History BittersweetEnding / TheDCU

* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'': In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', though the day is saved and Batman's cured of the toxin in him, it wasn't without a cost - a portion of Arkham City is in ruins, almost 25% of the inmates are dead because of Dr. Hugo Strange's Protocol 10 along with Strange himself, Ra's al Guhl, his daughter Talia, possibly Clayface, and ''the Joker himself''. Even more, Harley Quinn's pregnant with the Joker's child and she wants ''vengeance''. What's more, you'd think Batman would be happy that the Joker is finally gone for good, but he isn't, if the look on his face as he carries his ArchEnemy's body out at the end is any indication. The Joker always considered him a WorthyOpponent; maybe Batman actually feels the same way. The story DLC ''Harley Quinn's Revenge'' [[spoiler:pushes Harley's right into a DownerEnding as Robin discovers when he infiltrates the Steel Mill and finds a crib with a Joker-fied Scarface doll surrounded by pregnancy tests, all negative and now with warning labels about false positives. What's worse, mere feet away from it is the original positive test. Harley's willingness to die along with Batman by detonating the bombs in the Steel Mill definitely shows it affected her deeply.]]

* * ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'': In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', though the day is saved and Batman's cured of the toxin in him, it wasn't without a cost - a portion of Arkham City is in ruins, almost 25% of the inmates are dead because of Dr. Hugo Strange's Protocol 10 along with Strange himself, Ra's al Guhl, his daughter Talia, possibly Clayface, and ''the Joker himself''. Even more, Harley Quinn's pregnant with the Joker's child and she wants ''vengeance''. What's more, you'd think Batman would be happy that the Joker is finally gone for good, but he isn't, if the look on his face as he carries his ArchEnemy's body out at the end is any indication. The Joker always considered him a WorthyOpponent; maybe Batman actually feels the same way. The story DLC ''Harley Quinn's Revenge'' [[spoiler:pushes Harley's right into a DownerEnding as Robin discovers when he infiltrates the Steel Mill and finds a crib with a Joker-fied Scarface doll surrounded by pregnancy tests, all negative and now with warning labels about false positives. What's worse, mere feet away from it is the original positive test. Harley's willingness to die along with Batman by detonating the bombs in the Steel Mill definitely shows it affected her deeply.]]

* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'': Though the day is saved and Batman's cured of the toxin in him, it wasn't without a cost - a portion of Arkham City is in ruins, almost 25% of the inmates are dead because of Dr. Hugo Strange's Protocol 10 along with Strange himself, Ra's al Guhl, his daughter Talia, possibly Clayface, and ''the Joker himself''. Even more, Harley Quinn's pregnant with the Joker's child and she wants ''vengeance''. What's more, you'd think Batman would be happy that the Joker is finally gone for good, but he isn't, if the look on his face as he carries his ArchEnemy's body out at the end is any indication. The Joker always considered him a WorthyOpponent; maybe Batman actually feels the same way. The story DLC ''Harley Quinn's Revenge'' [[spoiler:pushes Harley's right into a DownerEnding as Robin discovers when he infiltrates the Steel Mill and finds a crib with a Joker-fied Scarface doll surrounded by pregnancy tests, all negative and now with warning labels about false positives. What's worse, mere feet away from it is the original positive test. Harley's willingness to die along with Batman by detonating the bombs in the Steel Mill definitely shows it affected her deeply.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndMisterFreezeSubZero'': Barbara not only is rescued, but she is able to save Nora's life without losing her organs. Freeze is believed dead - he isn't, but he cannot return to society due to his crimes or his condition. He's last seen crying TearsOfJoy as he learns that Nora will live on, and quietly leaving with his polar bears.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDoom'': Savage is defeated, the world is saved, the League inducts Cyborg into their ranks...but the League's faith in Batman is shattered and he himself quits when called out on his actions. He remains unapologetic that his contingences were necessary in case any of them go rogue, and resigns from the team in protest. When Superman asks Batman why he never consider having a countermeasure on himself in case he goes bad, he responds that he ''does''... It's called the Justice League. [[note]]That said, it ends a ''lot'' better than the comic it's based on. Here, it's played like a semi-amiable conflict of interest (especially when Superman is involved), in the comic it's a total schism which near shatters the trust of the entire League and has ripple effects to other teams around the DC Universe.[[/note]]
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDarkApokolipsWar'': Darkseid is defeated, dragging into a PrisonDimension with Trigon, but the damage has been done as the galaxy has been ravaged by Darkseid's lust for conquest, the Earth's core is permanently damaged, and half of Earth's population is dead, whose numbers include many heroes and villains. The only real bright spot is John Constantine convincing the Flash to go back in time to stop Darkseid's invasion, causing another Flashpoint incident be damned.

