DC Animated Universe
Register
Advertisement

Throughout the course of the DC Animated Universe, there have been several characters that, in some way or another, have managed to survive scenarios that should have killed them (in other words, they "cheated death").

In some cases, the fates of many characters (especially villains) were left ambiguous, with the producers sometimes wanting them to return but not succeeding; depending on the character, some of these cases could count as experiences for the characters.

In some cases, the survival of characters may not have been shown onscreen in the DCAU, but were explained in the DCAU Comics. Due to the fact that some of this comics are written by members of the DCAU crew, these cases could also count.

Joker[]

"You're not smiling, Joker. I thought you found death amusing."
Andrea Beaumont/The Phantasm

The Joker is the most notable and prolific example of this phenomenon, having survived a grand total of nine times, making him the character that had cheated the death more times in the whole course of the DC Animated Universe, along Brainiac.

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: The Animated Series, "Be A Clown" Falls from a rollercoaster into the water. Unexplained.[nb 1]
Batman: The Animated Series, "The Laughing Fish" Jumps from the rooftop of the aquarium into the sea, where a hungry shark (who Joker himself taunted with meat) seems to devour him. Unexplained.[nb 2]
Batman: The Animated Series, "Harlequinade" Crashes a plane into Mayor Hill's mansion, and moments later, exits through the door, dizzy but unharmed.[nb 3] Unexplained.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Taken away by Andrea Beaumont as the World of the Future Fair explodes. Unexplained.[nb 4]
Batman: Vengeance Falls from a bridge.[nb 5] Unexplained.
Superman: The Animated Series, "World's Finest, Part III" Is aboard Lex Luthor's aircraft as his own exploding marbles blow it up. Unexplained.[nb 6]
The New Batman Adventures, "Mad Love" An uppercut from Batman sends him falling into a smokestack. Unexplained.[nb 7]
Justice League, "Wild Cards, Part II" Is purged into a catatonic state due to Ace's mind powers. Unexplained.[nb 8]
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Tim Drake, whose psyche has been broken by Joker, kills him, either by shooting him in the heart or inadvertently electrocuting him.[nb 9] Using stolen Project Cadmus technology, Joker inserted a microchip onto Drake, which carried his D.N.A. and personality.[nb 10]

Brainiac[]

As the table below shows, Brainiac has cheated "death" nine times during the course of the whole DCAU, making him, along the Joker, the character that have cheated the death most times in the DCAU. However, considering the events he has already survived and the fact that he is basically a living computer program, it is possible that he is still "alive" in some form.

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Superman: The Animated Series, "Stolen Memories" At his own request, Superman leaves him behind on the ship, just before the missiles destroy it. He managed to download his programming into Luthor's computers.
Superman: The Animated Series, "Ghost in the Machine" The Sentry's beam magnitizes his body, pulling all metal objects towards him, which destroys it. His programming had been transferred to the computer systems of Wayne Enterprises during the company's partnership with LexCorp.
Superman: The Animated Series, "Knight Time" He is trapped aboard a rocket as it explodes in space. No definite explanation, though Superman warned Batman, "I'd check your computer systems anyway. Brainiac has a way of leaving a little of himself behind."
Justice League, "Twilight" 1. The Justice League destroy him.

2. Batman destroys the main console, causing a system failure which eventually destroys the asteroid and Brainiac's programming.

1. They discover that his programming is written into the asteroid.

2. The Justice League discover a piece of him in the debris, and keep him locked up in the Watchtower.

Static Shock, "A League of Their Own" 1. Whilst Gear causes Brainiac to crash by downloading the same song repeatedly, Static drains the Watchtower of energy, finally subduing Brainiac.

2. Static shorts out Backpack's remote control, which effectively shuts down Brainiac.

1. He has managed to download himself into Backpack, Gear's robot.

2. His next appearance would result from the programming inserted into Lex Luthor many years ago.

Justice League Unlimited, "Divided We Fall" Flash taps into the Speed Force to destroy the Luthoriac (the combined entity of Lex Luthor and Brainiac). At this point, he only exists in the form of debris from the asteroid.
Justice League Unlimited, "Alive!"/"Destroyer" As Luthor tries to reconstitute him from the asteroid debris, Darkseid is resurrected instead by Tala's power. This process merged Brainiac with Darkseid, and so when Darkseid vanished with Luthor, the very last traces of Brainiac disappeared as well. However, the episode "New Kids in Town" shows that some remnant of Brainiac somewhere had survived and continued to exist in the far future until traveling to the past and being destroyed by teenaged Clark Kent.

Metallo[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Superman: The Animated Series, "The Way of All Flesh" Sinks to the bottom of the sea after Lex Luthor's yacht is destroyed during battle with Superman. The final shot of the episode shows Metallo ominously walking across the sea bed. Obviously, his metal body is durable enough to withstand ocean pressure, and apparently, he now doesn't need oxygen any more than he needs food.
Superman: The Animated Series, "Action Figures" Apparently drowns in lava trying to save his Kryptonite heart, but is later seen alive after the lava has hardened. His survival is not explained, but it is later explained that he was retrieved from the lava by Intergang.
Superman: The Animated Series, "Superman's Pal" Falls into a car masher after his Kryptonite heart. Unexplained.
Justice League Unlimited, "Chaos at the Earth's Core" While Green Lantern questioned him, his mind was closed by an unknown force and then he was taken to the Watchtower II to see if there was still something in his mind that could be saved. Unexplained.[nb 11]

Batman[]

The Dark Knight has cheated death four times, but he almost always seems to have an explanation for his survival without exceptions.

