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 7

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' Batman appeared in multiple episodes of the Justice League

shows, usually time travel stories like in the JLU Season 1. and two-part finale

But the show never really incorporates Terry into its cast, which makes it all the stranger

when Epilogue sees a 31 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 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 past 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 weight 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

feared 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 DNA being altered However in a quintessential Bruce Wayne move he makes no effort to consult Terry or comfort him He simply states that It a good thing that you 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 immense 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

throughout all the Cadmus arc, admits she did it. She altered Warren McGinnis' 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 been given of the mantle of Batman is viewed as a curse but it actually a gift That a metatextual 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 Timm 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 bookend to the entirety of the DCAU. you. 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

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

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