The Near Apocalypse of '09 - FINALLY EXPLAINED?

[@dcauwatchtower]

9:55 - Yes. Yes, we have. ;)

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Either way, woman sure knows how to bedazzle our concepts of time.

[@Godzilla00X]

For the near apocalypse of 09, I've always imagined it as being similar to the tower of babel. Ra's stops the JL with plans he stole from Batman leaving only Bruce to stop him. It also can tie into Batman Beyond as that incident is what led to Bruce cutting contact with the league

[@jturner2577]

Perfect.

[@johnnygyro2295]

Makes sense to me. It could also help explain why the Justice League has less members in the Batman Beyond future, besides retirement. A good number of the Leaguers could've actually been killed by the League of Assassins!

[@SenorTortas]

They did an animated version with Vandal Savage. Could've stuck with the original storyline and make it the 09 apocalypse

[@michaelandreipalon359]

With the Yellow Batsuit involved too, for whatever reason.

[@DarkLink1996.]

So JL Doom, with Savage being replaced with Ra's? I'd take that. While they're at it, Doom's predecessor JL: Crisis on Two Earths could be redone for DCAU as well, like it was always meant to be. I headcanon them in anyway.

[@battleupsaber462]

If they ever make a JL reunion movie, they should totally make it about the near apocalypse of 09.

[@jturner2577]

YES

[@dancole2520]

They already made a JL reunion movie - Justice League vs The Fatal Five or some such.

[@InfernoBlade64]

Dan Cole only 3 actors out of original 7 were in that movie though

[@jturner2577]

@@dancole2520 He means another one.

[@RadinV1]

Based of tower of babel?

[@amccomics7560]

Ah, "the Near Apocalypse of '09," one of my favorite open-ended DCAU mysteries. Personally, I always figured Ra's doesn't pull it off on his own, especially after it was referenced again in JLU. It just doesn't seem like he could cause quite a large enough amount of destruction on his own to be remembered by people of the future over the likes of the events "Starcrossed" or "Destroyer." Instead, I always figured he led a somewhat Legion of Doom-esque team of supervillains. I mean, in '09, it stands to reason that Ra's could be the leader of such an organization, as really all the DCAU's major players (such as Lex, Darkseid, Brainiac, Gorilla Grodd, etc.) are gone by this point. There's a part of me that wants to know and yet there's another that thinks it's probably left best ambiguous.

[@KairuHakubi]

I always assumed they'd learned from Star Trek's Eugenics Wars and this time made it explicit that it was a _near_ apocalypse.. so something ALMOST happened, but didn't. That makes it much easier to fit almost anything in, especially since things tend to be named after the fact.

[@julioacceus253]

It's also safe to assume that Batman's suspicions of the League's power structure grew during and after the Cadmus situation. As well as Amanda Waller making a point of people being afraid of them which could more or less influenced Bruce to create the contingency plans after JLU ending. And if Ra's managed to pull this off but was stopped by the League, Bruce would undoubtedly acknowledge the damage were the result of the misuse of his plans (Just like JL DOOM) leaving up to admitting this to the League and to that effect, tarnish the trust and loyalty he's built with them over the years. Especially Diana. And it would seem Superman is the only one left that has come to understanding why Bruce Did this and why their relationship hasn't been rock solid up to meeting again in Batman Beyond. In fact, JL Doom as a film kind of paints a picture of how things could have went down in the DCAU after the show's ending.

[@ItsButterBean1020]

Ah so like JL:Doom then? Actually that would be super cool if they took notes from Tower of Babel

[@weeeeee4844]

They need to make that the next movie. And have a team consisting of as many villains as possible, I'm assuming there's no bat-embargo now so it would be cool to see joker, harley, ivy, croc, bane, two face, riddler and all that fight alongside the likes of cheetah, sinestro, killer frost, giganta, bizarro etc. Plus with all those villains they could get all the justice league members, green lantern corps and solo heroes such as huntress, Robin, nightwing, batgirl, aquaman, shazam, swamp thing and hey we could finally see plastic man.

[@nonameman7114]

Lewis Rodger joker was already dead by then, unless somehow he’s brought back to life only to die again

[@swiftswalow]

two thing i may add: 1.in the episode where the justice league travels to the future it's mentioned that the watchtower fell and many heroes died that day... maybe that was the 09 incident. 2. in this Ra's episode from batman beyond Ra's mentioned something along the lines of "after our last encounter my body was too damaged to fix"... now, seeing the many many things Ra's has done, what atrocity he possibly managed to do where batman just let his body be this messed up? i think he crossed some kind of massive line, to the point no hero was willing to save his life.

