Batman Beyond Redeemed Bruce Wayne | Batman Beyond 

Batman's more dark attitude in TNBA could be a result of the years he spend fighting crime. Bruce created Batman to fight criminals and mobsters, and yet his life took a different path: Over the years he fought costume criminals, psychopats, super villains, aliens, demons... all experiences that would affect him in a psychological level.

8:21 it's not that he thinks that some of his rogues gallery doesn't DESERVE help, it's that there comes a point where they move beyond his ability to help them. That's part of what made him a bitter old man in BB, that he realizes that despite his best efforts, nothing really changed.

"We're the Jokers!" "Suuuuuure you are" is such an underappreciated line lmfao

11:52 I think him having to pull a gun to defend himself was just the last straw of a bunch of things that started with Joker torturing Tim.

“Well, Mr. McGuinnis- Welcome to MY world.” “It’s not Batman that makes you worthwhile; it is the other way around.” The two most significant lines that, in a sense, bookend the show perfectly.

The reason why he's so bitter is because he had to retire. He's helpless. He's once again that helpless child who just watched the people he loved most get killed right in front of him. As Batman, when he's laying the smackdown on some bully criminal, he's defending his parents. He's actually doing something. It helped him fight back against that gnawing memory that ate away at his heart, and still does. But yeah, he also helped out the criminals when he could. Why? Because that's what his parents would do. His parents had so much humanity in them, and he followed their example. His rage, his anger - it all stems from the memory of losing them, of having the love ripped from his heart by a cowardly bully with a gun. And that is why his heart broke and he's so bitter. 20 years. 20 years he had to sit and watch his work undone. The streets he patrolled, the people of Gotham he protected... all the work he put in to quell the criminal element... it was all undone because he got old. It broke his heart and he had to live with that memory of crime alley again and again for twenty years. With Terry being the new Batman, Bruce was able to continue his work. He was able to, by proxy, defend his parents in that memory once more. Still, twenty years of having a bad memory gnaw at your soul will leave its mark. And that's not even counting what happened to Tim Drake. Once again, another criminal ripped away something he loved. No wonder he was so bitter. But at the end of Beyond, Bruce finally has a son he can leave his work to. Someone to properly continue his work. Maybe he finally stopped having the nightmares of being back in Crime Alley.

Something I notice about DCAU Batman is that he's quick to sympathize and get along with younger heroes, we also see this in Static Shock the few times he shows up. It is subtle but evident that Bruce wanted newer generations of heroes to make better life choices that he did.

The sad thing about Bruce Wayne is that life ultimately beat him down. All his efforts to try to reform his villains never seemed to stick, all his efforts to try and make Gotham a better place to live never seemed to stick, and all of his efforts to try and end crime in Gotham never stick. The tragedy of Bruce Wayne is that, despite a lifetime of effort, there was never a meaningful, lasting victory that left the world a better place, a "Mission Accomplished" moment. It reminds me of a bit from the Gwenpool comics, where Batroc the Leaper is told that people like he and Captain America are comic book characters with Batroc the villain and Captain America the hero, Batroc comments on how Captain America's story has no happy ending: "He has fought for decades with only ze illusion of meaningful victory. Ze world is no safer place because of him. He struggles for nothing. What a fun children's story that must be." And as some people have put it, Captain America's story is largely one of the happier ones. Spider-Man's tale of suffering is infinitely worse. Like Captain America, Batman has spent a lifetime fighting the same battles over and over again, never seeming to get anywhere. A hamster on a wheel, endlessly giving maximum effort just to spin in place. In The Animated Series, Bruce is young and hopeful enough to still believe that if he punches enough villains and makes enough improvements to Gotham, things will get better. In the Batman-Superman Adventures, he's getting bitter because he is starting to realize that his efforts are getting nowhere. Justice League gives him hope that if he helps make the world better, Gotham will become better. None of that works out in the end. By the time of Batman Beyond, he's lost all of his illusions, concluding that even with the aid of the Bat Family and the Justice League, Gotham just won't get any better no matter what he does. Even worse, at the moment he pulls a gun, he realizes that instead of him making Gotham better, Gotham has finally made him worse. Seeing himself in Terry McGinnis, the youthful, hopeful young man who still believes that he can make the city better snaps Bruce out of his funk and gives him hope again.

“Never again.” “Something happened to you, didn't it? And it wasn't just that you got old.” “Welcome to my world.” Three of my favorite lines from the entire series.

