History NightmareFuel / BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker

** Barbara's tired tone when she tells Terry they never found Harley's body, "but I doubt she would be causing trouble now." There's regret, a bit of loathing, and frustration at how the tragedy went that she knew Harley could have been a better person. You could tell Barbara wants to tell Terry to find Harley and kick her ass, but it would be wrong because hurting an old lady wouldn't fix the damage.

** Doubles as TearJerker when you realize this is a CallBack to Terry's origin as Batman. He came home to a similar scene one night and found his father inside, brutally murdered. The killer may even have painted/[[GlasgowSmile carved a smile]] on Warren [=McGinnis=]' face ''a la'' [[Film/TheDarkKnight Heath Ledger's Joker]] (it was meant to look like an attack by a gang of Jokerz). Terry's whispered "Please, God, no" says it all.

* The scene where we see [[ColdBloodedTorture just what Joker did to Robin]]. And the edited version of it looked even ''worse''. Just...that ''[[NotSoStoic look]]'' on Batman's face as he sees the film.

** The uncut version is even more terrifying: Joker tosses the [[BangFlagGun "Bang!" Flag Spear Gun]] to Tim, then pulls Batman high as his trophy and says, "Make Daddy proud. Deliver the punchline." Besides his chilling voice, Tim giggles like a maniac and, if you've seen the scene with Bonk, you know what's gonna happen: He pulls the trigger once and the "Bang!" flag pops up. When Batman tries to calm him down with "Tim...", he keeps giggling and doesn't calm down very easily, only more slowly than the edited version. The giggling seems to increase in intensity as Tim cannot actually lower the gun, ultimately pointing it back at Batman. The NightmareFuel starts getting higher and higher as Joker, the blood still on his mouth, loudly barks out, '''''"DO IT!!!"''''' with a horrible smile of triumph on his face. And the creepy music starts escalating UpToEleven as Tim laughs more loudly and is about to pull the trigger as if this were the end of Batman. But once the boy finally fires the gun...the projectile doesn't hit Batman at all. Instead, it hits Joker in his chest, sending him flying across the room onto the giant building blocks. Tim couldn't actually stop himself, only having just enough willpower to aim the gun away from Batman at the last possible moment. Gasping weakly, the Joker mutters out his {{iron|y}}ic last words: "That's not funny...[-that's not...-]" The NightmareFuel finishes off with his dying gargle as he gets choked up in blood, and then his body falling lifelessly onto the floor as the projectile is driven into his chest. Truly a FamilyUnfriendlyDeath that's less scary than the edited version, but still...

** One change that definitely is worse in the revised version is Joker's urging Tim to pull the trigger. The uncut version is an unambiguous "Make Daddy proud...deliver the punchline" meant to show Tim will kill Batman in the same manner Joker kills Bonk. However, the revised version is an unclear "Make him one of us." While this could mean that Batman will die with a smile on his face, there could be another, more terrifying option: Joker plans to do to Batman what he did to Tim.
*** We already have a clear idea what a Jokerized-Batman looks like in the form of "''[[Characters/DarkNightsMetal The Batman Who Laughs]]''" and it's....not pretty.

--->'''Tim:''' Fun and games. Boy Wonder playing the hero. Fighting the bad guys, and no one ever gets...Oh, ''God.'' I killed him. I didn't mean to. I tried so hard to forget, but I still hear the shot. Still see his dead smile! Every night the dreams get stronger. He's there when I sleep, whispering, '''LAUGHING''', telling me I'm just as bad as he is! ''We're both the same!''\\

-->'''Joker:''' ''[looking furious ''and'' euphoric]'' C'mon, [=McGinnis=]...Laugh it up now! You miserable little punk! LAUGH! IIIIII CAAAAAAN'T HEEEEAAAAAR YOOOOU!