[@dcauwatchtower]

Good thought! As for your first point though, that was all Chronos’ doing, and part of a timeline that got erased from existence.

[@kevind.mendez7215]

Reset the “mattie talks about critters” counter back to 0 days

[@comicfan1324]

If I wrote the near Apocalypse of ‘09: Justice league level event. Batman would still be involved and it would allow some of the League members to also get in on the action

[@ashtraysonsundays4274]

It's like the embarrassing photo of Spongebob at the Christmas party

[@BGsRepairStation]

I like the explanation for the devastated sections of Gotham. It helps explain how all of the futuristic buildings came into existence in such a short time frame. They probably started designing them to be more earthquake proof and whatnot.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

I concur. However, that does make me wonder what happened to Metropolis and other places because of it.

[@GeezrPlays]

I like the added lore that the pronunciation "rashe" means he is the head of "my" or "our" demon. Parallels the respect he serves Bruce by calling him detective when he uses that pronunciation.

[@Adam_X78]

I’m being Out straight the near apocalypse of 09 Always bugged me as a kid like i Thought I missed something Important I can’t wait to hear about it in this video guys

[@SuperTunnelBoy]

Every time one of these videos come out all I can think is "Oh yeah, Because it's Thursday!"

[@darthgrayson8449]

Whats funny is I was actually watching this on a Thursday

[@Houte]

Ra’s is my favorite Batman villian! Thank you! As for the near apocalypse of ‘09, always kinda wanted Ra’s’s plan to be more manipulative. Make humanity turn on each other, similar to the plot in Devilman Crybaby. That way he wouldn’t kill anyone himself, but simply watch as his mind games sweep through the world and people begin to riot. Though Batman is also a master manipulator so he would figure out how to get the populace under control.

[@chezwizard]

Maybe even causing their world's stock market to crash earlier/harder than here? As a side effect or a small step of a larger plot, most likely.

[@cjackproductionsemergencyc9161]

Kinda like Team 4 star when Frieza talked about Captain Gynu about the "Jockstrap incident "

[@armandopina1109]

yeah, can Timm and co make a new DTV re: the apocalypse of '09? Maybe a two parter with ramifications to Batman Beyond? Leave me alone! I can dream!

[@BIGJXXX]

It deserves a 4 parter.

[@iceomistar4302]

It needs Paul Dini too

[@Lugbzurg]

It should just be the next DCAU movie, then, right?

[@BIGJXXX]

I think it should be Ra's and Vanel Savage teaming up to gather the anti-life equation from Lex/brainiac/Darkseid hybrid

[@armandopina1109]

@@BIGJXXX I always assumed Vandal Savage died when Supes went back to his original timeline after spending time with him in the future. i would like to know what happened to Lex/Darkseid after the finale.

[@RecantoSombrio]

The "Near Apocalypse of 09" is definitely the DCAU Mystery that really gets me craaazy, It is the one that i want the most to be solved and explored.

[@WilliamTheMuddy]

I always assumed that the Near Apocalypse of '09 was something that must have been so massive and destructive that it decimated pretty much the entire Justice League, hence why the Justice League in the future is made up of a grand total of Superman, Big Barda, Aquagirl, Warhawk, Bald Kid Green Lantern, and Static. I always assumed that something so destructive must have involved Ra's teaming up with a much more powerful villain, such as Brainiac.

[@dcauwatchtower]

Kai-Ro ;)

[@jturner2577]

Isn't Brainiac dead though?

[@johnnygyro2295]

@@jturner2577 I'm not sure. The Superman episode "New Kids in Town" revealed that Brainiac lived long enough to become an enemy of the Legion of Superheroes. That being said, thanks to all the time and multiversal travel, I feel that destiny isn't set in stone in the DCAU...

[@tjjordan4207]

4:04 Thanos: "I like him."

[@LordRavensong]

I think I would do a Vandal Savage/Ras al Ghul team up where they manipulate loads of other villains into helping them. Maybe some of them, like Poison Ivy or Mr. Freeze, switch sides to fight with the heroes.

[@srstriker6420]

LordRavensong well they never interact with one another

[@johnnygyro2295]

@@srstriker6420 True, but the two immortals teaming up to take over the world would be pretty crazy.

[@Mirrorcomics24]

@@srstriker6420 how?

[@ulicespedraza]

You see how fast his mind falls apart once he mentions Critters

[@mechajay3358]

Came here expecting what Near Apocalypse of '09 would look like, turns out I walked into a critters episode. I've been had.

[@samshughart3479]

i’m down for a poison ivy timeline video!

[@srstriker6420]

Sam Shughart especially why she turned green

[@Lugbzurg]

@@srstriker6420 Probably one of her plant clones.

