The idea of Batman having a young, brightly colored sidekick has always been a divisive notion for fans of The Dark Knight. Introducing a fourth incarnation that also happened to be Batman’s biological son, Damian Wayne, seemed like a disaster. But by the time writer Grant Morrison got to the end of the character’s arc, he had become one of the most beloved characters in Batman’s mythology and in the year of the 75th anniversary of the character, DC Universe Animated is giving his origin the film treatment with Son of Batman.
The latest animated offering hits the broad strokes of the introduction of Damian Wayne, but diverges from its source material in larger story-related ways than most DC Universe Animated features, with most of the changes making sense for this contained story. For example, Deathstroke (Thomas Gibson) in the film is part of the League of Assassins, and is intertwined into the relationship between Damian (Stuart Allan) and his grandfather Ra’s al Ghul (Giancarlo Esposito), becoming the major antagonist for the majority of the story. It fits well enough and provides a true-blue villain to fight, rather than the murky areas of grey that are Talia al Ghul (Morena Baccarin) and her father.
When the fights do happen in Son of Batman, they are bloody, brutal and fast paced. Fans wanting to show their young children a light-hearted Robin film are advised to pick up something like Batman: The Brave & The Bold, because level of blood and torture is high for even adult films. I prefer my DC Animated films to be more adult oriented, but this one definitely pushes the limit and rivals only Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox in uncensored violence.
One of the most challenging aspects of adapting Morrison’s Batman and Son is getting Damian right, because in the wrong writer or voice actor’s hands the character could quickly becoming an annoying, petulant child. But Stuart Allan does an excellent job of getting the right balance for Damian, and I’m starting to really like Jason O’Mara’s Batman (this is his second outing since Justice League: War). Now that DC is going forward with an animated DC Universe continuity, I’m looking forward to O’Mara continuing to flesh out his interpretation.
The special features for Son of Batman follow the format of pretty much every DC Universe Animated film of late, but why change what works? There are three featurettes that basically give background to characters in the film. The Fan and the Demon Head: The League of Assassins focuses on Ra’s al Ghul infamous group, Strange Blood Ties: Damian Wayne is a primer on the history of Batman’s only son and Designing the Characters with Phil Bourassa hits on art of the film. All the features have members of the cast and creative people from DC like Grant Morrison popping up to discuss the subject matter.
In addition, as always we get our first look at the next animated release from DC and much like they did for Superman in his anniversary year, Batman is getting a second film this year with Batman: Assault on Arkham. It follows the same format of previous “previews” and mostly consists of talent behind the scenes talking about the project along with a few scenes and storyboard samples.
Lastly, we get one of the more fun features on DC Universe Animated releases with the “From the Vault” episodes of somewhat connected previous Batman projects. The lineup includes Out of the Past from Batman Beyond, The Knights of Tomorrow (that also features a Damian Wayne origin story) and Sidekicks Assemble! from Batman: The Brave & The Bold and lastly Showdown from Batman: The Animated Series.
Son of Batman does a very nice job adapting the introduction of the new Robin to the newly forming DC animated universe while adding its own spin on the story. It’s way too dark for the kids and may be a bit too inside for casual viewers, but if you’ve enjoyed the previous works in the animated line this is certainly not the film that gets it wrong. Strong voice acting, intense and violent action, and the fun introduction of the fascinating Damian make for another solid release from DC/Warner Bros and is definitely worth a viewing, if not a spot on your shelf.
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