Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

Before watching this movie, I will admit I have not actually seen the Batman Beyond cartoon, nor have I seen Batman: The Animated Series. However, I am aware of both shows and their relation to the DCAU, as well as how highly praised they are (especially the latter). What spurred me to watch Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, however, was learning about how well thought-of it and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm are, though let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Despite not having any prior knowledge of Terry McGinnis’ tenure as the dark knight, I found his battle against the Joker to be a very solid movie.

In the year 2040, Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle), as Batman, is facing off against a gang of criminals known as the Jokerz in Neo-Gotham City, attempting to prevent them from hijacking a large device. The Jokerz fail in their mission, upsetting their leader who turns out to be none other than the Joker (Mark Hamill). After facing consequences, the Jokerz attack Wayne Enterprises for a replacement, on the same night that an elderly Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) is set to return to his leadership position in the company, during which Bruce gets a personal visit from the Joker. When Terry tries to get more information, Bruce only hints at how dangerous Joker is along with one bit of vital information: Joker is supposed to have been dead for over 40 years.

The Joker (Mark Hamill) is back.

The story is really well-executed, such that it’s actually pretty accessible to a non-fan of Batman Beyond. Despite my inexperience with the cartoon, with only a basic idea of the setting to go on, I was able to get into it and follow along with character personalities and interactions, as well as the character of Terry McGinnis. Without spoiling anything, the twist regarding how the Joker was able to some back is very interesting, though the movie as a whole knows how to keep you invested in the over-arching mystery.

The animation in this movie is some of the best to come from a Batman feature, as well as one of the best examples of Bruce Timm’s art style. The animation is very fluid, thanks to some interesting character design, and knows how to make great use of light and shadow for dramatic effect when needed. Two good examples of this are the famous flashback sequence to Joker’s death and Terry’s final battle against the Joker.

Terry McGinnis/Batman (Will Friedle, left) has his own epic
face-off with the Joker (Mark Hamill, right).

The voice acting is also great, particularly between the three most prominent characters. Having previously heard Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill play Batman and the Joker (respectively) in the Arkham games, it was interesting to hear an earlier point in their tenures playing these roles, including moments where they get to interact. Their absolute best as these characters can be found in the Arkham games, however this movie still enforces why these two voice actors are the most popular choices for such iconic characters. Though I have heard Will Friedle’s voice acting before (including Kim Possible), the voice he uses for Terry McGinnis instantly reminded me of his role as Bumblebee in the 2015 Transformers: Robots in Disguise cartoon. Though the voices are similar, the way he used it for Terry was a good fit for the character and matched his personality well. Though the other returning and extra VAs were also good (including Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn), I couldn’t help but notice that the voice of the character Ghoul, an homage to Scarecrow, was essentially VA Michael Rosenbaum doing a Christopher Walken impression; while a good impression, I wasn’t exactly expecting it to come out of that character’s design.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is not only one of the best Batman movies I’ve seen, it’s also a good movie in its own right. The art direction is handled really well and the writing makes it so even those unfamiliar with Batman Beyond are able to get into it, plus it’s interesting to see what lengths the Joker will go to just to get another shot at fighting Batman. I would highly recommend this movie to Batman fans, especially those more familiar with Batman Beyond, though non-fans and animation fans will be able to enjoy it as well.