[@srstriker6420]

Lugbzurg that’s what I was thinking

[@dusanstojsin4938]

That video is gonna happen 50 years from now, whenever "now" is.

[@Mirrorcomics24]

@@srstriker6420 you mean white?

[@jamescollinge5043]

Ra's wasn't referring to being deprived of the Lazarus Pits when he was talking about what shattered Arkady, but rather the 'deprivations' of the life of hard labour that he suffered after being arrested by Hex

[@Xehanort10]

The way Ra's used Freeze in that comic was similar to Grant Walker from the episode Deep Freeze.

[@StunsyGND]

I feel like it’s something that the JLU definitely would’ve gotten involved in if it was big, especially considering Superman also knew Ra’s and co.

[@comicfan1324]

2:15 As a Sonic fan, I find that hilarious!

[@CBright7831]

I could see the Justice League all sprawled out on the ground and defeated as Ra's looks around with a huge smirk. Then, it dawns upon him that someone is missing - Batman! He quickly turns around in a panic and there's Batman in full silhouette staring him down and you can only see his white eyes.......and that's all that I got.

[@mauricionavarro5397]

Waited for an episode like this one!! 🙌🏽👏🏽. Really wished Bruce Timm and Com. made a DCAU movie of this event with everyone in it, it would make my inner child dreams come true.

[@jturner2577]

That would be awesome.

[@chrisanderson2204]

Basically it's the Babel storyline

[@HovektheArtist]

guess I'm the only one who thought the near apocolypse of 09' was team up of the immortal man Vandal Savage and the Demons Head Ra's AL Ghul, both had access to untold resources, made teama to distract Justice League and Batman specifically from the plan, and both have had very near successes. teaming up could easily have led to the near apocalypse

[@michaelandreipalon359]

The Yellow Batsuit would have been involved and the setting is admittedly Justice League: Doom all over again, but with changes like the lead villain being Ra's Al Ghul, Vixen actually dying from the onslaught (which can parallel Carol Ferris' "death" and bittersweetly explain why John Stewart and Shayera Hol got together afterwards), and the new JL member being Static, not Cyborg. That's how I would love to view this offscreen moment of awesomeness and despair... but other than this, I'm admittedly fine into keeping it ambiguous and as fine fuel for our DCAU-loving imaginations. I still prefer calling him with the pronunciation of "rache" though. ...Wow, that's a lot of scheming in the comics. Not reaching flanderization levels, I'll admit, but still. 10:27: You said it, gorram motherkarker! Ra's was introduced in "Off Balance" though, unless you're referring to proper characterization and fleshing out. Won't lie, the full reconstruction and futurization of Gotham (and perhaps even Metropolis and other notable cities) being caused by the Near Apocalypse sure makes a whole lot of darn sense.

[@tjjordan4207]

I like not knowing what happened in the Near Apocolypse of 09, its fun to just imagine what that battle was like and who was involved.

[@jturner2577]

I can see why, but it be awesome to see.

[@tjjordan4207]

@@jturner2577 I'll definitely watch it if they ever made a cartoon movie or special episode about it, or even read it in a comic. But the odds of that are very slim.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

So, FreeSpace 2's ending all over again, alongside what happened between Monkey Island 2 and Curse of Monkey Island.

[@PrestonK_Productions]

I like to think Batman actually teamed up with his Rouges Gallery to take down Ra's, like he did in End Game... End Game the story arc from Batman, not Marvel. Edit: Also, instead of Joker it would be Ra's.

[@srstriker6420]

Preston K. Productions but that was Joker

[@PrestonK_Productions]

@@srstriker6420 The Rogues helped Batman because the Joker was going to destroy Gotham. If Ra's is causing a near-apocalypse, I'm sure the rogues wouldn't care to get destroyed along with the world.

[@srstriker6420]

Preston K. Productions tell that in batman/TMNT

[@Mirrorcomics24]

@@srstriker6420 you’ve talked about this in this comment section about 100 times now probably

[@tornadosoupcomics]

I woke up this morning and one of the first things that came to my mind was "Yes, Vanishing Point! Because it's Thursday!" (at the very least Watchtower Database has made me more consistently remember what day of the week it is). I then told myself I was going to add a comment to the new video once it was uploaded, asking if you could cover a specific topic, knowing you'd be more likely to see it if it was on the new video. I had a few ideas of what to ask, but I finally settled on... what happened during the Near Apocalypse of '09? I waited patiently for the new video to upload so that I could unleash the request upon you and then this came. You guys know what I want.