* Some viewers of this movie might be wondering why the opening credits feel so, empty, with nothing but a black screen and flashing text. There exists a deleted version of an abandoned opening title sequence intended to play alongside the remixed opening of the Batman Beyond theme. From start to finish, this opening is NightmareFuel as credits pan across blood cells, cranial nerves and collections of dendrites and neurons. To make it worse, it also reveals a microchip forcefully inserted into a human brain complete with nanowires feeding into it. As it turns out,[[spoiler: this is foreshadowing as [[FridgeHorror we are getting an inside look at the Joker's nanochip that was forced inside Tim Drake]] during the former's torture sequence done to brainwash him.]] This was likely deemed to be disturbing enough that it had to be cut altogether. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPpLJFsfWws It has to be seen to be believed]]. [[note]]An additional reason for why this was ultimately cut is that it spoils the Joker's return and therefore makes the twist noticeably less surprising[[/note]]

* The way Batman just growls "I'll break you in two" at Joker. ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness You know he means it]]''.
** It goes further than just ''meaning'' to do it. When Batman is first tied up by Harley's bazooka, he does what you'd expect Batman to do: flip out a knife from a compartment in his glove and start sawing away at the threads. But when "Joker Jr." is revealed and [[AdultFear Bruce sees what Joker's done to Tim]], he snaps his bonds with a roar of rage and ''hurls the knife straight at Joker's face.'' Joker [[NonchalantDodge calmly ducks the knife]] and only ''now'' does he [[EvilLaugh start laughing]]. Because no matter what happened next, '''''[[TheBadGuyWins Joker won]]'''''; [[BatmanGrabsAGun Batman finally snapped and tried to kill him]].

-->'''Joker:''' We couldn't [adopt] legally, of course, but then we remembered you always had a few spare kids hanging around. ''So we borrowed one''...

-->'''Joker:''' It's true, Batsy. I know everything. And kinda like the kid who peeks at his Christmas presents, I must admit it's sadly anti-climactic. Behind all the sturm and Batarangs, you're just a little boy in a playsuit '''''crying for mommy and daddy'''''! '''''It'd be funny it weren't so pathetic...''''' '''''Nah, what the heck, I'll laugh anyway!'''''

*** We already have a clear idea what a Jokerized-Batman looks like in the form of "''[[Characters/DarkNightsMetalTheBatmanWhoLaughs The Batman Who Laughs]]''" and it's....not pretty.

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[NightmareFace Hello... ''[[WhamLine Batman...]]''"]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[NightmareFace "Hello...Batman..."]]]]

-->'''Joker:''' We couldn't [adopt] legally, of course, but then we remembered you always had a few spare kids hanging around...''so we borrowed one''...

-->'''Joker:''' But all too soon, the serums and the shocks took their toll, and the dear lad began to share such secrets with me...secrets that are mine alone to know...''[[WhamLine Bruce]]''.

--->'''Joker:''' Hello...''[[WhamLine Batman]]''. ''[EvilLaugh]''

--->'''Bruce:''' It can't be...

** The uncut version is even more terrifying: Joker tosses the [[BangFlagGun "Bang!" Flag Spear Gun]] to Tim, then pulls Batman high as his trophy and says, "Make Daddy proud. Deliver the punchline." Besides his chilling voice, Tim giggles like a maniac and, if you've seen the scene with Bonk, you know what's gonna happen: He pulls the trigger once and the "Bang!" flag pops up. When Batman tries to calm him down with "Tim...", he keeps giggling and doesn't calm down very easily, only more slowly than the edited version. The giggling seems to increase in intensity as Tim cannot actually lower the gun, ultimately pointing it back at Batman. The NightmareFuel starts getting higher and higher as Joker, the blood still on his mouth, loudly barks out, '''''"DO IT!!!"''''' with a horrible smile of triumph on his face. And the creepy music starts escalating UpToEleven as Tim laughs more loudly and is about to pull the trigger as if this were the end of Batman. But once the boy finally fires the gun...the projectile doesn't hit Batman at all. Instead, it hits Joker in his chest, sending him flying across the room onto the giant building blocks. Tim couldn't actually stop himself, only having just enough willpower to aim the gun away from Batman at the last possible moment. Gasping weakly, the Joker mutters out his {{iron|y}}ic FamousLastWords: "That's not funny...[-that's not...-]" The NightmareFuel finishes off with his dying gargle as he gets choked up in blood, and then his body falling lifelessly onto the floor as the projectile is driven into his chest. Truly a FamilyUnfriendlyDeath that's less scary than the edited version, but still...

