The 12 Best Batman Beyond Episodes, Ranked

"Batman: The Animated Series" is, for many fans, the definitive version of the Dark Knight, as it perfectly captured the essence of what made the character and his world in the comics work so well, while also adding fresh new elements to Batman's mythology. It was followed by "The New Batman Adventures" which, while not quite as strong as its predecessor, did a terrific job of expanding the Batman animated universe. Of course, when that series ended, fans were left wondering if the next iteration of the series would be able to live up to the high standards set by its forerunners. Luckily, the subsequent series was a worthwhile follow-up to the two previous "Batman" animated shows.

That show was "Batman Beyond." The premise, on its surface, is quite a departure from its comic book source material. While taking place in the same continuity as "Batman: The Animated Series" and "The New Batman Adventures," its key differentiator is that it's set in a high-tech future when Bruce Wayne is much older and has largely lost his edge, prompting him to give up the mantle of Batman. However, after a night of taking down some criminals with teenager Terry McGinnis, he decides to train the young man to continue his battle against crime. This series took the concept of Batman in a bold direction while retaining the elements that have made the character so beloved by so many fans for so many years. Here are its 12 best episodes:

Batman takes on the Royal Flush Gang — a crew of playing card-themed villains — and, while he's able to break up their robbery, is forced to let them go to save the lives of their hostages. Bruce Wayne orders Terry to return to the Batcave to bone up on his new nemeses, but Terry ignores Bruce's instructions so he can catch a date with Dana. However, Terry's tardiness is the final straw for Dana, and she breaks up with him. Luckily for Terry, he soon meets another girl, Melanie Walker, and the two instantly strike up a relationship. As usual, Terry can't seem to get a break in life: Melanie is a member of the Royal Flush Gang.

"Batman Beyond" is at its best when it marries teen problems with superhero problems. This episode gives us both in spades (no pun intended) as Terry's personal life is given plenty of attention in his romantic problems as well as his testy relationship with the older Bruce Wayne, while also giving us some spectacular chase scenes and no shortage of action. It's a wonderful character exploration, as Terry is forced to mature and learn how to make the best of the hand he's been dealt (pun totally intended). The unique friendship between Bruce and Terry is fleshed out nicely here; it's not like Bruce was ever attracted to any cat burglars or anything.

Blight is in the middle of stealing some canisters containing a special kind of polymer from the dockyard, but is interrupted by Batman. Their fight ends in a fire that forces Batman to let Blight go in order to save the lives of the dock workers. However, Batman finds some evidence that links Derek Powers and his corporation to Blight's crime, still not knowing that Derek is Blight. As Derek's illness is getting worse, he calls in his son Paxton to take his spot on the board of directors with the promise of making him more powerful later on. However, Paxton is every bit as ruthless as his father and has his own plans in mind.

The personal stakes are incredibly high in this episode because of Terry's connection to the villains; not only is Terry partially responsible for causing the condition that Derek is stricken with (from a previous confrontation), but Derek is the one who killed Terry's father. This fight proves to be a fascinating learning moment for Terry, as he's torn between acting on his animus towards a criminal and remaining detached enough to abstain from becoming as bad as those he fights. "Ascension" is a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of the thin line between justice and revenge, and how good can easily become corrupted in its pursuit to end evil, making it a cut above most other superhero stories.

During a particularly stormy night in Gotham City, a car containing a family is struck by lightning. Luckily, Batman is on hand and manages to rescue them, only to leave after an ominous exchange with the family's daughter, Tamara. At school the following day, Terry encounters a vision that only he can see of Tamara asking for help. Terry meets with Bruce to figure out this mystery when she suddenly appears to Terry in another vision. After some investigating, Terry and Bruce determine that Tamara is a missing child and track down her real parents, who reveal that they sent their daughter to a school for gifted children. However, it turns out that the school doesn't exist, and that a secretive society, the Brain Trust, has nefarious plans for Tamara.

"Mind Games" is one of the more touching episodes of the series. While the idea of putting a child in danger has the risk of becoming sappy, it's done incredibly well here. Bruce Wayne was orphaned at a young age and Terry's father was murdered — both events that motivated these men into adopting the crime-fighting life to prevent what happened to them from happening to others. Here, Terry develops a deep connection with a telepathic little girl who just wants to be back with her family, reminding us why Batman exists in the first place.

The Royal Flush Gang blew their most recent job, which entailed stealing a valuable object from a museum for Paxton Powers; because the object in question was damaged, Powers only gives them a small fraction of what he offered them for their services. Desperate, the Royal Flush Gang decides to kidnap Powers himself and hold him for ransom, thinking that they can get Bruce Wayne to give them a massive amount of money because of his connection to Wayne-Powers. Wayne says that he's not in a position to do that, leaving the Royal Flush Gang, again, without a plan. However, Powers hatches a new scheme: If they kill Wayne, he'll be in possession of Wayne's assets, which he'll share with the Gang.

Terry's Batman takes more of a backseat in this episode to make room for the supporting cast to get some attention. The Royal Flush Gang are some of the best recurring villains in the show; they make for powerful antagonists, but their might is wonderfully undercut by their familial bickering. Bruce and Paxton's vicious business relationship is also highlighted here, giving us a deeper look into the corporate side of future Gotham. One of the few downsides of this episode, however, is the relationship between Terry and Melanie, as we're given a bit of a tease about their status, only for it to never really be addressed in future episodes.

"Splicing" — undergoing a procedure in which one's DNA is fused with animal DNA, resulting in a new appearance and abilities — has become the trend of the future, which means that all the kids are doing it. Terry, however, is skeptical despite the assurances of Dr. Abel Cuvier, the one who developed the procedure, who claims that it's safe and reversible. Gotham District Attorney Sam Young is also dubious of the fad of splicing and is leading the effort to shut the operation down, believing it to cause aggression in its patients. Terry suits up as Batman to join in the fight against the latest fashion but is severely compromised when he's overpowered by Tigress, who's helping Cuvier, and is injected with a serum containing bat DNA.

"Splicers" is a wonderfully clever take on the fad of teens engaging in body modification and their parents' reactions. However, this being an episode of "Batman Beyond" and taking place in the future, body modification is more extreme in this world than the sort of stuff that parents were up in arms about in the early-2000s, like piercing and tattoos. The episode's writers inject a delightful little Easter egg in the form of Batman's "spliced" state, which sees him turn into this series' take on Man-Bat. As a bonus, rapper and actor Ice-T hams it up as Ramrod, a teenager who's had his DNA spliced with that of a ram.

It's Bruce's birthday, and to celebrate, Terry takes him to a lighthearted musical about the exploits of Batman; while Terry gets a kick out of it, Bruce is less impressed with it and heads back to the Batcave to ruminate on his past. His brooding is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Talia al Ghul, who hasn't aged a day since they last saw each other. Talia reveals that she's been using her father's Lazarus Pit to preserve her youth, and offers Bruce the chance to use it to return to his younger self. Bruce initially declines, but gives it considerable thought and agrees to her offer. Terry, however, is worried that Bruce wants to become Batman again, which means that Terry would have to give up his days as a hero.

While it's always been implied throughout the series that Bruce still wishes to join Terry's crusade against crime, "Out of the Past" deals with the topic head-on, serving as a sort of meditation on the brevity of youth, the fragility of maturity, and the inevitably of death. David Warner makes a terrific addition to the show as a rejuvenated Ra's al Ghul, but the real highlight here is the closure of Bruce and Talia's long and complicated romance.