[@brettvonklock3206]

Yo I just want to say I've been reading legacies and its fantastic I'm up to the first special with the batfamily and the fact y'all broke out whelmed by DCAU Nightwing made me so happy and then the croc repellent bat spray joke I lost it lmao. So well done and its giving me major nostalgia thank you guys

[@ZombieChimpanzee]

I'd have the event include these things or resolve these discrepancies 1: Lazarus pits around the world used as a way to destabilize the earth's crust and tectonic plates to wipe out large area of populated places 2: other villains brought in to assist in distracting and disabling various JLU league teams and members 3: explain where heroes like Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter went. there are some league members who are prominent but then just seemingly aren't around in the Beyond era 4: other batfamily members are involved if they would still be active at the time, this would possibly lead to the retirements of Nightwing and Batgirl. it might actually include the death of Jim Gordon or Alfred as well. 5: this event, and the deaths of various leaguers and heroes, including those close to Batman drives him to leave the league leading to him no longer being a member by the beginning prologue of Batman Beyond 6: the event would lead to heavy civilian and hero casualties, and the destabilization of various nations leading to the beyond era's "New Cuba" and other new nations and neo-cities. 7: include heroes retroactively made canon like Hal Jordan and such. 8: this would be a huge story, and would be a full length, 2 hour movie if needed. 9: this would be what "ended" the era of heroes, and led to the world of Batman Beyond, where there are not a lot of active heroes compared to the past. the event would decimate the metahuman population, hero and villain. I would want a huge movie, this should be a big event, I would love to see this event done justice.

[@Anthony-pm5wu]

My pitch: Ra's steals Mad Hatter's mind control tech and amplifies it across most if America, putting almost every hero and villain under his control. But before that happens, Batman, who is on monitor duty at the Watchtower, sees this is going to happen and with the help of Mister Terrific, they make a way to sheild Gotham from the control just in time. Now it's Gotham vs the World.

[@dennybecton]

A new vanishing point on my birthday? Oh boy!!!

[@wnll0850]

Because it’s Thursday

[@dennybecton]

Mattie Washburn thanks!

[@finnianjoyce-velez8079]

The thing that really sparked my interest is the reference to it in the man bat arc of Batman beyond 2.0 which talks about parts of the historical district being collapsed during the event and never rebuilt

[@vicpardo894]

I'd like to believe it was a version of the tower of Babel storyline.

[@Abominatrix650]

IRL, the worst thing to happen to the world was the recession and swine flu. Economic and biological attacks on the world. Bit underwhelming but a lot of people did die from the virus. I even managed to get ill from late September until New Year's 2010 and survived! I don't think it was swine flu that got me (I doubt doctors would've kept that information from me) but it was still hell nonetheless. Ra's needs to try harder if he wants to cause something so devastating and memorable

[@KendrickHarrisKenfinity]

What!? It's awesome to find out what happened ten years ago in our time in the DCAU! Keep it up!

[@prinzessinugk1279]

Okay but didn't you establish that on-screen evidence tops tie-in comics and producer's statements? That means "Ra's" would be pronounced the way Talia explained it...

[@silvercomet6782]

The Justice league's still kickin in 2009, right? There's no evidence to support this, but it could be a dcau version of the tower of Babel storyline? I'd say those events would count as a near apocalypse

[@ZeroXMarquis]

In my head, the Near Apocolapse of 09 will always be the animated version of DC vs. Marvel (DCAU vs MAU-90s).

[@Xplasma1]

Hmmm... Buying 25% of the world's oil, then leaving it sitting in the ground so prices would go up and only the efficient would survive... Remind me what are gas prices at today compared to 4 years ago?

[@SavageAcorn]

Here's what I think the Near Apocolypes of '09 probably looks like. I'd like to think that the Near Apocolypse of '09 was something that Ra's had planned for many decades even before meeting Batman; his final ace in the hole to have the earth start over from scratch. Ra's had probably over time, amassed a lot of behind the scenes power across the Super-Powered Nations. And when I say Superpowers I'm referring to nations with WMD's. He'd likely bribed, threatened, and or blackmailed most governmental and parliamentary officials worldwide over several decades to do his bidding when the time came. He probably had done something to try to create a nuclear fallout that would've left human and other life nearly completely extinct. His aim was to have all of the bombs going off worldwide simultaneously so that it was impossible to stop even for the Justice League; thus creating the apocalypse. Talia believing that her father was going too far in his final act tipped Batman off. When Batman eventually found Ra's they got into an extremely fierce duel that eclipsed any they'd had before. Talia helps Batman defeat Ra's as only seconds remained before the bombs destroyed humanity. Ra's probably got caught in a huge explosion created by something else and was presumed dead. The news eventually catches wind of everything and the news headlines coined the event name as the Near Apocolypes of '09.