I think part that should have been mentioned is the Freeze episode. Bruce is no longer willing to give him a chance, but in the end admits he's kind of wrong. It's him kind of realizing maybe his jaded view has gone to far, just as Terry's naivety is still to large.

This particular video essay struck a chord with me. The DCAU Batman is, in fact, the de facto Dark Knight in my humble opinion. 🖤 R.I.P. Kevin Conroy.

When it came to Bruce's identity being revealed in ROTJ, I had always thought his brutal attack on Joker wasn't just because he was guilty or angry, but he was now a man with nothing to lose

Even if its pretty tragic that even with JLU this was Bruce's destiny to be a lonely sad old man, I always really liked the ideas of redemption and second chances set into Batman Beyond, Terry and Bruce's relationship is really heartwarming.

If I remember correctly he fought off the take over initially. He failed to protect the company AFTER he stopped being Batman

Rest In Peace Kevin Conroy.

4:39 So, I ended up checking the first Batman Beyond scene just to be sure, and they say "Billionare Bruce Wayne has overted another atempt to take over of his company by Derek Powers of Powers tecnology. Powers bowed that he is not threw yet". What I believe this means is that Bruce didn't let Powers take over his company until after he stopped being Batman, not during his last night as a vigilanty. (I know I seem like a smartass, but I just wanted to be sure. Sorry if I sounded rude😅)

1) I think that Bruce's attitude toward the reporter was manifold. A) The reprter is beyond help already. B) He has already proven to be beyond redemption as he has been attempting to use this trick as a means to inflict psychological torment on both Bruce and Terry. C) He is a direct threat to Terry's life and does not care. Bruce is under no obligation to help him avoid his fate and knows it. 2) I think there is a very telling moment during the return of Mr. Freeze that proves that Bruce is not quite as jaded as he seems. He and Terry revisit an earlier argument about the authenticity of Freeze's reformation, Terry taking the positive and Bruce the negative. However, when the topic is revisited at the end of the episode, Terry is disappointed and dispirited at having misjudged the villain. However, Bruce with very moderated cheerfulness that they were both right. Freeze was a villain and remained so, but he had a change of motive and direction at the end, and was truly repentant for his crimes, only returning to his previous occupation to take vengeance on the doctor and Blight-Powers for betraying and attempting to murder him.

"Return of the Joker", "Things Change", and those comics that make people uncomfortable.

I'm curious to see what you mean by "redeemed" because chronologically, I enjoyed Batman the most as a character in Justice League/Justice League Unlimited. I remember the channel J's Reviews talking about the years of fighting Gotham's criminals taking a toll on Batman and as a result he became more detached and his mind was solely focused on the mission of Batman and nothing else and that this was the straw that broke the camel's back for Dick Grayson. He also talked about he would need realize that he was not in fact in this alone by working with Superman and eventually the Justice League were he bonded with them (in his own Batman way) in order for him to grow. I really love that as a character arc for him.

I would be interested in video about the Royal Flush Gang because I think the way the Batman Beyond creators used this family as a foil for Terry and Bruce's relationship and a discussion of the concept of family legacy interesting.

11:05 You're correct since DCAU Tim Drake, much like Clayface, is a amalgamation of comics Tim Drake (they both have the same name) and Jason Todd (they both have the similar backstory)

Let's see an entry for Shriek; or some of the more notable villains. Shriek, in particular, while a villain for Terry, primarily went after Bruce first. Actually, thinking about, it's nice how by Skriek appearing the third time, it was Bruce coming to save Terry - where initially it was Terry saving Bruce.

One thing i really like about Batman’s rage in joker’s death scene, is something that nostalgia critic pointed out in his video on the scene…Batman gets two hits in BEFORE THE GLASS HITS THE FLOOR

I'm watching BTAS for the first time right now. Batman is such a genuinely good person. Just as badass as ever, but kind and compassionate. I get why people see this as the best batman. He really is.

Seeing Bruce decend to a point so low really does something to the viewers, imagine seeing your favorite Hero giving up because he is so hurt of all the things that have occured to him and to the ones he loves, so he decides to hang up the Mantle of Batman and let himself wither away.

I like how you brought in other Batman lore into this analysis; especially the fact, you argue that Batman Beyond does a more convincing arc of how Bruce degenerates from his prime into an old, bitter man. I agree, even though The Dark Knight Rises is a well done story, that part was a cop-out. Great stuff as always.

