Top 30 DARKEST Moments in Animated DC Movies

#30: Sinestro Breaks Bad

“Green Lantern: First Flight” (2009)

Thaal Sinestro’s not only one of DC’s most dangerous villains he’s also one of DC’s greatest Green Lanterns. Unfortunately Sinestro later went back on his principles and betrayed his fellow teammates. By tapping into a deadly new yellow power source, he killed multiple Green Lanterns. But what really sells the devastating impact of these deaths is a brief moment when the Guardians of Oa witness numerous green lantern rings fall to the ground all at once. The horrifying implication is that hundreds of Lanterns were killed by Sinestro’s rampage. The Green Lantern Abin Sur was once warned about Sinestro turning evil, but he dismissed it(xref). Tragically though, this prophecy turned true, and Sinestro’s fall into darkness nearly destroyed the Green Lantern Corps forever.

#29: The Shredder & Ra’s Al Ghul Lay Waste to Arkham

“Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (2019)

The world of Batman and the world of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles isn’t a typical crossover that fans would expect, but it works surprisingly well. And when it comes to this movie’s epic teamup between Ra’s al Ghul and Shredder, it works almost too well. In fact, their rampage leads to them breaking into Arkham Asylum and slaughtering multiple security guards in the process. If that wasn’t all, Ra’s and Shredder also single out several inmates so they can later transform them into dangerous mutants. Simply put, this unholy union of bad guys leads to some scary results. They’re not just breaking into prison to massacre the staff, they’re also systematically planning a whole wave of mutant mayhem. Don’t mess with Shredder and Ra’s!

#28: Jester’s Last Joke

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

The multiverse is wild. In the regular DC universe the Joker is a villain. But on Earth-3 Joker is actually the Jester, a hero battling the Crime Syndicate, evil doppelgangers of the Justice League. Plus he’s teammates with a good version of Lex Luthor, yeah, it’s crazy. But just because Jester’s a hero doesn’t mean he escapes a brutal demise. While cornered by two members of the Syndicate the Jester is brutally impaled by a sword made out of fire. Oof, that’s hardcore. But in the Jester’s final moments he detonates a bomb that kills him and the two Syndicate members. We might not have seen much of this clown, but his heroic sacrifice (and his dark death) will always be remembered.

#27: Major Force Disintegrates

“Superman/Batman: Public Enemies” (2009)

Operating on behalf of President Lex Luthor, Major Force and a crew of heroes are tasked with arresting Batman and Superman. Major Force isn’t exactly a good guy though, to be honest he’s kind of messed up. He was the one who actually killed Metallo, an act which the World’s Finest were framed for. But eventually Major Force gets what’s coming to him when his teammate Powergirl damages his containment suit. The villain goes through extreme pain as the energy in him is close to leaking out and causing catastrophic damage. Captain Atom is able to contain the radiation but it injures him in the process and completely disintegrates Major Force. In the end this major pain in the butt was melted away into nothing.

#26: The Ripper’s True Identity

“Batman: Gotham by Gaslight” (2018)

In real life Jack the Ripper was one of the most notorious serial killers of them all, and a figure shrouded in mystery, but in “Gotham by Gaslight” he’s something else. Sure, there’s mystery here too as Batman tries to figure out who the Ripper is, but we actually discover his identity. Shockingly, the Ripper is James Gordon. His time in the Civil War gave him PTSD which led him on a bloodthirsty quest to clean the streets. Not only is it a departure from the original graphic novel, it’s also a chilling change of how Gordon’s usually portrayed. Typically he’s a good lawman and a warm fatherly figure. But here he’s a psychopath killing women and dealing out his own sick version of justice.

#25: Two Face Becomes…One Face?

“Batman vs. Two Face” (2017)

Sure, the 60s version of Batman is far from a dark and grizzled crimefighter, but even Adam West’s Batman has occasionally dealt with disturbing things. Case in point, his interactions with Two Face are surprisingly scary. During the final battle between them, Two Face undergoes a bizarre and painful transformation as Harvey Dent’s split mind crumbles apart. What makes it so chilling is that we actually see both sides of his face meld into one sickly green face. So does this make him One Face now? We’re not exactly sure about the naming conventions, but what we are sure of is that Harvey’s completely off the deep end now! Any shred of good in him is gone, and now only the bad parts are left.

#24: Red Hood Spooks the Mob

“Batman: Under the Red Hood” (2010)

Jason Todd might’ve died when he was Robin but when he came back to life he did it in a big way. His debut as Red Hood marked his new lease on life, and with this new sense of direction he decided that the best way to fight crime was to control it. To make it extremely clear that he meant business Jason gave the mob a bag containing the severed heads of multiple other crooks. The vicious act of violence clearly established that Red Hood was the top dog and that everyone else had to fall in line. While we didn’t actually see the stomach-sickening carnage directly, considering how these criminals reacted it’s pretty clear that they got the message.