[@cjlane5677]

But if Talia betrays her father, and helps Batman, why would she offer herself so that he can live through her in the future?

[@brianpughsley8680]

@@cjlane5677She was probably tricked by her ailing father and believed that she was giving a “transfusion” yet was sacrificed by him instead.

[@Toastfreak]

In my imagination the near apocalypse of ‘09 is just a different name for the noodle incident.

[@chezwizard]

Headcanon confirmed.

[@jturner2577]

Sounds boring.

[@foldabotZ]

That's exactly what it is.

[@BATTY3459]

Just pronounce his name like they did in the DCAU since you’re a DCAU fansite!

[@coleschubert9868]

What if the death of the joker happened right before the near project of 09. What if Ra's Ahl Gohul hired the joker and had him distract batman. I think Paul Dini wrote the near apocalypse of 09 in arkham city as protocol 10 he just never got to write in the dcau so he shifted it over into the arkham verse.

[@chezwizard]

Cool. I was leaning toward Farmer Brown, but this sounds better. Also makes it an eerier parallel of what happened to Jason Todd, too.

[@thespiritus4440]

I would love to see batman and ras have a sad moment where Bruce says I can help you, and Ra's said I gave you that chance. Kinda like the killing joke.

[@BovineDesigns]

9:56 Did someone say... Timeline?

[@alexandersmith7061]

I’d make it this wide-scale battle at Gotham city. Ra’s gathers all the rogues, and Batman gets as many heroes as he can to fight. Gordon tried to get the citizens out through the sewers, but it collapses, causing a lot of death. Ra’s gets his body messed up, but also the city is destroyed to a point where it needs to be almost completely rebuilt, and after it’s rebuilt, it’s renamed Neo Gotham City

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

The issue is that most of Batman's would have retired by 2009

[@andreiaromanesei9270]

We need a movie about it ASAP Showing an late 40s Batman fighting Ra's with Kevin Conroy as Batman would be the best thing ever

[@dcauwatchtower]

At the very least, it’ll be a featured part of our Legacies webcomic!

[@andreiaromanesei9270]

@@dcauwatchtower yes,thank you guys!

[@cameronbaker97]

Sadly, it's not possible now.

[@VarakClawbinder]

Some sort of variations of the events of kingdom come was always my fan theory.

[@chezwizard]

Hadn't thought of that. Nice.

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

I think that would be more interesting if Kingdom Come was a storyline in Batman Beyond

[@Gsmooth84]

RIght after the apocalypse of 09, a certain project is born.

[@vegardnybakeri8148]

Finally you do a video on something I been thinking on for years.

[@TonyZarkua]

For The Near Apocalypse Of 09, I Imagine It Being Ra's Al Ghul Teaming Up With Poison Ivy, Farmer Brown, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Clayface, Black Mask, Firefly, Roxy Rocket, Gentleman Ghost, Heat Wave, Atomic Skull, Cheshire, Lady Shiva, Felix Faust, Clock King, Maxie Zeus, Anarky, Volcanna, Black Manta, Deadshot, Chronos, Weather Wizard, Mirror Master, Captain Cold, Kite Man, Bane, Killer Croc, Gearhead, Magpie, Orca, Killer Frost, Toyman, Evil Star, Victor Zsasz, Merlyn, Bloodsport, Sportsmaster, Key, Psycho-Pirate, Deathstroke, Count Vertigo, Dr. Polaris, Trickster, Master Jailer, Top, Effegy, Dr. Trap, Lock Up, Blockbuster, Hugo Strange, Rag Doll, Brain, Monsieur Mallah, Hook, Professor Ojo, Killer Moth, Black Spider, Tar Pit And Captain Boomerang Teaming Up To Cause A Worldwide Disaster Just To Create Peace

[@PosthumanHeresy]