My personal theory is that Andrea Belmont had a lot to do with why Bruce changed from the Tas to the new adventures of Batman. Like that was the one thing that changed Batman when he first started. Then again when Andrea was hired to kill Terry parents. She played a big part in Bruce life

The entire DCAU is Batman's story. It started with Batman and it ended with Batman. Won't spoil Epilogue (don't spoil Epilogue) but I consider it essential not only for showing that Batman still had compassion within him despite TNBA/JL suggesting otherwise at times, but because it marks Terry finding his own answers and his own way forward from here.

I would definitely say that Batman Beyond redeemed Bruce because when we see him 50 years later in the future, he was a shadow of his former self. He was reclusive, bitter, anger and no longer the compassionate figure who always went out of his way to help someone no matter what, he always fought for what he believed in with the mission always coming first. Terry Mcginnis I would say gave him a reason to continue the war against war and reminded him that Gotham City needs Batman

In fairness to Bruce in regards to refusing to help that guy whose phasing went out of control, I am pretty sure a large part of it was that Bruce realized it was way too late to help the guy anyway (and even if it wasn't, the only guy who understood the tech and was equipped to help him was dead at the person in trouble's own hands). Its still colder then he used to be as seen by him at least comforting Ace when finding out she was not treatable and terminal, but its not like he could have saved him but chose to actively let him die a preventable death instead.

The note about BTAS Batman having a distinct "Bruce" voice and his real Batman voice is great, it's something I think Conroy's portrayel understood better than any version. Even today it's the Batman voice that usually gets "put on" ala Bale's chainsmoker Batman voice. BTAS understood that Bruce was more of the front that he put on and Batman was essentially his real self. I remember the episode in Beyond where he was being afflicted by mind manipulation from a villain projecting thoughts into his head. After the villain is caught, Terry asks him how he knew the voices in his head weren't actually his own messing with him. Wayne then responds essentially saying "He kept calling me Bruce. In my mind, that's not what I call myself". Another detail consistant between BTAS and Justice League is pretty much every time someone knew who Batman was, even if he was dressed in plain clothes as Bruce, he would immediately drop the Bruce voice entirely and completely shift his personality. It's such a great attention to detail. I really wish I got to meet Conroy before he passed, he IS the definitive Batman for me.

I remember when I was 11 and I found a vhs tape with the whole Batman beyond series on it, I immediately went home dug out a vhs player I had stashed away and watched it all.

Brilliant. Very satisfying to see the whole arc spelled out like this

I think just in general fighting crime the way he does made him cold and Batman has always been an aloof person. Not compassionateless persay, just not exactly a warm person either. By the time of Batman Beyond he's become bitter and well for a very good reason.

Seeing Bruce and Terry team up in Out of the past was a blessing to see.

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"Clobber his foes regardless of their mental health" what a guy

Amazing content, thank you. I really appreciate the fact that you don't force attempts of comedy or make fun of the topic you are talking about

I totally agree with you, the Batman we had from TAS had so much more humanity than the Justice League version and all the current movie versions we have

Sure, add Beyond to the rotation! Love seeing any DCAU/Timm/Diniverse content, great video as always.

Absolutely love these videos just wish they were a tad bit longer. Something about listening to a British dude talk about Btas is super relaxing and most definitely my favorite thing to listen to while playing the Arkham games. thanks for the great quality videos. Keep them coming mate.

Found your stuff recently and I love listening to your vids on the long deliveries.

very well done. appreciate the video.

I think the reason Bruce simply kicked Terry out of his mansion after the latter discovered his secret and didn't do anything else is twofold. Firstly, Bruce Wayne is still a rich and influential figure in Gotham, even if he is now a recluse, while Terry is just some young punk, and two, even if Terry tried telling Bruce's secret, who would honestly believe the word of some punk kid with a rap sheet, and even if they did, how much would they care, given that this was reclusive old guy in his twilight years?

Not sure if this ever got covered in the comics, but I'd like to think that a younger Derek Powers had teamed up with Roland Daggett to take over Wayne Enterprises. Maybe ended up seizing control of Daggett Industries and even had Daggett killed. Note how we never got word of Roland's life after the BATGIRL RETURNS episode of BTAS. Maybe Derek had a hand in ruinig Daggett's company in secret as a former employee. Just to swoop in like an avenging angel and offer Daggett a hand at rebuilding. Just a few thoughts.❤

I really love this version of Bruce/Batman, a great character with flaws and achievements.

