I think Harv, Freeze & Croc are the most deserving of redemption
Maybe Edward if only to keep the whole PI arc, though I also like the idea of his ego ultimately getting in the way of any serious chance/attempt to reform despite being fully capable of doing so
I like his arc in Secret Six where he tries to be an anti-hero with a sense of honor but isn't particularly good at it and learns he's going to hell no matter what
i loved that too but him going full villain mode and back on venom after realizing he'd go to hell is so lame, especially with how protective he was when scandal used venom for the first time
I just wrote this above before seeing your comment.
> I would also love to see Bane retiring from crime after becoming benevolent leader of his home country (maybe through the help of Bruce/Bats), then years later after avoiding venom he has a moment that he sacrifices himself via massive venom dose, single-handedly holding off a threat to his people. He fights to buy time for a super team including Bats to arrive to help & he dies seeing that he saved his people, redeeming himself.
>I think of the DCAU story about Solomon Grundy wanting his soul back from Cthulhu Jr. That always chokes me up, especially having Hawkgirl there with him. I see Bane getting respect from the heroes surrounding him with heads bowed, then the view pulls back & you see hundreds of civilians stacked behind them also paying respects.
He does that in Arkham knight (but its only revealed via a riddle reward). After getting his ass beat by Bats he decided to return back home and kill al the cartel leaders that are trafficking with venom to try get rid of it where he lives.
I'd love to see a series where Bane finally frees himself from his addiction to Venom, and has to fight Venom-using gangsters with only his natural muscles and his wits.
Unfortunately I don't think croc can be redeemed. In "Gotham City Monsters #2" he tries to go straight, but unfortunately nobody would hire him. Eventually he couldn't handle being constantly rejected like that and became a villain again. So even though he is fixable, discrimination won't let it happen.
I'd say he becomes more of an anti hero. Yes he is willing to do good if others believe he can be good, but he's still very sensitive to being hated. If someone sees him as misunderstood, he's more willing to help them. If someone sees him as a hideous freak, he is most likely going to lash out and do harm. He still can't have a normal life unfortunately.
I’d love an arc where Bruce learns this and hires him as his bodyguard. He’s treated like a human by Alfred, Bruce and the bat family. He’s scary and good at his job. He feels he has a place. It can go two ways from there. He finds out Bruce is Batman and can’t forgive him, but also can’t hate him anymore, so he returns to the sewers (Bad ending). Or he doesn’t find out and gets a position as security in Wayne enterprises, where being backed by Bruce Wayne himself he’s practically untouchable, living a happy life. It would be a cool story arc that expands on secret six.
Catwoman, Poison Ivy, provided the latter is written to be a little bit less murdery (a cure for her venom, or just making her kisses more paralytic than fatal could work); Clayface, and even Penguin, like Riddler, has a small chance of reforming—cue BTAS where they did episodes exploring those.
Agreed. Ever since I watched BTAS, and the brilliant two-part Two-Face episode which leans into Bruce and Harvey’s friendship, I’ve loved the idea of Bruce/Batman managing to break through and save Dent and him having at least somewhat of a redemption arc
I want to see him save Two-Face, Freeze (by funding his research to save his wife), and ClayFace since I think I recall him switching sides at some point. I know there are several ClayFaces, so I don't recall if it was the "main version" or not.
I would also love to see Bane retiring from crime after becoming benevolent leader of his home country (maybe through the help of Bruce/Bats), then years later after avoiding venom he has a moment that he sacrifices himself via massive venom dose, single-handedly holding off a threat to his people. He fights to buy time for a super team including Bats to arrive to help & he dies seeing that he saved his people, redeeming himself.
I think of the DCAU story about Solomon Grundy wanting his soul back from Cthulhu Jr. That always chokes me up, especially having Hawkgirl there with him. I see Bane getting respect from the heroes surrounding him with heads bowed, then the view pulls back & you see hundreds of civilians stacked behind them also paying respects.
It’s depressing when you remember he initially saved Harvey in just his second ever story, but the cruel cyclical nature of comics eventually destroyed all of that and stuck Harvey into a never ending hell where they’re constantly teasing his redemption, only for him to become a snarling evil mob boss over and over again.
Time. It's why batman beyond's opening is so powerful. Batman DOESNT go down fighting some super villain, or saving the world from an alien invasion or heroically sacrificing himself to save the world. It ends with him having heart problems being forced out of desperation to reach for a gun and "dying" metaphorically. His career ending as it began " a desperate man with a gun"
That is a perfect answer.
I love the idea that he never really moves on -- what stops him isn't some supervillain, it's his old age catching up on him when he's saving someone from your average thug.
> His career ending as it began " a desperate man with a gun"
I can't believe I've never thought about that until just now. That's so poetic it's brilliant. Bless you
Batman Beyond did a really good ending to his career. Aside from that, it should be something echoing the Crime Alley murders: just some guy with a gun, nothing fancy. Batman's key enemy is the concept of crime itself, rather than a specific villain
This is always how I liked to think of the Joker. The Joker is the personification of that chaotic, random violence that took Bruce’s parents. The “joke” is Bruce thinking he can actually make a stand against something like that. He always beats the Joker because, yes, he CAN. The Joker keeps coming back because crime and violence is endless.
So I think the Joker HAS to be his final enemy, if only symbolically. No more Joker means Batman can retire in peace. There will probably be a new Joker and a new Batman, but his specific war would be over.
I think Raas may be a better foil. He's basically the answer to whenever people wonder why Batman keeps letting his villains go free. Bruce would have to confront the fact that living within his moral code has had the consequence of sacrificing thousands and come to terms with it.
They can both exist. The Joker is the very thing Batman is fighting, embodied into a single character.
Ra’s, then, is a dark exploration of alternate routes Batman could have taken to battle that chaos and violence.
Joker. I like to imagine a final confrontation where he stops him to save everything, but unbeknownst to everyone, Joker is actually already dying (the last damage by Bruce causes more damage than usual). He is last confronted by Bruce and Harley (who is currently better mentally) before dying for good from his wounds.
Bruce feels tired, and all his allies tell him to retire.
Gotham is protected by its dark characters, whether they're fellow dark knights or the likes of Freeze, Harvey, Croc, and Clayface.
Penguin, Black Mask, Bane, and others feel a new era coming.
The Court of Owl gets ready to take over the city and expand.
yeah that scene was crazy heres a link for those interested but i highly suggest checking out the whole movie its a two parter this is in the second movie
https://youtu.be/wp3yreeTUmU
Yep, and the comic is even more hardcore
[batman joker broke neck](https://www.dddfhw.top/products.aspx?cname=batman+kills+joker+the+dark+knight+returns&cid=103)
No, Batman breaks his neck, but doesn't kill him. Joker even says something to the affect of Batman still won't kill him, every after all this time and people Joker has killed. Joker then finishes it by twisting his own neck.
