Batman Beyond walked a fine line between establishing the new Batman, Terry McGinnis, and providing closure for the old one, Bruce Wayne. This meant that for every new villain or supporting character the series introduced, there was just as likely to be episodes featuring classic Batman characters.
However, the desire for new characters meant there wasn’t room for all the classics. Here are 10 significant characters in Bruce Wayne’s life who didn’t make the cut for Batman Beyond.
10 Wonder Woman’s Absence Is Glaring But Explainable
In Justice League (Unlimited), Wonder Woman and Batman develop a mutual romantic interest; they don’t go further only due to Bruce’s reticence. Though Justice League (Unlimited) precedes Batman Beyond chronologically, it was produced and aired afterward. Wonder Woman’s absence is thus only noticeable in retrospect, one moment in particular; during Batman Beyond episode “Out Of The Past,” Bruce nostalgically looks over photos of his past loves, but Diana is nowhere to be seen.
However, Wonder Woman was considered to appear as part of the future Justice League in Batman Beyond two-parter “The Call;” Big Barda took her place in the final episode. There are also the Batman Beyond Universe comics, which reveal Diana departed for the Justice Lords’ universe and even married that world’s Batman.
9 In The DCAU, Cassandra Cain Never Became Batgirl
Cassandra Cain, the biological daughter of assassins Lady Shiva & David Cain and the adopted daughter of Batman, is one of the many heroes who has worn the identity of “Batgirl.” She was first introduced in 1999’s “No Man’s Land;” since she hadn’t been created while Batman The Animated Series & The New Batman Adventures were airing and was still freshly introduced while Batman Beyond was, there was no opportunity for her to appear on any of them.
Cassandra’s only DCAU appearance was a silent cameo in the alternate reality of Justice League episode “The Savage Time.” Since in the DCAU, Bruce never took on another apprentice after the Joker tortured Tim Drake, it appears the main timeline’s Cassandra never got a chance to be Batgirl.
8 Several Classic Villains Returned – The Scarecrow Wasn’t One Of Them
Many of Bruce’s old rogue’s gallery reared their heads back up to menace Terry. Some particularly memorable reappearances included Mr. Freeze in Meltdown, Ra’s Al Ghul in “Out Of The Past”, and the Joker in the fittingly-titled film Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker. One villain who didn’t reappear was Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow; he didn’t even have the honor of getting a dummy of his likeness in the Batcave.
However, the New 52 Batman Beyond comic introduced a new version of the Scarecrow; a woman named Adalyn Stern who takes up Crane’s old persona and methods.
7 Clayface’s Immortality Didn’t Earn Him An Appearance
Another villain who never appeared was Clayface. His absence is even more glaring than Crane’s, considering his mutated physiology would’ve granted him an enhanced lifespan. However, Terry did face another shape-shifting villain; an assassin/saboteur named Inque, who became one of his most dangerous and recurring adversaries. Inque’s presence seemingly made a Clayface reappearance redundant.
6 Unlike Her Partner In Crime, Poison Ivy Never Showed Up
Return Of The Joker provides closure for Harley Quinn; after the Clown Prince Of Crime’s death, Harley was able to move on and reform. The details of her life afterward aren’t spelled out, but it seems that she found love (hopefully with someone much less toxic than her ex) and definitely lived to old age. She wasn’t able to completely escape her past, however; her twin granddaughters Delia & Deidre “Dee Dee” Dennis joined the Jokerz gang.
One character who doesn’t appear in Batman Beyond, however, was Harley’s other partner-in-crime: Poison Ivy. Like Clayface, Ivy’s more-than-human biology could’ve provided an explanation for her to show up in proper villainous form, but it appears the writers weren’t interested in that happening.
5 There Was No Resolution For Harvey Dent’s Struggles As Two-Face
The most glaring and tragic absence in Batman Beyond is Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face. Harvey had been one of Bruce’s only friends prior to his disfigurement, and Bruce wanted deeply to help see Two-Face’s rehabilitation through. Two-Face’s last appearance, “Judgement Day,” ends with him worse than ever, locked in Arkham after having developed a third personality. With no mention of Harvey in Batman Beyond, viewers can only assume that he never recovered; the permanent loss of their friendship would certainly be another straw in breaking the back of Bruce’s hope.
4 Alfred Had Long Since Passed Away
Alfred Pennyworth practically raised Bruce Wayne as his own son after the tragic death of the boys’ parents. With Bruce being 80-years old during Batman Beyond, the natural, and saddening conclusion was that Alfred was long dead by the time of the series. It’s even indicated that he’d already passed before Bruce’s last night as Batman, depicted in Beyond’s opening scene.
Alfred wasn’t entirely forgotten though. When complimented on his tea-making skills, Bruce remarks “I learned from the best,” and once Terry’s friend Max becomes his crime-fighting tech support, he jokingly calls her “Alfred.”
3 Commissioner Jim Gordon Had Been Succeeded By His Daughter Barbara
Alfred wasn’t the only one of Bruce’s former allies who’d passed during Batman Beyond‘s time frame; there was also Commissioner Jim Gordon, Batman’s greatest ally in the Gotham Police. The series did have a Commissioner Gordon, however, specifically Barbara Gordon, Jim’s daughter and the former Batgirl.
This made Barbara the only other member of the past Bat-family to have a regular presence in Beyond aside from Bruce himself. However, it took a while for Bruce and Barbara’s relationship to repair itself, and the new Commissioner was much more apprehensive about supporting Terry than her father had been the original Batman.
2 Catwoman’s Absence Had Saddening Implications
When Terry becomes involved with Melanie Walker, aka Ten of the Royal Flush Gang, Bruce advises “Let me tell you about a woman named Selina Kyle.” Alas, it appears that Batman & Catwoman’s differences were too vast for their mutual attraction to ever overcome; an occasional reference is the only appearances Selina puts in during Beyond. The story which became “Epilogue” in Justice League Unlimited was originally conceived with Catwoman as the mastermind behind Terry’s creation, but the role ultimately fell to Amanda Waller instead.
1 Unlike Barbara & Tim, Dick Grayson Never Reconciled With Bruce
Dick Grayson had a role of steadily increasing prominence as Robin in B:TAS, but as revealed in “Old Wounds,” he became fed up both with Bruce’s darker crimefighting instincts and secrecy; this culminated in him punching his mentor then quitting. He returned to Gotham a few years later as Nightwing, but he and Bruce only grudgingly worked together.
Bruce begins Batman Beyond estranged from all his former partners, but unlike Barbara & Tim, Dick never appears in the series, meaning Bruce never gets the chance to mend fences with him. Despite this, Barbara indicates that Dick is still alive and recommends Terry get in touch with him someday; this paid off in the Batman Beyond comics, where Dick finally returned.
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