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(In "Plague", Agent Bennett tells Batman what Kobra is. That doesn't mean he hasn't heard of them.)
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* The previous episode (and second-to-last in the series), "[[Countdown]]", premiered on April 7, 2001. The gap between the final two episodes of {{bb}} stretched over eight months. The long premiere delay for "Unmasked", coupled with the fact that it was not an official "series finale"-type episode, is cited by Bruce Timm as a reason for why later DCAU series had big season finales.<ref name="Inside"/> It was also why they later produced the {{jlu}} episode "[[Epilogue]]", which featured a major revelation about the entire dynamic of the {{bb}} world. Though it was technically an episode of {{jlu}}, "Epilogue" is widely considered by fans and creators alike to be the "true" finale of {{bb}}.
 
* The previous episode (and second-to-last in the series), "[[Countdown]]", premiered on April 7, 2001. The gap between the final two episodes of {{bb}} stretched over eight months. The long premiere delay for "Unmasked", coupled with the fact that it was not an official "series finale"-type episode, is cited by Bruce Timm as a reason for why later DCAU series had big season finales.<ref name="Inside"/> It was also why they later produced the {{jlu}} episode "[[Epilogue]]", which featured a major revelation about the entire dynamic of the {{bb}} world. Though it was technically an episode of {{jlu}}, "Epilogue" is widely considered by fans and creators alike to be the "true" finale of {{bb}}.
 
* This episode was scheduled to air on September 14, 2001, but, due to its terrorism-related content, and the [[wikipedia:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]], it was replaced by a re-airing of "[[Hooked Up]]".
 
* This episode was scheduled to air on September 14, 2001, but, due to its terrorism-related content, and the [[wikipedia:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]], it was replaced by a re-airing of "[[Hooked Up]]".
  +
* This is the official series finale of ''[[Batman Beyond]]''. However, a fourth season was announced, by [[Bruce Timm]] and [[Paul Dini]] abandoned the production of the new season, because they would created {{jl}}.
   
 
== Cast ==
 
== Cast ==

Revision as of 02:43, 17 December 2015

"Unmasked" is the fifty-second episode and series finale of Batman Beyond. It initially aired on December 18, 2001. Terry tells Max the story of how his secret identity was exposed, putting not just him, but the witness, in danger.

Plot

Terry arrives late to a school fundraiser, and is ridiculed by his schoolmates. He meets up with Max, who confesses that she joked about how the school sees more of Batman than it does of Terry. He is furious, but Max doesn't see what the big deal is. In fact, she warns Terry that his relationship with Dana is on thin ice, and that it might be a good idea to let her in on the truth, pointing out things might be a lot easier for both their relationship and himself. Terry refuses point-blank, and reminds her of an earlier incident with the "Diaz Kid". However this only confuses Max as she has never heard of this event. Terry then tells her the story to prove his point, from a time just after he became Batman:

During a community picnic, a young boy, Miguel Diaz, is playing with his “Soldier Sam” action figures. His mother, thinking it would be healthier for him to learn to play with other children, tells him to put his toys away. Miguel obeys, but as soon as he is out of her sight, he breaks away and decides to climb a nearby art sculpture—“Soldier Sam to the tower!”
In another part of town, agents of Kobra are breaking into a bank. Batman is lying in wait for them, and breaks up the robbery. As the Kobras flee, Batman pursues in the Batmobile. The Kobras' vehicle fires a missile that misses Batman but hits the art sculpture, which begins to burn and topple. Seeing Miguel on the roof, trapped by the flames, Batman abandons the chase and flies down to land in front of him.
File:Terry reveals himself.jpg

Terry shows Miguel his true face.

Miguel recoils in fright—in costume, Batman bears an unfortunate resemblance to Soldier Sam's nemesis. Batman tries to reach for him, but he runs away, falling and hanging onto the ledge of the roof. The building is about to collapse, and Terry, desperate, pulls up his mask to reveal his face, and show Miguel that he's just a normal guy. Miguel takes his hand, and the two fly to safety just before the building collapses.

Max however believes that she has proven her point, seeing that Miguel was saved and there weren't any problems by revealing his face. She then begins to drag Terry away so that they may finally tell Dana the truth. However Terry stops her and resumes telling the story as there was a lot more than what he just told her.

At Kobra headquarters, the cell leader wants to know how Batman knew about the robbery. He interrogates one of his men with a mind scanner that can produce visual images of a person's memories. The Kobra is revealed to have spoken with a depositor at the bank (his brother), over a cell phone. The leader orders him executed by dropping him into a snake pit. Then they all see the evening news, the lead item of which is Miguel being interviewed after the fire, and saying that Batman's just a regular guy—without his mask.