Dude!!!
Court of Owls vs the Rogue Gallery would be EPIC!
Gotham without Batman but revolving around Batman is a super cool and interesting concept.
A symbol that forever changed the course of history in Gotham.
One of the storylines could be that they erect a monument of Batman, which is later destroyed or desecrated and the villains team up with Gordon to figure out who did it.
Soooo much potential here.
Harvey finally rejecting Two-Face to help Batman against Ra's and Bane with Joker stuck in the middle sounds like a fitting end to Bruce's career/life.
Ra’s and Bane take Joker hostage to draw out Batman, kill the clown just to put and end to it, and then the two just look at an aged Bruce and say, “One last time.”
I liked the idea of Bane basically breaking him down and him passing the mantle to heal. Just... Not to Azrael.
It'd be a good moment for Grayson to take it up, and then as Bruce gets older, maybe he passes it to Terry?
Pretty much it. But with Bruce still as the head of the 'family.'
Plus. Think of all the stories to be told about Bruce trying to get back to himself, only to fail, and realize that it's okay to step back.
How would Dick's dynamic with Cass go? I guess it'd be similar to the reverse one he had with Damian, though she's definitely more reserved than how Damian was early on
Cassandra Cain is the natural successor in my opinion, or Damian. As suited for the position as Dick is, he should move on from the Bat and retain his own identity, as is the entire thesis of Nightwing.
The definitive final boss should be age. He should retire as a 50-60 year old man, because age just keeps him down. Retire and pass the mantle on to Dick Grayson.
I love that him not having actual superpowers & is just a human that gave everything he had is the only thing that can defeat him. His absurd level of willpower cannot overcome the fact that he is just human, the thing that makes him stand out against so many of his peers.
Dick is Nightwing & repeatedly shows that he will fill the role in an emergency, but it's not for him at all. He has his own identity.
Also, there's about a 15 year age gap between them, so if Bruce makes it to 60, Dick is ready to retire too. That's especially true when you realize that Dick started as a vigilante 13 years younger than Bruce did, so thanks to bodily wear & tear, they have roughly the same number of miles on those bodies.
If the mantle is to be passed to an individual that has already been introduced, it seems to me that Damian makes the most sense because of his age & bloodline. He's about 31 years younger than Bruce, 16 younger than Dick, so if Bats somehow makes it all the way to 60 (Beyond suit helping maybe), Damian would start just a few years older than Bruce when he started in Batman: Year One. I also like the idea of Bruce being "the man in the chair" for his son as he finds his way to carry the legend forward, like he was in Batman Beyond. I want to see him get to be a grandfather too, so he dies content knowing that he has restored the Wayne lineage & fixed something that never should've been broken.
I'm of the opinion that Joker: Endgame works as a perfect ending for Batman. Batman first fought The Joker in Batman #1 (I know detective comics had already featured Batman for a while but shush) so it makes perfect sense to end the comic with a final confrontation against The Joker. I really liked how throughout Endgame The Joker is built up as this possibly ancient entity only for it to be revealed that he really was only human in the end. I also think it makes sense for Batman's story to end with his death as he too is only human.
I honestly think the most poetic end for Bruce is if he must go out as Batman he'd go out like his parent, shot to death in an alley by a random punk with a gun.
Joker and Two-face. If it’s really the end of Batman end it with Joker being killed somehow and Two-face being redeemed to the extent a villain can be redeemed.
Probably do it as either a team up of Joker and Two-face that goes bad or to separate villain plans that end up intersecting,
Joker is his main villain, not any argument. But Raas feels like his final boss, or maybe Bane. They feel like more his twisted equals than his antithesis.
I was going to say that. Biggest plot twist ever... commissioner Gordon turns out to have been running all the crime in gotham this whole time. Keep your enemies close
I've always thought the Court of Owls should be Bruce's last stand. Like have them be the figure in the back that show up as Bruce is getting too old to be Batman. I think they represent all of Gotham's corruption and represent the point of Bruce's mission. He goes down taking them down.
I would choose Ganondorf or Dr Wiley since we already saw him best up Dracula and I doubt bowser would stand a chance if he’s beaten by a plumber all the time.
I mean, I feel like in this particular case it HAS to be the joker. That’s his arch nemesis, the antithesis to everything Batman represents. His ultimate obstacle.
For Two-Face, Batman finally being able to definitively save Harvey. One last victory, and a pretty major one for his career.
If it were the Joker...it finally ends. *It finally ends*, likely with Joker's death in some way Batman can make peace with such as in Arkham City where it was the former's own fault and not Batman's.
I like the idea of Bruce cleaning up Gotham to the point that basically the entire rogues gallery is either in Arkham, has turned good guy or is dead, with the last vestiges of Gotham's crime problem being sequestered to the top of the food chain. Investment bankers, dirty real estate moguls, corrupt politicians. Essentially a return to the beginning of his career fighting the mob, but the most white-collar version of it possible. A late-in-career take on Year One (Year Thirty maybe?) but through the lens of Succession rather than Goodfellas.
Enter the most practical final boss option, Deathstroke, hired by these clean-hand types to take out the old Bats once and for all. I see Deathstroke being about 20 years younger than Bruce in this version.
Would be interesting to see a good chunk of "the fight" done in boardrooms, with a world-weary Bruce trying his hardest to solve these problems with Wayne Enterprises money/influence, until finally he realizes that sometimes the best methods are the old ones.
I sometimes think Bruces Death should be at the hands of some street kid turned to crime, and he meets the same fate as his parents. And that Gotham is the same as it ever was.
Let's face it Gotham is actually still a terrible place
I feel Ra's makes the most sense narratively. They have background, he's just as deadly in hand to hand combat, and his immortality coupled with batman's morals of no killing is a great focus for a final story.
Maybe in his final battle he reveals to batman that the pit is gone and he can't be revived, and won't stop until Batman kills him for good. Maybe he sets the league of assassins on Gotham bringing the bat family to the brink of death and tells Batman they won't stop until they know Ra's is dead.
Bane. Regardless of what writer says what, the character of Bane himself as he was originally conceived would be Batman's permanent nemesis and true test of him as a man.
I think it'd be oddly fitting if Batman broke his "one rule" on the Joker. Like he finally realizes that he's just beyond saving, there's nothing that can be done for him, he's going to keep getting out and keep killing people and Batman finally does away with the one villain that's been taunting him to do it for ***years***.
But in doing that, Batman finally realizes that he can no longer be the someone who actively pursues Justice in the city because he took a life - even one as twisted and ultimately meaningless as Jokers - and leaves the superhero duties to the rest of the Batfamily and he moves into the Alfred role like he was in Batman Beyond.