** Robin's [[LaughingMad disquieting laugh]] gradually fading into broken sobs.

** The uncut version is even more terrifying: Joker tosses the [[BangFlagGun "Bang!" Flag Spear Gun]] to Tim, then pulls Batman high as his trophy and says, "Make Daddy proud. Deliver the punchline." Besides his chilling voice, Tim giggles like a maniac and, if you've seen the scene with Bonk, you know what's gonna happen: He pulls the trigger once and the "Bang!" flag pops up. When Batman tries to calm him down with "Tim...", he keeps giggling and doesn't calm down very easily, only more slowly than the edited version. The NightmareFuel starts getting higher and higher as Joker, the blood still on his mouth, loudly barks out, '''''"DO IT!!!"''''' And the creepy music starts escalating UpToEleven as Tim laughs more loudly and is about to pull the trigger as if this were the end of Batman. But once the boy finally fires the gun...the projectile doesn't hit Batman at all. Instead, it hits Joker in his chest, sending him flying across the room onto the giant building blocks. Gasping weakly, he mutters out his {{iron|y}}ic FamousLastWords: "That's not funny...[-that's not...-]" The NightmareFuel finishes off with his dying gargle as he gets choked up in blood, and then his body falling lifelessly onto the floor. Truly a FamilyUnfriendlyDeath that's less scary than the edited version, but still...

* Some viewers of this movie might be wondering why the opening credits feel so, empty, with nothing but a black screen and flashing text. There exists a deleted version of an abandoned opening title sequence intended to play alongside the remixed opening of the Batman Beyond theme. From start to finish, this opening is NightmareFuel as credits pan across blood cells, cranial nerves and collections of dendrites and neurons. To make it worse, it also reveals a microchip forcefully inserted into a human brain complete with nanowires feeding into it. As it turns out,[[spoiler: this is foreshadowing as [[FridgeHorror we are getting an inside look at the Joker's nanochip that was forced inside Tim Drake]] during the former's torture sequence done to brainwash him.]] This was likely deemed to be disturbing enough that it had to be cut altogether. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPpLJFsfWws It has to be seen to be believed]]. [[note]]This was likely cut because not only was it so disturbing but because it spoils the Joker's return and as such was probably removed for increased suspense]][[/note]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[NightmareFace "Hello... Batman..."]]]]

* The opening fight with the Joker's gang, particularly one moment when Terry faces off with the [[CreepyTwins [=DeeDee=] Twins]]. He's momentarily on his knees and a bit groggy from a blow, and one twin is winding up for a kick to his head. As the scene goes quiet and you see her from Terry's wavering point of view, the utterly sadistic glee on her face and the disturbingly confident graceful movement to her upcoming attack clearly sends the message that this is going to hurt and she regards it as a high point of her life to get this chance to lay the Tomorrow Knight low.

-->'''Joker:''' [[BadBoss "It's not much"? It's nothing!]] ''[[[AGlassInTheHand smashes the memory board]]]'' [[WhenIWasYourAge Losers, all of you. A disgrace to the name "Joker." Why, in my day--]]

-->'''Joker:''' Ah, brave new world... that has such putzes in it.

** It goes further than just ''meaning'' to do it. When Batman is first tied up by Harley's bazooka, he does what you'd expect Batman to do: flip out a knife from a compartment in his glove and start sawing away at the threads. But when "Joker Jr." is revealed and [[AdultFear Bruce sees what Joker's done to Tim]], he snaps his bonds with a roar of rage and ''hurls the knife straight at Joker's face.'' Joker [[NonchalantDodge calmly ducks the knife]] and only ''now'' does he [[EvilLaugh start laughing.]] Because no matter what happened next, '''''[[TheBadGuyWins Joker won]]'''''; [[BatmanGrabsAGun Batman finally snapped and tried to kill him.]]
** The soundtrack, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OaKX9gnKVM "Joker Family Portrait"]], makes it all the worse. While it starts off as a light and bouncy, if somewhat morbid, riff on 50's sitcom themes, complete with MickeyMousing, then everything stops dead with a sudden low piano chord as Tim is revealed [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable strapped to the operating table]]. As both he and Joker begin to laugh uncontrollably, the horns play a DarkReprise of the earlier "family" {{leitmotif}}. Worst of all is [[HellIsThatNoise the high, screaming electric guitar notes]], apparently created with the vibrations from a music box.

