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** The episode "His Silicon Soul", which was a follow-up to a previous episode "Heart of Steel". A sentient computer called H.A.R.D.A.C. created robots to act as replicants to better help his creator's lab (by money i.e. robbery, etc.) before eventually taking over the city and then the world. When Batman shows up, a replicant of Batman is made in secret, but was hidden before it could be activated. Months later, it is activated by chance and unlike its predecessors was sentient in that it thought it was Bruce/Batman, but couldn't deal when he found out he was a robot. During the fight, the real Batman looks like he died (for a while) and the robot is so utterly horrified by this (remember it is based on '''[[Thou Shalt Not Kill|Batman]]'''), it then goes and ''kills itself''.
** Let's not forget "Heart of Ice", which is considered to be the series' best episode. It won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program AND made people feel sorry for Mr. Freeze!
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* ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' in general could be considered depressing when looking at Bruce Wayne's character. ''Rebirth'' was the first blow, where it appears that he ultimately loses in his personal battle against crime. Alfred's dead. Most of his sidekicks had left him on bad terms. Not even his [[Rogues Gallery]] is around. He just lives alone with a dog and a bunch of old memories.
** Pretty much any ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' episode involving Mr. Freeze is going to be tragic, but his apparent ending in ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' involves him finally gaining a human body and a girlfriend, both of which betray him in the end. He takes out a high-tech exosuit, is foiled by Batman, joins forces with Batman when ''[[Big Bad]]'' Derek Powers/Blight goes berserk, and sacrifices himself to save the new Batman. His last words are uttered in a completely heart wrenching, fatalistic manner, to boot:
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'''Freeze:''' Believe me... you're the only one who cares. }}
** Other ignominious ends: Bane is permanently hooked up to the Venom drug just to keep his body functioning; original Batman and Batgirl had an affair that ended badly; the Movie with the aforementioned new Robin, the Joker, and the Kill Sat; the karate teacher's apprentice from BTAS is killed by snake-worshipping cultists.
** The ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' episode "Heroes" also ended on a low note. The [[No Celebrities Were Harmed|Terrific]] [[Fantastic Four|Trio]] are betrayed by the law enforcement forces, discover that there is no cure for their powers (and their conditions are actually getting worse), and that their co-worker (who more than likely may be Doctor Doom's analogue) knew all along what would happen and that he set the whole thing up to get the Ben Grimm/Johnny Storm analogue out of the way in order to have the Sue Storm analogue all to himself. All 3 of the trio members are implied to die horrible deaths and only the co-worker is confirmed to be left alive, with great remorse on his part. This is shown in the exchange between Terry and the co-worker:
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'''Co-worker:''' No, you don't understand, I was their friend...
'''Terry:''' ''Right...'' }}
** It's made even worse when you realized [[What the Hell, Hero?|Terry's the one who killed them]].
** This was averted in the ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' episode "Eggbaby." A series that was originally dark to begin with, they specifically wrote a more lighthearted episode around the common theme of the parenthood high school project so that they could submit it for an Emmy. They knew this was the only way they had a chance since [[Animation Age Ghetto|animation is for kids]].
* [[Batman: Under the Red Hood]] ends on an almost nihilistic note. Batman has been betrayed by Jason Todd, the Robin he believed dead, and had it rubbed in his face that his war on crime is unwinnable, that the Joker will keep escaping his cardboard prison to kill and maim until the day he dies, and that untouchable crime lords will continually hold Gotham in their grip. Any promise of a brighter tomorrow will be destroyed by the scourge of time.
* ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' has probably one of the most infamous examples, especially towards Fifi LaFume fans. In the short "Out of Odor", Elmyra has her mind set on having Fifi as her pet, but first has to get rid of her stink. After a mean use of trickery and a brief chase, Elmyra finally captures poor Fifi.
** This one was lampshaded by Fifi herself.
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*** There is, however, a popular fan theory that "Out of Odor" might be a prequel to the episode "Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow", which also shows Fifi as one of Elmyra's pets and she is rescued by Buster.
