History WesternAnimation / BatmanBeyond

[[{{AmbiguousTimePeriod}} 40-50-something years]] [[{{TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture}} in the future]] of the ''Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse'', {{Franchise/Batman}} no longer patrols Gotham City, [[RetiredBadass having hung up the cape and cowl]] after his deteriorating health forced him to [[BatmanGrabsAGun break one of his most important rules]]. Crime eventually returns to overtake Gotham, this time in the form of [[{{Film/TheWarriors}} Warriors-style]] street gangs who base their identities around Batman's former archenemies. The most prominent of these groups, The Jokerz, have a chance encounter with a teenager named Terry [=McGinnis=] (voiced by Creator/WillFriedle), who gets chased by the clowns right to the outskirts of Wayne Manor. An aged and reclusive Bruce Wayne (still voiced by Creator/KevinConroy) comes to Terry's aid, but the fight takes its toll on the former superhero. Terry helps Bruce back into Wayne Manor, but soon stumbles upon the Batcave and learns the secret of the Batman.

''Beyond'' had its own spinoff comic book for a while in the late 1990s, and DC published a mini-series based on the show in the early 2010s. In 2013, DC released three new digital comic series based on (but not in direct continuity with) the series: ''Batman Beyond'', ''Superman Beyond'', and ''Justice League Unlimited Beyond''. ''Superman Beyond'' was cancelled first, and the others followed in late 2014. DC's post-''Comicbook/{{Convergence}}'' relaunch featured a new ''Batman Beyond'' ongoing series. For the tropes featured in those comic book adaptations, check out [[ComicBook/BatmanBeyond the appropriate page]]. ''Beyond'' also spawned a spinoff animated series in ''WesternAnimation/TheZetaProject''.

* AffirmativeActionLegacy: The Justice League Unlimited has Micron, who is the African American successor of ComicBook/TheAtom, Warhawk, the biracial son of [[spoiler:John Stewart and Shayera Hol]] and Kai-Ro, the new Tibetan Franchise/GreenLantern of Earth.

* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: The "Terrific Trio", three people who gained superpowers in a [[FreakLabAccident scientific accident]]. The whole thing was a parody/deconstruction of the Comicbook/FantasticFour. They were similar enough that the tie-in comics couldn't use them for fear of litigation from Marvel.

** The production team went out of their way to avert making obvious expies of classic Batman villains (like making, say, "Robo-Penguin") but sometimes made them vaguely similar (the shape-shifting Inque echoing Clayface, the illusion-casting/ mind controlling Spellbinder mirroring Mad Hatter, the evil businessman Derek Powers like Lex Luthor). Fans have also noted that many of them have mirrors with Franchise/SpiderMan villains (Derek Powers = Norman Osborn, Inque = Venom, False Face = Chameleon, Stalker = Kraven, Shriek = Shocker, Spellbinder = Mysterio, etc)

** When {{Franchise/Superman}} shows up for the episode "The Call," the theme from ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' plays.

** Happened at least twice; once when a gang of Jokerz decided it would be a good idea to attack Bruce Wayne, and again when Inque took a hostage who turned out to be Franchise/{{Superman}}. Both instances ended [[CurbStompBattle how you would expect]].

** Also in "The Call", Terry has to deal with a brainwashed Franchise/{{Superman}} and asks how fast the Batmobile could go. When Bruce answers "Mach 3", Terry asks if that's "faster than a speeding bullet".

* TripleShifter: Terry has a lot of trouble pulling this off. Bruce did not have half as many things to juggle when he became Franchise/{{Batman}}--school, family, and a steady girlfriend not being things he had to worry about--and he does not seem to understand why Terry can not be on call every minute of every day and night.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: One would think that in 10 years time, the fanfiction writers would learn how to spell Terry's last name right, but sadly, many of them still cannot. The most common misspelling being "[=McGuinness=]" because that is the usual spelling but... seriously, fandom, Google is your friend.

* MeaningfulName: The deadly and proficient silent masked assassin, Curaré. Curaré is also the name for a poisonous plant used by South American native peoples to tip their arrows.

* MakeMeWannaShout: Shriek. His weapons of choice are sound-modifying generators in a mechanized suit that can shoot out vibrations strong enough to shatter concrete, but it does have other uses too, like deafening his surroundings so Batman can't hear him coming.