--->'''Joker:''' [[WhamLine Hello...]] ''[[WhamLine Batman.]]'' ''[EvilLaugh]''

* Tim himself after what Joker does to him. Everything about "Little J" is just ''wrong''; the stooped, awkward gait; [[SlasherSmile the permanent (and probably surgical) rictus grin]]; [[ThousandYardStare the psychotic wide-eyed stare]], and that '''[[HellIsThatNoise laugh]]'''! Heck, [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/dcmovies/images/2/27/Joker_Jr..jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120617191154 just take a look for yourself!]]

'''Harley:''' ''[grabs a boulder to bash Batgirl in the head with]'' You'll see... ''[[FauxAffablyEvil we'll be one big happy family!]]''

* While it certainly doubles as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for him, the scene where Joker invades the Batcave and gasses Bruce is particularly nightmarish, especially the POV shot from Bruce's eyes, which now provides the [[NightmareFace "welcoming face"]] for this page.

** The uncut version is even more terrifying: Joker tosses the [[BangFlagGun "Bang!" Flag Spear Gun]] to Tim, then pulls Batman high as his trophy and says, "Make Daddy proud. Deliver the punchline." Besides his chilling voice, Tim giggles like a maniac and, if you've seen the scene with Bonk, you know what's gonna happen: He pulls the trigger once and the "Bang!" flag pops up. When Batman tries to calm him down with "Tim...", he keeps giggling and doesn't calm down very easily, only more slowly than the edited version. The NightmareFuel starts getting higher and higher as Joker, the blood still on his mouth, loudly barks out, '''''"DO IT!!!"''''' And the creepy music starts escalating UpToEleven as Tim laughs more loudly and is about to pull the trigger as if this were the end of Batman. But once the boy finally fires the gun...the projectile doesn't hit Batman at all. Instead, it hits Joker in his chest, sending him flying across the room onto the giant building blocks. Gasping weakly, he mutters out his {{iron|y}}ic FamousLastWords: "That's not funny... [-that's not...-]" The NightmareFuel finishes off with his dying gargle as he gets choked up in blood, and then his body falling lifelessly onto the floor. Truly a FamilyUnfriendlyDeath that's less scary than the edited version, but still...

** The background music that accompanies this terrifying flashback scene, "Arkham Mayhem," is almost all NightmareFuel and part TearJerker. Give it a listen... ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YraQ5MaR2EY if you dare!]]''
** One change that definitely is worse in the revised version is Joker's urging Tim to pull the trigger. The uncut version is an unambiguous "Make Daddy proud... deliver the punchline" meant to show Tim will kill Batman in the same manner Joker kills Bonk. However, the revised version is an unclear "Make him one of us." While this could mean that Batman will die with a smile on his face, there could be another, more terrifying option: Joker plans to do to Batman what he did to Tim.

--->'''Tim:''' Fun and games. Boy Wonder playing the hero. Fighting the bad guys, and no one ever gets... Oh, ''God.'' I killed him. I didn't mean to. I tried so hard to forget, but I still hear the shot. Still see his dead smile! Every night the dreams get stronger. He's there when I sleep, whispering, '''LAUGHING''', telling me I'm just as bad as he is! ''We're both the same!''\\

'''"Tim":''' There's nothing about you I don't know, ''[[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay Bat-fake.]]''

** Tim knocks off the beakers before making his hideous transformation into Joker via microchip. His voice evolves into that of the Clown Prince of Crime, which makes it all the scarier. [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Even]] ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Bruce]]'' [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness is disturbed by it]].
--->'''Bruce:''' ''[eyes wide in shock as he watches on the Batcomputer]'' My... ''God''...

-->'''Joker:''' ''[looking furious ''and'' euphoric]'' C'mon, [=McGinnis=]... Laugh it up now! You miserable little punk! LAUGH! IIIIII CAAAAAAN'T HEEEEAAAAAR YOOOOU!