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: The Animated Series, "The Man Who Killed Batman" Is seen falling towards a gas tank just before it explodes, and all that is left behind is his cape and cowl. He swung away just before the tank exploded, faking his death in order to solve a drug crime.
Batman: The Animated Series, "Riddler's Reform" In an elaborate deathtrap, the Riddler locked Batman in a warehouse with a large bomb overhead. Broadcasting his image to a large TV in the building, Riddler taunted Batman and gave him a ten-second countdown to detonation. When the Dark Knight couldn't find a way out (all escape routes had been sealed off), the bomb went off and the building exploded. The Riddler presumed Batman was dead and their "game" was over. With no way out of the building, Batman hid inside a safe he spotted, and the safe protected Batman from the explosion (a fact that Batman cruelly refused to share with the Riddler as he was arrested and taken back to Arkham Asylum; not knowing how Batman escaped his "inescapable" deathtrap, drove the obsessive-compulsive Riddler even more insane than before).
Justice League, "Secret Origins, Part II" In the second part of the episode, he is separated from teammates Wonder Woman and J'onn J'onzz, and apparently killed by the invading aliens. When he re-appears in the third part, J'onn explains that he had telepathically shielded him from detection.
Justice League Unlimited, "The Doomsday Sanction" As he tries to divert the nuclear missile from the island, the explosion sends him flying into the sea at an alarming speed. Likely due to the sturdiness of the Javelin's escape pod (and his own peak physical conditioning), Batman survives with some broken bones.

Cheetah[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "Injustice for All" She tries to escape from the Injustice Gang after being mistaken as a traitor, but Joker electrocuted her, and she was subsequently taken away by Solomon Grundy.[nb 12] None.
Justice League Unlimited, "Alive!" Apparently killed when Darkseid used his Omega Beam to destroy the headquarters of the Legion of Doom. She, along with other members, was saved by Star Sapphire's power crystal and Sinestro's power ring.

Clayface[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: The Animated Series, "Mudslide" Falls into the sea, and his unstable body breaks apart. What was left of his body reacted with some chemicals in the water, slowly but surely restoring him.[1]
The New Batman Adventures, "Holiday Knights" After being confronted by Batgirl, Renee Montoya and Harvey Bullock; the icerink collapses below him and falls into the cold water, disappearing from the people's sight. Unexplained.[nb 13]

Harley Quinn[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
The New Batman Adventures, "Mad Love" The Joker pushes her through a window, and she falls several stories to the ground. She somehow survives with a broken arm and several abrasions and cuts. Unexplained.[nb 14]
Justice League, "Wild Cards, Part II" After Jack accidentally entangles his arm in the propeller of the helicopter where Harley was, which crashes; somehow, she survives without an a definite explanation and leaving the fates of both Jack and the helicopter's pilot unknown.
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Falls down a deep ravine at the ruins of Arkham. Years later, however, an elderly Harley is revealed to be alive and completely clean from crime, with two granddaughter, named Delia and Deidre.

Inque[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman Beyond, "Disappearing Inque" Is diluted by the rain and drains away into the sewers. Unexplained.
Batman Beyond, "Inqueling" Due to a solvent agent mixed into the mutagen she injected into herself, she dissolves into thin air. Unexplained.[nb 15]

Lex Luthor[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Superman: The Animated Series, "Ghost in the Machine" Somehow manages to survive an energy blast from Brainiac. The energy blast wasn't intended to be lethal, but instead inserted a nanotech copy of Brainiac's programming into Luthor's body.[2]
Justice League Unlimited, "Alive!" Is apparently killed when Darkseid used his Omega Beam to destroy the headquarters of the Legion of Doom. He, along with other members, was saved by Star Sapphire's power crystal and Sinestro's power ring.
Justice League Unlimited, "Destroyer" After showing him the Anti-Life Equation, both he and Darkseid vanish in a huge explosion of bright light. Both Luthor's and Darkseid's ultimate fate are left ambiguous within the show. However, late writer Dwayne McDuffie has stated that both became part of the Source Wall, as all who solve the Anti-Life Equation do.[nb 16]

Poison Ivy[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: The Animated Series, "Eternal Youth" Is slammed into the greenhouse roof by a rapidly growing tree. Unexplained.
The New Batman Adventures, "Girl's Night Out" She is electrocuted when Livewire accidentally causes a breakdown voltage when falling into the water that came out from the water key of the water tower. However, it was later reported that she was arrested. Unexplained.[nb 17]
The New Batman Adventures, "Chemistry" After the yacht begins to sink under the waves, Batman tries to save her from her possible demise, but Ivy failed to reach his hand and disappeared under the sea along her creation Susan Maguire. Unexplained.[nb 18]

Livewire[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Superman: The Animated Series, "Livewire" During her fight against Superman in the Metropolis's hydroelectric plant, a dam accidentally breaks and the water apparently kills her with a short circuit. Subsequently, Superman takes her away and she was finally locked into a special machine by Lex Luthor. Unexplained.[nb 19]
The New Batman Adventures, "Girl's Night Out" Is electrocuted with the water released from the water tower after Batgirl throws her into it during the fight. However, it was later reported that she was taken in custody.