I’d love to see more regular beyond content!

Definitely talk about Batman Beyond more. Just discovered your channel and love it and there's so many Beyond characters I'd love to see more about. Would also love to see you go into the nature and psychology of the Joker gang

4:00 Awww. Ace has a mask. So cute.

I really enjoy your video. Not just because I'm a big Batman fan or Batman beyond. I wish more stories nowadays would do stories about passing on the torch. Instead of replacing characters that people actually like.

Excellent video

Great video!

I just went back to Bruce suiting up- tears- they even had an opera singer in the suit up theme. What a cool moment

Heck yeah I want to see Batman Beyond added to the Rotation.

Great content bro.

I really enjoyed the video keep up the great work 🤝👍

New viewer. A strong video, puts words to a series worth rewatching.

this video is awesome!!

I did mention on the other video, but yes - would love characters from Beyond to be part of the rotation

brilliant work

Brilliant analysis

love tour videos of Batman

Batman beyond is the greatest batman story ever told imo

Awesome take

Great essay.

Well done

Great commentary on a great character.

One of my favorite episodes of Batman Beyond was Mr. Freeze's episode. Bruce knew it wouldn't stick, and he refused to go through the motions to be compassionate and hopeful; he was just preparing for the inevitable disaster. It's just exactly what his whole deal is in this series. And then Terry was there, doing all the typical Batman work to give Freeze his best chance, give him any support he could, beyond what the law would allow, and giving Freeze the comfort in his last moments of caring for him and giving him one last good deed to do.

What's even cooler about that cut Maria interaction is if you leave the dream as she requests, then Simon takes it upon himself to kill Maria personally to discover the secret.

I really wish this tv series had come back, or a movie . This was close to the wonderful creativeness from Batman the Series.

I appreciate all the love for BTAS and related DCAU shows on this channel. There are a lot of good observations made, and it's nice to revisit the memories of these shows since they were a favorite of not only myself but also my mom's. I remember watching a lot of DVD box sets of the DCAU with her during the evenings after work. It was a great time. Reminiscing aside, I wanted to add my two cents to this one. I think Bruce had absolutely no interest in having someone else take up the mantle, so ignoring the option of recruiting Terry, what else could he do when Terry stumbled onto his secret? I'm sure old Bruce had doubts anyone else could do what he did, or perhaps he didn't want anyone else to be stuck with that curse, but I think another reason he was so reluctant to have a successor could be because of the same trauma that drove him to give up his fight in the first place; he, of all people, almost used a gun. It may have left a nagging worry somewhere in his mind that, when things get too dangerous or too difficult, anyone will become willing to cross the line and "do what they have to." I think he never would have allowed a successor had he not been put in the position of, "let this kid try being Batman or watch him get murdered by a corrupt CEO's thugs because you wouldn't allow him to defend himself."

Thank you, it has been a fun month.

Another essay basically saying "please watch this amazing show" which I whole-heartedly agree on

Bruce and terry have a good teacher and student dynamic.

Just want to say: Bruce Timm did a lot of great stuff for the DC universe, except in my opinion the first half to _Killing Joke._ And I'm glad you only have the stuff that's based on the comic book.

What you said about a 'sane response' really is everything about Gordon. He's fighting an impossible war and it isn't that far off from the same behavior our own justice systems partake in. I think he'd be happiest if he wasn't needed at all, but he's determined to stop evil if he has the means.

9:30 I'm gonna be honest, that part you mention about roaring to scare away the bad stuff and gain some control. That statement actually made me feel a sense of understanding, I mean I feel like "roaring" like that sometimes in my life and I'm sure everyone else does too. And I know the roar is more of a symbolic or metaphorical statement but I also feel like screaming/roaring is like a secondary oultet to all that pent up rage, frustration, and pain. Sure some people would think it plays like cools scenes or makes characters terrifying but if you sympathize with a said character, sometimes it either makes YOU feel like you wanna roar with those same feelings or wanna comfort them because once the roar of frustration over...they might be left in a vulnerable state that needs comforting

Thanks!

would love to see you talk more about beyond.

