Dana Tan

Dana Tan
AKA:	Dane
Species:	Human
Hair:	Black
Eyes:	Black
Relatives:	Mr. Tan (father) Terry McGinnis (boyfriend, later fiancé)
Base:	Gotham City
Affiliations:	Hamilton Hill High School
Voiced by:	Lauren Tom

"Every moment we're together, you're risking your life". "I've told you a hundred times, that's a risk I'm willing to take." — Terry McGinnis and Dana Tan

Dana Tan was Terry McGinnis's long-time girlfriend.

History

Terry and Dana began dating when they both attended Hamilton Hill High School. Her father disapproved of the relationship because of Terry's checkered background, but Terry worked hard to prove his worth.

Their relationship was a close one; when he had her drop him off at Wayne Manor, she expressed concern about leaving him alone in the middle of nowhere, and he responded with the same tenderness.

When Terry started being Batman, it put a strain on their relationship, with his frequent absences, and often last-minute cancellation of their plans. He often covered these absences with his new "job" for Bruce Wayne and the new family responsibilities caused by his father's death. Later, their mutual friend Maxine Gibson, who learned Terry's secret identity, also helped cover for him.

As time went on, Dana devised her own explanation for Terry's attachment to Wayne: that he had become a father figure to replace the one Terry had lost which Terry admitted wasn't so far off. This made her feel sympathetic (and she was more right than either she or Terry knew, as Bruce Wayne would later be proven to be Terry's biological father).

Still, on at least one occasion Dana blew up at Terry for being stood up once too often. Unaware that she was being stalked by Ratboy, an abandoned child who had grown up in the sewers, she mistook a mash note from him as coming from Terry and offered to meet with him. She was abducted by Ratboy and kept in his underground lair, but she showed considerable bravery, first trying to escape through the sewers by crawling on all fours, and then improvising a trap for Ratboy that ended up torching his lair, and probably him along with it. Severely traumatized, Dana was approached by Terry afterwards, very contrite, and surprised him by hugging him closely.

When the Joker returned to haunt Gotham, Dana was caught in the crossfire. After learning the identity of the new Batman, the Joker sent his Jokerz after Terry, and Dana was subdued by Ghoul in the fight. She managed to free herself quite easily, by stomping on his foot, but Ghoul proved more than a match than she originally perceived. She was thrown off a ledge and ended up in Gotham General with severe injuries. Joker later threatened her life again via his hijacked military satellite against Gotham General, though he was stopped before he could do so.

Dana Tan, 15 years later.

Max once suggested to Terry that Dana could be trusted with his secret, and should be if he wanted to keep their relationship alive. Terry refused flatly, citing concern for her safety. The two continued dating for fifteen years after high school, and at some point, she learned of his identity as Batman. He constantly warned her that she would be in danger if anyone ever discovered his secret, but, being committed, she refused to leave him.

When Terry discovered his true lineage, he became disillusioned with his identity and imagined himself breaking up with Dana, seeing himself as "cursed". But on the advice of Amanda Waller, he came to grips with his past and took her advice to "take care of the people who love you". After this conversation, he planned to propose to Dana, while still continuing his life as Batman.

Background information

• Dana Tan and her family are of Asian American heritage.

• In Paul Dini's screenplay of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, a line is included that did not make it to the final product. In the scene where Terry is explaining to Bruce why he wants to go on being Batman, Terry says that Dana's father's disapproval is a constant reminder that he'll never completely erase his criminal past.

Appearances

Batman Beyond "Rebirth, Part I" "Black Out" "Golem" "Meltdown" "Dead Man's Hand" "The Winning Edge" "Splicers" "Earth Mover" "Lost Soul" "Hidden Agenda" "Once Burned" "Hooked Up" (Hallucination) "Rats" "Revenant" "Terry's Friend Dates a Robot" "The Last Resort" "Armory" "The Eggbaby" "Zeta" "Plague" "Where's Terry?" "Untouchable" "Inqueling" "Big Time" "Speak No Evil" "Unmasked" (Mentioned Only) Feature film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Justice League Unlimited "Epilogue"