Roxy Rocket[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
The New Batman Adventures, "The Ultimate Thrill" Is apparently eaten alive by the killer seals in the giant pool of the Iceberg Lounge in an attempt of the Penguin of kill her. As she was known for risk her life in various activities, she apparently dome one of the seals and reached with the help of the animal to the iceberg of the pool, and eventually escapes from the Penguin's clutches.

Star Sapphire[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "Fury, Part II" Falls into the sea at great speed after a fight with Wonder Woman. Unexplained.
Justice League Unlimited, "Alive!" Is apparently killed when Darkseid uses his Omega Beam to destroy the headquarters of the Legion of Doom. She uses her power crystal (as Sinestro uses his power ring) to save herself and the other survivors.

Toyman[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Superman: The Animated Series, "Fun and Games" Only his broken mask is found after his toy factory explodes. Unexplained.
Superman: The Animated Series, "Obsession" Apparently dies in a helicopter crash caused by his android "companion" Darci Mason. Darci is shown to have survived, traveling with a man-sized piece of luggage; it is implied that she is carrying Toyman's body. Regardless, Toyman resurfaces working alongside Darci in a plot to have her assume the form of gifted Dakota Union High School student Daisy Watkins.
Justice League Unlimited, "Alive!" Is apparently killed when Darkseid used his Omega Beam to destroy the headquarters of the Legion of Doom. He, along with other members, was saved by Star Sapphire's power crystal and Sinestro's power ring.

Ebon[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Static Shock, "The Breed" Already inside the train, he dissolved after being illuminated by the purple light of the roof of the vehicle, as Static increased its power with his own powers. Unexplained.[nb 20]
Static Shock, "Power Outage" After merging with Hotstreak and becoming a two-headed monster named "Ebonstreak", Static manipulates it to enter into the docks and finally, it's apparently destroyed when a ship explodes. Unexplained.[nb 21]

Darkseid[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of "survival"
Justice League, "Twilight, Part II" Was trapped under rubble when Brainiac exploded. Although Darkseid did in fact die on this occasion, he was accidentally resurrected when Lex Luthor used Tala to try to reconstitute Brainiac.[3][nb 22]
Justice League Unlimited, "Destroyer" After Lex Luthor showed him the Anti-Life Equation, both of them vanished in a huge explosion of bright light. Both Luthor's and Darkseid's ultimate fate are left ambiguous within the show. However, late writer Dwayne McDuffie has stated that both became part of the Source Wall, as all who solve the Anti-Life Equation do.[nb 16]

Legion of Doom[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League Unlimited, "Alive!" After the battle, in which many villains were killed for good, the survivors (Lex Luthor, Cheetah, Toyman, Killer Frost, Bizarro, Volcana, Heatwave, Star Sapphire, Sinestro, Giganta, Evil Star and Atomic Skull) were also apparently killed when Darkseid used his Omega Beam to destroy the headquarters of the Legion of Doom. They were saved by Star Sapphire's power crystal and Sinestro's power ring.

Hotstreak[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Static Shock, "Shock to the System" Succumbed after breathing the purple gas that was released by the chemical Big Bang explosion among the other gang members. He among his friends were later hospitalized in a hospital of Dakota, but he became Hotstreak and eventually escaped from the establishment.
Static Shock, "Power Outage" After merging with Ebon and becoming a two-headed monster named "Ebonstreak", Static manipulates it to enter into the docks and finally, it's apparently destroyed when a ship explodes. Unexplained.[nb 21]

Abel Cuvier[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman Beyond, "Splicers" He stays inside Carmine's Taxidermy Studio and apparently dies in the fire after being weakened by Terry McGinnis with his own sting. Unexplained.[nb 23]

Phantasm[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Tooks away the Joker as the abandoned World of the Future Fair explodes. However, she later reappeared alive at a cruise ship during a party. Unexplained.[nb 4]

Jay, Lark and Raven[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
The New Batman Adventures, "The Ultimate Thrill" While Jay was knocked by Roxy Rocket with a wrench at the landing track, Lark and Raven were pulled by Rocket inside an active airoplane, which collides against a water tower, falling over them, but Lark and Raven emerged alive from the cockpit flooded with water of the tower after the crash.[nb 24] Unexplained.

Aquamaria[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Static Shock, "Bad Stretch" She was electrocuted by Static until the point that she evaporates. She used her molecules to make a cloud and when it rained, she composed her body again.