I feel like a great twist on 09 would be that Ra's supervillain partner in it was _Swamp Thing_ . If anyone would make a face-heel turn in the name of environmentalism and be powerful enough to be involved in all this, it's Swamp Thing. Ra's could even have deceived him to some degree. How? The Alec Holland twist. Swamp Thing originally believed in the comics he was the reanimated corpse of a man named Alec Holland. Turned out, he was an entirely separate entity with the _memories_ of Alec Holland. But, what if Ra's got to him before he knew this in the DCAU timeline? How? Simple: Swamp Thing believes he's a reanimated corpse reanimated by the forces of nature. What force of nature could someone offer him to bring him fully back to life? The Lazarus Pit. Ra's has a simple twofold pitch, maybe even not built on a lie but rather bad intel from Swamp Thing himself. He goes to Swamp Thing with a proposal. Essentially saying that Swamp Thing wants to protect nature, but the Justice League at large really doesn't get involved with that. Swamp Thing would try to rebut that, but then Ra's can play his ace in the hole: Batman is Bruce Wayne, billionaire industrialist. Wham, Swamp Thing gets hit by a revelation that shatters his views of the heroes. Perhaps for timing's sake, he's got a grudge with Wayne Enterprises when this happens because of some environmental destruction by them, because hey, they're still a billion dollar megacorp. Now, Swamp Thing is of the view that Bruce Wayne, Batman, is his enemy. Batman is with the Justice League. The Justice League is now his enemy too. Ra's, either already knowing Swamp Thing believes himself to be Alec Holland or via Swamp Thing openly angsting about the loss of his humanity to Ra's during this revelation, then offers a deal: work together to save the environment despite knowing it means betraying the League (who he has just shattered Swamp Thing's faith in) and Ra's will restore him to full life when it's over using the pit, allowing Alec Holland to be reborn into their utopia. There's no way he'd resist that offer if he already had his faith in the heroes shattered by knowing Batman is responsible for massive ecological damage. Now you have the full force of The Green, the embodiment of nature itself, working with Ra's. It wouldn't be hard for that to reach near-apocalypse levels, with Ra's wealth and power adding technology and otherworldy magics to the unbridled magical force of the planet Earth. He could also, if he somehow knew/learned the truth of what Swamp Thing is, use that to sway him rather than the promise of resurrection. Learning he has no connection to humanity at all, the heroes are actively working against his goals and the only man who seems to actually care about him/nature (same difference at that point) being Ra's could convince him that Ra's was the only person he could work with to save the world, by killing most of humanity and subjugating it under Ra's will.

[@jamessantana6915]

I would write it as a team-up between Ra's (already in Talia's body) Cheetah & Ultra Humanite forming thier own dark trinity to remove not only the superheroes from play but humans that dont bow before them which could stagger the league, could up end society & various spy agencies who had moles in them. The heroes would band together in mini factions trying to stop Ras as he finally starts to blow up Lazarus pits creating in Gotham a no mans land (way to introduce Cassie Cain) while side teams like the birds, outsiders & teen titans are given major roles as its all hands on deck

[@someguycalledgoober155]

Fire. Fire happens. All of it. just a lot of fire.

[@freebatman4everyone]

Perhaps leeching some of Superman's power bought Ra's some time? Perhaps his body now could be healed a few more times at a Lazarus Pit before becoming ineffective again? I just made that up, but it's logical.

[@freebatman4everyone]

@@mattiesavannahpahl9934 Hey Mattie! Love the work you guys have done, good to know there are people who enjoy continuity so much (and go insane when it's not there lol)

[@dannybuckle3763]

"Your fantasies can never be quenched can they?!" is definitely t-shirt material.

[@isetmfriendsofire]

Danny Buckle I’m sure it’s already on one somewhere given the popularity of that video

[@dannybuckle3763]

@@isetmfriendsofire ...I gotta be honest with you, I didn't know that it was a reference to a separate video. I just assumed that they did some steller vocal editing. In hindsight it should've been obvious.

[@thespiritus4440]

Maybe a team up with Killer Croc? Maybe he is tired of humanity? Maybe Lex Luthor?

[@Anti-HyperLink]

I mean, loving Barbara doesn't necessarily mean romantic love. Just a base love for a friend. We know it's different, but maybe Ra's was just thinking that.

[@rookiedrifter4273]

I've always been confused by this near apocalypse. Most people seem to think it's some Ra's-led plan or a version of a Crisis on Infinite Earths type thing. I saw one Batman Beyond comic with Damian where he referenced Brother Eye. I always assumed it was the DCAU's version of the Brother Eye fiasco with Checkmate and all of that.

[@lightyearpig12]

Seems like the Near-Apocalypse would be a huge crossover event on par with Destroyer, where the Justice League, the remaining members of the Bat Family, any other active heroes like Static, Gear, Hawkman, Captain Marvel and whatever Bang Babies still have their powers, and even some of the villains all teaming up to stop Ra’s’s plans.

[@chrisanderson2204]

I think the near apocalypse of '09 takes place after the flashback in Batman Beyond:Return of the Joker

[@dcauwatchtower]

You would be correct

[@cameronbaker97]

Yeah, cause Joker's death happened at least in 2007.

[@rydergoodrich3346]

Idk, Ra's name is in flux. I do know that its pronunciation depends on whether you pronounce it the Hebrew or Arabic way

[@ChildofNature-hx8ev]

And Denny O` Neil is shit at both!

[@terrencecastonguay1984]

I'm so glad that you did this vid bc I always wondered about that.