**** "Out of Odor" is referenced in ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation|How I Spent My Vacation]]'' when Fifi kicks Johnny out of the theater and he lands in Elmyra's arms, where she then mistakes him for a cat, calling him "stinky kitty" like she did with Fifi in Out of Odor and skips into background while slamming Johnny into the ground like she did with Fifi in the ending of Out of Odor.
** "One Beer" ends with Buster, Plucky, and Hamton driving off a cliff and getting killed as their car crashes into a graveyard. This is lampshaded by Buster at the end of the episode.
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*** The episode actually got pulled from syndication because of it!
* The ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' animated series ended with "Things Change", an episode that saw long-lost ex-Titan Terra, who had previously become a stone statue at the end of her story arc, alive and living a life of mundanity. The stage seems set for a joyful reunion, but after repeated claims that she doesn't know him, "The Schoolgirl" admits that "Things were never the way you remember," and rejects Beast Boy's pleas to get her to return to the team.
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* In ''[[Superman: The Animated Series|Superman the Animated Series]]'', pretty much any episode with Darkseid was liable to end on one of these notes. In "Apokolips-NOW!", Darkseid's initial invasion of Earth is foiled, but he shockingly kills Jack Kirby [[Expy]] Dan Turpin before leaving. Worse, the major pwning that Darkseid delivered to Superman implies that the Man of Steel will be powerless to stop him next time. In the series finale "Legacy", Darkseid brainwashes Superman into conquering earth for him, destroying his reputation with the entire human race. When Supes finally defeats Darkseid in battle, Darkseid is rescued by ''his own slaves'', who worship him as a god, leading us to conclude that real victory over Darkseid is impossible (at least until '[[Western Animation]]/'[[Justice League]]'').
* ''[[Beast Wars|Transformers Beast Wars]]'' ended in a bittersweet finale. Though the Maximals had defeated and captured Megatron, they suffered heavy casualties as well. The first Dinobot sacrificed himself earlier on to prevent Megatron from destroying the proto-humans. Depth Charge killed himself and Rampage in a final attempt to stop Megatron from raising the Nemesis (he didn't succeed, though he did get closure with his long-time nemesis Rampage). Tigatron and Airazor came back as one being, Tigerhawk, only to be gunned down by Megatron aboard the Nemesis in a last-ditch effort to stall Megatron. The Transmetal II Dinobot [[Heel Face Turn|finally turned good]] only to die just a few seconds later after refusing to save himself from the exploding warship. Heroes aside, fans have also expressed sadness with the deaths of the Predacons as well, including Rampage, Inferno, and Tarantulas. If we're counting Transmutate, both Dinobots as separate characters, and Tigatron, Airazor, and Tigerhawk as separate as well, then Beast Wars ended with a death toll of 14 characters out of 22. That's more than half the entire cast.
** The opening to ''[[Beast Machines]]'' makes this an even bigger downer ending. Not only did it turn out that they lost the beast wars, they inadvertently gave Megatron the power to conquer all of cybertron, and enacting a genocide that would make the holocaust look like a drive-by murder. Of the surviving few Maximals left, two of them were kidnapped and transformed into Megatron's new generals, while the rest were robbed of their transformations and memories.
** ''[[Beast Wars]]'' had numerous episodes end with the bad guys having victories, or simply leaving everyone down and out.
** The episode Transmutate had the eponymous character die trying to stop its friends from killing each other, with both [[Knight in Shining Armor|Silverbolt]] and [[Ax Crazy|Rampage]] mourning its death.
** The episode "The Probe", a Maximal probe travels to Earth. The Maximals try to get a signal to it, but Megatron destroys their tower, denying them their chance to get home.
