''Son of Batman'' is a 2014 American

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

superhero film A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature action, advent ...

which is the 20th film of the

DC Universe Animated Original Movies The DC Universe Animated Original Movies (DCUAOM; also known as DC Universe Original Movies or DC Universe Movies or DC Animated Movies) are a series of American direct-to-video superhero animated films based on the DC Comics characters and sto ...

and the third film in the

DC Animated Movie Universe DC, D.C., D/C, Dc, or dc may refer to: Places * Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia), the capital and the federal territory of the United States * Bogotá, Distrito Capital, the capital city of Colombia * Dubai City, as distinct from th ...

. It is an adaptation of

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...

and

Andy Kubert Andrew Kubert (; born February 27, 1962) is an American comics artist, letterer and writer. He is the son of Joe Kubert and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists, and the uncle of comics editor Katie Kubert. He is a graduate of ...

's 2006 "

Batman and Son "Batman and Son" is a 2006 comic book story arc featuring the DC Comics character Batman. Written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Andy Kubert, the story was published in four parts in the comic book '' Batman'' starting in #655 and ending in #658 ...

" storyline. The film was released as a digital download on April 22, 2014, and was released on physical media on May 6.

Plot

At the headquarters of the

League of Assassins The League of Assassins (sometimes renamed the League of Shadows or Society of Shadows in adapted works) is a group of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The group is depicted as a collective of assassins who ...

Ra's al Ghul Ra's al Ghul, commonly pronounced correctly as ''Re'sh'', hence or ; "The Head of the Demon" or, in a rougher translation, "The Chief Demon". is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary o ...

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 Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...

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 cast

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to ''Son of Batman'' was released on May 20, 2014, with music composed by Frederik Wiedmann. ;Tracklist

Reception

Critical reception

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported an approval rating of , with an average score of , based on reviews.

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

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". On

the film has a rating of based on votes, with an average rating of .

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave the film a 4 star rating out of 5, saying that "violent and noirish Batman is engaging but cynical". Conversely, Brian Lowry of Variety stated that "at times this feels like a sitcom premise — a chop-socky "Full House", or maybe, "Full Cave". 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".

Sales

The film earned $7,035,623 from domestic home video sales."Son of Batman The Numbers Listing"
. The Numbers. Accessed October 4, 2019.

Sequels

Three sequels were released including: '' Batman vs. Robin'' in 2015, '' Batman: Bad Blood'' in 2016, and '' Batman: Hush'' in 2019.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Warner Bros. animation and comics 2014 films 2010s English-language films 2010s American animated films 2010s direct-to-video animated superhero films 2010s animated superhero films 2014 animated films 2014 direct-to-video films Animated action films Animated Batman films Robin (character) films DC Animated Movie Universe Films about dysfunctional families Films directed by Ethan Spaulding Films scored by Frederik Wiedmann Animated films set in London Animated films set in Scotland Animated films set in China 2014 science fiction action films American action films Animated science fiction films Films set in 2014 Animated films about revenge Warner Bros. Animation animated films Animated films about father–son relationships