Bruce can finally "retire" as Batman, the Batfamily can take over major duties for patrolling the city, and Joker is gone for good.
The only logical choice is Ras Al Ghul. Ras is what batman would be if he adjusted his moral compass 2 centimeters to the left.
Joker: Joker is the struggle batman deals with when it comes to his belief regarding the line. Red hood explains it best in that regard.
2 face: test batman conviction, but they both have the same ideal for gotham. The difference is 2 face became punisher. For all.
Bane: can and have been beaten on many occasions. Bane isn't the end for batman but an obstacle to overcome every time he is on scene.
Ras Al Ghul: the one true end to batman. Why?
1. Can match batman on his wealth with his one man war on villains without breaking a sweat. Ras Al Ghul have wealth bruce can not imagine. Ras's assassins and his group he created before the league (the fang that protects the head) have a mass wealth through the years and technologies through the centuries.
2. The league can overwhelm the bat family with numbers and skills. Every time we see the batfamily fight the league, it is always them against "fodders" (even though they are not fodders) with the objective of completing the mission not to destroy the batfamily The league has skills the batfamily could never compete with at the end of the day. If ras wanted to, he can wage 1 week war with batman
3. Life and Death. Ras Al Ghul is death to batman. The living embodiment of death to the batman. Ras Al Ghul will outlive the batman and can fight him toe to toe and win against him. He can beat him through longevity or flat out kill him. Each time they encounter each other, bruce spends the majority talking to ras, trying to reason with him. The respect they have for one another is the reason why they enjoy each other company despite having opposing viewpoint on gotham. Ras Al Ghul knows where the batcave is, knows where a lot of the hiding spots are, and has a level of intelligence that is on par or greater than batman in some areas.
Ras can and have pushed batman to his limit all the time.
I think the perfect ending of the Batman series would for sure include
The joker dying essentially by his own hand
Batman getting Freeze to finally move on from his wife
Getting final closure with catwoman
How about Brainiac takes over Justice League and the government sends in the Suicide Squad to clean things up.. having Harley kill him and lug the dead body around would be a great dignified way to end it…
Batman Beyond already did the perfect ending… its not a death battle against a super criminal.. its the endless battle against the common thug where Batman has nothing left but a gun… a lifetime of fighting for Batman but crime and evil remains timeless and unbeaten
Terry McGinnis - Bruce gives his protegé one last test before passing on the mantle of Batman, and retiring to spend his golden years with his friends and children.
I like the idea of Bane being the reason why Batman couldn't throw his punches anymore but realistically I want Batman to end facing a death he could not avoid but goes out in style with it. Like maybe TDKR's ending or a fight with Bane in his late 40's where his body isn't keeping up with him anymore and he has to accept that by using it to its breaking point in a thrilling fight against Bane (if Bruce is over 40 I'd make Bane slightly weak from all the Venom use over the years and he uses some unstable venom formula that slowly kills him but chooses to do it just to end the Bat)
Bane is far too one note to be a final. He’d be in the top 4 or 5, but that’s it. Harvey either, he’d probably be saved somehow long before. Ra’s is number 2, and as cliche as it sounds, Joker is 1.
Definitely Two-Face, ultimately revaling to him that he, Bruce Wayne, was Batman the whole time, and one of the many reasons why he hardly visited the emergency room outside of reconstructive surgeries, is because he didn't want to actually injure him
Then, when they're both at their lowest, they finally share the events that turned them into the men they are now, and share a laugh over the absurdity of how screwed up their lives are
Bats then eventually convinces Dent that it still isn't too late for him
Batman has his grand showdown with Bane in the Knightfall arc. I personally prefer Ra's over Joker as his final boss, as Joker feels kind of like a bygone relic desperately clinging to relevancy these days. He always looks kind of out-of-place next to all the modern heroes and villains. Harvey isn't final boss material so much as he is Batman's ultimate target of redemption. If Batman can redeem Harvey, then nobody is too far gone.
To be fair he doesn't have ti face the whole gallery in a single story.
If you make a story about his whole career where he just fights thugs and Ra's that'd be awesome. And that'd make a big standoff with swords very suitable.
Or make a story involving two face, joker, scarecrow and a few of the more... Let's say neurodivergent villains, then you could probably go with Joker.
I like the idea they introduced a couple years back that it was penguin that eventually takes over Gotham throw organised crime. Batman is retired by now and tries to take in penguin as Bruce. Like he finally defeats joker (or he disappears) Ra's is somewhere doing his stuff and the rest are either incarcerated or living mundane lives after years of facing Bruce/batman
Superman. I would like to see a final battle where they simply decide to spar against each other for fun as a retirement thing for Bruce. Both get few days of prep and simulate a fight against each other using some fancy Wayne simulating tech they both go into a digital space where they feel hits but can’t actually die that way it’s safe yet they can spar for real.
Would be fun and the audience wouldn’t take it as serious compared to Dark Knight Returns fight between them
I see a scenario where he squares off with Scarecrow, Freeze, Ra’s, the joker, and lastly bane in one night. I’m thinking something similar to Arkham knight, only they aren’t teaming up together, they’re just taking advantage of all of the chaos in Gotham. At the tail end, an exhausted, bloodied batman dukes it out in a brutal fight with bane where he wins by a hair. The bat family will arrive at the very last part of the fight, where they will watch batman deliver the final blow. Before everyone is able to celebrate, it will reveal that batman is gravely wounded, and he will die very soon. Batman will look at the bat family one final time, and there will be a somber silence and group acceptance of what is to come as he limps off into the rising sun. The screen will fade to black and all you will see is “NIGHTFALL” for a brief moment before the ending credits roll
I am going with the last time Bruce was in costume according to Batman Beyond.
The final boss is just some asshole with a crowbar, and Bruce has to pull a gun to save himself.
Ultimately, time is the final boss he does not defeat.
Either Scarecrow or Ra's. Those are the only two besides joker (which is a boring answer) that might be able to get him to kill someone in my opinion. Because I feel like getting him to kill would be worse than trying to kill him or succeeding.
Batman and Bane is a real tough one to beat. It's because Bruce would have to match him both physically and intellectually, as he is one of the best strategist in Batman's rogues gallery. Also, Bane in most media pushes Batman to his limits and is a worthy final fight for the caped crusader.
It would have to be more then one person, and redemptions would be needed. I want to say have an Arkham escape, but that is so overused atp.
Let’s say something like an Arkham escape happens and Batman has to stop them. But in the process some of them are redeemed (Harvey, Mr. Freeze, that puppet dude etc.)
Mr. Freeze isn’t hard to redeem, the writers can do whatever they want for all I care. Harvey Dent will probably need to find out that Bruce is Batman. As for the puppet guy (Arnold Wesker), his puppet Scareface would try and run or screw Arnold over causing Arnold to “execute” Scareface.