The Gotham City of the mid-twenty-first century has the look and feel of an archetypal CyberPunk setting, though some Noir remnants that were present back in the ''Batman: TAS'' still show up. Gotham still has its old feel -- [[WretchedHive crowded, corrupt, and dirty as all hell]] -- but now some cars can fly, and that includes the Batmobile. Wayne-Powers Enterprises lacks the philanthropic ideals from when Bruce ran the company and Derek Powers hates the new Batman's interference in his less-savory endeavors — and when Terry eventually causes Powers's transformation into the radioactive supervillain Blight, that hatred grows far more personal.

Warner Bros. produced [[TheMovie a direct-to-DVD feature]], ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'', that bridges the gap in time between the end of ''Justice League'' and the start of ''Batman Beyond''. The film details Batman's final fight with The Joker and provides deeper reasons for why he eventually gave up the role of Batman. Creator/MarkHamill reprised his role as "The Clown Prince of Crime", to boot.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** The series somewhat deconstructs the lifestyle of Batman and his RoguesGallery, and it shows how it would affect them in the long run. To the point where he has to quit due to the his failing health and age catching up with him. On top of that, being MarriedToTheJob, he never really developed any of the romantic relationships, or in fact, any relationships.
*** Being Batman isn't fun or exciting. It can take a toll on your social life and its filled with nothing but tragedy, as Terry quickly discovers.
** Although he pulled it off many times, not even [[JokerImmunity the Joker]] can keep cheating death when he is living the way he does. He ends up dying rather graphically [[spoiler: twice]]. And unlike the comics, although it may vary, this version doesn't romanticize the Joker in any way. In fact it showcases just how horrifying the Joker could actually be once you get pass his FauxAffablyEvil behavior. Likewise for that matter despite Joker seemly always being able to keeps control, he can just as easily fall to psychological mind games. In this case all it takes is for Terry to heckle him as if the Joker was a actual comedian.
** Bane's lifetime of using Venom catches up to him in a nasty way, with his body becoming so dependent on it that he is left a wheelchair-bound vegetable.
** Just because [[PrisonsAreGymnasiums you bulked up in juvie]] doesn't mean you are automatically a better fighter, as [[spoiler: Willie]] have found out when trying to beat his former bully in a fist fight.

* AcademyOfAdventure: Hamilton Hill High School is this in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' is perhaps an unintended example (in-universe, of course). Aside from Terry "Batman" [=McGinnis=] and Max "RecklessSidekick" Gibson, this school has a Flash Thompson-esque JerkJock, a LovableAlphaBitch who seems to attract trouble, a student who dated a sexy psycho robot, a student whose step-father had a short career as a villain, a student whose thought-to-have-been-dead birth father tried to kill her adopted father, an avid gamer who almost helps a villain kill someone, no less than four students who are villains, a coach who attacked Batman in an attempt to protect his [[SuperSerum Venom]]-using students, ''and'' a guidance counselor who moonlit as a super villain until he turned to supervillainy full time when he was fired from his job at the school.

* ButtMonkey: Nelson gets victimized kind of a whole freaking lot. [[KickTheSonOfABitch He rather deserves it, though.]]

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids Soooo many]].

* FantasticDrug: the show ''loved'' this trope, which gives us very dark episodes, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids laced with terrifying imagery]].

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Ian Peek needs Bruce's help. He even offers to give up the footage he has of him and Terry if Bruce will just fix his [[spoiler:intangibility problem]]. Bruce just turns around and walks away, prompting Peek to try to kill him. This is right after Bruce realizes that [[spoiler:[[MoralEventHorizon Peek stole the intangibility device and murdered its inventor]].]] (Seeing as the problem was visibly spreading even while Bruce was looking at it, he likely realized that there was no way Peek could be helped in time, but neither did he bother to explain any of that to Peek.)

%%* AcademyOfAdventure: Hamilton Hill High School.

* InverseLawOfUtilityAndLethality: In "April Moon", Terry is up against three villains who fight with deadly prosthetic limbs: one [[WhipItGood whips metal tentacles]] from his wrists, one can encase himself in {{powered armor}} and one has [[ChainsawGood chainsaws on his elbows and knees]]. Guess which of the three goes down without landing a single hit on the bat. Granted, the placement of the chainsaws makes their use in combat awkward at best -- Kneejerk's primary function seemed to be slicing open safes and vault doors.

