Warning: This article contains full spoilers for the final episode of Batman: Caped Crusader season 2.
It's all been building to this: the Joker’s (voiced by Matthew Needham) deadly grand plan for Gotham and its citizens, and it's certainly not looking good for the Dark Knight (Hamish Linklater), Pennyworth (Jason Watkins), Commissioner Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart) and the Gotham City Police Department.
Throughout the second season of Bruce Timm's gritty noir series, Batman: Caped Crusader, we've seen the Joker's horrific impact on both unsuspecting victims and key targets, leaving several grinning corpses in his wake. As he perfects his injected toxin, he's also quietly setting his grand design for Gotham into motion.
With his main rivals out of the picture - namely Edward 'The Riddler' Nygma (Ronan Raftery) and Rupert Thorne (Cedric Yarbrough) - the city is his for the taking, and he has an especially sinister vision for its future.
In the opening scenes of episode 9, Dead Before Dawn, he infiltrates Hattie’s Tea Party broadcast, infects host Hattie Tettch (Laraine Newman), and declares that by midnight Major Jessop will be murdered, while all of Gotham’s residents will be dead before dawn.
As the chaotic city-wide infection is underway, transforming Gotham's citizens into violent, laughing maniacs – much like Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's acclaimed 2014–15 Batman: Endgame storyline – can Batman and Pennyworth create an antidote in time to reverse the effects of the Joker's toxin before dawn breaks?
Batman: Caped Crusader season 2 ending explained: Does Batman stop Joker’s deadly plot?
Following the revelation that the mayor is dead and that his corpse - along with those of other infected victims - is creepily reanimating to spread an airborne version of the toxin across the city, Pennyworth is fast at work to try and create a cure. That’s until he’s unfortunately targeted with the very same green contagion and is transformed into an enlarged homicidal maniac, with his sights set on murdering Batman.
Batman deduces that the Joker is attempting to enact an epidemic upon the city with his "Joker Toxin", and with the help of Barbara Gordon and Pennyworth, they discover that there are four distinct phases to the poison.
The first phase is infection by injection - with patients presenting symptoms including uncontrolled laughter and death. The second phase is incubation, with the toxin in these infected patients turning to gas in the body, which is expelled when the body reaches saturation. This green gas is then the third phase, causing enhanced strength and resistance to pain - and the main cause of the spread amongst the Gotham citizens, along with the fourth phase - biting.
View Green Video on the source websiteAs Batman attempts to track down the Joker to try and put a stop to his plan, Pennyworth is hard at work trying to perfect the anti-toxin. The Dark Knight detective races down Gotham’s central highway in his Batmobile, until the Clown Prince of Chaos uses a rocket launcher to blast it off the road.
As the two eventually go toe-to-toe, the Joker reveals that he’s been waiting in Gotham’s shadows for months - watching, planning, and working to remove Rupert Thorne, his successor (the Riddler) and the corrupt mayor. His next step is to take Gotham’s police and citizens, using the toxin to remove the illusion of order and create chaos in the city - and it's working.
With the streets of Gotham in disarray - and the infected horde battering down the doors of the remaining survivors - it's a race against time until the whole city is overrun. Meanwhile, Batman and the Joker’s showdown spills out onto a skyscraper rooftop overlooking the city, and things aren’t looking good for the Dark Knight. Covered in knife wounds and held at gunpoint, the eerily composed agent of anarchy looks to be about to break the Bat. He finally reveals his true goal - to teach and "awaken" Batman; to "show you what you are, what I am."
The Joker believes they are one of the same, and that he’s doing Batman a favour by releasing him from his chains - his need and constant drive to save the people of Gotham. "We are alike, and we are above, alone," but Batman isn’t alone - as Pennyworth swoops across the sky in a plane which is emitting his blue anti-toxin smoke across the city. As a result, the infected citizens shrink in size, lose their terrifying grin and violent nature and collapse - putting an end to the agent of chaos's grand plans.
Does Batman defeat the Joker?
Despite shooting Batman in the leg and having the upper hand, Joker surprisingly relents and is about to walk away, noting Batman is still teachable and that he should rest, as they’ll finish this another day - continuing to spout William Yeats's poem 'The Second Coming' in the process.
However, Batman can’t let him walk away, and he swings his batarang at his head - narrowly missing. And yet, the weapon swings around, dislodges a collection of steel poles, and as they fall around the Joker, one lands straight through his abdomen. "You haven’t won. You never will. The joke… is on you," the villain says before laughing and falling off the side of the building into the smoke.
And while Commissioner Gordon reckons that a fall from that height - plus the fact that he was impaled - means the Joker is gone for good, Batman isn’t convinced that he finished the job. He instructs Montoya, Commissioner Gordon, and Barbara Gordon that he needs the body as proof.
Of all Batman’s cases so far, it’s clear that this one has rattled him the most - and there’s definitely a lingering feeling of unfinished business. Both Montoya and Barbara try to convince the Caped Crusader that he stopped the madman, saved the people and to lighten up and take the win - Gotham will bounce back. But surely there’ll be more of Needham’s Joker in the future.
Does Pennyworth live?
Thankfully, yes! Despite being infected by the airborne version of the toxin after studying Rupert Thorne’s body at the end of episode 9, Dead Before Dawn, Batman manages to inject him with the blue anti-toxin that the butler has been working on. But that’s not before Pennyworth has thrown him around like a ragdoll.
Batman’s closest ally and surrogate family member then plays a key role in thwarting the Joker’s plans to unleash chemical warfare on Gotham’s citizens, developing a successful anti-toxin which he distributes in style across the city via his plane.
Despite the shocking cliffhanger in the penultimate episode, Pennyworth thankfully lives to fight another day - and (hopefully!) many more.
Is there a post-credit scene?
For those super sleuthers who love to watch the credits right through to the end in case of a post-credit scene teasing the next series - I’m afraid you’re in for some bad news.
After the Bad Robot, 6th & Idaho Motion Picture Company, DC, Warner Bros Animation and Amazon MGM Studios logos appear, the final episode cuts to black with no post-credit scene teasing the Joker’s fate.
Fans will unfortunately have to wait for an official renewal announcement to see whether Bruce Timm's spiritual successor to Batman: The Animated Series will return.
However, executive producer and season 2 head writer Geoffrey Thorne has indicated a potential direction for a third instalment if the series is greenlit for more episodes.
"If anything, you might call it a bridge between pure film noir and moving into sort of movie serials action," Thorne commented in an interview with Animation Magazine. "It isn’t that yet, but you could conceive of a season 3 where it would become that."
All 10 episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader are available to stream now on Prime Video.
Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Hence then, the article about batman caped crusader season 2 ending explained does batman stop joker s deadly plot was published today ( ) and is available on Radio Times ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Batman: Caped Crusader season 2 ending explained: Does Batman stop Joker’s deadly plot? )
Also on site :
- Kaigene Enters into Exclusive Licensing Agreement with Taisho Pharmaceutical for Next-Generation Autoimmune Asset KG006 in Japan
- Tom Selleck On “Frustrating” Cancellation Of ‘Blue Bloods’ After Cast Took 25% Pay Cut: “Nobody Wanted To Leave”
- Andy Jassy said Amazon will spend $220 billion this year—and still won’t have enough capacity to meet demand