Anyone hoping Conroy’s Batman would be a significant player in the story of “Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths” may be disappointed to hear that this is more of a cameo, but a significantly meaningful one at that.

Just when things are at its most hopeless, we cut to Earth 12 (which, in the comics is the “Batman Beyond” universe — fitting since Conroy voices Batman in that show, too, and it’s a sequel to “Batman: The Animated Series”). The instantly recognizable (and cool to build) Art Deco skyline of Gotham City clues us in that this is the home of “Batman: The Animated Series,” where — even in the face of the apocalypse — Joker is causing problems for Batman. It is a stunningly animated sequence made to look just like the original ’90s cartoon, only crisper and more fluid. 

Why is Batman spending his last moments alive fighting Joker rather than with his family? That’s what Joker asks his longtime enemy and the closest thing he has to a best friend. Why does he care so much about beating up some old clown, even at the end of everything, Joker asks. And then, as he grabs Joker by his lapels, Conroy growls and delivers his final line as Batman.

“I care, Joker. About Gotham. About Justice. And if it has to end, at least I go out like this,” Conroy’s Batman says as the world ends around him and he raises his fist to punch Joker in the face one last time. “Being Batman!”