** In the [[Transformers Generation 1|classic]] ''[[Transformers Generation 1|Transformers]]'' episode, ''"The Golden Lagoon"'', Beachcomber discovers a quiet, peaceful, Bambi-esque clearing filled with wildlife. A closer look reveals a lake of liquid "electrum," a gold and silver compound with the [[Applied Phlebotinum|oddly useful effect]] of making Transformers apparantly invulnerable. He attempts to keep it to himself but the Decepticons find it anyway and proceed to let all hell break loose. Eventually the Autobots win out but it doesn't happen without the place being gutted by the ensuing chaos. At the end, all Beachcomber can do is look dejected at the ruined landscape and utter "Yeah... we won."
* ''[[Hey Arnold!]]!'' had a few:
** "Arnold Betrays Iggy": ends with Arnold mad at Iggy for forcing him to wear bunny pajamas.
** "Helga and the Nanny": ends with Helga's homelife back to its regular dysfunctional state.
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** Also, the ending of the kayaking episode where the kids were forced to clean up the Shore Shack for a month as punishment.
** Two episodes that air together regularly, "Shark Bait" and "A Shot in the Park".
* ''[[The Fairly
* ''[[As Told by Ginger]]'': "Hello Stranger": a subversion of the [[Visit by Divorced Dad]] trope.
** And in "No Hope for Courtney", Ms. Gordon dies and Carl starts to cry at the news of this. Originally, Ms. Gordon was going to come out of retirement, but the voice actor [[Author Existence Failure|died during production]] so it was rewritten that her character died as well. Since Ms. Gordon died and also her actor, you might say it's a [[The Character Died with Him]].
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** "Kenny Dies": The kids spend the whole episode trying to get stem cell research allowed so they can save Kenny's life. In the end though, Kenny dies anyway, just too late. To make matters worse, Stan avoided Kenny the entire episode because he couldn't handle the idea of his friend dying. In the end he finally decides to tell Kenny he cares, and there's even a dramatic scene with him running to the hospital with balloons and a present - only for him to find out that Kenny had already passed on. Of course, this being, well, ''[[They Killed Kenny|Kenny]],'' he got better, but that doesn't make this episode any less depressing, especially when [[Word of God]] states that they'd originally intended for Kenny to be [[Killed Off for Real]].
** Parodied in "Woodland Critter Christmas" as a happy ending:
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'''Kyle:''' Goddamnit, Cartman! }}
*** Their version of ''[[Great Expectations]]'' had a very similar parody, predating the Woodland Critter Christmas episode:
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** "Toilet Paper" had a really brutal downer ending: Kyle, riddled with guilt over the fact that he and his friends T.P.'d their art teacher's house out of resentment, was going to apologize, but unfortunately, Cartman beat him, Stan, and Kenny to the punch. Stan, Kyle, and Kenny are sentenced to 2 weeks detention, while Cartman only gets 1 for being 'honest'.
** "Raisins". Oh God, "Raisins". Wendy breaks up with Stan, sending him into a [[Heroic BSOD]] that leads to him becoming a goth. Kyle showed a [[Lack of Empathy]] towards his own best friend over the break-up, and Stan sees Wendy with Token, the rich black kid, breaking Stan even more inside. In the end, after a pep talk from a similarly heartbroken Butters, Stan rejects Wendy. [[Earn Your Happy Ending|It took 4 grueling years for Stan and Wendy to be a couple again.]]
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** "You're Getting Old" {{spoiler|Stan has a falling out with his friends and his parents get a divorce. Stan sees the entire world as shit.}} All of this happens while sad music plays.
* ''[[My Life as a Teenage Robot]]'', of all places, for an animated sci-fi/comedy has a really overly-dramatic Downer Ending in "Mist Opportunities". Jenny meets up with her friend Misty, whose ways of fighting evil aren't what Jenny cottons to. In the end, [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown|Jenny and Misty fight, and Misty beats the ever-loving crap out of Jenny, and apparently defeating her.]] And rather than finishing off the robot girl, Misty gives her a [["The Reason You Suck" Speech|"reason you suck speech"]] and leaves her, scrapped in a partially-destroyed Tremorton.