Joker's Jack[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "Wild Cards, Part II" He accidentally tangled his arm into the propeller of Harley Quinn's helicopter. After the crash, it's revealed that Quinn survived, but the pilot's and Jack's fate was left unknown. Unexplained.[nb 25]

Madelyn Spaulding[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Static Shock, "She-Back!" She was electrocuted by a thunderblot during her battle against Static, Gear and She-Bang. After speak a while, she drops to the floor, apparently dead. Unexplained.[nb 26]

Mister Freeze[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: The Animated Series, "Deep Freeze" After he refuses to escape along Batman and Robin, he goes to the room in where is her wife Nora Fries, while the theme park of Oceania is destroyed with the ice, disappearing under the ocean. Unexplained.[nb 27]
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero Batman is unable to save him before the oil-rig explodes, falling to his apparent demise, but later emerges from the water along Notchka and Shaka.[nb 28] Unexplained.
The New Batman Adventures, "Cold Comfort" He falls along his freeze bomb from his enormous helicopter to the sea, in which a large iceberg forms as the explosion of the bomb. As he could separate his head from his body (because his head was the only part of his original body alive), Freeze released himself from his armor, which was locked into the iceberg. Years later, he was recovered by Warren Powers, Derek Powers' father.
Batman Beyond, "Meltdown" He delays the compound's collapse long enough for Batman to escape from the building before the destruction of it, with him inside. Unexplained.[nb 29]

Aresia[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "Fury, Part II" Her plane crashes with her inside it and drowns in the sea, apparently killing her in the process. Unexplained.[nb 30]

Knuckles, Vinnie and Kowalski[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: The Animated Series, "Harlequinade" They crashed an airoplane along the Joker into Hamilton Hill's mansion, but after the but after the Joker comes out of here, Knuckles and Kowalski emerged from the fired airplane.[nb 31] Unexplained.

Killer Croc[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
The New Batman Adventures, "Love is a Croc" After Batgirl and Batman stop Baby-Doll's attempt to explote a nuclear bomb and saves Doll from a sure death into a spinning turbine inside the nuclear power plant of Mid River Island, he brokes one pipe and subsequently he is gassed by boiling water of the tube. Unexplained.[nb 32]

Joker's Queen[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "Wild Cards, Part I" She was knocked by Hawkgirl and was launched through several slot machines. She apparently dies after the room explodes by Joker's bomb. Unexplained.[nb 25]

Solomon Grundy[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "Fury, Part I" He is affected after breathening the poisonus gas created by Aresia to exterminate all men in the world. Unexplained.[nb 33]
Justice League, "The Terror Beyond, Part II" He helps Shayera Hol to destroy Icthultu, but was killed by the entity and subsequently buried. When three youths tried to conjure a demon for power, they indirectly revived Grundy, because his grave was very nearly to them when they made the conjure.[4]
Justice League Unlimited, "Wake the Dead" He was killed for good by Shayera Hol to rest in peace. Unexplained.[nb 34]

Wade's Gang[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Static Shock, "Shock to the System" Wade, Duke and the rest of the gang members succumbed to the chemical explosion of the Big Bang, while other witnesses, like Static and Hotstreak, survived and obtained metahuman powers. Unexplained.[nb 35]

Superman[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Superman: The Animated Series, "The Late Mr. Kent" Clark Kent's car is blown up by Kurt Bowman. Clark Kent is believed killed, but he survives because the only witness that saw him apparently dying had short vision (and wasn't wearing his glasses at the time), allowing Clark to claim that he swam to the other end of the lake and saved himself.
Justice League, "Hereafter, Part I" Is destroyed by Toyman's "disintegrator" ray. In the second part of the episode, Toyman's ray is revealed to have actually functioned as a transporter ray that has sent Superman into the future.

The Penguin[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
The New Batman Adventures, "Judgment Day" While being pursued by The Judge, Penguin tries to open an emergency door, but The Judge cuts with his sword the strings of a giant artificial penguin, which crashed against the wall, hitting the Penguin at the same time. Is hospitalized and eventually operated by the doctors of the hospital of Gotham City.

Bane[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
The New Batman Adventures, "Over the Edge" After Batman removes the hoses that supplied him Venom from his suit, Bane slowly dies from debilitation, although he uses his last forces to end the respective lifes Batman and James Gordon. Bane's death never happened due all the main events of the episode were only Batgirl's nightmare after being sprinkled with the fear gas by Scarecrow.
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman After the S.S. Naiad crashes with a bridge, the impact causes Bane to lose his balance and he falls into the burning ship, which later sinks into the sea. Unexplained.[nb 36]

Tala[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League Unlimited, "Alive!" She is killed by Lex Luthor with a special machine to resurrect Brainiac after Grodd's defeat. However, she resurrected Darkseid instead Brainiac as her last act of revenge against Luthor. Unexplained.[nb 37]

Arthur Reeves[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm He is gassed by the Joker and subsequently hospitalized, but his fate was left unknown after Batman’s visit to him, although it's likely that he died due the effects of the Joker's toxin. Unexplained.[nb 38]

The Imperium[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "Secret Origins, Part II" Is destroyed by Hawkgirl and the soldiers were left by the flagship to die in the Earth. Unexplained.[nb 39]

Icthultu[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "The Terror Beyond, Part II" It's destroyed by Hawkgirl when she blow his brain. Unexplained.[nb 40]