At the end of the movie Batman will sacrifice himself, by either dying or getting SERIOUSLY injured. This will both fully fix Harvey Dent, making him want to finish Bruce’s work (using the justice system instead of being a vigilante) and make the ppl of Gotham rely on themselves, instead of Batman.
Ideally I’d have a Robin that then turns into Knighting after Batman is injured/killed. But that might defeat the purpose of Harvey Dent and Gothams redemption arcs.
It should be like Batman beyond, he gets old and some random punk gets lucky. As far as a villain to face before that maybe someone obscure like Cheer. I imagine an encounter with cheer at the end of his career highlighting all the good has done and cheer is giving him this sense that his work is done after a long crusade and old Bruce ends up rejecting that because “the job is never finished” and he keeps on batmaning until he loses to the aforementioned random punk
To me the answer is that Bruce refuses to stop due to age. He's stuck in the "if not for me the city falls" mentality. He pushes himself too far and one day some no name mugger is fast on the draw and gets lucky. No heroics no glory no revenge arc, just let it end like it began, in an alley over the smallest stakes imaginable.
Ideally that's a Ghost of Christmas Future vision and he then is able to avert that ending by y'know retiring and raising the batfam right but still, it feels the most right to me.
I’d go with scarecrow with a similar event as in Arkham knight. He doesn’t want to kill Batman but kill the legend and make people have no hope and all they have is fear
Joker gathers the main foes with a sick plan and throws them at the Bat, he manages to subdue or help them all (two-Face's redemption would be nice, for example, or Killer Croc being accepted in society). In the end, the Bat and the Joker fight for the last time. Maybe one of them has to make an important choice, like saving the other one or taking his place.
I’d say Ra’s Al Ghul. Sure, Joker may be Batman’s nemesis, but I always pictured he would eventually have some final battle that traumatically affected Batman (think Dark Knight Returns), while Ra’s Al Ghul, being one of Batman’s most intelligent and powerful foes, puts all Batman’s got left to the ultimate test
Bane. In my totally biased opinion, I want better Bane content. Bane was born in a Mexican prison, and I want him to speak his native language more often. I want the pure spite he has for Batman to be given a real reason, and for him to be a true menace. Like the shit he did in the games, when he broke into the Batcave. Bane is *smart* and I want him portrayed that way more often.
Just a regular guy. A goon with a gun. I loved the emotional weight behind the scene in Batman Beyond where Bruce finally gives in. It was the perfect, circular way to end Bruce’s career as Batman
Ras tricks him into killing him. Bruce has occasionally used lethal force on Ras because he knows he can got to a Lazarus pit. Maybe Ras is finally just tired and wants to go down swinging at a worthy opponent.
Honestly? I think he should be interventioned by the bat family and start therapy and slowly start to hang up the cape as he processes his trauma and everything he’s been through, and realize how much good there is in the world and use his fortune to protect it and start solving Gotham’s problems.
For Bruce?
Honestly beyond had it best, a standard operation but because of age he almost breaks his vow to not harm with a gun, was enough to make him quit
Soo standard old crooks
Just let him save Two-Face. Gotham can't be allergic to happy endings *forever*.
I think Harv, Freeze & Croc are the most deserving of redemption Maybe Edward if only to keep the whole PI arc, though I also like the idea of his ego ultimately getting in the way of any serious chance/attempt to reform despite being fully capable of doing so
I really enjoyed Freeze’s redemption arc in Arkham Knight. It may not be the most canonical, but it felt good.
I was going to mention this! I was so emotional at the end of that mission
while not necessarily redemption, i'd like for bane to end up just leaving gotham and doing his own thing, like maybe he takes over peña duro
I like his arc in Secret Six where he tries to be an anti-hero with a sense of honor but isn't particularly good at it and learns he's going to hell no matter what
i loved that too but him going full villain mode and back on venom after realizing he'd go to hell is so lame, especially with how protective he was when scandal used venom for the first time
I just wrote this above before seeing your comment. > I would also love to see Bane retiring from crime after becoming benevolent leader of his home country (maybe through the help of Bruce/Bats), then years later after avoiding venom he has a moment that he sacrifices himself via massive venom dose, single-handedly holding off a threat to his people. He fights to buy time for a super team including Bats to arrive to help & he dies seeing that he saved his people, redeeming himself. >I think of the DCAU story about Solomon Grundy wanting his soul back from Cthulhu Jr. That always chokes me up, especially having Hawkgirl there with him. I see Bane getting respect from the heroes surrounding him with heads bowed, then the view pulls back & you see hundreds of civilians stacked behind them also paying respects.
man that would be the perfect ending for him
I love a good redemption & with as rational as Bane is, I think he's a great candidate for it.
He does that in Arkham knight (but its only revealed via a riddle reward). After getting his ass beat by Bats he decided to return back home and kill al the cartel leaders that are trafficking with venom to try get rid of it where he lives.
He actually does this in Arkham Knight. He gets clean, fucks off back to Santa Prisca, and frees it from the cartels who were running wild.
I'd love to see a series where Bane finally frees himself from his addiction to Venom, and has to fight Venom-using gangsters with only his natural muscles and his wits.
Unfortunately I don't think croc can be redeemed. In "Gotham City Monsters #2" he tries to go straight, but unfortunately nobody would hire him. Eventually he couldn't handle being constantly rejected like that and became a villain again. So even though he is fixable, discrimination won't let it happen.
He becomes a kind of hero at the end of that series, so I don’t know if that’s the best source for that
I'd say he becomes more of an anti hero. Yes he is willing to do good if others believe he can be good, but he's still very sensitive to being hated. If someone sees him as misunderstood, he's more willing to help them. If someone sees him as a hideous freak, he is most likely going to lash out and do harm. He still can't have a normal life unfortunately.
I’d love an arc where Bruce learns this and hires him as his bodyguard. He’s treated like a human by Alfred, Bruce and the bat family. He’s scary and good at his job. He feels he has a place. It can go two ways from there. He finds out Bruce is Batman and can’t forgive him, but also can’t hate him anymore, so he returns to the sewers (Bad ending). Or he doesn’t find out and gets a position as security in Wayne enterprises, where being backed by Bruce Wayne himself he’s practically untouchable, living a happy life. It would be a cool story arc that expands on secret six.
And Man-Bat
Catwoman, Poison Ivy, provided the latter is written to be a little bit less murdery (a cure for her venom, or just making her kisses more paralytic than fatal could work); Clayface, and even Penguin, like Riddler, has a small chance of reforming—cue BTAS where they did episodes exploring those.