#23: Wonder Woman Murders Billy Batson

“Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox” (2013)

Diana Prince is a noble warrior, but in the “Flashpoint” timeline she’s a murderous villain who wants to destroy the Atlanteans and anyone else in her way. If you thought there was a limit to how far she’d go: think again. In “Flashpoint Paradox”, Wonder Woman takes down a superhero called Captain Thunder. Thunder is actually the combined form of Billy Batson and the rest of his foster siblings, and once they’re turned back into their normal forms the problems start. Diana murders Billy in cold blood in front of his family. Despite having superpowers, Billy Batson was just a child. Diana’s actions were so over the line there’s no way she could ever be redeemed. This version of Wonder Woman is simply despicable.

#22: Dracula Burns

“The Batman vs. Dracula” (2005)

Sorry, Dracula might be the lord of the undead, and the king of vampires, or whatever, but he’s no Batman. When the two finally clashed in this epic film there were times when it seemed like Dracula was going to pick up the W. But since Dracula’s technically undead, Batman was allowed to go all out and use some pretty lethal techniques. And unfortunately for Dracula, Batman’s state-of-the-art solar-energy machine made a world of difference. Once it was activated the machine was basically an artificial sun. It melted flesh right off the bone and burnt the vampire to a crisp. Then to top it all off the last thing Dracula saw was Batman swooping down to punch his skull off. Aura farming for the win!

#21: Entire Worlds Are Wiped Out

“Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three” (2024)

As heartbreaking as it is, you can’t have a multiverse-shattering event without some promise of the premise. With the Anti-Monitor’s wave of terror spreading across the cosmos, the chaos was inevitably going to lead to casualties. We see numerous worlds get killed off and it’s pretty heartbreaking. A whole multiverse containing multiple realities and countless people are forever taken out of the equation. We don’t necessarily see a lot of gruesome murders here but we find entire existences decaying and that’s incredibly depressing. Even the DCAU (or potentially some multiversal variation of it) was wiped out as well. You might not have a personal attachment to every earth shown, but the fact that multiple worlds were fatally erased is a haunting realization.

#20: Citizens Seeing Everyone as Demons

“Justice League Dark” (2017)

What would happen if demons suddenly invaded the world? This gnarly DC feature shows what that scenario might look like. Everyday normal citizens across the planet experience hallucinations that cause them to see all kinds of terrifying supernatural phenomena. As you could imagine, this leads to some horrifying moments. We see a woman cause all kinds of calamity with her car, a new mother throw a baby off a building, and a father nearly destroy his family. It’s a haunting series of events that highlights the danger that the Justice League is up against. And beyond that, it’s also a look at the darkest atrocities that humanity is capable of committing to one another.

#19: Hal Jordan Shoots a Soldier

“Justice League: The New Frontier” (2008)

War ruins lives, and it claims the lives of many even after the fighting has stopped. When Hal Jordan crashlands into enemy territory, he fights for his life against a young Korean soldier. The thing is, a ceasefire had been put in place, meaning the war should’ve been over. But this soldier didn’t get the memo. Backed into a corner, Hal reluctantly kills him. The blood splattering onto Hal’s face as he solemnly says that the war is over is a grisly sight that’s simply hard to forget. While “New Frontier” is a movie largely about the importance of hope, it isn't afraid to show us many bleak situations, and this is no different.

#18: Flash’s Abrupt Death

“Injustice” (2021)

While investigating a hideout that belongs to the Joker, the Flash is caught off guard when he’s infected by the Scarecrow’s fear gas. The toxin distracts him long enough for one of Joker’s sharp contraptions to slice him apart. We don’t see the grisly moment of impact but viewers can be trusted to fill in the blanks of what happened. Ok, honestly, this is obviously a grim murder, but it’s also a really stupid one too. You’re telling us that the Flash could get taken out this easily? The disrespect for this speedster is almost as dark as the death itself. Let’s just hope Joker doesn’t have any more of these death traps laying around. Oh who are we kidding, he totally does.

#17: Jessica Cruz’s Trauma

“Justice League vs. the Fatal Five” (2019)

A camping trip for Jessica Cruz and her friends turns grisly when they stumble upon the site of a murderer actively trying to bury a body. To make matters worse, once they’re caught, the villain kills Jessica’s friends to cover his tracks. The flashback is a chilling moment where everything that could go wrong pretty much does. While Jessica escapes this harrowing experience, it clearly rattles her. In fact, her trauma is a defining aspect of her character that’s highlighted in a way that sets her apart from other Green Lanterns. Her biggest battles aren’t fighting Parallax or the Manhunters, they’re trying to get out of bed and leave the apartment.