[@alyssasampson1383]

I theorize that something happened to wipe out a lot of the history in-universe (meaning written records, physical and digital media, and probably generational knowledge too. I know it’s a cartoon but how often do you see any elderly background characters?) My guess is there was some sort of blackout followed by a lot of killings and book burnings. It would make Terry not being super familiar with important historical figures, even recent ones like Bruce Wayne, make more sense. Even if the broad strokes of a lot of important history was retained or recovered, the smaller things could easily have fallen through the cracks. Terry having never even heard of Beyoncé is played for laughs but *I* think it’s important, dammit!!

[@Thierrothierro]

I always thought that in the near Apocalypse of '09 Ra's teamed up with some big-time JL villain. Probably not Darkseid, but someone close to that level.

[@srstriker6420]

Ravi Shankar Vandal Savage

[@chezwizard]

What if Vandal tries what he did in "Hereafter" again a few years later, with Ra's help, still not knowing the consequence, with Ra's wanting humanity to be scourged?

[@srstriker6420]

chezwizard like in a different universe?

[@fishwrld]

They did it they did it they reference that angry Sonic fan zoinks I love this channel so much

[@bigstunna2049]

Everytime I watch one of your videos I look at the subscriber count and get so angry. Your channel has a lot of great content and people are missing out

[@Gundam_JAY]

3:34 huh. Strange that even in other universe he never comes into contact with peole like Dr.fate, or Hawkman.

[@videoxxstudio]

I actually missed this line from Terry when I first watched the DCAU shows!

[@skylord2114]

If the near apocalypse of 09 were to happen I would love to team up between RA’s and vandal savage

[@da_pikmin_coder8367]

6:34 I had just binged my Blu-Ray set of Batman TAS and wondered why Ra's wasn't present in The New Batman Adventures. Now I have my answer. God I hope Superman TAS gets a Blu-Ray set.

[@mccloaker]

The near apocalypse of '09 was clearly the Great Recession.

[@tyreesej.1050]

I enjoy your content. I must point out that Denny O'Neil and Julius Schwartz pronounced it "Raysh" not Roz. Regardless of Neil Adam's take on the name, DCAU canon pronunciation is clearly Raysh.

[@SupaCoopaStudios]

*insert me not realizing a new video was out, clicking it, and then making a joke about me thinking it's Thursday*.

[@foldabotZ]

The Near Apocalypse of '09 might be smaller scale than we're lead to believe. Since so far the involvement are mostly Batman characters, it might actually be an incident limited to only Gotham City. It could a DCAU version of the comic arcs _Calamity_ and _No Man's Land._ It was probably meant to worldwide scale but was stopped at Gotham, thus called "Near Apocalypse". Maybe. Again, it's a Noodle Incident. Some meant to be left for our imagination.

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

World wide anarchy would be kinda hard to achieve with Superman around so it would be make sense for it to be limited to Gotham

[@foldabotZ]

@@alchemistofsteel8099 Actually, there could still be world wide anarchy as not even Superman can be everywhere at once. It’s why the League exists after all.

[@hksproductions8507]

the tower of babel Whould make a great story

[@srstriker6420]

I wish that penguin, Riddler, Killer croc and Clayface could have appeared in batman beyond

[@chezwizard]

Croc and clayface could have been easy additions. Who knows what their genetics are really like. A version of riddler copied into that VR game might have worked, but that was probably too similar to something else they did. Penguin I have no idea how he'd still be around, though his kids/grandkids maybe. (insert deedee reference/joke here)

[@srstriker6420]

chezwizard well I did imagine penguin trying to take over Terry’s body while he is in his old dying body and even have a penguin armour that looks like Iron monger

[@ItsButterBean1020]

@@chezwizard I could see Penguin an old man who left crime and made bank or something.

[@Mirrorcomics24]

@@srstriker6420 penguin and riddler would definitely be dead

[@srstriker6420]

What happened to Ra’s after Leo kick him in the Nards, haha Ra’s got nards

[@thedude9941]

The Near Apocalypse of 09 never made sense to me, because the last time we saw Ra's Al Guhl in the DCAU prior to Batman Beyond was in the Superman TAS episode The Demon Reborn. In The Demon Reborn Ra's mentioned the Lazarus pit could no longer heal him, which is why he resorted to stealing that staff in order to steal Superman's power. I personally don't take any of the tie in comics as canon, since they either have continuity issues or simply go back on the show. I look at them as just another universe in the DC multiverse.

