Son of Batman (2014)

Movie Info

The test say…You are the father, Batman!

Ra’s al Ghul is dead…killed by his former ally Slade Wilson.  Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter Talia takes her son Damian to Gotham City where she reveals to Bruce Wayne that he is the father of the young assassin.  Damian has revenge in his heart and Batman must help guide the boy from being a heartless killer.  Deathstroke has plans of his own and is seeking a mutagen from Dr. Kirk Langstrom to create a superhuman army of assassins…and only Batman and Robin can stop him!

Directed by Ethan Spaulding, Son of Batman is a loose adaptation of Grant Morrison’s Batman and Son storyline which ran in Batman (1) #655-658 (September 2006-December 2006).  The movie is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line and followed Justice League:  War (also released in 2014).  The movie received mostly positive reviews.

Grandfather, I want a Man-Bat for Christmas!

Damian Wayne ended up being a great idea.  Morrison introduced Damian in the story and he became one of the more interesting characters in recent years in Batman.  His rise and development kept me interested in Batman and is it is good to see him brought to the screen here.

DC’s animated material is pretty solid (which is interesting since their live action films struggle).  This entry in their films is no different in that sense.  The movie has a lot of action and character development which something that doesn’t always happen in the shorter DC cartoons.  It does dumb down a bit of the story by simplifying it and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but people who were fans of Grant Morrison’s run might want a more pure adaptation.

If that Green Arrow guy can beat you, how do expect to beat me?

I wish that Damian had the opportunity to be a bit more ruthless.  I would have liked to have seen Batman take someone who has crossed the line multiple times and try to bring him back.  It is obvious (even in the comics) that Damian will generally do the right thing.  Since the story was changed slightly anyway, it would have been interesting to see Damian pushing Batman to the edge.

The movie looks quite good.  Although DC pumps out these animated films quite often, their quality is generally high.  They are better than regular TV shows but not quite up to the level of a theatrical released animated feature.

The DC Animated Universe still seems worlds above Marvel who has dominated the live-action universe.  It is good to get to see some of these storylines that we would probably never see in live action regardless of the prominence of the company, and I hope that the makers continue to select even more fringe storylines to bring to live (and scale back on the Batman and Superman movies).  Son of Batman is worth a watch and is followed by Batman:  Assault on Arkham also in 2014.