* This is a considerably darker movie by Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse standards. Something that really stands out is the attitude that Terry and Bruce have about Joker. For Terry, Joker is similar to how we, the audience, would view him: Scary, sure, but definitely as famous as Batman. But Bruce has zero time for that romanticization of the past.

* Barbara's tired tone when she tells Terry they never found Harley's body, "but I doubt she would be causing trouble now." There's regret, a bit of loathing, and frustration at how the tragedy went that she knew Harley could have been a better person. You could tell Barbara would want to tell Terry to find Harley and kick her ass, but it would be wrong because hurting an old lady wouldn't fix the damage.

** The uncut version's pretty bad. Joker pulls out his fake BangFlagGun. [[HopeSpot Bonk breathes a sight of relief.]] Then he and the audience find out it's a spear gun, and he's BlownAcrossTheRoom, dead. The other Jokerz stare at Bonk's corpse as Joker demands allegiance, before the DeeDee twins are ordered to dispose of said corpse.

* Joker's VillainousBreakdown near the end. Imagine, if you will, as Joker's usual demeanor is chipped away piece by piece as Terry openly mocks him to try and catch him off-guard. First, he gets snappy, which isn't so bad. Then he screams "'''''YOU'RE NOT BATMAN!'''''" and completely loses it, and manages to swing a table at Terry...a little surprising. Pinning Terry down with the table, standing on top of it, yanking the mask off, and proceeding to strangle Terry, producing one of his most insane laughs ever given, sounding more and more unhinged as he speaks? Downright scary, especially when you get a POV shot from Terry's eyes for a few seconds.
-->'''Joker:''' ''[looking furious ''and'' euphoric]'' C'mon, [=McGinnis=]... Laugh it up now! You miserable little punk! LAUGH! IIIIII CAAAAAAN'T HEEEEAAAAAR YOOOOU!
** Before that, Tim knocks off the beakers before making his hideous transformation worthy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde into Joker via microchip. And Tim's voice evolves into that of the Clown Prince of Crime, which makes it all the scarier. Even ''Bruce'' is disturbed by it, uttering "My... ''God''..." as Tim transforms.
* The fact that, despite voicing Joker for nearly a decade by this point, Creator/MarkHamill actually felt uncomfortable voicing him in this film. Let's put that in perspective. In the original series, Joker repeatedly killed people in droves, abused his girlfriend, stalked a guy for years on end, and created Joker Venom which is basically NightmareFuel in gas form. All of which was turned UpToEleven in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm''. And yet [[MoralEventHorizon what Joker did]] in this movie unnerved his voice actor.
* The GrandTheftMe trope is quite chilling in virtually any work of fiction, and this film certainly offers no exception. Joker states that, with time, he will learn to ''permanently'' suppress Tim's natural consciousness, effectively causing a DeathOfPersonality. Also, as he's using Tim's body, he can impersonate Tim's voice and effectively deceive people--including Tim's own wife--through phone calls.