#16: Reverse Flash Is Finally Killed

“Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay” (2018)

We were pretty sure that a bullet right to the head from Flashpoint Batman would be enough to kill Eobard Thawne, but we were wrong. This psychotic speedster is actually still alive through some special speed force shenanigans, but time is still running out. While he tries getting a magic “get out of Hell free” card, he’s thrown off course by the Suicide Squad. And when Bronze Tiger slices Thawne’s fingers off it allows Deadshot to shower him in a barrage of bullets. Losing body parts and getting gunned down within a mere matter of seconds can definitely be jarring. Though Reverse Flash has bounced back from death before, it doesn’t seem like the DCAMU version is coming back from this.

#15: Killing Joker

“Injustice” (2021)

The Clown Prince of Crime had a thing or two coming his way when he manipulated Superman into thinking his pregnant wife Lois Lane was Doomsday. Because of this hallucination, it caused Superman to kill her. That’s pretty dark on its own, but the Man of Steel flying back to Earth to send an arm straight through the Joker’s chest is arguably darker. Though this was an alternate Earth version of Superman, seeing him act so violently was distressing. Knowing that he would then descend into supervillainy because of this makes everything even sadder. Whenever the Man of Tomorrow crosses the line you know that things have reached the point of no return. This moment is a warning to never piss Superman off.

#14: Owlman’s Fate

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

Hoping to wipe out the entire multiverse, Owlman had some trouble with his plans in the form of Batman. Though Owlman mostly dominated the fight, some quick maneuvering by the Caped Crusader caused his wicked counterpart to get sent to a desolate earth. If you thought being banished to a cold world was dark, just wait because that’s not all. With his Quantum Eigenstate Device close to detonation, Owlman spends his last seconds alive simply not caring about what’ll happen next. We know he’s a nihilist and all but still, this is some incredibly depressing stuff to watch unfold. He obviously didn’t care about the lives of others, but to know that he didn’t even care about his own is a real double whammy.

#13: Beheading Mera

“Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox” (2013)

Barry Allen’s massive decision to alter reality didn’t just reshape the universe, it also reshaped many relationships of its characters. After Wonder Woman had an affair with Aquaman, Queen Mera decided to take drastic measures to rectify this issue. Instead of trying couples counseling or just getting a divorce, she opted to try and kill Wonder Woman. Let’s just say that didn’t go so well. Diana decapitates her and Aquaman didn’t take the news so well. Needless to say, beheadings are pretty gruesome. But what makes this even more intense is that the fallout from this led to an all-out war that essentially doomed the world. Yikes.

#12: Superman’s Clone Kills Toyman

“Superman: Doomsday” (2009)

You have to be pretty bold to be a Superman villain. Well, bold or stupid. Toyman is probably the latter. After he endangered innocent kids, this Superman clone decides to cross a line of his own. Flying Toyman up into the air, he then dropped him to his death. He had a nasty landing to put it lightly. This was a jarring moment that showed that this new and improved Superman was not messing around. You know, for a “Superman” movie this was actually pretty violent all around. Remember that scene where Doomsday slaughters a ton of Lex Luthor’s employees. Yeah, nothing but pure nightmare fuel. You might want to keep the night light on after watching this film.

#11: The Death of Jason Todd

“Batman: Under the Red Hood” (2010)

Batman’s second Robin really got the short end of the stick. Sure, being a sidekick sounds like fun, right until you get attacked by the Joker. Jason Todd was beaten half to death with a crowbar and then trapped inside of a warehouse that then exploded. It’s something that fundamentally shook Batman to his core. In fact, Jason Todd’s death is arguably one of the most famous deaths in all superhero media. Which also means it’s undeniably one of the bleakest. Jason eventually came back as the Red Hood, but he was never the same. His death was a bonechilling scene that remains Batman’s greatest failure. Suddenly being a superhero doesn’t look all that glamorous.

#10: Robin Kills Saico-Tek

“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.

#9: A Grim Justice League Montage

“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.

#8: Joker Tortures Robin

“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.

#7: Superman “Kills” the Elite

“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.

#6: The Death of Johnny Quick

“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.

#5: The Origin of Flashpoint Batman

“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.

#4: Svetlana’s Death

“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.

#3: The Newcastle Tragedy

“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.

#2: Joker’s Final Killing Spree

“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.

#1: Darkseid Defeats the Justice League

“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.

Are there any bleak animated DC movie moments we missed? Spread the terror down in the comments!