* UptownGirl: Dana's [[OverProtectiveDad father]] is less than happy about her relationship with Terry, although it has less to do with their socioeconomic (and racial) differences and more to do with Terry's criminal record.

* OverprotectiveDad: Dana's father is very disapproving of her relationship with Terry, primarily because of Terry's criminal record.

** Ma Mayhem. She doesn't treat either of her sons well, and effectively berates them for suggesting they steal more valuable loot when [[Hypocrite all she wants is a set of rubies]] she had stolen earlier in her career.

* BaitAndSwitch: In one of the later episodes, Dana confronts Terry after being blown off again, stating she has figured out why her boyfriend's been brushing her off for Bruce as she has picked up "certain signs". Terry panics, thinking Dana had figured out he's Batman, but then she says Terry must hve grown attached to Bruce as a replacement father figure after the murder of his dad, so she really can't hold it against him. Terry is relieved and just goes with it.

** Although he pulled it off many times, not even [[JokerImmunity the Joker]] can keep cheating death when he is living the way he does. He ends up dying rather graphically [[spoiler: twice]]. And unlike the comics, although it may vary, this version doesn't romanticize the Joker in any way. In fact it showcases just how horrifying the Joker could actually be. Likewise for that matter despite Joker seemly always keeps control, can just as easily fall to psychological mind games. In this case all it takes is for Terry to heckle him as if the Joker was a actual comedian.

** Ma Mayhem. She doesn't treat either of her sons well, and effectively berates them for suggesting they steal more valuable loot when all she wants is a set of rubies she had stolen earlier in her career.

** Although he pulled it off many times, not even [[JokerImmunity the Joker]] can keep cheating death when he is living the way he does. He ends up dying rather graphically [[spoiler: twice]]. And unlike the comics, although it may vary, this version doesn't romanticize the Joker in any way. In fact it showcases just how horrifying the Joker could actually be.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: In their final appearance, the terrorist organization Kobra planned to cause severe global warming and then rule the warmer Earth as dinosaur people. The reasoning for this being that dinosaurs were cold-blooded and couldn't survive in the present climate; which would be fine... if dinosaurs actually were cold-blooded. Even at the time the episode was produced, there was plenty of evidence that at least some dinosaurs were warm-blooded to a degree[[note]]Film/JurassicPark, the primary source of the average person's awareness of dinosaur warm-bloodedness, had come out over 5 years earlier, giving the writers no excuse for not being aware of this advancement in paleontology[[/note]] (particularly theropods, which were the type the cult members spliced with), and nowadays it's considered very likely that most if not all were endothermic, with many species that are known to have lived in temperate or even polar habitats. After this plan is stopped their leader, Zander, (who appeared to have been spliced with a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'') [[VillainousBreakdown overreacts to the point where it seems like the temperature of the climate would kill him in less than 15 minutes]]. Even if a dinosaur the size of a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' was cold-blooded, it would still be able to maintain its internal body temperature through something called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantothermy gigantothermy or bulk homeothermy]].
** Then again, they are a cult of crazy, apocalyptic extremists who turn themselves into dinosaur hybrids. Actual science and logic probably aren't that high on their list of priorities.

** Batman Beyond: Neo-Year'', a 2022 miniseries where an adult Terry has to face being active as Batman without the deceased Bruce Wayne's guidance.

* RiddleForTheAges: The show-runners intentionally avoided answering what became of many of the characters from ''Batman: The Animated Series'', because they felt having too many {{Call Back}}s would've been using nostalgia as a crutch. Only a few, like Mister Freeze and Ra's al Ghul appear, but mostly because they're immortal and have an excuse. Bane also makes a cameo, but only to service a DrugsAreBad moral, showing how he became a decrepit vegetable that needs to constantly be pumped with Venom just to keep breathing.

* AcademyOfAdventure: Hamilton Hill High School.
* ActionGirl: Barbara still has it.
** Max gets in on the action quite a few times. She saves Terry's life twice in the show's run.

* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: The "Terrific Trio", three people who gained superpowers in a [[FreakLabAccident scientific accident]]. The whole thing was a parody/deconstruction of the Comicbook/FantasticFour.

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Matt [=McGinnis=].
* AntiVillain: Mr. Freeze, the Terrific Trio, Armory and Starro all had sympathetic motives to their crimes.