* The ''[[Lilo
* ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy|Ed, Edd n Eddy]]'' often ends with either the Eds humiliated or raped by the Kanker Sisters, and they're often funny endings, since it is a funny show. But only ONE ending actually qualifies for a Downer Ending: the ending to ''If It Smells Like An Ed''. The Eds were accused of ruining Friendship Day, and tried to clear their names. Unfortunately, Act II has the Eds accused of bounding and gagging Jonny when actually, they found him this way. The kids refused to believe the Eds and chased them into the woods. The Eds hid in a shed, only to run into The Kanker Sisters. The cowardly three are then trapped between the kids, who are practically wishing for the Eds to die, and the Kankers, who demand the Eds to make out with them. The Eds prefered to have fruit pelted at them by the kids. It was then revealed that '''Jimmy''', of all people, set them up. His motive? The wedgie (and subsequent humiliation) given to him earlier that day by Eddy. He then has the Kankers take the Eds away.
** The episode "Take This Ed and Shove It" also qualifies in a way -- Eddy had just woken up from the [[Rip Van Winkle]] and declares, "[[Growing Up Sucks|I don't ever wanna grow up!]]" Cue Eddy waking up again, back as an old man. He soon realises that he fell asleep reminiscing about his childhood with his friends. The episode ends with him wishing he was still a kid. ''And this was [[Faux Series Finale|the original series finale]].''
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** "Failsafe" ends with Miss Martian sobbing uncontrollably and the team left shaken after a training exercise goes horribly wrong. We're also left with the unsettling implication that Miss Martian may not be able to control her immense mental abilites.
** The final sequence of "Misplaced" juxtaposes a shot of Zatanna sobbing over the loss of her father with another of Klarion laughing maniacally as he and his fellow villains move one step closer to completing their master plan.
** The ending of "Insecurity" sees Artemis berated by her teammates for being immature and selfish, only to then be offered a chance to betray the team by her father.
* ''[[Western Animation/Ace Lightning|Ace Lightning]]'' had a fair few downer ending episodes. One where [[Wham! Episode|Sparx was killed by a couple of crazy puppets ''shooting her with her own sword'']] (which came [[Mood Dissonance|completely out of the blue in what had previously been a fairly light hearted episode]]), another in which the protagonist's ex-girlfriend all but ended up hating him through no fault of his own (actually there are a few of those), and then of course there's the final episode where at least one major bad guy gets away, Lady Illusion is shot dead and the ''other'' bad guy is shown to be well and truly alive in the Sixth Dimension -and holding the Master Programmer hostage. We never found out what happened due to the cancellation.
* The second half of the first Season of ''[[Winx Club]]'' gets many of these too. Let's see: Mirta, the first (and only) friendly witch (who's also half-fairy) gets turned into a pumpkin when she was trying to help Bloom, speaking of which, she later finds that her boyfriend is a prince and is in an arranged marriage with another girl. After finding this, depressed, she returns to Earth, where the Trix steal her powers, becoming much more powerful. With her new powers, the Trix then proceed to take over Cloudtower, summon an infernal army to conquer the world. However, things got better for every good character.
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** Also, a Season 3 episode ends with Tecna apparently [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrificing herself]] to save Layla's homeworld. However, [[Disney Death|she wasn't really dead.]]
** In episode 24 of season 4, Nabu dies after using up all of his energy to close the shadow abyss, and the power that could've revived him is stolen by Ogron, who wastes it on a flower. Layla ends up leaving the Winx to join the fairy Nebula's army in order to avenge Nabu's death, despite her friends trying to tell her that that is not what Nabu would've wanted.
* The ''[[Gargoyles]]: The Goliath Chronicles'' episode "Genesis Undone": With the clones suffering from a genetic defect that will cause them to become stone permanently, they and the Manhattan Clan reluctantly seek the aid of [[Mad Scientist|Dr. Sevarius]]. However, Sevarius uses the Manhattan Clan's DNA not to save the clones, but to give life to his own new, improved clone, whom he refers to as his son. Some fighting later and Goliath turns Sevarius' 'son' to stone, leaving the doctor desperately pining for the one thing he had ever cared about. Meanwhile, the clones have already been permanently petrified, and there is apparently no way to reverse the process.