[@edlb10]

my version of the near-apocalypse of '09 would be that the anti-life equation was left on Earth somehow and Ra's was the first to get there and get it, and he's building a machine to do something with it, but at the moment As this fact becomes public, several alien armies, such as Warworld and New Genesis, arrive on the outskirts of Earth and a massive space battle begins for control of Earth to obtain the anti-life equation, causing some coleteral damage throughout the planet, and while all the members of the justice league are fighting the alien armies and reducing the damage batman is trying to locate the ra's machine and looking at all the history he had with the ra's he can define where he and his machine are , but to go there he will for the first time put on his Batman Beyond prototype Batsuit with the yellow logo that was not ready and will confront him, he tries to contact the league but no one responds due to the fact that the entire expanded justice league is taking a beating from all the armies and has to go alone. The confrontation between batman and ra's begin, the machine is charging and it's only 5 min left to be operational, Batman is knocked down and tied up, the machine is ready, but batman was just pretending and could break free at any moment, he just needed ra's to be distracted and then suprise him by knocking him out with his new batarangs and then discovers that the machine is a controller of the new life equation and then with it he order the armies to stop and wash their memory about the antilife equation.

[@CBright7831]

9:03 - Can anyone tell me what issue this is from? I've tried to Google "Batman Adventures September 2003" but nothing is popping up.

[@bkh3218]

Personally I think the 'Near Apocalypse of '09' would be a great Justice League episode or movie. too bad they never got around to portraying this in animation.

[@tie-dyeshyguy3237]

I love how the plan to basically hoard a bunch of oil by Not ripping it out of the earth is also considered apocalyptic

[@MisterDiffOccult]

Ra’s Al Ghul did the Tower of Babel storyline mixed with rock of ages and final Crisis . Lex comes back with the rock and teams up with Ra’s to take down the lead. Lex was really preparing for the return of Darkseid with the anti life equation. Ra’s and Darkseid team up while Lex revealed he only did this to get the team together and they take down the two together. Lex sacrifices himself in the end. Scene.

[@srstriker6420]

Now superman’s son or how did batman know Hawkgirl?

[@knightofkorbin888]

I just assumed it was this universe's No Man's Land. With Ra's/Talia taking the role of Lex Luthor, since he's... dead?

[@RecantoSombrio]

If i wrote the Near Apocalypse of 09, It would be based on Ra's getting a hold of Batman's plans and using It against the League.

[@blackphoenix77]

The Apocalypse of '09 would've involved Lex Luthor in some way. Maybe he nuked Metropolis with a kryptonite bomb and the fallout caused planetwide destruction.

[@ddy7323]

He was stuck in the source wall, I think he's done.

[@victorlazo238]

I keep hearing "Ross" and think of Ross from friends 😂😂

[@dcauwatchtower]

Don't Google "Ross al Ghul," he can't hurt you

[@Juan_x_Pedro]

I was trying to stop thinking about the new Batman game...Thanks guys!

[@bigballsbiggerdick]

great video

[@ethansloan]

I've lived through quite a few crazy things in my time. When I was a kid in the 90s, we had the Eugenics Wars (and not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I doubt the official story that Khan was killed; where's the body?). Then those dudes went on that space odyssey in 2000-something, I forget the exact year. And don't get me started on the Near-Apocalypse of 09. It's enough to make me want to use a Stop-N-Drop, America's favorite Suicide Booth since 2008.

[@bluedragonfive]

well lets see, 3 years after JLU ends, Ra's w/ the ultimate plan to wipe put a significant portion of humanity lets say w/ ivy b/c that's too good an idea to leave unrealized. to amp up the stakes its after the return of the joker flashback so were just taking things away from bruce. much as I adore the characters way I see it either alfred or gordon die in this story, maybe both. perhaps lucius fox is let in on the secret here. ivy has infused her plants w/ lazurus to coat the world naturally/replenish it and kinda terraform humanity w/ lazurus spores to basically do ra's demon quest plan w/out the bombs,etc. so the elderly and sick live as everyone else dies. lotta destruction takes hold damaging old gotham, making way for very early neo gotham ala no mans land-ish aftermath. we throw bane in the mix as ra's muscle/new successor. Talia and batgirl team-up. talia goes for the sacrificial play when batman is about to die for gotham and the world. propapy kills ivy who controls the plant, something batman would never do and doing so renders her soul dying(mysticism from ra's half of the plan that was designed to sustain him long enough to see his last plan realized) implication at the end ra's salvages talia's body for his comeback. -batman begins designs for the beyond suit after this event. and morns his friends and finds himself utterly alone.

[@davidherrera9652]

The "apocalypse of 09" isn't it an incident that happened in a Superman TAS episode called "The Demon Reborn?

[@dcauwatchtower]

Nope! That’s set in the late 90s, 2000 at most.