Shiv[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Static Shock, "The Big Leagues" During the battle of the Dynamic Duo and Static against the Joker's Bang Baby gang, he accidentally nails his left light power blade into a conveyor belt, which electrocutes him. Unexplained.[nb 41]

Colonel Vox[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "Maid of Honor, Part II" He remained inside the Kaznia Royal Palace when it was destroyed, killing him in the process. Unexplained.[nb 42]

Orm[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "The Enemy Below, Part II" During his fight against his brother Aquaman, the ice shelf in which he was standing collapsed. Although he begged his brother to help him, Aquaman let him fall into the black abyss to an unknown fate. Unexplained.[nb 43]

Riddler[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: The Animated Series, "What Is Reality?" His brain get overloaded by not being able to beat Batman and kill James Gordon in his virtual world and is eventually left in a catatonic state after being unable to escape his world. His body was found in a room of the abandoned World of the Future Fair. Unexplained.
The New Batman Adventures, "Judgment Day" He is tied with chains by The Judge, and after Lar and Cur were trapped with a kind of shackles, The Judge cuts the ropes that held an enormous book, which crushes the Riddler. However, the news reported that he had survived.[nb 44] Unexplained.

Blight[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman Beyond, "Rebirth, Part II" Is exposed to his own nerve gas in an attempt of stop Batman. Powers was hustled into a secret clinic beneath Wayne-Powers, in which he was healed, but becames Blight.
Batman Beyond, "Meltdown" 1. He ends up being flash-frozen by Victor Fries during the latter's rampage from nearly being killed by Dr. Stephanie Lake. 2. He is launched into the air by a dying Fries via his freeze gun and ends up falling into a frozen lake from a severe height. 1. Derek Powers' radioactive mutation allowed him to survive and ultimately melt his icy prison, albeit at the cost of his synthetic skin being destroyed by the radiation in the process. 2. Powers implies with his "you are idiots" remark to his henchmen when they retrieved him from the lake, and in particular one of them offering towels in the event that he was cold, that his radioactive abilities allowed him to survive the fall and his being submerged in the lake.
Batman Beyond, "Ascension" He ends locked into the submarine which ends up exploting and sinking into the sea, leaving his ultimate fate unknown. Unexplained.[nb 45]

Creeper[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
The New Batman Adventures, "Beware the Creeper 1. After being gassed and pulled inside a vat of chemical substances by the Joker, this one puts an explosive cigar in his mouth that explodes to him wasting some machines of Ace Chemicals, but inexplicably Ryder emerges alive of that deadly scenario after the chemical is expelled by a pipe, but becoming the Creeper.

2. Coquetting with Harley Quinn in Gotham City's Port, Creeper is distracted by Quinn for a moment and was subsquently crushed by a giant wooden box because she actuated the crane that supported it to be released. But later, he emerges from it alive and without injuries.

1. Unexplained.[nb 46]

2. Although the specific reason isn't explained, it's very likely that Creeper's super strength allowed him to survive the crushing.[nb 47]

Boxy Bennett[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: The Animated Series, "Harlequinade" After being betrayed by Harley Quinn, Boxy tries to kill Batman along two of his henchmen, but Quinn cuts the rope of a big lampo of the hideout, crushing Bennett and his henchmen. Unexplained.[nb 48]
Batman: The Animated Series, "Harley's Holiday" When he tries to kill Harley Quinn and Veronica Vreeland, Quinn calls her pet hyenas Bud and Lou and they attack Bennett with ferocity. But later he appears alive escaping from them but with his clothes torn.[nb 49] Unexplained.

Warhawk[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman Beyond, "The Call, Part I" A missile explodes whilst he is apparently attached to it. He had shed his metallic armour after changing the missile's direction, and so that was what was attached to it when it exploded.

J'onn J'onzz[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League Unlimited, "Task Force X" His body is torn in two by the Annihilator. His ability to shapeshift and alter his molecular density helps him to survive such scenarios.

The Flash[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League Unlimited, "Divided We Fall" After tapping into the Speed Force to defeat Lex Luthor/Brainiac, he disappears. The other founding members work together to pull him back from a vortex to the Speed Force.

Copperhead[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "Fury, Part I" He is affected after breathing the poisonous gas created by Aresia to exterminate the men of the face of the Earth. Unexplained.[nb 50]

Red Tornado[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League Unlimited, "The Return" Destroyed by Amazo. Whilst it is not made clear on-screen, it's extremely likely that a new version of the android's robot body was built for the living air elemental entity that lives within.

Grodd[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "The Brave and the Bold, Part II" Is electrocuted by his mind control helmet after the Flash crossed a few wires of it, apparently killing him in the process. Unexplained.
Justice League Unlimited, "Alive!" After fought fiercely with Lex Luthor at the Legion of Doom headquarters, Grodd ends locked into the airlock, which Luthor opens and ejects Grodd into space, while he yells revenge before disappearing into an unknown fate in the infinite cosmos. Unexplained.[nb 51]

The Shade[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "Fury, Part I" He is affected after breathing the poisonous gas created by Aresia to exterminate the men of the face of the Earth. Unexplained.[nb 52]
Justice League Unlimited, "Alive!" After he decided that he was from Grodd's part in the Legion of Doom, he was frozen by Killer Frost and subsequently was supposedly destroyed when Darkseid blew up the ship with his Omega Beam. Unexplained.[nb 53]

Ra's al Ghul[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Superman: The Animated Series, "The Demon Reborn" 1. After Superman cuts with his laser vision a stone stalactite and causes a fight, Ra's apparently had a heart attack and dies.