* AxCrazy: Mad Stan is ''mad''. Being voiced by Music/HenryRollins will do that for you.

* BadassAndBaby: Kinda, it wasn't a real baby, it was a [[EggSitting fake egg shaped baby]].

* BeastMan: "Splicers" invokes the genesplicing arm of this trope, oddly enough as a popular fad among teens ranging from AnimalEyes and noticeable horns, scales, fangs all the way to a [[HalfHumanHybrid humanoid chimera]] and [[BodyHorror repulsive mass of mixed up flesh]].

** Toxic waste covers Earthmover, turning him into a living corpse embedded in the earth, with flourescent green toxic waste "blood vessels" extending from his body into the earth around him, controlling it.

** Charlie "Bigtime" Bigelow, after being doused in an unstable mutagen, turns into an overmuscled creature.

* BoringInsult

* BrattyHalfPint:
** Terry's younger brother, Matt [=McGinnis=].
** DAK, a one-off character from "Where's Terry?"

* CaneFu: Bruce's weapon of choice sometimes.

* CliffHanger: Most two part episodes.
* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Lacking Bruce's twenty years of intensive training, Terry depends initially on his powered exoskeleton batsuit; inverted in one episode where he proves he is just as good out of it, and actually has to fight the suit. In a bit of continuity backfilling, the DVD movie ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMysteryOfTheBatwoman'' essentially explained where Bruce Wayne got both the idea and technology underlying the Beyond suit.

* CombatPragmatist: Terry, especially in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker''.

* ContractOnTheHitman: [[spoiler:Curaré]]

* CoolCar: The Batmobile, and now it ''[[FlyingCar flies]]!''

-->'''Terry''': She's heading upstairs! ''(Bruce pushes a button, doors close.)''\\

** Inverted with Shriek, who actually tried to make legitimate money off his inventions and became a criminal in order to secure funding for his research.

* DamageIsFire: After taking heavy fire and falling several stories, a robot ends up a flaming wreck on the pavement. [[spoiler: Said robot had created the flames through an hologram and relied on [[TheCoconutEffect the belief of the NSA agents that this was normal]] to convice them to break line of sight to rush to retrieve his wreckage.]]
* DangerRoomColdOpen: "Terry's Friend Dates a Robot" opens with him training against Robotic versions of Classic Batman villains.
* DarkActionGirl: Curaré.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Can you believe that this show, which featured a character's father being murdered and a colleague dying from nerve-gas ''in the first episode'', was originally [[LighterAndSofter pitched as a kiddy Batman targeted towards kids]]?
** This series manages to be ''even darker'' than [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries its predecessor]].

* DeceptiveDisciple: Paxton Powers and Deanna Clay.

* DisownedAdaptation: A hilarious InUniverse example in "Out of the Past", Terry takes Bruce to see "Batman: The Musical" for his birthday. Bruce absolutely hates it.

* DistantSequel: The series takes place decades in the future of the ''Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse'', as an aging and retired Bruce Wayne trains a new Batman.

* EggSitting: "The Eggbaby". And you can bet that Terry hates it.

* ElevatorActionSequence: In the episode "Payback".
* EmotionlessGirl: Tamara in "Mind Games", at first.

* EyeLightsOut

* FallingIntoTheCockpit: In "Joyride", the Jokerz have no issues at all in piloting the top-secret military gunship they steal.

** The episode about "Splicers" which ended with the Big Bad injecting himself with so much animal DNA he mutated in a gigantic blob-crab-monster. Yikes!

** "Schway" is a general slang term meaning good or cool.

* GangstaStyle: Used very briefly by a Jokerz member in ''Hidden Agenda''.

* GeneralRipper: General Norman in "Heroes".

* GoGoEnslavement: Max in "Curse of Kobra part 2". Which Terry [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]]: "Nice outfit."
* GoodIsOldFashioned: When Shriek tries to sell Darek Powers his sound wave technology as a tool for demolition he gets turned down. While Powers is impressed, dynamite is cheaper and just as effective.

** Another episode features more conventional drugs, essentially steroids taken like nicotine patches called "slappers." [[spoiler: It turned out that they're based on Bane's venom, which by this time has rendered him an invalid]].

