Terry McGinnis is facing an unwelcome blast from the past in DC's Batman Beyond comic.

this article contains spoilers for Batman Beyond #25!

Art by Marco Santucci. (DC Entertainment)

Art by Cully Hamner. (DC Entertainment)

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Art by Cully Hamner. (DC Entertainment)

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This ongoing series celebrated its 25th issue this week with an oversized story that reintroduces the greatest Batman villain of all. Joker has returned to Gotham City just as the elderly Bruce Wayne dedicates a new skyscraper on what would have been his father's 100th birthday. Sadly, Joker hijacks a monorail train and makes quick work of the new building.Joker then pays a visit to Commissioner Barbara Gordon, reflecting on their dark history together and hinting hat Bruce has always known his greatest enemy is still alive.This isn't the first time Joker's apparent return has been the focus of a Batman Beyond story. The 2000 film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker featured what seemed to be a rejuvenated Clown Prince of Crime. However, that film revealed that Joker had implanted his memories into a chip hidden in Tim Drake's brain, eventually transforming the former Robin into a new version of Joker.It's worth noting that the current Batman Beyond comic doesn't take place in the DC Animated Universe, but rather a possible future version of DC's traditional comic book universe. And unlike Return of the Joker, this appears to be the actual, original Joker, not a clone or a copy. This issue also makes it clear that Joker despises the Jokerz gang, having killed off several dozen members before making his presence known at Bruce's speech. Newsarama spoke to writer Dan Jurgens about why Joker's return in this version of the Batman Beyond universe is so significant. "I think by bringing back the Joker, who really is Batman’s enemy, and Joker’s history with Jason Todd and everything else that has gone on in the Joker’s life as compared to Bruce’s - there’s a lot of stuff to be mined here, to create a new and different kind of story for Terry McGinnis as Batman," Jurgens said.Let us know what you think of Joker's return in the comments below.

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