Max and Terry move their conversation to a bench, where Max is surprised that Miguel actually revealed that he saw Terry's face on live television. She then asks if Bruce saw the news and Terry confirms it and resumes telling the story.

Before long, the news is all over town, and Bruce is furious. Terry tries to soothe him, insisting that his identity is safe, since Miguel doesn't know who he really is. Bruce says he's missed the point: by announcing that he's seen Batman's true face, Miguel has made himself a target for Batman's enemies.
At Bruce's insistence, Terry keeps a constant watch on Miguel, but pleads that he can't be stuck to that duty forever. Bruce relents and promises to call Barbara to arrange police protection. As soon as Terry hangs up, he sees a gang of Kobras try to abduct Miguel outside his mother's apartment. Terry intervenes and saves him.
A police car arrives, and Terry gratefully hands Miguel over to them. They say he's being taken into protective custody. Terry tells Bruce that Miguel has been picked up, but Bruce tells him that Barbara was in a meeting and he couldn't get a hold of her. Terry curses, realizing his mistake.
File:Kobra One Miguel.jpg

Kobra One greets Miguel.

Searching the city desperately for Miguel, Terry realizes that the car was probably real, meaning that it was stolen. Bruce does a search for the car's tracer, and locates Kobra's hideout. At the hideout, the leader places the mind-reader on Miguel's head, telling him to concentrate on the day of the fire, and especially on Batman's face after he pulled up his mask. Miguel is scared, so the leader calms him by placing his Soldier Sam figure in his hand. The image resolves itself, and the leader smiles. He orders his soldiers to drop Miguel in the snake pit, but just then Batman arrives and attacks.
He subdues the soldiers and the leader, who laughs and tells him it's too late: he's already uploaded the image to every Kobra computer in the world, and it will only be a matter of time before they identify him. He hears the police pull up outside, and decides to take his own way out. Declaring his mission accomplished, he jumps into the snake pit. Terry shields Miguel from the gruesome sight, and looks at the screen and smiles: the face of Soldier Sam has been superimposed on his own.
File:Miguel remembers.jpg

Miguel remembers Batman's true face.

Finishing his story, Terry concludes that Miguel must not have gotten a good look at him to begin with, and instead just gave Batman his “hero's” face. Max asks how he can be sure, as Terry catches a stray soccer ball and tosses it back to the kid who's come to get it. Terry says it's because the kid is Miguel, who's now learned to play with other children. Terry is confident that Miguel doesn't remember what Batman really looks like.

However, as Terry and Max walk away, Miguel glances over his shoulder with a knowing smile on his face.

Background information

Home video releases

Production inconsistencies

  • Batman didn't really have to use a grappling hook and try to reach for Miguel's hand. He could have simply flown towards Miguel as he was hanging from the ledge, grab a hold of him, and then glide safely back towards the ground.

Trivia

  • This episode was originally scheduled to air on Kids' WB but was pulled because of "production problems", according to Bruce Timm.[1] It ended up premiering on Cartoon Network.
  • The idea of Batman's appearance being frightening to a child he was trying to save was previously used in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Be A Clown".
  • This episode marks a rare instance in the DCAU of featuring an act of suicide. However, Kobra One apparently survived, as the events of "Plague" occur after this episode chronologically.
  • The previous episode (and second-to-last in the series), "Countdown", premiered on April 7, 2001. The gap between the final two episodes of Batman Beyond stretched over eight months. The long premiere delay for "Unmasked", coupled with the fact that it was not an official "series finale"-type episode, is cited by Bruce Timm as a reason for why later DCAU series had big season finales.[1] It was also why they later produced the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue", which featured a major revelation about the entire dynamic of the Batman Beyond world. Though it was technically an episode of Justice League Unlimited, "Epilogue" is widely considered by fans and creators alike to be the "true" finale of Batman Beyond.
  • This episode was scheduled to air on September 14, 2001, but, due to its terrorism-related content, and the September 11 attacks, it was replaced by a re-airing of "Hooked Up".
  • This is the official series finale of Batman Beyond. However, a fourth season was announced, by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini abandoned the production of the new season, because they would created Justice League.

Cast

Actor Role
Will Friedle Terry McGinnis / Batman
Kobra soldier (uncredited)
Kevin Conroy Bruce Wayne
Corey Burton Kobra Op 1
Kerrigan Mahan Main Kobra Op
Sean Marquette Miguel Diaz
Pat Musick Busybody
Teacher (uncredited)
Victor Rivers Guard
Cop Kobra (uncredited)
Theresa Saldana Mrs. Diaz
Cree Summer Max Gibson
Kid (uncredited)
Keith Szarabajka Bracelet Kobra
Seth Green Nelson Nash

Uncredited appearances

Quotes

Footnotes

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