2. When he tries to save her daughter Talia, the rock platform in which he was stay crumbles and he and Talia fall to an unknown fate.

1. Talia and Ubu managed to resurrect him with the essence of Superman.

2. Unexplained.[nb 54]

Batman Beyond, "Out of the Past" Ra's (inside Talia's body) dissappears after the explosion of the Lazarus Pit because of a exposed electrical cable struck the surface of the pit. Unexplained.[nb 55]

Talia[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Superman: The Animated Series, "The Demon Reborn" When his father Ra's al Ghul tries to save her from a cliff inside the cavern, the rock platform that stayed Ra's gave away and the two fall to an unknown fate. Unexplained.[nb 56]

Joker's Jokerz[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker All the Jokerz (except Bonk, who was killed by the Joker at the beginning of the film) were defeated by Batman and left in the rooftop of the Jolly Jack Candy Factory, leaving their fates unknown after the explosion. However, it was later seen that Dee Dee survived the explosion and were taken in custody, meaning that they could have been likely put in jail after that event. Unexplained.[nb 57]

The Ventriloquist & Scarface[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: The Animated Series, "Trial" When Scarecrow tried to behead Batman and Janet Van Dorn with his scythe, accidentally decapitates Scarface. The Ventriloquist left Mad Hatter and Poison Ivy to pick up Scarface's head. It's assumed that he later repaired his head, whether with glue or with another method.

Doomsday[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Justice League, "A Better World, Part I" He is sindeling and lobotomized by the Justice Lord Superman, while the Lord uses his vision of heat to do this, apparently killing him. His body was later recovered by Project Cadmus, whose leaders helped him regain his powers slowly, and was later subsequently released again by former Cadmus member Achilles Milo, who released him to get revenge against Amanda Waller, but instead Doomsday killed Dr. Milo, betraying him.

Chucko[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Chucko was defeated along the other Jokerz by Batman and left in the rooftop of the Jolly Jack Candy Factory, leaving his fate (along the fates of the other Jokerz) unknown after the explosion. However, it was later seen that Dee Dee survived the explosion and were taken in custody, meaning that he could have been likely put in jail after that event. Unexplained.[nb 58]
Justice League Unlimited, "The Once and Future Thing Part Two: Time, Warped" Is sent to the Cretaceous and is killed by the meteorite that extincted the dinosaurs. After Chronos is defeated, all its bad done was erased from the existence, resurrecting Chucko in the process and changing the timeline; erasing the Jokerz' memory of what happened.

Grant Walker[]

Episode/Movie Details Explanation of survival
Batman: The Animated Series, "Deep Freeze" Was freezed by Mister Freeze to a container of cold water inside Oceania and later dissapears during the explosion of the the theme park. Because Freeze froze Walker and the armor protected him, this action turned Walker into an immortal being, and subsequently he ended trapped inside a block of ice forever in the deepest of the sea.[nb 59]

Notes[]

