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''Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker'' (also known as ''Batman of the Future: Return of the Joker'' in Europe and Australia) is a 2000 direct-to-video animated film featuring the comic book superhero Batman and his archenemy, the Joker. It is set in the continuity of the animated series ''Batman Beyond'', in which Bruce Wayne has retired from crime fighting, giving the mantle of Batman to high school student Terry McGinnis, and serves as a sequel to both ''Batman: The Animated Series'' and ''The New Batman Adventures''. As in the TV series, Will Friedle and Kevin Conroy star as Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne, respectively. Mark Hamill, who played the Joker opposite Conroy in ''Batman: The Animated Series'' and ''The New Batman Adventures'', reprises his role. Before its release, the movie was heavily edited to remove scenes of extreme violence, and some dialogue was altered, thus creating the "Not-Rated" version of the movie. The original version was subsequently released on DVD following an online petition to have the original version released. It received a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for violence, the first animated Batman film and from Warner Bros. Family Entertainment to do so. Mephisto Odyssey and Static-X contributed the song "Crash (The Humble Brothers Remix)" on the film's soundtrack, along with a music video directed by Len Wiseman featured on the DVD. ==Plot== In Neo-Gotham City, the Joker mysteriously resurfaces after having disappeared 35 years ago, taking over a faction of the criminal gang Jokerz. On his orders, they steal high-tech communications equipment. Despite the intervention of Terry McGinnis (Bruce Wayne's successor as Batman), the Joker escapes. Bruce insists that the Joker must be an impostor, claiming to have witnessed the Joker's death after their last battle. Unwilling to let Terry face the Joker—impostor or not—Bruce demands that he return the Batsuit. The Joker attacks Bruce in the Batcave, leaving him for dead. Terry, after fending off an attack from the Jokerz, finds Bruce near dead from the Joker's trademark toxin and quickly administers an antidote, tending to Bruce with the help of Barbara Gordon, who is now the commissioner of the GCPD. At Terry's insistence, Barbara reluctantly tells him what really happened to the Joker. Decades earlier, after Nightwing (Dick Grayson) moved to the adjoining city of Blüdhaven to fight crime on his own, the Joker and Harley Quinn kidnapped Tim Drake, Dick's successor as Robin, disfigured him to look like the Joker, and tortured him for three weeks, at which point Tim revealed Batman's secrets. During the final battle, although the Joker attempted to make Tim kill Batman, Tim (because a trace of his former self remained) turned on the Joker and killed him before suffering a mental breakdown. Batman and Batgirl (Barbara) buried the Joker's body in a mineshaft deep beneath Arkham Asylum, while Harley fell into a pit while fighting Batgirl and was presumed dead. One year after the incident, Tim was successfully rehabilitated, but Bruce forbade Tim from being Robin again, blaming himself for what happened and vowing to never again endanger another young partner. Tim eventually settled down with a wife and family and now has a career as a communications engineer. In the Batcave, Terry's investigation leads him to deduce that Tim must be working with the Joker. The equipment the Joker has been stealing can be combined to form a machine that can take control of any satellite, including an orbiting military satellite with an automated defense system, and fire it at will. Terry thinks only a communications expert of Tim’s caliber can build it. Although skeptical, Bruce sends Terry to question Tim. The Joker, who confirms that he and Tim are working together, lures Terry into a trap. After escaping, Terry tracks the Joker to the abandoned Jolly Jack Candy Factory. After fighting off the Jokerz, he finds Tim, who transforms into the Joker before his eyes. When the Joker kidnapped Tim, he secretly implanted a microchip built from cutting-edge genetics technology (revealed later to have been stolen from Project Cadmus) into Tim's brain. The chip carries the Joker's consciousness and genetic material, allowing him to transform Tim into a clone of him at will, eventually becoming strong enough to permanently control his body. The Joker prepares to fire the satellite to kill Terry's girlfriend Dana Tan, his family and Bruce before destroying the city, but Terry sets Bruce's dog, Ace, on him. Terry knocks the Joker's joy buzzer into the controls, destroying the beam's guidance system and causing it to head to the factory. The Joker attempts to escape, but Terry seals the factory. The two fight, but the Joker is a formidable opponent since he possesses all of Tim's extensive training from Bruce when he was Robin. Terry improvises by taunting the Joker's obsession with Bruce, sending the villain into fury to put him off balance. The fight ends when Terry, having covertly retrieved the Joker's joy buzzer, delivers a shock to the Joker's neck, destroying the chip and reverting Tim to his old self, destroying the Joker forever. Terry escapes with Tim and Ace before the satellite destroys the factory and the satellite-jamming device. The satellite is deactivated and floats into outer space. Later, while visiting Tim in the hospital, Bruce acknowledges to Terry that he is worthy to carry the mantle of Batman. The film ends with Terry donning the Batsuit and flying off into the heart of the city. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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