Dana Tan is one of the main characters of Batman Beyond. She is a student at Hamilition Hill High School and is the main love interest of Terry McGinnis, being his long-time girlfriend and later fiancée.
Personality[]
Dana is kind, caring, loyal, brave and intelligent. Dana cares very deeply for her friends whenever they are in trouble such as when Chelsea was taken to The Rance, a therapy institute for trouble teens or when Jackie was being followed by a mysterious and unknown figure. Dana is willing to help in any way and defend them such as when Willie was being bullied by Nelson. In regards to her relationship with Terry, Dana loves Terry very much, caring for his well-being and feelings after the death of his father and offers her support. However, Dana displays a short temper and patience for Terry's job for Bruce Wayne, becoming annoyed when Terry is forced to leave during a date or when he doesn't arrive. Terry's job has caused several issues for their relationship, causing them to break up more than once. However, Dana shows that she is ultimatly understanding and forgiving, reconciling her relationship with Terry.
She is also willing to try new things such as splicing, a new fad where people mix their DNA with animals. However, she displays comman sense as she realizes that it wasn't for her. Dana is also revealed to have an open mind, believing in other possibilities such as when she along with almost everyone in their school believed it was being haunted by a deceased student. Dana also displays great bravery when she was kidnapped by Ratboy. Although she was greatly afraid, she remained calm and tried to find a way to escape and return to the surface.
Background[]
Dana is an Asian American and lives in Neo-Gotham with her father. She is a senior at Hamilton Hill High. While not much is known about Dana's past it's revealed that she has known Terry for a long time and has been dating him for several years even while he was still a delinquent.
Relationships[]
Terry McGinnis[]
Terry McGinnis is the new Batman of Neo-Gotham City and is Dana's main love interest. While there isn't much known of their past, Terry and Dana are revealed to be in a long-time romantic relationship, having known each other when Terry was still a delinquent and was in Charlie Bigelow's Gang before beginning High School in their pre-teens. Dana and Terry are in a happy and committed relationship, but Dana's father shows a disapproval of their romance, due to Terry's delinquent past. However, the views of her father and Terry's past has never affected their relationship and they remain by each other's side. When Terry's father, Warren McGinnis was murdered, Dana was saddened for Terry, offering her support and comfort for him. However, Terry and Dana's relationship had soon started to become strain when Terry began working as Bruce Wayne's assistant while unknown to Dana, Terry had actually become the new Batman of Gotham City. Dana became annoyed numerous times due to Terry's job, forcing him to cancel dates or sometimes not even arrive on time, causing them to spend less time together.
Due to Terry's job, Dana became angry with him several times and while she understood the reasons for his job, including his new responsibilities to help his family, she ultimately lost her patience on several occasions. Dana even came to believe that Terry apparently cares more about his job than her or their entire relationship altogether, causing Dana to break up with Terry several times. During one of their early break-ups when Terry was beginning his career as Batman, Terry had briefly dated Melanie Walker, but the relationship was broken off upon discovering her criminal family origins. Terry and Dana managed to reconcile and got back together, but Dana never discovered Terry's romantic relationship with Melanie or his brief struggle in choosing between them. Ultimately, Terry chose Dana, deciding to put his former relationship with Melanie in the past and move forward with Dana, seeing they have a true future together, something he would never get from Melanie, realizing she would never truly escape her past with her family.
Despite the occasional issues in their relationship, Dana and Terry deeply care and love each other and both are very protective of one another, shown and proven several times throughout the series. Terry protects Dana wether as himself or as Batman, protecting or rescuing her from any danger or harassment such as when she was attacked by the Jokerz or when she was kidnapped by Ratboy, going to great lengths to find and rescue her. Dana cares for Terry's safety in return, worried when he went missing or when she left him alone at Wayne Manor. Throughout the series, Terry and Dana's relationship grows stronger. Dana and Terry share several romantic moments together and whenever Terry and Dana do get to spend time together, both grow to further appreciate being with each other, making their love grow more stronger in the process.
