As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
It's the Grand Finale of the DC Animated Movie Universe. This was bound to happen, and it's the saddest entry compared to the others.
- John Constantine’s pitiful state from his guilt over seemingly abandoning Zatanna to her bloody fate at the hands of Paradooms turned him into an apathetic, alcoholic mess. Even when Zatanna explains him, after he is temporarily killed by Trigon, that she used a compelling spell to force Constantine to run away as part of Batman’s backup plan, in case the Superman’s original plan wouldn’t work, it doesn’t make him feel any better. Indeed, when he comes back from the dead, he’s understandably mad at Batman for using such drastic actions.
- The Teen Titans never stood a chance against the Paradooms. Most of them were teenagers, and they were killed off without any mercy.
- Nightwing has suffered so much through the DCAMU, but the worst thing to ever happen to him is being killed by a Paradoom and Damian reviving him using the Lazarus Pit. While it did bring him back to life, the pit drove him insane. Damian made a promise to never use the Lazarus Pit after the effect it had on his mother, but Nightwing was a brother to him, so he had to take the chance.
- After the Titans were massacred by the Paradooms and Raven had to leave Damian in order to protect him from Trigon, she is Driven to Suicide over everything and plans to kill herself by stabbing her neck with a sharp rebar to end the pain, until Superman stopped her. Crying, she drops the rebar as Superman gives her a hug.
- The fall of the Green Lanterns has a particularily sobering moment. Darkseid slaughters them all until only John Stewart is left... and he is killed by lava being dumped on top of him. When his skeleton collapses into dust, his ring falls to the ground with a "tink." Either it's powerless without the central battery... or there are no one left in the universe capable of overcoming their fear.
- Darkseid having Cyborg being fully integrated into Apokolips. Cyborg knows full well that he can never be removed or saved, but he still performs a Heroic Sacrifice to ensure his teammates make it back to Earth.
- Etrigan spends much of the film completely disinterested in everything, drowning his sorrows after Jason Blood's death and unable to find anyone worthy of fighting. He's so depressed that he can't even muster the will to rhyme. His duel against the cyborg Wonder Woman snaps him back to his boisterous self, but his strength isn't enough as she runs her sword through his chest — the same fatal wound that Jason died from. As she kicks him into a fire pit, Etrigan grins and gives his final rhyme before the flames consume him.Etrigan: And so it ends... my race is run... I regret nothing... It was fun...
- Batman's speech towards Damian before their fight. Sure, he was brainwashed by Darkseid at the time, but that doesn't lessen the hit at all:(After Brainwashed!Batman's "The Reason You Suck" Speech towards Constantine)Damian: "You won't pick us apart so easily, father."Brainwashed!Batman: "You dare call me that!? Your mother drugged me to conceive you. Goaded into raising you and broke me mentally. But once my eyes were opened by Lord Darkseid, I see you were never my son. Only a burden."Damian: (dejected) "Come then. End your burden once and for all."
- How did Batman snap out of his brainwashing? The way he was about to give Damian the killing blow, reminds him of the time his parents were murdered before his eyes when he was a kid. Once again, his trauma keeps tormenting him.
- The ending, which is way more bitter than sweet. Sure, the team managed to vanquish Darkseid once and for all, but the majority of the League, the Titans, and their friends are dead. Most of the survivors are barely human anymore. On top of all that, Darkseid snuck in a posthumous last hurrah as his Reapers managed to destabilize the Earth enough that at least a billion people would die before the remnants of the Justice League could get the situation under control, assuming they ever could.
- Superman is appealing for everyone to not give up and keep looking for a way to hold on, but no one can do so anymore. Not to mention it sounds more as though the newly widowed Superman is trying to 'convince' himself that they can pull through and make the situation turn for the better.
- There's something absolutely wretched about watching a grotesquely roboticized Starfire sadly cradling an insane, unresponsive Nigthtwing on her lap.
- The only way to avert further catastrophe is to "clear the board" by Flash triggering another Flashpoint, effectively wiping out these characters we've grown to know and love over the years.
- Seeing them go out on this pyrrhic (does-it-really-even-count-as-a) victory is even more heartbreaking. Batman clearly never resolves his issues with Catwoman, Kory is now a metal lusus naturae, and Dick is broken beyond repair. Even Raven and Damian, arguably the only two who came out of the whole ordeal better than they went in, had all the promise of their potential relationship (which got an upgrade in that first and final kiss) reduced to nothing but ash as DC closes the book on their saga for good. Damn, that hurts.