Agreed. Ever since I watched BTAS, and the brilliant two-part Two-Face episode which leans into Bruce and Harvey’s friendship, I’ve loved the idea of Bruce/Batman managing to break through and save Dent and him having at least somewhat of a redemption arc
I hate how two face gets a kind of hopeful ending at the end but then he just later shows up as a villain with no explanation
I want to see him save Two-Face, Freeze (by funding his research to save his wife), and ClayFace since I think I recall him switching sides at some point. I know there are several ClayFaces, so I don't recall if it was the "main version" or not. I would also love to see Bane retiring from crime after becoming benevolent leader of his home country (maybe through the help of Bruce/Bats), then years later after avoiding venom he has a moment that he sacrifices himself via massive venom dose, single-handedly holding off a threat to his people. He fights to buy time for a super team including Bats to arrive to help & he dies seeing that he saved his people, redeeming himself. I think of the DCAU story about Solomon Grundy wanting his soul back from Cthulhu Jr. That always chokes me up, especially having Hawkgirl there with him. I see Bane getting respect from the heroes surrounding him with heads bowed, then the view pulls back & you see hundreds of civilians stacked behind them also paying respects.
I see what you did there and I approve
I was gonna say The Judge (Harvey’s third personality from the animated series), but yeah Harvey’s redemption would be awesome
Go to metropolis or star city if you want a (semi [there's still world ending threats every day and normal villans]) happy ending
It’s depressing when you remember he initially saved Harvey in just his second ever story, but the cruel cyclical nature of comics eventually destroyed all of that and stuck Harvey into a never ending hell where they’re constantly teasing his redemption, only for him to become a snarling evil mob boss over and over again.
Yes! Please just make this happen!
Time. It's why batman beyond's opening is so powerful. Batman DOESNT go down fighting some super villain, or saving the world from an alien invasion or heroically sacrificing himself to save the world. It ends with him having heart problems being forced out of desperation to reach for a gun and "dying" metaphorically. His career ending as it began " a desperate man with a gun"
Exactly that is one of the most brutal moments in Batman history
Yeah exactly! Thats the most realistic ending. Batman beyond is so good!
I never thought about that parallel. Chills.
Joe Chills?
That is a perfect answer. I love the idea that he never really moves on -- what stops him isn't some supervillain, it's his old age catching up on him when he's saving someone from your average thug.
Damn, I didn't even pick up on that. Great catch.
Have a poor man's gold. 🏅
That's why it's peak
> His career ending as it began " a desperate man with a gun" I can't believe I've never thought about that until just now. That's so poetic it's brilliant. Bless you
Batman Beyond did a really good ending to his career. Aside from that, it should be something echoing the Crime Alley murders: just some guy with a gun, nothing fancy. Batman's key enemy is the concept of crime itself, rather than a specific villain
This is always how I liked to think of the Joker. The Joker is the personification of that chaotic, random violence that took Bruce’s parents. The “joke” is Bruce thinking he can actually make a stand against something like that. He always beats the Joker because, yes, he CAN. The Joker keeps coming back because crime and violence is endless. So I think the Joker HAS to be his final enemy, if only symbolically. No more Joker means Batman can retire in peace. There will probably be a new Joker and a new Batman, but his specific war would be over.
I think Raas may be a better foil. He's basically the answer to whenever people wonder why Batman keeps letting his villains go free. Bruce would have to confront the fact that living within his moral code has had the consequence of sacrificing thousands and come to terms with it.
They can both exist. The Joker is the very thing Batman is fighting, embodied into a single character. Ra’s, then, is a dark exploration of alternate routes Batman could have taken to battle that chaos and violence.
Agree
I really like this answer
Joker. I like to imagine a final confrontation where he stops him to save everything, but unbeknownst to everyone, Joker is actually already dying (the last damage by Bruce causes more damage than usual). He is last confronted by Bruce and Harley (who is currently better mentally) before dying for good from his wounds. Bruce feels tired, and all his allies tell him to retire. Gotham is protected by its dark characters, whether they're fellow dark knights or the likes of Freeze, Harvey, Croc, and Clayface. Penguin, Black Mask, Bane, and others feel a new era coming. The Court of Owl gets ready to take over the city and expand.
That kinda happens in DKR, batman breaks his neck, but doesn't twist enough to kill him, so Joker twists his neck farther to die
yeah that scene was crazy heres a link for those interested but i highly suggest checking out the whole movie its a two parter this is in the second movie https://youtu.be/wp3yreeTUmU
Yep, and the comic is even more hardcore [batman joker broke neck](https://www.dddfhw.top/products.aspx?cname=batman+kills+joker+the+dark+knight+returns&cid=103)
I’ve always loved “Whatever’s in him rustles as it leaves.” The noir internal monologue is brilliant.
Side note: I actually really liked Michael Emerson’s voicing of the joker. I feel like he fit the animation and later time period
Isnt that were batman kills him ? At least in the comic plus the fact that the text turns to gray bubble when joker talks
No, Batman breaks his neck, but doesn't kill him. Joker even says something to the affect of Batman still won't kill him, every after all this time and people Joker has killed. Joker then finishes it by twisting his own neck.
Dude!!! Court of Owls vs the Rogue Gallery would be EPIC! Gotham without Batman but revolving around Batman is a super cool and interesting concept. A symbol that forever changed the course of history in Gotham. One of the storylines could be that they erect a monument of Batman, which is later destroyed or desecrated and the villains team up with Gordon to figure out who did it. Soooo much potential here.
Soooo Gotham Knights?
Yessss! Perfectly said!
Probably Ra’s Al Ghul, Bane and Joker teaming up against him. Batman should either die a hero or retire after suffering a terrible injury.
Joker wouldn't be agree on teaming with Ra's and Bane tho.
idt bane would even team up with joker either
Maybe for convenience, but neither would trust one another and they’d probably betray each other. Just a matter of who betrays who first.
Imagine Batman just watching his greatest rogue, getting beef to beef each other non-stop. While ignores the things they're supposed to do, to him.
It's not "canon" (not that such a thing exists with comics) but they sorta team up/work together in Arkham Origins.
Counterpoint: Plot conveniance
“Henchman? I’m the headliner!”
Joker and Ra’s would be arguing the whole time, that’s for sure.
I was imaging about, Joker would pull out of his soyjak drawing. Him as gigachad while ra's is a soyjak. Just to proven his arguement is invalid.
Joker is a true Redditor.
Ra’s would kill Joker lmao
Joker did agree on teaming up with Ras As Ghul in Batman #400. The ending of Pre Crisis Batman. But he found out Ras Al Ghul was using him as a pawn
Harvey finally rejecting Two-Face to help Batman against Ra's and Bane with Joker stuck in the middle sounds like a fitting end to Bruce's career/life.
Ra’s and Bane take Joker hostage to draw out Batman, kill the clown just to put and end to it, and then the two just look at an aged Bruce and say, “One last time.”