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'':
** ''Film/TheDarkKnight'': While Joker and Two-Face may have been defeated, Harvey Dent is killed after becoming a raging lunatic, and Batman, after having had to break his ThouShaltNotKill rule to save an innocent life from the insane Harvey, decides to take the fall for all the people he killed as Two-Face in order to prevent the criminals he put away from being released, meaning he's now wanted by the police. Oh, and the love of his life is dead, too, without him knowing that she was planning on marrying another man because she couldn't deal with his double life.
** The end of ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' seems to head this way, with Gotham saved by Batman but those who knew his true identity mourning the HeroicSacrifice that saved them all. This is ultimately subverted however, as they learn (or are at least given enough information to infer) that [[EarnYourHappyEnding Bruce Wayne faked his death and retired, putting his demons to rest at last]].

** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': The Justice League has saved the world from certain destruction with each team member feels more personally fulfilled and ready to move on to their next adventure. Unfortunately, Darkseid has his sights set on Earth and is already planning a full-scale invasion. Lex Luthor also broke out of Arkham Asylum and is conspiring with Deathstroke to kill Batman. It's also implied that events have been set in motion which will inevitably lead to Darkseid's victory, the deaths of Lois Lane, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, and the corruption of Superman. With that in mind, what details that are out there about Zack Snyder's intended story arc indicate that the story has a happy ending where this timeline is averted.
* ''Film/{{The Batman|2022}}'': [[spoiler:Batman stops the Riddler, overcomes his rage and vigilantism and prepares to become a HopeBringer for Gotham City which is finally run by a mayor that is corruption-free. But the city has been flooded, resulting in thousands of fatalities, and Selina skips town. Worst yet, it's revealed that, deep within Arkham, [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker someone's ready to show his aces]]...]]

* In ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', the heroes manage to stop the [[OmnicidalManiac Anti-Monitor's]] plan to [[ApocalypseHow end the multiverse]]. Unfortunately much of reality is destroyed, leaving only one new universe. Many heroes have lost their lives, including [[ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen]] and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}. And the remaining universe is DarkerAndEdgier, with the heroes changed by the events, unofficially beginning UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks.

* In ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', Comicbook/LexLuthor's crimes have been exposed, his relationship with the Justice Society has been ruined and his worst enemies -Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} and Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}- are now friends and allies. However, Superman is dead, the parents of Barbara are dead and unavenged yet, and Luthor will buy his way out of jail.

* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel'': The bad guy loses but Batman is thrown out of the League, and the final shot of the comic shows that Superman would have cast the vote to remove him from the League, upsetting their friendship in the process.

* ''Series/TheFlash2014'' episode [[Recap/TheFlash2014S3E7KillerFrost "Killer Frost"]]: [[Comicbook/TheFlash Wally]] gets the SuperSpeed he desperately wanted and [[Comicbook/TheFlash Barry]] is able to get through to Caitlin and help her suppress her SuperPoweredEvilSide [[AnIcePerson KillerFrost]]... but Barry and Cisco's friendship is on the rocks due to the revelation that Cisco's brother was alive before Barry [[Recap/TheFlash2014S3E1Flashpoint changed the timeline]], meaning that Barry is partly responsible for his death, and Barry is forced to quit his job as a CSI so that Julian will keep quiet about Caitlin kidnapping him. Oh, and the episode began with Barry being [[CurbStompBattle badly beaten]] by new BigBad Savitar, meaning that at the end of the episode, the heroes still have the threat of a new evil speedster hanging over their heads.

* At the end of ''ComicBook/AnimalMan2011'', Cliff is still dead and so are most of the Totems of the Red. However, Brother Blood and the Splinterfolk are defeated. Shepherd and Socks become the new Totems of the Red. The Bakers repair their marriage. Buddy decides to become the Avatar of the Red in order to prevent his daughter Maxine from being put in danger, but will still be doomed to replace the Bridgewalker as mediator of the Green, Red and Rot of the Seed Planet when the current one dies, with no exception.

* The ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' maxiseries, ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'' sees Carmine Falcone's empire start its fall -- at the cost of Harvey Dent becoming ComicBook/TwoFace, who kills Falcone, starting the rise of Batman's RoguesGallery running the underworld, and Batman and Jim Gordon, whose efforts has little impact, question if it was a PyrrhicVictory.

* In ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', the heroes manage to stop the [[OmnicidalManiac Anti-Monitor's]] plan to [[ApocalypseHow end the multiverse]]. Unfortunately much of reality is destroyed, leaving only one new universe. Many heroes have lost their lives, including [[Franchise/TheFlash Barry Allen]] and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}. And the remaining universe is DarkerAndEdgier, with the heroes changed by the events, unofficially beginning UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks.

* ''Franchise/GreenLantern'': At the end of ''War Of The Green Lanterns'', the GL Corps is saved, the emotion entities are freed from Krona's control, the New Guardians are freed from the Book of the Black, and Sinestro is a Green Lantern again. However, thanks to Hal Jordan's actions, the Guardians of the Universe find him too dangerous and has him dishonorably discharged from the Corps. The story ends with Hal back on Earth in the middle of nowhere, muttering, "This isn't how it's supposed to end."

