for recieving a PG-13 rating from the MPAA, a rarity in American animation.


Plot

Template:Spoilers Return of the Joker, as the title suggests, features the return of Batman's old arch-nemesis the Joker, who has not been heard of since before Bruce Wayne's retirement. Wayne, who knows the reason for the Joker's long absence, is certain that this can't be the same man, and he and Terry McGinnis (the new Batman) set out to discover who it really is and what he's up to. Along the way, it is revealed what happened not only to the Joker, but also to several other Batman-related characters who have been notably absent from Batman Beyond, such as Batman's old sidekick Tim Drake.

The new Joker has taken control of a faction of the Jokerz, a gang devoted to the Joker's image. He commands them to steal hi-tech equipment; the last piece he steals from Bruce Wayne personally. Worried that the Joker will harm Terry like he did to Tim, Bruce fires Terry. As Terry is dancing with Dana at a nightclub, he is attacked by the Jokerz. At the same time, the Joker attacks Bruce in the Batcave. When Terry arrives, Bruce is half-dead from Joker venom. As Bruce recovers, Barbara Gordon tells Terry the truth about the Joker.

At some point in the past, the Joker and Harley Quinn had kidnapped Tim/Robin, horribly tortured him to insanity, and "adopted" him as their son, "J.J." (two lines in the torture, as well as a graphic scene, were deemed very disturbing, and were cut out). During the torture, Robin revealed to the Joker all of Batman's secrets — including his secret identity as Bruce Wayne. Originally, the table in the "Our Family Memories" clip was filled with surgical tools along with the chemicals. This was seen as too scary and replaced with donuts, plungers, and the like. However, it can be implied that the Joker also used surgical torture on Robin. When Batman locates them, he is enraged to discover what has happened and threatens to kill the Joker, who nevertheless gets the upper hand. Tim comes to Batman's defense at the last minute, however, and kills the Joker.

Terry (as Batman) questions the now adult Tim Drake, who denies involvement. Terry then suspects Jordan Price, Wayne's rival at Wayne Enterprises, but he finds the Jokerz on Price's yacht, trying to kill him. He rescues Price before a giant beam from the sky destroys the boat. Terry deduces that Drake is behind the Joker as Drake, a communications expert, could use the stolen tech to hi-jack defense satellites to fire on the Earth.

After escaping from a trap at Drake's job and being chased by a satellite beam through Gotham, Terry tracks the Joker to an abandoned candy factory. Terry finally discovers the truth behind the new Joker: the villain's consciousness had been transferred into Robin's body via a stolen genetic microchip technology.

When the Joker directs the satellite beam at Wayne Manor, Terry sics Ace (Wayne's dog) on the Joker and causes the beam to head towards the factory. The two fight and, in an interesting twist on the Batman/Joker dynamic, Terry begins to play mind games with the Joker, and eventually destroys the chip in Drake's body; the Joker is destroyed once and for all. Terry escapes with Drake and Ace before the satellite destroys the factory. The movies ends with Bruce, Barbara and Tim reuniting in a hospital room while Terry dons the Batsuit once again and flies off into the heart of Gotham City.

Some years later, in "Epilogue", the final episode of the second season of the Justice League Unlimited animated series, it was revealed that the genetics technology used by the Joker had been stolen from Project Cadmus. The finale of the first season showed the future League (with Terry) and the present League fighting an enhanced version of the Jokerz seen in the movie. Template:Endspoilers

Critical reaction

The film was well-received by fans, some fans believing it to be perhaps the best thing the DC Animated Universe has ever produced. The gritty and somber mood of the film surprised many fans, and due to some disturbing elements in the film it has been rated PG-13. Fans felt that the film's story, particularly the lengthy flashback sequence, was exemplary of the quality of the Batman animated stories. The film did well financially and is noted by fans as a siginificant milestone in the animated Batman mythos.

Censorship

The initial release of the movie occurred amid the backlash against violence in movies and video games aimed at children that followed the Columbine High School massacre; as a result, the movie was substantially re-edited shortly before release to tone down the violence. Many of the changes were controversial, particularly those made to a key scene in which one of the central characters is killed. The original unedited version has been released as "The Original. Uncut Version". This story was broken by Jim Harvey from Toon Zone.

