The Joker Returns in Batman Beyond

02/24/2017 12:01 pm EST

Since DC Universe: Rebirth reset the status quo for the publisher's titles, Batman Beyond has been in the business of reassembling the animated series status quo shattered by The New 52: Futures End in 2015.

The first order of business was restoring Terry McGinnis, the titular hero who had died in that series and been replaced by a future version of Tim Drake, the third Robin.

The second was to bring back Bruce Wayne, whose apparent resurrection has been a major plot point through the series' first handful of issues -- particularly as it appears The Jokerz, a gang of criminals outfitted with dangerous tech and inspired by The Joker, have access to his body and/or his biometrics.

Now, it's the Clown Prince of Crime himself who's apparently far less dead than we had previously been led to believe.

Bruce's seemingly-comatose body had been in the possession of the Jokerz for a while, until being revived by a shadowy figure most readers assumed to be the head of the Jokerz -- and maybe even The Joker himself, since it was his revival that had been teased when Bruce was first spotted (covered in Joker-like makeup).

In Wednesday's issue, which you can get here, fans discovered that's exactly what was going on: The Joker was back...but we still don't know much about exactly how or why. The only character to see him up close at this point is Terminal -- and he's probably dead now, as The Joker was last seen going at him with a crowbar, a la Jason Todd.

That's...a heck of a way to end the first arc of the series, titled "Escaping the Grave."

You can get Batman Beyond #5 at ComiXology or your local comic book shop.

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