Top 10 Darkest Moments in Animated DC Movies

“Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo” (2006)

When a lead on the illusive villain, Brushogun, takes the Teen Titans to Tokyo, Robin ends up in deeper trouble than expected following an attack by Saico-Tek, one of Brushogun’s minions. While their fight starts out just like every other classic hero vs villain encounter, things take a dark turn when it ends with Robin brutally beating Saico-Tek in front of a crowd of people. The scene of Robin standing over Saico-Tek’s beaten and unmoving body covered in what looks like pinkish blood leads everyone to believe that the Boy Wonder killed him. While it’s later revealed that this fight was staged as part of a conspiracy to frame Robin, the impact of the moment feels all too real.

“Justice League: Doom” (2012)

The heroes of the Justice League may be powerful, but unlike Vandal Savage, they are far from immortal. After orchestrating the theft of Batman’s secret contingency plans to incapacitate members of the League, Savage modifies them into being lethal and unleashes his Legion of Doom. The plans are horribly effective. Every Leaguer is pushed to the brink of defeat both physically and mentally. Its members are shot, burned and buried alive and pushed to their physical and emotional limits. Their trials make up a hope-crushing series of moments that shows that even the strongest heroes are not invincible.

“Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker” (2000)

No matter what universe he’s in, there’s no line the Joker won’t cross. In “Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker,” we see just how evil and twisted he can be. After kidnapping Tim Drake and torturing him for weeks, Joker brainwashes him into becoming his “son.” When Batman finds out what happened, he viciously lashes out at the Joker. Joker’s fate eventually comes to a violent end when Tim breaks free of his control and kills him, causing him to have an emotional breakdown. Unfortunately, Tim’s nightmare is far from over as the Joker returns from the grave decades later. Thanks to technology he implanted in Tim’s body, Joker is able to possess him like a demon straight out of hell.

“Superman vs. The Elite” (2012)

If Superman’s fight with the Elite has taught us anything, it’s that there’s nothing more terrifying than a Superman who’s willing to kill. After being overwhelmed by the lethal anti-hero team, Superman gets his second wind and shows them exactly what he’s capable of when he abandons his moral compass. One by one, he picks off each of the Elite, seemingly killing them in various ways. Superman even lobotomizes their leader Manchester Black, robbing him of his powers and rendering him helpless. Even though Superman reveals that his rampage was an all act to prove that violence is not the solution, seeing him adopt such a dangerous mindset is enough to scare the evil right out of you.

“Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths” (2010)

When Batman’s evil counterpart Owlman steals a bomb with the intent of destroying Earth Prime, along with the multiverse, all hope lies on the shoulders of Crime Syndicate member Johnny Quick. With his super speed, Johnny opens a portal for Batman to follow and stop Owlman. While heroic, Johnny’s actions come at a great cost as maintaining the portal causes him to rapidly age. In his final moments, Johnny deduces that Batman tricked him into creating the portal to prevent his fate from happening to Flash. It’s disturbing to know that Batman willingly sacrificed someone, even if it was to protect a friend. If there’s any solace to this dark moment, it’s that rather than die angry, Johnny compliments Batman for his deception.

“Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox” (2013)

Among the many dark changes caused by the Flash during Flashpoint, one of the most tragic is the origin of Flashpoint Batman. Every Batman fan knows the story of how Bruce’s parents were killed in Crime Alley, but in “Flashpoint,” Bruce is the one who ends up getting killed. In his rage, Thomas Wayne beats his son’s killer to a bloody pulp, while his wife Martha is sadly driven insane by Bruce’s demise, resulting in her becoming Flashpoint’s version of Joker. From that moment on, Thomas became his timeline’s Batman. However, Thomas doesn’t share his son’s moral code and thus became a more lethal version of Batman who’s willing to kill.

“Superman: Red Son” (2020)

He may be a soldier of the USSR, but Soviet Superman still cares about protecting innocent people just as much as his traditional counterpart. When he discovers the existence of a secret gulag where Stalin imprisons people he considers a threat, Superman learns that his childhood friend Svetlana was also imprisoned. The reason? Simply because she knew his true identity. Although Superman liberates her and many other prisoners, she dies in his arms moments after being freed. Her death leads Superman down a twisted path where he murders Stalin, takes his ideals to extreme lengths and even clashes with a more lethal version of Batman, who ends up blowing himself up rather than be turned into one of Superman’s mindless puppets.

“Constantine: City of Demons” (2018)

The arrogance of youth can lead to many tragedies, especially for someone like John Constantine. As a young practitioner of the mystic arts, John attempted to save a young girl named Astra from being tortured by her occultist father, Alex Logue, by summoning the demon Nergal. However, John quickly loses control of Nergal, who not only kills Logue and his followers, but also slaughters a ton of innocent people as well. Along with the resulting bloodbath, Nergal drives the knife even deeper into John by abducting Astra and throwing her into Hell. Even though Constantine experienced and survived some of the scariest and most disturbing events in the supernatural world, the events at Newcastle continue to haunt him.

“Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Part 2)” (2013)

If there was ever a good thing about Batman going into retirement, it’s that it also meant the end of the Joker. When Batman puts his cowl back on, this causes a catatonic Joker to resurface once again. To celebrate his big comeback, Joker decides to go on live television, where he murders an entire audience. And that’s only the start. From there, Joker goes on a mass killing spree at a carnival and claims even more lives. Batman is able to stop him, but not before giving Joker what he’s always wanted: making him lose control. In the end, Joker gives his twisted goodbye to Batman before claiming the life of his final victim… himself.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Mera Attacks Diana After She Discovers Her Affair With Aquaman

The People Who Hallucinate Kill & Hurt Everyone Around Them

Accidentally Waking up Doomsday Results in Mass Casualties

Joker’s Bloodlust Reaches Scary New Heights

She Accidentally Summons Her Father Trigon Who Destroys the Realm of Azarath

“Justice League Dark: Apokolips War” (2020)

The Justice League have spent years protecting Earth from Darkseid, but all it takes is one error in judgment to render their efforts meaningless. After an attempt to ambush Darkseid fails, the League is overwhelmed by his legion of Paradooms who savagely murder most of them, kill nearly all the Titans and allow Darkseid to finally conquer Earth. As for the surviving Leaguers, Darkseid punishes them with fates far worse than death. He robs Superman of his powers, turns Flash into a living battery, brainwashes Batman into becoming his general and transforms Wonder Woman and several other heroes into his cyborg slaves. Watching so many great heroes suffer such horrific fates is a nightmarish sight that many loyal fans won’t soon forget.