Terry's feelings and relationship with Dana are important to him and becomes annoyed and disappointed with himself and his job as Batman since it's the main reason he can't spend more time with her. Terry also comes to blame himself when something bad happens to Dana and is upset when he is unable to protect her such as her kidnapping from Ratboy or the assault from the Jokerz. Due to his dangerous life as Batman, it's the main reason he doesn't reveal to Dana his secret identity, not wanting her to get hurt or become a target for his enemies, showing that while Terry trusts Dana, he values her safety more. Overall, Terry cares and loves Dana very much and admits that despite his job being his main responsibility, he confesses Dana is more important to him in his life. Eventually in regards to Terry's job, Dana eventually comes to accept it and his close relationship with Bruce Wayne, coming to realize that since his father's passing, Terry has began to see Bruce Wayne as a father figure.
After graduating from high school, Terry and Dana continue to date and remain in a strong, serious and committed relationship for fifteen years. Terry and Dana's relationship becomes so strong that Terry finally reveals to Dana his secret identity as Batman, showing he has great trust in her to know his secret and to keep their relationship alive. However, Terry grows worried with the possibility if they get married and his enemies discover Dana is Batman's wife than she would become a target for her life, causing Terry to struggle with their future despite Dana's reassurance. Later when Terry's discovers the shock of his life, learning he is actually Bruce Wayne's biological son, Terry begins to have serious doubts, believing his entire life has been nothing but a lie and believes he is cursed to live his predecessor's life. Terry even imagines that due to his "cursed" life, he will be forced to break up with Dana. However, once speaking with Amanda Waller and learning the truth, Terry renews his life as Batman with a new perspective and assuring to take Waller's advice to look after the people he loves, Terry finally decides to at long last propose marriage to Dana.
Ratboy[]
Ratboy was a runaway deformed teen living underground in Gotham City who developed an obsessive villainous crush on Dana. Due to his deformity, Ratboy was bullied and teased in his childhood, resulting in him running away and finding a home in the sewers in Gotham City and befriended the giant rats that lived there. While living underground, he desired companionship other than his rats and secretly began spying on the people of the surface, specifically Dana Tan. He began to develop an obsession with Dana, believing they were similar to each other, seeing she was being unintentionally neglected by her boyfriend, Terry McGinnis. Believing she would understand and sympathise with him, Ratboy strongly wanted to be with Dana and began leaving her flowers with note, assuring he will be there for her. Eventually, he decided to kidnap her, wishing for them to live together underground. Upon reawakening from her kidnapping, Dana was surprised by her surroundings and officially met Ratboy. During their time together, she learned of his reasons for abducting her, including his troubled past and discovered his real name to be Patrick.
While Dana felt sorry for him upon learning of his abused past and understood his feelings of neglect, she held no desire to remain with him and tried to convince him to allow her to return home. Ratboy instantly refused her request and declared that she belongs with him down in the underground world and assured he will get anything of her desires. Dana grew worried, seeing more of his obsession, but remained calm and tried to trick him to allow her to return to surface, asking for Rino's Chilli. While he agreed, he ordered Dana to remain underground while he gained the chilli himself and warned her before leaving, not to venture away in the sewers, warning her of the dangers. Once he left, Dana began her quest to escape and return to the surface, but despite her efforts, Dana was almost killed by rats until Ratboy returned, thus failing in her attempts to escape.
Eventually growing increasingly frustrated and losing her patience, Dana snapped at Ratboy, expressing her anger and annoyance of him kidnapping her as well as him having rats as friends. Hurt by Dana's words, Ratboy loses all his feelings for Dana, now viewing her to be like "the others", revealing Dana isn't the first to be kidnapped by him. Ratboy reveals he has done the same to Dana before, revealing he has kidnapped previous teens in the past and offered them a "home" to escape the surface society and troubles they deal in their lives. However, when they grew angered and upon seeing their refusal to accept him and seeing they viewed him to be a freak, he would have his rats kill them. Now seeing Dana isn't any different from his previous abductions, he orders his rats to kill her, but is saved by the arrival of Batman. Dana and Batman ward off the rats attack and manage to escape, but not before Dana drops a flaming hockey stick and lands on flammable chemicals, causing the sewers to explode along with Ratboy and his pets. Since then, Dana was returned home and reunited with Terry, resuming their relationship and growing more appreciative of having Terry in her life.
Gallery[]
Character Design[]
Season 1[]
Season 2[]
Season 3[]
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker[]
External Links[]