** The episode "Metamorphosis" has Elisa's brother Derek infected with a drug that turns him into a mutant Gargoyle as part of a Dr. Sevarius experiment that supposedly not even Xanatos approved. Then Sevarius, the only one who could reverse the process, gets killed, and Derek blames Elisa and the Manhattan Clan for everything. It's then revealed that Xanatos set up everything to turn Derek into the mutant, including faking Sevarius' death. Of all the corrupt and morally questionable things Xanatos did over the series, this may be the only one that was truly EVIL. The episode ends with Elisa sobbing amongst the Manhattan Clan.
* Season one of ''[[Titan Maximum]]'' ends with Gibbs succeeding at frying Mercury and killing billions of old people. The episode was titled "[[Meaningful Name|One Billion Dead Grandparents]]" after all. In the [[DVD Commentary]], writer Matt Senreich actually invokes the trope - "Downer Ending right there. Downer Ending."
* Would you believe there was an episode of ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' that ended with them both sitting on a train track waiting to commit suicide by train? And just as it irises out, you hear the sound of a train whistle? Chilling.
** There is another Mouseketeer episode where the final scene is Jerry and Nibbles walking down the street. There is a drum roll and the silhouette of a guillotine dropping--on Tom's head. Nibbles replies "C'est la vie."
** Naturally current showings of these episodes always cut to the credits.
*** Not true. Everytime I see the Mouseketeer episode on [[Cartoon Network]] it has the [[Downer Ending]] intact.
* ''[[Spider-Man: The Animated Series|Spider Man the Animated Series]]'' has an episode that shocked us with its combination of Downer Ending and [[Wham! Episode]]. Mary Jane and Peter had finally gotten married at the beginning of the season, after MJ had been lost down a inter dimensional portal and come back. They are starting their honeymoon when Hydro-Man kidnaps MJ right under Peter's nose. He manages to find her again, only for it to be revealed that both Hydro-Man and MJ are in fact clones, made from a process that hasn't been perfected yet. MJ ends up disintegrating in Peter's arms. Even worse, when you realize that this means the real Mary Jane has been floating in the interdimensional portal all this time. These two episodes left many in a state of shock for hours. The remaining 5 episodes managed to turn it into a [[Bittersweet Ending]] as Spider-Man saves reality itself from being destroyed... but Mary Jane is still missing.
** Well, it was somewhat foreshadowed in that MJ's sudden return was totally out of the blue, she didn't seem traumatized by several months in interdimensional void and therefore something wasn't right. And the end of the series strongly implied that Spider-Man will find her, with Madame Web's help and all. The plan was to shoot five more episodes which would involve him doing just that, but [[Screwed by the Network|the show was canceled]].
* Similarly, ''[[Spider-Man Unlimited]]'' ends with Spider-Man lost in time, the symbiotes spawned from Venom and Carnage taking over the city, and everyone is apparently powerless to stop them. An ending was scripted to have them overcome the infestation and Spider-Man, Eddie Brock, and Cletus Kasady making their way back to our Earth, but the series was canceled at that point.
* ''[[
** Gets even worse when realizing that the show was canceled without even resolving the ending. Double damn.
** And you forgot about Harry; his dad is dead, he overheard his girlfriend say that she loved his best friend since the 7th grade (implying she never loved Harry) and his best friend said he loved her too (so his best friend pretty much stole his girlfriend, which is worse as [["Well Done, Son" Guy|Harry]] [[Green-Eyed Monster|feels inferior to]] [[The Favorite|Peter]] [[Abusive Parents|because of]] [[Complete Monster|his dad]]. The only characters who don't have a downer ending are some of the villains, everyone at the Bugle except JJJ, [[Jerk Jock|Flash]], [[Black Best Friend|Robbie]] and [[Alpha Bitch|Sally]].
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