| Son of Batman | |
| Director: | Ethan Spaulding |
| Producer: | James Tucker |
| Screenplay: | Joe R. Lansdale |
| Story: | James Robinson |
| Music: | Frederik Wiedmann |
| Editing: | Christopher D. Lozinski |
| Distributor: | Warner Home Video |
| Runtime: | 74 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Son of Batman is a 2014 American animated superhero film which is the 20th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the third film in the DC Animated Movie Universe.[1] It is an adaptation of Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert's 2006 "Batman and Son" storyline.[2] [3] The film was released as a digital download on April 22, 2014,[4] and was released on physical media on May 6.[5] [6]
At the headquarters of the League of Assassins, Ra's al Ghul grooms Damian Wayne, the young son of his daughter Talia and Batman, to succeed him. The League is ambushed by a group of assassins led by Slade Wilson, Ra's al Ghul's initial choice for successor before Damian's birth. Ra's is defeated and fatally injured by Slade, dying before he can heal his injuries with the Lazarus Pit. After the incident, Talia takes Damian to Gotham City to meet his father and remain in his care while she and the League deal with Slade. The aggressive, highly independent Damian objects and frequently disobeys his father's orders in an attempt to seek out Slade and avenge Ra's himself. After Nightwing accosts him for sneaking out and brutally attacking an associate of Slade, Batman berates Damian for his recklessness and willingness to kill. Batman then has Damian don the mantle of Robin to teach him discipline.
Slade, now calling himself Deathstroke, captures Talia as well as Dr. Kirk Langstrom, a scientist previously working with Ra's. Commissioner Gordon warns Batman about an abandoned stadium believed to house Deathstroke's men; after infiltrating the stadium, Batman and Damian attempt to question Langstrom, who initially refuses to leave as Deathstroke is holding his family hostage. When Damian becomes violently impatient and inadvertently alerts the enemy to their arrival, the group is confronted by a swarm of Man-Bats, which Langstrom explains is part of Deathstroke's plan to create superhuman flying assassins. While Nightwing works with Langstrom on an antidote for the Man-Bats, Batman and Damian set off to rescue Langstrom's family. Batman deduces that Talia has been abducted and Damian is relayed her location via a ransom video given to Langstrom's daughter.
Nightwing learns that Deathstroke is operating in an oil rig off the Scottish coast, and while Batman is distracted, Damian goes to the rig alone to rescue his mother. He finds Deathstroke and Talia in an underwater base with a swarm of Man-Bats and another Lazarus Pit, which Deathstroke intends to sell for profit. Deathstroke attempts to kill Damian, mortally wounding Talia as she shields her son from a gunshot. Batman arrives to assist and heals Talia in the Lazarus Pit, while Nightwing and Langstrom cure the Man-Bats.
After a brutal fight, Damian manages to defeat Deathstroke, but refuses to kill him because it is not what his father would do. The underwater base is destroyed when the Man-Bats, overwhelmed by sonar devices placed by Batman, break the glass elevator shaft and flood the base. Batman, Talia and Damian escape to safety, but the unconscious Deathstroke is left behind. Discussing what to do with Damian now that Deathstroke has been neutralized, Batman believes that Damian should stay with him and remain as Robin while Talia still wishes to recreate the League with Batman and Damian at her side. Talia relents and allows Damian to stay in Gotham with his father, but states her intention to return for him someday.
During the credits, the fight between Damian and Nightwing is shown.
| Voice actor | Character | |
|---|---|---|
| Stuart Allan | Damian Wayne / Robin | |
| Jason O'Mara | Bruce Wayne / Batman | |
| Thomas Gibson | Slade Wilson / Deathstroke | |
| Morena Baccarin | Talia al Ghul | |
| Sean Maher | Dick Grayson / Nightwing | |
| David McCallum | Alfred Pennyworth | |
| Giancarlo Esposito | Ra's al Ghul | |
| Dee Bradley Baker | The Joker (cameo), Man-Bat commandos | |
| Xander Berkeley | Dr. Kirk Langstrom | |
| Diane Michelle | Francine Langstrom, Call Girl #1 | |
| Andrea Romano | Suit #2 | |
| Fred Tatasciore | Waylon Jones / Killer Croc, Dusan al Ghul | |
| Bruce Thomas | James Gordon, Ubu | |
| Kari Wahlgren | Rebecca Langstrom, Call Girl #2 |
| Son of Batman (Music from the DC Universe Movie) | |
| Type: | Film score |
| Artist: | Frederik Wiedmann |
| Released: | May 20, 2014 |
| Length: | 65:52 |
| Label: | La-La Land Records |
The soundtrack to Son of Batman was released on May 20, 2014, with music composed by Frederik Wiedmann.[7]
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of, with an average score of, based on reviews.[8] IGN gave the film a rating of 7.5 out of 10, saying that "Son of Batman finds the humor amidst the more adult-oriented action elements in this latest DC animated adventure".[9] On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of based on votes, with an average rating of .[10] Common Sense Media gave the film a 4 star rating out of 5, saying that "violent and noirish Batman is engaging but cynical".[11] Conversely, Brian Lowry of Variety stated that "at times this feels like a sitcom premise — a chop-socky "Full House", or maybe, "Full Cave".[12] Tommy Cook for Collider.com also gave the film a negative review: "Striving for the dark edge of what I guess people expect from a Batman movie while still maintaining that Saturday morning toon sheen, the film feels mass produced to appeal to all (give the adults – gore; the kids – a spunky child sidekick); however in the effort to appease everyone, SoB in fact caters to none".[13]
The film earned $7,035,623 from domestic home video sales.[14]
Three sequels were released including: Batman vs. Robin in 2015, in 2016, and Batman: Hush in 2019.