When we see Bruce in the new tech suit in the beginning of Batman Beyond, he is seen acting alone chronologically for the first time ever since the event where Tim was tortured by the Joker, and the way he was reluctant to allow Terry to become what Tim, Barbara and Dick were at their times shows how regretful he was about what happened in the past, but ultimately decided it was a good idea to, like the video says, seek redemption. Justice League Unlimited tried to justify the entire existence of the Batman Beyond series by claiming everything that happened, from Terry's father being murdered to him discovering who Bruce really was, happened by influence of Amanda Waller in one of her projects at Cadmus. She tells him she hired the Phantasm to try and replicate the origins of Batman by murdering Terry's family, but that she ended up not doing it because it was too cruel, but in the end Terry was Bruce's biological son in any case. This gave context as to why Terry is so similar to Bruce in many aspects, but if Bruce didn't allow Terry to carry on as Batman, nothing Waller had planned would ever happen anyway, so it was in Bruce's hand the decision to continue the legacy of Batman or stop it right there when Terry went to avenge his father.

Damn that was a goid essay

One thing I always love about your videos are the thumbnails. I plan to make some videos about BTAS or Batman Beyond in your style, so do you have any tips for how to make a thumbnail similar (but not an outright copy) to yours? Thanks!

I know that BTAS is the main thing here, but I do hope this means we may see some more analyses on the villains and heroes of the other DCAU shows, because there’s a lot of people in that universe beyond Gotham.

2:50 One thing I don't like about TNBA is it took away the depth a lot of the villains had in BTAS. Two Face went from a tragic villain struggling with mental illness to a generic murderous gangster, Freeze wanted to kill everyone and destroy everything because Nora left Gotham after Subzero, Clayface went from trying to become human again to "I'm just gonna create clay creatures and rob places."

5:56 I remember it being explained in a later episode that he was always expecting to be outed as Batman, so while he go out and put himself out there maybe at his age he just didn't care anymore and was fine with some rando kid learning the secret.

i laughed way too hard on the faces joke lmao

12:28 There was a bit more to it than that, tho. He was also taking the fall for Dent’s murders, so Dent’s legacy would stay clean, and he had tried to better the world with his projects, but when they became too dangerous, he saw no point in continuing.

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As a side note , out of all the bat kids . For me Terry is the legitimate heir , he even puts up with old Bruce

This is by far one of the best breakdowns I’ve seen I praise Jesus for giving you this wisdom

Another wise old man pointed out once, "Sometimes the best way to solve our own problems is to help someone else."

I'm interested to see you your video about Firefly, because quite frankly I think the DCAU Firefly is just kinda there. Perfectly inoffensive but not that interesting either. Granted there isn't a whole lot to work with for the character since he is just a pyromaniac. And that was something people don't know was reinvented about him during Knightfall when he in fact originally just used rainbow colours when he was first introduced. I really hope you mention in the video the version of Firefly from The Batman 2004 series because it is my all-time favourite depiction of Firefly and I think his black and yellow design is amazing. I also found him really fun in Arkham Origins. I was interested to see what Brendan Fraser's depiction of the character would have been but alas we'll never know.

...I'd never thought of it that way before: he wants to help these people, whether they want to be helped or not.

Let's not forget the time Bruce was willing to give himself up when Shriek threatened to drive everyone in Gotham crazy unless Terry gave himself up. Bruce was ready to go in Terry's place and defend him. That is another sign that Bruce cared for Terry.

I think the difference between young batman trying to "help" some of his foes is they were all people who had a bad day that traumatically effected them. The reporter who murdered for tech was just an irredemable asshole

The fact that Wayne was about to let Terry die when he stole the suit is made even more mess up by the unsolved debate about if he knew Terry was his son by that point.

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There was an interesting comparison between what Bruce went through that changed him from the caped crusader into the “grandfather of the night”; in a special episode where some members of the Justice League were throne into the Batman Beyond future we see how Bruce tries to interrogate a criminal. Hanging a crook over the edge of a skyscraper by the throat was “soft” as the older Bruce says, his method of interrogation was blacked out from the audience yet whatever he did worked.

I’m still trying to figure out which show which episode I watched when I was much younger. It was like this really old retired Batman that had some face cream that he would use and it was just really weird situation going on. Maybe it was the passing of the torch from one Batman to another I don’t know it was super weird, but I’ve never been able to find it and because there’s so many Batman shows I don’t know which one it was

Really hoping they make a live action or continue series just adult Terry after Bruce's death. Strange I know art style often changes but don't understand Bruce's eyes in new adventure, beyond and some dcau series or movie are blue instead Btas and justice league