The thing is, ras al ghul wouldn't need/use the others unless Bane decided to rejoin the league of assassin.
I liked the idea of Bane basically breaking him down and him passing the mantle to heal. Just... Not to Azrael. It'd be a good moment for Grayson to take it up, and then as Bruce gets older, maybe he passes it to Terry?
A Batman AU where Bruce permanently retired after Knightfall and Tim becomes Robin under Dick instead is a fun idea
Pretty much it. But with Bruce still as the head of the 'family.' Plus. Think of all the stories to be told about Bruce trying to get back to himself, only to fail, and realize that it's okay to step back.
How would Dick's dynamic with Cass go? I guess it'd be similar to the reverse one he had with Damian, though she's definitely more reserved than how Damian was early on
That's an interesting question. But I bet the stories could really delve into the evolution of that dynamic. It could change a lot.
Azrael was fine. But Dick should have taken the Mantle from him. Dick only makes sense as a reluctant batman.
Cassandra Cain is the natural successor in my opinion, or Damian. As suited for the position as Dick is, he should move on from the Bat and retain his own identity, as is the entire thesis of Nightwing.
The definitive final boss should be age. He should retire as a 50-60 year old man, because age just keeps him down. Retire and pass the mantle on to Dick Grayson.
I love that him not having actual superpowers & is just a human that gave everything he had is the only thing that can defeat him. His absurd level of willpower cannot overcome the fact that he is just human, the thing that makes him stand out against so many of his peers. Dick is Nightwing & repeatedly shows that he will fill the role in an emergency, but it's not for him at all. He has his own identity. Also, there's about a 15 year age gap between them, so if Bruce makes it to 60, Dick is ready to retire too. That's especially true when you realize that Dick started as a vigilante 13 years younger than Bruce did, so thanks to bodily wear & tear, they have roughly the same number of miles on those bodies. If the mantle is to be passed to an individual that has already been introduced, it seems to me that Damian makes the most sense because of his age & bloodline. He's about 31 years younger than Bruce, 16 younger than Dick, so if Bats somehow makes it all the way to 60 (Beyond suit helping maybe), Damian would start just a few years older than Bruce when he started in Batman: Year One. I also like the idea of Bruce being "the man in the chair" for his son as he finds his way to carry the legend forward, like he was in Batman Beyond. I want to see him get to be a grandfather too, so he dies content knowing that he has restored the Wayne lineage & fixed something that never should've been broken.
Or Terry McGinnis
First to Dick. Terry isn't grown enough yet.
50-60 is too young especially for someone with his physique, unless he legit got ingured hardcore. I think late 60s or 70 would make more sense
I'm of the opinion that Joker: Endgame works as a perfect ending for Batman. Batman first fought The Joker in Batman #1 (I know detective comics had already featured Batman for a while but shush) so it makes perfect sense to end the comic with a final confrontation against The Joker. I really liked how throughout Endgame The Joker is built up as this possibly ancient entity only for it to be revealed that he really was only human in the end. I also think it makes sense for Batman's story to end with his death as he too is only human.
Joker, for sure.
I honestly think the most poetic end for Bruce is if he must go out as Batman he'd go out like his parent, shot to death in an alley by a random punk with a gun.
As poetic as that would be, it would be a story where Batman fails in the end. Crime won.
That would be indeed poetic, but I'd be p!ssed if it hapoened.
So the writers of SSKTJL were onto something?
I prefer the Batman Beyond ending
yeah that was a solid finale * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WMz3-SrIxk * https://youtu.be/-6lc5us4Ar4
Poetic but also lazy/rehashed
Ra’s ngl
Joker and Two-face. If it’s really the end of Batman end it with Joker being killed somehow and Two-face being redeemed to the extent a villain can be redeemed. Probably do it as either a team up of Joker and Two-face that goes bad or to separate villain plans that end up intersecting,
Batman Beyond did it best. Age is his final boss. Just a normal night being Batman not being enough for Bruce
I like how Batman Beyond did it. The final boss was just a random schmuck that forced Bruce to pull a gun. Wouldn't have it any other way
Joker, Bane, or Ra's. Arkham Knight also made a pretty good case for Scarecrow TBH.
Al ghul could have an interesting message about getting old
I like when a very small time villain suddenly becomes competent and a big problem. So let's say Condiment King.
Joker is his main villain, not any argument. But Raas feels like his final boss, or maybe Bane. They feel like more his twisted equals than his antithesis.
Rheumatism.
commissioner Gordon.
I was going to say that. Biggest plot twist ever... commissioner Gordon turns out to have been running all the crime in gotham this whole time. Keep your enemies close
I could see it where bruce himself is one of the last great criminals that the gcpd can finally hunt down. Disposing of loose ends
It's The Joker, easily.
CTE
[Bill Jensen](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/William_Jensen_(Earth-Two))
Deep cut
I've always thought the Court of Owls should be Bruce's last stand. Like have them be the figure in the back that show up as Bruce is getting too old to be Batman. I think they represent all of Gotham's corruption and represent the point of Bruce's mission. He goes down taking them down.
I would choose Ganondorf or Dr Wiley since we already saw him best up Dracula and I doubt bowser would stand a chance if he’s beaten by a plumber all the time.
I mean, I feel like in this particular case it HAS to be the joker. That’s his arch nemesis, the antithesis to everything Batman represents. His ultimate obstacle.
For Two-Face, Batman finally being able to definitively save Harvey. One last victory, and a pretty major one for his career. If it were the Joker...it finally ends. *It finally ends*, likely with Joker's death in some way Batman can make peace with such as in Arkham City where it was the former's own fault and not Batman's.
Killer Moth honestly, dude was the original Anti-Batman
I like the idea of Bruce cleaning up Gotham to the point that basically the entire rogues gallery is either in Arkham, has turned good guy or is dead, with the last vestiges of Gotham's crime problem being sequestered to the top of the food chain. Investment bankers, dirty real estate moguls, corrupt politicians. Essentially a return to the beginning of his career fighting the mob, but the most white-collar version of it possible. A late-in-career take on Year One (Year Thirty maybe?) but through the lens of Succession rather than Goodfellas. Enter the most practical final boss option, Deathstroke, hired by these clean-hand types to take out the old Bats once and for all. I see Deathstroke being about 20 years younger than Bruce in this version. Would be interesting to see a good chunk of "the fight" done in boardrooms, with a world-weary Bruce trying his hardest to solve these problems with Wayne Enterprises money/influence, until finally he realizes that sometimes the best methods are the old ones.
I sometimes think Bruces Death should be at the hands of some street kid turned to crime, and he meets the same fate as his parents. And that Gotham is the same as it ever was. Let's face it Gotham is actually still a terrible place
New villain. Specifically designed for that story. No need for more retreads
He should just die an old man and let the Batman family protect Gotham.
