| “ | "I've been phys - and psych - evaled every two weeks. There's been no sign of Joker - ware in my body, and no residual brain anomalies. I'm free of the Joker... of all off it... for good." | „ |
| ~ (Tim Drake explains to Terry McGinnis that he is completely free from Joker possession). |
The Joker is one of the two overarching antagonists (along with Hush) of the 2010 DC Comic miniseries Batman Beyond Vol. 3: Hush Beyond, which is based on the DCAU animated series Batman Beyond. He is one of the many iterations of the eponymous super-villainous archenemy of Batman.
History[]
Since Hush Beyond was the first comic book that attempted to merge the mainstream continuity of DC Comics with that of the Batman Beyond series, posing as a possible future of the pre-Flashpoint continuity, this version of the Joker should have had the same history as said continuity, therefore going through events such as The Killing Joke, A Death in the Family or The Long Halloween ecc.
At an unspecified point in the present, the Joker kidnapped Alfred Pennyworth, forcing Batman and Nightwing to hunt him down to Gotham's steelworks. In an ensuing battle, the Joker gunned down Nightwing with a modified Hunziker J-08 before fleeing with Alfred, leaving Nightwing near death. Though the latter survived (although blind in his right eye and with a bullet lodged in his spine), the Joker's attack nevertheless forced him to hang up his Nightwing costume and retire, and the episode created a rift between him and Bruce, who had already been shaken by the deaths of Jason Todd and Silver St. Cloud.
Prior to Return of the Joker[]
Sometime after his arrest, the Joker escaped and, as he was deciding that the "game" between him and Batman was getting old, devised one last plan aimed at the Bat "family." After Dick Grayson left for Bludhaven, the Joker kidnapped Tim Drake, Dick and Jason's successor as Robin, while the Boy Wonder was alone on patrol. Suddenly hearing a woman scream, he immediately rushed to her aid, unaware that the distressed woman was actually a disguised Harley Quinn, and Tim fell into her trap before being taken by the Joker to Arkham Asylum, which was now in ruins, decommissioned and slated for demolition. While Batman and a recovered Barbara Gordon, now Batgirl, desperately searched for the boy, the Joker sadistically tortured and brainwashed Tim for three weeks. After several serum injections and electric shocks, Tim revealed all of his secrets to the Clown Prince of Crime, including the fact that Batman is actually Bruce Wayne. Joker then completed the "transformation" by brainwashing Tim and genetically altering his appearance, as well as combining their DNA, which resulted in Tim being turned into a child-version of the Joker called "Joker Junior" (or "JJ" for short).
When Batman and Batgirl arrived at Arkham Asylum, they were horrified of what had become of Tim. While Batgirl battled Harley Quinn, Batman went after the Joker, who showed Batman in the operating room a documentary called "Our Family Memories", which features Tim's torture, all in order to crush Batman's spirit.
Vowing to break the Joker, the enraged Dark Knight engaged in a final showdown with the Clown Prince of Crime. Having successfully provoked Batman, Joker plunged a knife into his knee, paralyzing his nemesis. When Joker has JJ kill him, however, as he was unable to fully transform him, JJ, instead of shooting Batman, shot and mortally wounded the Joker, "delivering the punchline". A shocked by the unexpected attack, the Joker's final words were "That's not funny... That's not..." before he took his last breath and collapsed from his fatal wound, dead. Tim then suffered a mental breakdown while Batgirl tried to comfort him. Batgirl later noted that it took intensive therapy with Leslie Thompkins to reverse the effects of Joker's brainwashing on Drake. It has been suggested that the traumatic event caused Batman to sever ties not only with his immediate partners, but also with his allies in the Justice League.
Although he was buried deep beneath the remains of Arkham Asylum following his death, the Joker's latest attempt tainted the Bat Family, leading to the estrangement of all members of the family. Tim Drake would also suffer lasting trauma well into adulthood, despite regaining his sanity a year after Joker's death with help from Leslie Thompkins. Despite his death, the Joker's murderous legacy as a criminal mastermind would live on for years to come. While the residents of Gotham City were free of the villain, several gangs of teenage street thugs were formed to honor the Clown Prince of Crime's destructive legacy, most notably J-Man and Terminal, though these groups, unlike the Joker, mostly consist of petty criminals and rarely killed people.
