13. Epilogue

Complete story — includes the ending

Fifteen years into the future of Batman Beyond, Terry McGinnis learns that he is related to Bruce and comes to the conclusion he is Bruce’s clone; he confronts Amanda Waller, who reveals that she created Project Batman Beyond to continue Bruce's legacy. She knew the world would always need a Batman, so she conspired to first overwrite the reproductive DNA of Terry's father Warren McGinnis with that of Bruce, and then, at the right age, send an assassin ( Phantasm ) to kill Terry's parents. However, Phantasm did not go through with it, telling Waller it would violate Batman's strong moral code. Waller explains that Terry is not Bruce's clone, but his son, and that he can always choose to live life on his terms and not have to be like Bruce, who pushed his loved ones away out of devotion to his crusade. She shares that while he may not have Bruce's intellect, he does have his heart. Encouraged, Terry plans to propose to Dana Tan and goes home to take care of Bruce before flying off into the night as Batman. According to Stephen Harber, the episode was originally intended to be the series finale for Justice League Unlimited and the DCAU in general. The decision to end on a Batman-heavy episode was planned as a way of bringing the series full circle, ending the same way that the premiere Batman: The Animated Series episode (" On Leather Wings ") began with police spotting a bat-like figure in the night sky.