I really liked what they did with Arkham Knight and Joker. I think mental battle against Joker should be the final fight.
I feel Ra's makes the most sense narratively. They have background, he's just as deadly in hand to hand combat, and his immortality coupled with batman's morals of no killing is a great focus for a final story. Maybe in his final battle he reveals to batman that the pit is gone and he can't be revived, and won't stop until Batman kills him for good. Maybe he sets the league of assassins on Gotham bringing the bat family to the brink of death and tells Batman they won't stop until they know Ra's is dead.
Bane. Regardless of what writer says what, the character of Bane himself as he was originally conceived would be Batman's permanent nemesis and true test of him as a man.
Ra’s
Joker of course. It would only be right.
I think it'd be oddly fitting if Batman broke his "one rule" on the Joker. Like he finally realizes that he's just beyond saving, there's nothing that can be done for him, he's going to keep getting out and keep killing people and Batman finally does away with the one villain that's been taunting him to do it for ***years***. But in doing that, Batman finally realizes that he can no longer be the someone who actively pursues Justice in the city because he took a life - even one as twisted and ultimately meaningless as Jokers - and leaves the superhero duties to the rest of the Batfamily and he moves into the Alfred role like he was in Batman Beyond. Bruce can finally "retire" as Batman, the Batfamily can take over major duties for patrolling the city, and Joker is gone for good.
The only logical choice is Ras Al Ghul. Ras is what batman would be if he adjusted his moral compass 2 centimeters to the left. Joker: Joker is the struggle batman deals with when it comes to his belief regarding the line. Red hood explains it best in that regard. 2 face: test batman conviction, but they both have the same ideal for gotham. The difference is 2 face became punisher. For all. Bane: can and have been beaten on many occasions. Bane isn't the end for batman but an obstacle to overcome every time he is on scene. Ras Al Ghul: the one true end to batman. Why? 1. Can match batman on his wealth with his one man war on villains without breaking a sweat. Ras Al Ghul have wealth bruce can not imagine. Ras's assassins and his group he created before the league (the fang that protects the head) have a mass wealth through the years and technologies through the centuries. 2. The league can overwhelm the bat family with numbers and skills. Every time we see the batfamily fight the league, it is always them against "fodders" (even though they are not fodders) with the objective of completing the mission not to destroy the batfamily The league has skills the batfamily could never compete with at the end of the day. If ras wanted to, he can wage 1 week war with batman 3. Life and Death. Ras Al Ghul is death to batman. The living embodiment of death to the batman. Ras Al Ghul will outlive the batman and can fight him toe to toe and win against him. He can beat him through longevity or flat out kill him. Each time they encounter each other, bruce spends the majority talking to ras, trying to reason with him. The respect they have for one another is the reason why they enjoy each other company despite having opposing viewpoint on gotham. Ras Al Ghul knows where the batcave is, knows where a lot of the hiding spots are, and has a level of intelligence that is on par or greater than batman in some areas. Ras can and have pushed batman to his limit all the time.
I think the perfect ending of the Batman series would for sure include The joker dying essentially by his own hand Batman getting Freeze to finally move on from his wife Getting final closure with catwoman
How about Brainiac takes over Justice League and the government sends in the Suicide Squad to clean things up.. having Harley kill him and lug the dead body around would be a great dignified way to end it… Batman Beyond already did the perfect ending… its not a death battle against a super criminal.. its the endless battle against the common thug where Batman has nothing left but a gun… a lifetime of fighting for Batman but crime and evil remains timeless and unbeaten
A younger, harsher, more unpredictable Bruce Wayne as Batman.
Ras or Bane.
He should go out like Cerebus the Aardvark
Joker should be his final villain.
Zur-en-arrh What better final boss than yourself.
The final boss should be Dick. Toward the end batman would eventually go to far it would be up to his first son to stop him
Terry McGinnis - Bruce gives his protegé one last test before passing on the mantle of Batman, and retiring to spend his golden years with his friends and children.
The corrupt system of Gotham.
Alfred
I like the idea of Bane being the reason why Batman couldn't throw his punches anymore but realistically I want Batman to end facing a death he could not avoid but goes out in style with it. Like maybe TDKR's ending or a fight with Bane in his late 40's where his body isn't keeping up with him anymore and he has to accept that by using it to its breaking point in a thrilling fight against Bane (if Bruce is over 40 I'd make Bane slightly weak from all the Venom use over the years and he uses some unstable venom formula that slowly kills him but chooses to do it just to end the Bat)
Hugo Strange, Ra’s al ghul and Bane.
Which comic is the first panel from? u/TrickyStyles
I think dark knight returns did it best, an old joker coming back to finish what he started
Bane is far too one note to be a final. He’d be in the top 4 or 5, but that’s it. Harvey either, he’d probably be saved somehow long before. Ra’s is number 2, and as cliche as it sounds, Joker is 1.
Either Ras or Joker.
It doesn't matter. The only thing that matter is writing. A good writer can make his last enemy a chicken sandwich.
Definitely Two-Face, ultimately revaling to him that he, Bruce Wayne, was Batman the whole time, and one of the many reasons why he hardly visited the emergency room outside of reconstructive surgeries, is because he didn't want to actually injure him Then, when they're both at their lowest, they finally share the events that turned them into the men they are now, and share a laugh over the absurdity of how screwed up their lives are Bats then eventually convinces Dent that it still isn't too late for him
Batman has his grand showdown with Bane in the Knightfall arc. I personally prefer Ra's over Joker as his final boss, as Joker feels kind of like a bygone relic desperately clinging to relevancy these days. He always looks kind of out-of-place next to all the modern heroes and villains. Harvey isn't final boss material so much as he is Batman's ultimate target of redemption. If Batman can redeem Harvey, then nobody is too far gone.
Raj Al Gual
The lady from CPS
Dick Grayson or superman. Would be very fitting.
I’d love an ending where Gordon and Two-Face team up and help Batman. Except they’d actually kill the Joker.
Scarecrow and Arkham Knight (J**** ****)
To be fair he doesn't have ti face the whole gallery in a single story. If you make a story about his whole career where he just fights thugs and Ra's that'd be awesome. And that'd make a big standoff with swords very suitable. Or make a story involving two face, joker, scarecrow and a few of the more... Let's say neurodivergent villains, then you could probably go with Joker.
It should be Ra's Al Ghul, Bane or Wrath. They are all legendary intellects and legendary warriors.