  1. However, the height of the fall wasn't too high, letting likely the Joker to survive the fall.
  2. However, the Joker could have swam away or maybe the shark was trained to not devour him. Batman implies in the end of the episode that he suspected Joker's survival.
  3. This is unusual because the explosion caused by the crash was considerably large, and, being the pilot, Joker was close to the front of the plane.
  4. 4.0 4.1 In Mask of the Phantasm, Joker's and Phantasm's fate is left ambiguous. However, a DCAU comic states that Joker and Beaumont have a fight in the sewers, but the explosions from the World of the Future Fair separate them. Joker laughs breathlessly as he is dragged away by the current of the waters. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Joker and Phantasm" defined multiple times with different content
  5. However, this could be considered non-canon, due the debate that surrounds if the DCAU videogames are canonical with the DCAU or not.
  6. His survival was subsequently confirmed without any reason given in "Joker's Millions". Oddly, Batman implies during this instance that he believed Joker was dead by saying "at this point, he probably is [pudding]." in response to Harley Quinn's crying out his name.
  7. Although Joker seemingly didn't survived the fall, he send some flowers and a love note to Harley Quinn at the end of the episode. His survival was confirmed in "Injustice For All". In the original comic that the episode was based on, however, Joker when knocked into the smokestack cries out "Not again!", implying that this was not the first time he was knocked down a smokestack.
  8. However, at the final, Joker recovered from this state offscreen, because he is back to normal in the flashback sequence of Return of the Joker.
  9. Joker's seemingly ultimate fate is dependent upon the version of the film. He is shot by Tim Drake in the unedited version, and electrocuted with water in the edited.
  10. Justice League Unlimited, "Epilogue"
  11. However, in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Chaos at the Earth's Core", Green Lantern notes that, without his Kryptonite heart, Metallo's power reserve is dwindling. Considering the fact that he was defeated in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Heavy Metal" by Steel extracting his Kryptonite heart, this could count as another experience.
  12. Originally, Cheetah was meant to die in this episode after being dragged to an unknow fate by Solomon Grundy, but an animation error (which showed her in the police van along with the other members of the Injustice Gang) "spared" her life.
  13. Although in order of premiere, he reappear in the episode "Growing Pains", it's clearly assumed that this episode takes place before "Holiday Knights". However, Clayface survived, due the fact that he returned in the Justice League episode "Secret Society".
  14. Although never referred to within the DCAU, writers have stated that the toxic antidote that Poison Ivy once injected her in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Harley and Ivy"; with also increased her stamina, which would account for her survival.
  15. The ending of the episode, however, has the new Batman implying to her daughter that he anticipated her survival by saying "she's been dead before."
  16. 16.0 16.1 DwayneMcDuffie.com
  17. However, as the breakdown voltage wasn't very powerful above the water tower like in over it, it's problaby that Ivy fell asleep.
  18. However, she survived due her reappearance in the Static Shock episode "Hard as Nails", although any reason of her survival was given.
  19. However, due the fact that she is now a living form of eletricity, it's very likely that Livewire only fell asleep.
  20. However, Ebon was shown to dissolve his shadowy body with his powers, possibly meaning that the light only irritated him and made him withdraw.
  21. 21.0 21.1 Despite that Ebonstreak's ultimate fate was left unknown, Static and Gear assumed that they could have survived. Also, when "Power Outage" was aired, Dwayne McDuffie wasn't sure if Static Shock would be renewed for a fifth season, which could mean that maybe he had plans to bring back both Ebon and Hotstreak before the series' cancellation.
  22. Although unexpected, writers have stated that Darkseid's resurrection was deliberately brought about by Tala as a final "screw you" to Lex Luthor for killing her to resurrect Brainiac.
  23. Although Abel Cuvier's fate was left ambiguous, a DCAU comic reveals that he unexpectedly survived the explosion and that he recovered his spliced form.
  24. This is strange because the water tower collided above the airplane, which should have exploded instead to be seriously dented.
  25. 25.0 25.1 However, considering that is a metahuman, it's likely to have survived.
  26. However, her metahuman abilities could have let her survive the electrocutation, because she was arrested at the end of the episode, but she seems to be in a catatonic state.
  27. Although Freeze apparently perished in the destruction of Oceania, he later reappeared unharmed inside a giant block of ice, along her wife Nora, without an explanation given.
  28. However, Freeze's armor could have protected him from the fire and let him to escape from the oil station before the explosion.
  29. Although Mister Freeze's ultimate fate was left unknown, it's likely that he perished in the explosion, although it was previously supposed to be transformed in an immortal human by Derek Powers.
  30. Although Aresia didn't reappear anymore in the series, it's likely that she survived, due the fact that her corpse was never found. Also, Rich Fogel had stated in Toon Zone that Aresia could return in Justice League Unlimited due her ambiguous death, although this never happened at the end by unknown reasons, possibly the Wonder-embargo, althoguh Aresia is an original DCAU character, but based on DC Comics' Fury.
  31. This is very unusual, because the explosion of the airplane was very large, and Kowalski and Knuckles were in the cockpit, which was the first part of the plane to catch fire. Although Vinnie didn't reappear after the accident (presumbably he did it, but the screen closed ending the episode), he later reappears along Knuckles and Kowalski in "Make 'Em Laugh", revealing his survival.
  32. Although it seems that Croc died (although it also seems to knock him), his survival is confirmed with his appearance in "Judgment Day".
  33. Although any explanation was given, Grundy could have been hospitalized after that event. Also, as he was a zombie, he couldn't have been killed by the Aresia's toxin. His reappearance in "Only A Dream" seemingly confirms this.
  34. Although Solomon Grundy was in fact killed by Shayera Hol, a DCAU comic shows him resurfacing in the futuristic Metropolis of the Batman Beyond era and becoming the powerful crime boss Mr. Stone, owner of the nightclub Vanity.
