A thousand years into the future, researchers try to excavate the Batcave to find a means of defeating a revived villain.
Meanwhile in Gotham about twenty years into the future, an elderly Bruce struggles to take down Mr. Freeze.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Accidental Misnaming: In the future, Gray keeps calling Mr. Freeze "Dr. Frost" and keeps getting corrected by everyone.
- And the Adventure Continues: Even though Batman is long gone, his mission and legacy continues with the future citizens of Gotham dedicating to protect their city much like he did.
- Crazy-Prepared: The archaeologists note that any computer Batman had would have gotten out of date, and its data storage would have decayed and become unreadable. They find the code engraved in titanium walls, however, that leads to a hologram.
- Dented Iron: Due to Bruce being in his fifties, he finds fighting villains much harder.
- Determinator: Despite getting older and more vulnerable, Batman refuses to back down when a villain is on the loose.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Nightwing asks Oracle to stop calling him Robin because he changed his moniker a decade ago. She jokes that she should say it three times to remember, and Batman still calls him Robin.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Downplayed; Nightwing is embarrassed that Oracle and Batman see him as the kid of their motley family and keep calling him Robin.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Moira pegged that Batman was Thomas Wayne, Robin was Bruce and Batgirl was Martha. She also believed that Barbara's wheelchair belonged to Alfred.
- Fling a Light into the Future: Batman left instructions on how to beat Mr. Freeze and presumably other tips on crime fighting etched in titanium for future generations to find.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: The episode consists of two subplots, one set a couple decades in the future (2027) and one set in the far future (3027).
- Future Imperfect: See Entertainingly Wrong: Interestingly, all the wrong conclusions are based on logical deduction. They just didn't have enough context to make complete sense of it.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Batman mused this as he used a diamond that Freeze wanted to steal to defeat him.
- Mythology Gag:
- The older Batman resembles the depiction in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Freeze greets him with that exact phrase.
- Barbara Gordon is now wheelchair-bound and functioning as Mission Control using the codename Oracle.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Having a Heroic Second Wind, Batman delivers a brutal beatdown against Freeze.
- Nothing Is Scarier: We never learn what injury led to Barbara using a wheelchair and switching from Action Girl to Gadgeteer Genius. Probably for the best, considering what happened to her in the comics.
- Oh, Crap!: Upon seeing Batman in the future, Mr. Freeze is legitimately terrified.
- Point of Divergence: Unlike in other timelines, Bruce and Dick never became estranged. While they banter, it's obvious Bruce still sees Dick as his child and calls him "Robin" fondly, even if Dick doesn't like being called that.
- Rugged Scar: Bruce would gain this at some point. Although what caused it is unknown.
- This Cannot Be!: Freeze's reaction to seeing Batman a thousand years in the future. (It turns out to be a holographic disguise, apparently intended to demoralize Freeze and/or honor Batman.)
- Too Dumb to Live: Someone in the future found Freeze and revived him.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: At first, it seemed like the subplot involving Batman's Final Battle with Freeze and the archaeologists exploring the remains of the Batcave aren't connected...until it's revealed that the archaeologists are on a mission to save the city from Freeze, meaning that the Batman subplot is actually an explanation for how Freeze ended up being around in 3027.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Bruce and Dick have this relationship as veteran heroes. Despite the fact that Batman still calls him "Robin" and Dick calls him "old man," they have each other's back and work together to defeat Mr. Freeze, with Oracle manning the Batmobile remotely.