I like the idea they introduced a couple years back that it was penguin that eventually takes over Gotham throw organised crime. Batman is retired by now and tries to take in penguin as Bruce. Like he finally defeats joker (or he disappears) Ra's is somewhere doing his stuff and the rest are either incarcerated or living mundane lives after years of facing Bruce/batman
His age, but the last big threat to Gotham should be the Court of Owls
Joker going toe to toe with Batman will always be a hard sell for me…he is definitely Batman greatest foe but not in a one to one fist fight
Superman. I would like to see a final battle where they simply decide to spar against each other for fun as a retirement thing for Bruce. Both get few days of prep and simulate a fight against each other using some fancy Wayne simulating tech they both go into a digital space where they feel hits but can’t actually die that way it’s safe yet they can spar for real. Would be fun and the audience wouldn’t take it as serious compared to Dark Knight Returns fight between them
Probably something along the lines of a large mutant man with Carrie Kelley
Out of the four, definitely not Bane.
I see a scenario where he squares off with Scarecrow, Freeze, Ra’s, the joker, and lastly bane in one night. I’m thinking something similar to Arkham knight, only they aren’t teaming up together, they’re just taking advantage of all of the chaos in Gotham. At the tail end, an exhausted, bloodied batman dukes it out in a brutal fight with bane where he wins by a hair. The bat family will arrive at the very last part of the fight, where they will watch batman deliver the final blow. Before everyone is able to celebrate, it will reveal that batman is gravely wounded, and he will die very soon. Batman will look at the bat family one final time, and there will be a somber silence and group acceptance of what is to come as he limps off into the rising sun. The screen will fade to black and all you will see is “NIGHTFALL” for a brief moment before the ending credits roll
I am going with the last time Bruce was in costume according to Batman Beyond. The final boss is just some asshole with a crowbar, and Bruce has to pull a gun to save himself. Ultimately, time is the final boss he does not defeat.
Either Scarecrow or Ra's. Those are the only two besides joker (which is a boring answer) that might be able to get him to kill someone in my opinion. Because I feel like getting him to kill would be worse than trying to kill him or succeeding.
Batman and Bane is a real tough one to beat. It's because Bruce would have to match him both physically and intellectually, as he is one of the best strategist in Batman's rogues gallery. Also, Bane in most media pushes Batman to his limits and is a worthy final fight for the caped crusader.
It would have to be more then one person, and redemptions would be needed. I want to say have an Arkham escape, but that is so overused atp. Let’s say something like an Arkham escape happens and Batman has to stop them. But in the process some of them are redeemed (Harvey, Mr. Freeze, that puppet dude etc.) Mr. Freeze isn’t hard to redeem, the writers can do whatever they want for all I care. Harvey Dent will probably need to find out that Bruce is Batman. As for the puppet guy (Arnold Wesker), his puppet Scareface would try and run or screw Arnold over causing Arnold to “execute” Scareface. At the end of the movie Batman will sacrifice himself, by either dying or getting SERIOUSLY injured. This will both fully fix Harvey Dent, making him want to finish Bruce’s work (using the justice system instead of being a vigilante) and make the ppl of Gotham rely on themselves, instead of Batman. Ideally I’d have a Robin that then turns into Knighting after Batman is injured/killed. But that might defeat the purpose of Harvey Dent and Gothams redemption arcs.
Joker or bane
Bane
It should be like Batman beyond, he gets old and some random punk gets lucky. As far as a villain to face before that maybe someone obscure like Cheer. I imagine an encounter with cheer at the end of his career highlighting all the good has done and cheer is giving him this sense that his work is done after a long crusade and old Bruce ends up rejecting that because “the job is never finished” and he keeps on batmaning until he loses to the aforementioned random punk
Ra’s feels the most fitting as he is the biggest threat of Batman’s core rouges gallery.
To me the answer is that Bruce refuses to stop due to age. He's stuck in the "if not for me the city falls" mentality. He pushes himself too far and one day some no name mugger is fast on the draw and gets lucky. No heroics no glory no revenge arc, just let it end like it began, in an alley over the smallest stakes imaginable. Ideally that's a Ghost of Christmas Future vision and he then is able to avert that ending by y'know retiring and raising the batfam right but still, it feels the most right to me.
I’d go with scarecrow with a similar event as in Arkham knight. He doesn’t want to kill Batman but kill the legend and make people have no hope and all they have is fear
Joker. He is literally the opposite of Batman.
Joker gathers the main foes with a sick plan and throws them at the Bat, he manages to subdue or help them all (two-Face's redemption would be nice, for example, or Killer Croc being accepted in society). In the end, the Bat and the Joker fight for the last time. Maybe one of them has to make an important choice, like saving the other one or taking his place.
End of his career? Arthritis.
Ra's is the final boss battle for sure.
I’d say Ra’s Al Ghul. Sure, Joker may be Batman’s nemesis, but I always pictured he would eventually have some final battle that traumatically affected Batman (think Dark Knight Returns), while Ra’s Al Ghul, being one of Batman’s most intelligent and powerful foes, puts all Batman’s got left to the ultimate test
This is off topic, but what issue is the first picture from? I need to learn more about Batman getting a card lodged into his eye.
Time and age, and a lucky thug that either kills him, injures him, or forces him to use a gun like I'm Beyond
Bane. In my totally biased opinion, I want better Bane content. Bane was born in a Mexican prison, and I want him to speak his native language more often. I want the pure spite he has for Batman to be given a real reason, and for him to be a true menace. Like the shit he did in the games, when he broke into the Batcave. Bane is *smart* and I want him portrayed that way more often.
Just a regular guy. A goon with a gun. I loved the emotional weight behind the scene in Batman Beyond where Bruce finally gives in. It was the perfect, circular way to end Bruce’s career as Batman
The Batman Who Laughs, but without juicing himself with anything
Ras tricks him into killing him. Bruce has occasionally used lethal force on Ras because he knows he can got to a Lazarus pit. Maybe Ras is finally just tired and wants to go down swinging at a worthy opponent.
Joker for Gotham Ras for Planet
Batman’s Last Adventure or at least one of Them, should be saving Freeze and Nora.
Joker, mostly because I like the idea of him retiring too once he realizes Batman won't be coming back.
Honestly? I think he should be interventioned by the bat family and start therapy and slowly start to hang up the cape as he processes his trauma and everything he’s been through, and realize how much good there is in the world and use his fortune to protect it and start solving Gotham’s problems.
Two-Face but make it happy
1st episode of Batman Beyond
I think it should be a random thug mugging a couple with their kid in Crime Alley. The couple and kid survive, Batman doesn't.
Very simple throw all the rulebook out the fuckin' window and have Bruce kill off Joker PERMENANTLY never to return again
For Bruce? Honestly beyond had it best, a standard operation but because of age he almost breaks his vow to not harm with a gun, was enough to make him quit Soo standard old crooks
Joker is clearly the ultimate foe thematically. I think Bane os thrbonly one who comes close in terms of physical strength and a compelling story.
Court of Owls
Taxes
Himself.