QUICKIE -- Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons is a 2022 American animated direct-to-video superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and based on the comic books of the same name. It is the 46th installment in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the first fully-CGI animated film from DC Entertainment. The film was written by Jeremy Adams and directed by Matt Peters, and stars Jack Dylan Grazer and Jack Griffo as Jonathan Kent and Damian Wayne. It premiered on October 7, 2022 at New York Comic Con, and was released to home video on October 18, 2022. 

Voice cast

• Jack Dylan Grazer as Superboy / Jonathan Kent

• Jack Griffo as Robin / Damian Wayne

• Troy Baker as Batman / Bruce Wayne

• Travis Willingham as Superman / Clark Kent

• Laura Bailey as Lois Lane

• Darin De Paul as Lex Luthor, Starro

• Tom Kenny as Green Arrow, Penguin

• Zeno Robinson as Jimmy Olsen, Melvin Masters

• Nolan North as Jor-El

• Myrna Velasco as Wonder Girl, Lara

I thought this was a stellar voice acting cast from top to bottom, with Laura Bailey's Lois Lane definitely leaving a mark as another great portrayal of that character. It is a breath of fresh air when new voice actresses don't attempt to copy or mirror Dana Delany's Lois Lane performance from Superman: The Animated Series to the tee and I think that Bailey should be recognized for that. Jack Dylan Grazer and Jack Griffo stood out as both Superboy/Jonathan Kent and Robin/Damian Wayne respectively. While Troy Baker is no stranger to playing the Dark Knight, Travis Willingham is a newcomer to voicing the Man of Steel when he was previously known as Marvel's go-to voice actor for most of Thor's recent animated appearances. I thought he did a good job for what he was given to work with in this animated film and made the most of it. He gets props for not trying to imitate Tim Daly or George Newborn. Last but not least, I recognized Tom Kenny's Penguin right away from The Batman. 

The Verdict: 

I remember seeing the trailer for this over the summer of 2022 and completely forgetting that it came out until I saw the DVDs and Blu-Rays showing up in the local Wal-Mart and Target retailers while Christmas shopping at the end of the year. Over MLK Day weekend, I noticed that it was now available for streaming on HBO Max, so I took a dive to finally check this out. 

Truth be told, I only read a few of the early Super Sons comics with Damian and Jon teaming up. For what it was worth, I enjoyed the charm of seeing these offspring to the "World's Finest" learning to work together as most children would. This animated film does a great job at replicating that charm found in those comics for the most part. 

Visually speaking, I think it should be mentioned how gorgeous this film looks from an animated perspective. I saw this stylish blend of 2D and 3D animation to be an answer to Marvel Studios' own with what they went with in their recent What If...? animated series on the Disney+ streaming platform. Where Marvel's What If...? looked stale and stagnant with their character models in some cases (notably on women), this film made all of their character designs look unique and vibrant. If DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation want to make this their go-to style for these animated films going forward, then you wouldn't have any complaints from me in the least. 

I thought the plot was a little too predictable with Starro hitching a ride onto Superman's rocket as it escapes the dying planet of Krypton. Starro falls off as the rocket jumps to hyperspace, but makes its way to Earth years later after crashing into the Watchtower. While I don't need a millionth Superman origin story in my life in 2023, I did appreciate seeing the beautiful montage of his coming to age and meeting Lois Lane before they got married and had their son, Jon, together. Lois and Clark have been raising their son like a normal child while keeping him in the dark about the fact that his father is really Superman. As a result, Jon is left feeling neglected by his father, which causes his Kryptonian powers to manifest when he's under stress. This urges Clark to reveal his secret to his son and enlighten him on his Kryptonian heritage. Superman takes Jon with him to meet with Batman, who analyzes Jon's DNA to determine how his powers will manifest further. This in turn allows Jon to meet Batman's son, Damian, who Batman has taken in from his mother, Talia al Ghul, in hopes to abandon his murderous upbringing as an assassin for the League of Shadows. I thought it was rather odd that Damian's past is barely scratched upon outside of a few one liners and jokes from Damian, boosting about how many people he's killed in his lifetime already.  

Starro easily takes over each member of the Justice League and Teen Titans (consisting of Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Beast Boy) and it doesn't take long for it to take over Superman and Batman too when they investigate the situation. Damian found himself forced to fight Batman after he was taken over by Starro, but manages to escape in the Batjet before he was overwhelmed. Damian reunites with Jon Kent while he was at school, only to find out that Lois Lane has already been taken over by Starro as well. Damian and Jon manage to destroy the Starro that is controlling her to free her from his control while they flee to the Fortress of Solitude for some possible answers. After a brief skirmish with Superman's guard dog, Krypto, Damian and Jon has Jor-El's holo-computer analyze the sample of Starro that they brought along for any possible weaknesses and determine that Starro is weak to fire. That revelation made me scratch my head as I don't see how Starro survived the exit from Krypton's atmosphere if that was the case. 

Now freed Lois Lane opts to aid the Super Sons the only way she knows how, by speaking to the mass media. In this case, she opts to do so by calling in a favor with the President - Lex Luthor. Ironic that Superman hasn't killed him in this reality like the Justice Lords version in the DC Animated Universe, but I digress... Lex Luthor ends up being infected by Starro, who Lois frees him of on live television and warns the populace of the pending threat. 

By this point, Jon and Damian have made it to the Watchtower in hopes of freeing the rest of the League while Damian systematically keeps throwing Jon into harm's way in hopes of triggering more of his latent abilities. To no surprise of anyone, it works to the point that Jon even has super endurance to deal with the Starro-possessed League and Titan members' super powered attacks. Their efforts prove fruitful as they free the League from Starro's weakening control, but stay on the Watchtower as it enters the Earth's atmosphere in hopes of ensuring that the creature is burnt alive upon entry. Fortunately, Batman and Superman are freed from Starro's control to lend a hand as the four of them work together to finish Starro off. 

It's like I said, it's not a bad plot; just a very predictable and by-the-books story that didn't take any chances in terms of playing it safe. As someone who grew from loathing Damian's character in the Justice League: WAR continuity to loving his character development across those animated films to the time that Justice League Dark: Apokalips War came to a close, I thought this was a pretty tame origin story. I understand that they want to play it safe in terms of introducing these two characters to younger audiences, but I didn't feel like there was enough here to sink my teeth into. Who knows when we are going to see these characters again too since it's obvious that this film is a one-off and not tied to the new animated film continuity that they started off with Superman: Man of Tomorrow.