The following are scenes that were changed in the edited-for-content version:

  • Lots of white flashes have been added to the action sequences where there were previously none. Additionally, combinations of punches have been mostly trimmed down to one punch. For example, Woof slashes the guard once now instead of twice. Batman no longer punches Ghoul in the gut, he just uppercuts him into the dish. Later on in the club, Terry's vicious attack on Ghoul is cut to a flash and Terry running away while Ghoul falls. There is a 360-degree fight sequence in the opening battle that has also been removed, where Batman fends off the Jokerz one by one.
  • Seat belts are added to Terry and Bruce as the drive home after their first meeting with the new Joker.
  • Bonk is not shot, but given a lethal dose of laughing gas, and he dies off screen. Because of this, the whole "Take the trash outside, Dee Dee" and "Are you with me?" sequence is cut.
  • When Bruce throws the batarang, it appears as though he's pleased he can still throw & catch a batarang instead of it showing him using it to decapitate a Two-Face dummy.
  • When Terry enters the Batcave to find it demolished by the Joker, the letter's 'HA! HA!' written across the floor are changed from red to purple. Probably to assure us it is not written in Bruce's blood.
  • All other blood is removed. Only one example was passed over. In the flashback sequence when Batman smashes through the projection, he smacks the Joker. Blots of blood fly from the Jokers mouth, but he is not bleeding in the next shot.
  • In the unedited version, when Batman (in the flashback) frees himself from the Joker's ribbon wrap, he throws the knife that he used to free himself with at the Joker. The Joker ducks at the last second and the blade goes through the stage curtain. This would explain the hole behind the Joker.
  • Two of the Joker's lines are changed. One line, "I'll begin with how I peeled back the layers of the boy's mind" is changed to, "I'll begin with how I affected young Robin's makeover." In another, the words "the syrums and the shocks took their toll," are cut out.
  • The Joker originally wanted Robin to shoot Batman with a gun designed to kill, saying, "Make Daddy proud." The edited version shows that the Joker wants Robin to "make him one of us" by shooting him with a gun designed to make Batman similar to the Joker and Robin. Awkwardly, the Joker's line, "the last sound you'll hear will be our laughter," is kept in. Also, the gun is tossed away in the fight with the Joker. When Robin drops down to cry, the gun is right next to him. When Batgirl comes to comfort him, the gun is gone.
  • The Joker is not shot, but slips in some water and is electrocuted off screen. The dialouge in the subsequent scene is changed, with no mention of the Joker being buried under Arkham Asylum.
  • Barbara says that Leslie Thompkins helped Tim Drake "back to himself" instead of "back to sanity."
  • During a montage where Batman and Batgirl comb "the underworld" looking for clues about Robin's disappearance, Batgirl talks to a nicely-dressed man and woman instead of two sleazily-dressed women (who are pretty obviously hookers) on a street corner. Oddly enough, these two women appeared in the Batman animated TV series, in the episode "The Ultimate Thrill" (circa 1997).
  • The Joker no longer slices Batman across the chest or in the leg (originally intended to explain why Bruce Wayne now walks with a limp), and any blood is digitally removed. Joker just punches Batman. However, if one looks closely at the Joker's hand, the knife handle is still visible in the edited version.
  • More than half of the "Our Family Memories" home movie is cut out, only showing Robin tied up and struggling, and cutting the scene where Joker opens the barbeque lids, picks up the voltage tongs, and shocks Robin.
  • A lot of dialogue is changed as well; references to the word "kill" is changed.
  • The opening fight sequence is trimmed, cutting out a second Dee-Dee kick and completely redoing that entire Batman/Dee Dee sequence.
  • The club fight is changed. The pink clown no longer punches Terry and says "I don't know why the boss wants a dreg like you outta the way, but hey, as long as it's fun...". He just goes for his gun and says "Slag him!"
  • Bruce says "Robin defeated him." instead of "Robin did shoot him". Joker says "Bat-Kook" instead of "Bat-Fart". Jordan Price says "Ice" instead of "kill." Tim Drake says "I can still hear his scream" instead of "I can still hear the shot." Joker says "...with such yutzes" instead of "...with such putzes".
  • In the scene where the satellite laser chases the Batmobile it blasts an unmarked, dark, seemingly empty building. Originally it was a lit movie theater. In the edited version the word 'cineplex' can be seen exploding out of the wreckage in the last few frames of the shot.
  • The clothing on 'Nanna Harley' is changed from blue and purple to Harley Quinn's trademark red and black, probably to ensure the audience that she is the real Harley Quinn, and that she did not die (although this is more for the benefit of the audience than actual censorship.)

References

Template:Batmanmovies

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