Unbeknownst to anyone, the Joker's greatest experiment on Tim Drake involved using stolen cutting-edge genetic technology to encode his own DNA into a microchip implanted in his victim's upper spinal cord. Forty years later, the Joker's subconscious awakened and began taking control of Tim's body, plotting a comeback. If Drake's family ever became concerned, he would simply call Tim's wife in his host's voice, telling her he would be working late.
Using Drake's knowledge of communications, Joker carried out a series of corporate thefts using a subset of Jokerz members. He then broke into Bruce Wayne's "Welcome Back" party with his Jokerz group, both to steal the last piece of equipment needed (a systems scanner) and to reveal to all of Gotham City (Wayne included) that he was "back in town". He later sent his minions to kill Terry McGinnis (though it is never explained how the Joker knew Terry was Batman) while Joker himself personally broke into Wayne Manor and attacked Bruce Wayne, inoculating him with his venom. He also kicked Bruce's dog, Ace, and ensured that Drake's old Robin costume was torn to pieces, vandalizing Wayne Manor in the process, nearly killing Wayne if Terry hadn't provided him with an antidote that Wayne had previously hidden.
With the stolen communications technology, Joker created a satellite jammer and hijacked control of a Hyperion-class defense satellite orbiting the planet, so he could impose his will on Gotham. His first target was his ally Jordan Pryce's yacht, after sending his Jokerz to "turn a blind eye" by trapping him aboard. After Terry deduced that Drake was likely involved in Joker's plan, Joker predicted that Terry had deduced the connection and set a trap with a hologram of Drake, as well as a recording that activated after Terry touched the holographic representation of his victim, which "confirmed" that Drake had indeed joined Joker, as well as revealing that he intended to use the hijacked satellite to cause unspeakable acts of destruction on Gotham. Ultimately, he used the hijacked satellite to attack Terry, though not before McGinnis discovered his hideout.
Joker then reverted to his new body's owner's original form before trapping Terry with an electronic belt and then showing off his transformation into Joker to both him and Bruce. After unraveling the mystery of his rebirth, Joker planned to destroy the new Dark Knight's spirit by destroying Wayne Manor with Bruce, Terry's family and girlfriend inside, all while drawing a smiley face on the ashes of Gotham City. But before he could activate the satellite, Ace ambushed Joker and tackled the mad clown, freeing Terry in the process. Joker then used his joy buzzer to fend off a second attack from the Great Dane and moved to finish him off, but a kick to the jaw knocked his joy buzzer off his vital equipment.
After the jamming system accidentally redirected the satellite's laser directly into Joker's hideout, Joker mocked Terry and sarcastically thanked him for ruining his plan. The latter attempted to take Joker back to Arkham Asylum before the laser killed them both, but Joker refused and engaged in one last battle with Terry, using his host's knowledge of every trick the original Batman had taught Robin. However, Terry decided to "fight dirty" and, after punching Joker in the groin as proof that he was nothing like Bruce Wayne, began taunting and laughing at him. Insulting the Joker's supposedly poor attempt at jokes, gags, his general sense of humor, and even his own creation and obsession with Bruce, Terry knew that his predecessor had never insulted Joker's ego in such a manner, preferring to fight one-on-one in stoic silence. Terry's attitude drove Joker into a complete mental breakdown, and he began throwing everything he had at his disposal, including pocket bombs. Moments after the satellite beam hit the building, Terry used Joker's lethal joy buzzer against him, electrocuting him and incinerating the microchip encoded with his DNA on Drake's body. With the microchip reduced to ashes, Tim was restored, and the threat of the Joker was finally eliminated once and for all.
However, Tim Drake's possession by the Joker left a deep aftermath: after being freed, he went to great lengths to ensure that the Joker was truly gone, including putting himself under 24-hour surveillance. Due to his knowledge of the Bat Family, he became a suspect in the Hush murders. When Terry McGinnis interrogated him, he gave him his recordings and told him where to find Dick Grayson, who was also a person of interest.
Trivia[]
According to Kyle Higgins (writer of the Batman Beyond digital comics, later published in print as Batman Beyond Unlimited), Hush Beyond is the only new Batman Beyond series in continuity with the pre-Flashpoint mainstream DC Universe. Consequently, this version of the Joker, unlike the one mentioned in subsequent Batman Beyond comics, should be more faithful to the Joker from the mainstream comics, with no events (outside of Return of the Joker) from the DCAU involving him.
External Link[]
- Joker (Hush Beyond) - Detective Comics Wiki