* ''ComicBook/ScareTactics'': Slither is dead and Gross-Out has left but Arnold, Fang and Scream Queen continue on in search of new members for Scare Tactics.

* ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'': Superman does not die, but is working away inside the Sun to keep it going; nobody knows how long it will be until he can return, and in the meantime the world is left to get on without him. The final pages implies Dr. Quintum has had a contingency plan to create a second Superperson.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' had episodes often end like this as time went on, but the first BittersweetEnding in the series definitely had impact on the show; the two-part first season finale, "The Rubberface of Comedy" and "The Clayface of Tragedy". ComicBook/TheJoker begins a crime spree with his Joker Putty, capable of turning anything into a putty-like material. When the police try to stop him, Joker kidnaps Ethan Bennett, Bruce Wayne's oldest childhood friend and an officer constantly harrased by Chief Rojas for thinking The Batman is good for Gotham City. At the end of the first part, Joker ends up [[MindRape mind raping]] Ethan and accidentally turns him into Clayface by exposure to gas based on Joker Putty. During the second part, Ethan attempts to exact revenge on Chief Rojas for his torment. Batman manages to save Chief Rojas, but is defeated by Clayface. Yin saves Batman, but Ethan escapes and is nowhere to be found, and since he can now shape-shift...Bruce feels he may never see his friend again. Of course, [[StatusQuoIsGod later he does]] in the second season...[[SubvertedTrope only for Joker to convince Ethan to not reform and instead embrace being a supervillain]]. At least in that episode, Batman caught Clayface this time.
* "Mitefall!", the final episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''. ComicBook/AmbushBug rescues the show from Bat-Mite's meddling and Batman saves the day, [[EndOfSeriesAwareness but it's too late to save the show from cancellation]]. With their new-found MediumAwareness, almost every character to ever appear in the show - heroes and villains, dead and alive - put aside their differences and have one last party in a Batcave which is revealed to be nothing more than a set and is being dismantled around them. [[TearJerker Batman promises the audience that, until they meet again, wherever evil lurks, he'll be there to defend the innocent and the final shot of the series is a group shot of all the heroes - and, by extension, their entire world - fading to black.]]

** "Paradise Lost" ends this way; Faust is dead, Hades is banished back to Tartarus, and the Amazons are freed from Faust's petrification spell. But by bringing the rest of the League with her to help, Diana allowed men to set foot on Themyscira. [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished Meaning that she broke the Amazons' most sacred law]] [[YouCantGoHomeAgain and that Hippolyta has no choice but to exile her own daughter]].
** In "Starcrossed", the final episode of ''Justice League'' (before being rebranded into ''Unlimited''), Earth is saved from destruction... at the cost of their home base, one of their members leaving (breaking up the [[OfficialCouple series' main relationship]]), and an untold amount of the Thanagarians threatening the planet. Sweetened a bit by its continuation, ''Unlimited'', which shows that things can be rebuilt, but even then there's a note of bitterness lingering throughout the series. Thanagar loses its war ''and planet'', Shayera has to spend years slowly earning back the trust of Earth, ''can't'' earn back the trust of Thanagar, and the relationship between Diana and Shayera is one of the most strained in the League. At least Diana starts to warm up, and time travel shows that John does get back with Shayera.

*** And in line with the bleak and bitter(sweet) tone of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' as the distant finale of the DCAU, the (dubiously canon) comic continuation reveals the fate of several other Leaguers and their associates: Superman outlived Lois and his other friends; Wonder Woman spent the last three decades willingly stranded in [[CrapsackWorld the Justice Lords universe]]; Shayera and John married... but Vixen was killed by Shadow Thief right as John was going to propose to her, Hawkman was killed in a futile attempt to bring peace to the Thanagarians and [[ComicBook/AdamStrange Rannians]], and John was revoked of his ring for killing Shadow Thief in vengeance; Flash disappeared into the Speed Force and never came back; Aquaman cut off his ties with the outside world and was forced to disown his own children.

** The episode "Troq" ends with Val-Yor and the Titans in bad terms with the former still racist and declaring that Earthlings are just as bad as Tamaraneans. However, the Locrix are destroyed and the Titans learned a lesson that while [[VerySpecialEpisode some people like Val-Yor may never change their views, there will be others like the Titans who don't judge on appearances.]]

** The season 1 episode "Failsafe" ends with the team waking up from their comas as a result from the UnwinnableTrainingSimulation and the Justice League being alive but M'Gann is emotionally traumatized and weeping over what she has put the team through by accident and Martian Manhunter reveals to Batman that she has more raw power than himself.
** The season 2 finale "Endgame" ends with the whole world being saved and everyone safe and happy... except for Kid Flash who sacrificed himself to save everyone else. Artemis fully changes from "Artemis" to her other heroic persona "Tigress", stating that "Artemis was Wally's partner".