* HarmlessVillain

* HighSchoolSweethearts: Terry and Dana

* HumongousMecha: The Golem. Also, some of Bruce's spare costumes.
* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: The Stalker in "Bloodsport".

* ImmoralJournalist: Ian Peek from "Sneak Peek" is a sleazy, but renowned and well-regarded reporter who would probably be writing stories for a low-class tabloid if he hadn't stolen a belt that gives him intangibility, which he got by murdering the inventor.

* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: That now give super-strength and limited invisibility.

* JokerImmunity: Subverted. Although he pulled it off many times, not even the Joker can keep cheating death when he is living the way he does. He ends up dying rather graphically [[spoiler: twice.]]

* KidHeroAllGrownUp

* LargeAndInCharge: Ma Mayhem and Big Time.

* LovableNerd: Maxine and Howard.

* MakeMeWannaShout: Shriek.

* MindRape: Happens to Terry twice in "Hooked Up" and "Mind Games".

* MurderInc: The Society of Assassins.

* NoPaperFuture: It does exist, but is very rarely used.

* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:Inque.]]

* OneBadMother: Ma Mayhem from "Eggbaby".
* OneManArmy: Armory provides a very good example of this.

* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent

* PartingWordsRegret: Terry's last conversation with his father was an argument.

* PsychicPowers: Willy Watt and the members of the Brain Trust.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Mr. Freeze.]]

* RightHandAttackDog: Ace is a heroic example.

* SayingTooMuch: This is how Terry almost immediately proves that [[spoiler:Willie Watt]] is responsible for the strange occurences at their high school.

* SecretKeeper: Max and, later, [[spoiler:Dana]].

* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler:Inque's daughter killed her to gain control of her bank accounts... or so she thought]].

* SensualSpandex: Ten

* SilenceIsGolden: The fight with Shriek in the car factory.

* StoodUp: Dana, perpetually.

* TallDarkAndSnarky: Terry.
* {{Technopath}}: Willy Watt.

* {{Tomboy}}: Maxine.
** TomboyishName: Or just "Max" will be fine.

* {{Tykebomb}}: [[spoiler:Terry]].

* WalkingWasteland: Blight.
* WasItReallyWorthIt: Terry says this in "Heroes", after being forced to kill the Terrific Trio.

* WeaksauceWeakness: Inque is a Terminator-like juggernaut, nearly [[CurbStompBattle unstoppable]] in normal combat. But expose her even to a gentle drizzle, and she falls apart and dissolves.
--> "Poor [[{{Pun}} diluted]] fool."

** The Earth Mover.
** Mr. Freeze, as always.
** The Terrific Trio.

* WretchedHive: Neo Gotham is one, despite Batman's years of crimefighting efforts. After decades of being filled with crime, crazed gangs, and all sorts of baddies, it's a wonder why anyone still lives there at all.

* {{Zeerust}}: The producers were correctly able to predict that cell phones would be commonplace, though in the show, they still look very much like 90s cellphones. They were unable to predict that within ten years of the show being made, cell phones would be used for damn near ''everything'' or that they will render public payphones obsolete.

* NoPronunciationGuide: Referenced in "Out of the Past".
-->'''Terry:''' Guess I got caught up in old Roz here.\\
'''Talia:''' ''Raysh''-al-Ghul was a man of many contrasts [...]
** WordOfGod from Ra's al Ghul's creator has it that "Raysh" ''is'' the correct pronunciation. Arabic linguists around the world tossed their arms up in anger, but the Word has been given.

** Ma Mayhem.

* {{Flanderization}}: Dana starts out as a sweet, friendly, teasing, mostly understanding girlfriend who tries to deal with Terry's new priorities and sometimes loses her patience and temper with his absences. By the second season, nagging him is almost all she does, with very little of the teasing tone she used to have. Justified; Dana would logically get more annoyed with Terry ditching her over time.

* SexBot: "Terry's Friend Dates a Robot" involves Howie, a friend of Terry's, flat-out buying a SexBot. Rather than exploit the traditional way, however, he used it as a means to make himself more popular at school and thus get a living hot chick as a girlfriend. The Sex Bot [[MurderTheHypotenuse did not take this well]].

* SolomonDivorce: Terry lived with his father & Matt with his mother.

* StrawmanPolitical: Anarchist caricature Mad Stan.

* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection

** [[spoiler:Queen from the Royal Flush Gang.]]