  35. The members of the street gang of Wade, including Duke and Wade himself, never reappeared in the show, but it's likely that they survived and obtained metahuman powers like Ebon and Static. In the original Big Bang which happened in the comics of Milestone Media universe before the company's closement, it's was implied that many members of the gangs that witnessed the event died due the effects of the gas, leaving the fates of Wade and his gang completely unknown.
  36. However, although some fans had rumored that Bane didn't survived his supposed fate, it's clear that he did it, because he appears alive, but in a vegetative state in the Batman Beyond episode "The Winning Edge".
  37. Although in fact, Tala was effectively killed with Luthor’s machine, a DCAU comic (written by Matt Wayne, the DCAU writer who wrote "Alive!") shows her spirit returning to defeat Batman, Hawkgirl, Deadman and Jim Corrigan, but at the final, she was imprisoned by Doctor Fate inside a crystal ball. As an interest fact, the comic was originally planned as an episode.
  38. Although Reeves' fate was left ambiguous in the film, a DCAU comic (written by Paul Dini, who wrote Mask of the Phantasm) shows him recovered from the Joker venom, but with a smile on his face as an scar. Oddly, at the end of that comic, he was manipulated by Andrea Beaumont to jump from a balcony of a Gotham City’s skyscraper to the street and dies.
  39. Although in fact the Imperium was destroyed and his army was killed in the process, Bruce Timm mentioned that they had a little chance of return later in Justice League, although this never happened, since as Timm said, it was very unlikely that the Imperium could return back.
  40. Although this isn’t explained onscreen, the production team had stated that they want to believe that Icthultu didn’t die due the fact that it’s an entity, and that an entity can’t be destroyed. Despite this, Ichthultu didn’t reappeared in the show, and the production team stated that they thought that if Icthultu still lives, lives in a lobotomized, brain-damaged state.
  41. However, it's likely that the electrocutation only stunned him, because his reappearance at the end of the episode confirms this supposition.
  42. Although Colonel Vox died in fact, and the production team stated that his possible survival was very unlikely using as reference the most common fates for the villains of the James Bond film series, his corpse was never found, increasing the chances that he could have survived and cheated the death.
  43. Although Orm didn't reappear in the series, the production team stated that his death was very ambiguous that he could return if they wanted (Bruce Timm wanted to bring back him as a member of Grodd's Secret Society. However, he never returned (possibly he would have returned had it not been by the Aqua-embargo).
  44. This is completely unusual, because the impact of being crushed by a giant book should have killed the Riddler instead of fainting him.
  45. Although Batman supposed that he could have survived, Blight never reappeared in any further episode, possibly meaning that he drowned in the ocean and died. However, a DCAU comic reveals that Powers survived that deadly scenario.
  46. This is weird, because the explosive cigar must have killed him instead of not do anything to him, not even hurt his face.
  47. However, even so, the wooden box contained an angel stone statue that should have killed or at least seriously injured him.
  48. This is clearly unusual, because the impact could have killed Bennett. However, his reapperance in "Harley's Holiday" states that he survived, although if his two hechmen survived was left unknown.
  49. This is some unusual, because Bennett's chances of survive the attack of Bud and Lou were low due the ferocity of the hyenas.
  50. However, it's clearly that he may have been hospitalized, because he later returned and tried to escape from Stryker's Island along Solomon Grundy, Firefly, Luminus and Volcana.
  51. Although Grodd never reappeared in the show again, specifically due the fact that "Alive!" along "Destroyer" conform the series finale of Justice League Unlimited, on the special feature of "Alive!", Bruce Timm stated that Grodd's death was sufficiently ambiguous that "we could bring him back if we wanted to", increasing the chances of his possible survival. Also, in a DCAU comic, Grodd returns, revealing his survival after being sucked into space by Lex Luthor, but he is finally defeated and imprisoned in Gorilla City.
  52. However, it's clearly that he may have been hospitalized, because he later returned and joined Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society after Giganta contacted him.
  53. Although it's assumed that Shade perished along some other members of the Legion of Doom in the explosion of the ship, many fans had thought the possibility of his survival, because in the DC Comics, it was revealed that Shade can resurface from the dead, although this ability was never shown in the DC Animated Universe.
  54. However, as Ra's al Ghul had super strength by the experiment that he did with Superman at that time, it's likely that his resistance allowed him to survive the fall.
  55. Although his body was never found, increasing the chances that Ra's al Ghul escaped and survived, it's not specify if Ra's survived or finally perished for good.
  56. Her reason of survival is completely unknown, due the fact that she didn't acquired the super strenght of Superman like his father Ra's.
  57. However, the Jokerz could have escaped during the time in which Batman confronted the Joker and eventually killed him to release Tim Drake. It's assumed that if they escaped were later taken and apprehended in custody by the police. A deleted scene meant to take place between Terry's "Wait! I like to talk too." line and his kneeing Joker in the groin confirmed this.
  58. However, Chucko and the other Jokerz could have escaped during the time in which Batman confronted the Joker and eventually killed him for release Robin. It's assumed that if they escaped were later taken and apprehended in custody by the police.
  59. Although Grant Walker didn't made any more appearance in Batman: The Animated Series, a DCAU comic shows Walker escaping from the ice block after several years of imprisonment.

References[]

  1. Goodman, Robert (writer) & Dini, Paul & Goodman, Robert (story) & Tanaka, Atsuko (director) (February 28, 1998). "Growing Pains". The New Batman Adventures. Episode 8 (airdate). Episode 8 (production). Season 1. Kids WB!.
  2. McDuffie, Dwayne (writer) & Dos Santos, Joaquim (director) (July 16, 2005). "Divided We Fall". Justice League Unlimited. Season 1. Episode 25 (airdate). Episode 25 (production). Cartoon Network.
  3. Wayne, Matt (writer) & Riba, Dan (director) (May 6, 2006). "Alive!". Justice League Unlimited. Season 2. Episode 12 (airdate). Episode 38 (production). Cartoon Network.
  4. "Justice League Unlimited, "Wake the Dead"
Advertisement