* The opening fight with the Joker's gang, particularly one moment when Terry faces off with the [[CreepyTwins [=DeeDee=] Twins]]. He's momentarily on his knees and a bit groggy from a blow, and one twin is winding up for a kick to his head. As the scene goes quiet and you see her from Terry's wavering point of view, the utterly sadistic glee on her face and the disturbingly confident graceful movement to her upcoming attack clearly sends the message that this is going to hurt and she regards it as a high point of her life to get this chance to lay the Tomorrow Knight low.
* Let's not forget this exchange:
-->'''Chucko:''' Batman showed up and we had to ditch, but we were able to save this: The console's memory board. ''[slides the board to Joker, who is sitting across the table and catches it]'' I know it's not much, but--
-->'''Joker:''' [[BadBoss "It's not much"? It's nothing!]] ''[[[AGlassInTheHand smashes the memory board]]]'' [[WhenIWasYourAge Losers, all of you. A disgrace to the name "Joker." Why, in my day--]]
-->'''Bonk:''' [[CallingTheOldManOut "In your day"?! Ever since you conned your way into this gang, it's been "your day" this, and "your day" that!]]
-->'''Chucko:''' ''[uneasily]'' Bonk...
-->''' Bonk:''' [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech Your day is over, old man, even if you are who you say you are. And personally, I think you're a fake!]]
-->'''Joker:''' Ah, brave new world... that has such putzes in it.
-->'''Bonk:''' He's got us running around, ripping a lot of geek junk, but no cash! He won't tell us what his plan is, even if he has one! [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere I want out!]]
-->'''Joker:''' ''[amused, pulls out a gun]'' If you insist...
-->''[The other Jokerz gasp]''
-->'''Bonk:''' ''[scared]'' [[JustJokingJustification Hey, man, take it easy! I-I was, I was just kidding!]]
-->''[Joker fires, but [[BangFlagGun a flag with the word BANG! pops out]] of the end of the gun]''
-->'''Joker:''' [[FauxAffablyEvil So was I!]] ''[chuckles and waves the gun. Everyone sighs, even Bonk. [[BaitAndSwitch Then Joker shoots Joker Gas or the BANG! flag into Bonk's chest.]]]'' [[DisproportionateRetribution Oops! No I wasn't.]]
* Batman and Batgirl cautiously entering the abandoned Arkham Asylum, with the echos of a woman's [[DissonantSerenity dissonantly calm]] voice singing "Hush Little Baby" all through the dark hallways. If this scene came without a prelude to hint that it was Harley who was still her usual self, it would have been very haunting.
* Terry finds Tim in Joker's hideout and questions him about Joker's whereabouts. Tim doesn't argue in the least and honestly states he doesn't know where Joker is now. While this at least seems he's confessing to dealing with Joker, his statement takes an uncomfortable turn when he starts incoherently recounting how he stopped doing things like this long ago. The fact he is growing more and more detached saying all this makes it clear that something is very wrong.
* Harley finds out at the end of the movie that her granddaughters were involved with her ex. She comes under an assumed name with AngerBornOfWorry and a bit of guilt, smacking the girls and telling them off for breaking her heart. Even though they're released into her custody, Harley says she hopes the law throws the book at them at their trial. CharacterDevelopment or ParentalHypocrisy? And if ''Justice League: Unlimited'' is any hint, her strict parenting didn't reform the girls.

*** We already have a clear idea what a Jokerized-Batman looks like in the form of "''ComicBook/TheBatmanWhoLaughs''" and it's....not pretty.

* This is a considerably darker movie, even by ''Batman'' standards. Something that really stands out is the attitude that Terry and Bruce have about Joker. For Terry, Joker is similar to how we, the audience, would view him: Scary, sure, but definitely as famous as Batman. But Bruce has zero time for that romanticization of the past.

** The idea that Harley genuinely wanted a family actually makes her part in the situation even more horrific if you think about it. She was perfectly willing to help Joker sacrifice an innocent boy's sanity for the sake of having a child of her own, and shows no objections to it at all.

** The uncut version's pretty bad. Joker pulls out his fake BangFlagGun. [[HopeSpot Bonk breathes a sight of relief.]] Then he and the audience find out it's a spear gun, and he's BlownAcrossTheRoom, dead. The other Jokerz stare at his corpse as Joker demands allegiance.

-->'''Joker:''' [[FauxAffablyEvil So was I!]] ''[chuckles and waves the gun. Everyone sighs, even Bonk. [[BaitAndSwitch Then Joker shoots the flag into Bonk's chest.]]]'' [[DisproportionateRetribution Oops! No I wasn't.]]

** Worse still, it's implied that Tim's still in control when Terry first confronts him in the factory only for Joker snatch it from him. He seems to suffer a PTSD attack just beforehand, almost seeming to realize that Joker is taking over his consciousness.

-->'''Tim:''' Fun and games. Boy Wonder playing the hero. Fighting the bad guys, and no one ever gets... Oh, ''God.'' I killed him. I didn't mean to. I tried so hard to forget, but I still hear the shot. Still see his dead smile! Every night the dreams get stronger. He's there when I sleep, whispering, '''LAUGHING''', telling me I'm just as bad as he is! ''We're both the same!''\\

--->'''Joker:''' [[WhamLine Hello...]] ''[[Wham Line Batman.]]'' ''[EvilLaugh]''