Jack Dylan Grazer, Jack Griffo, Troy Baker, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey, Darin De Paul, Zeno Robinson, Nolan North and Tom Kenny
We go beyond the story we know about Superman and Batman, and now look to their own super off-spring, each with a super son of their own who need to unite to save the world...
Young Jonathan Kent (Grazer), son of Clark Kent (Willingham) and Lois Lane (Bailey) is unaware of the super secret his Dad holds. Damian Wayne (Griffo), son of Bruce Wayne (Baker) and the now deceased Talia al Ghul, is Batman's Robin, helping fight crime.
The youngsters have very outlooks on life and society, due to very different upbringings. But the two are forced to look past their differences to battle the intergalactic threat of Starro (De Paul) who is out to conquer the universe.
Starro soon starts to pull apart mankind with its mind control powers, and even captures Superman and Batman in the process. It then falls to the super sons - Superboy and Robin - to battle Starro, save the world and be the heroes they were always destined to be...
What leaps off the screen from the start is the new art style from Warner Bros. Animation. This time the team use the Japanese anime-esque and CGI animation that bring the worlds of Metropolis and Gotham to life. Following on from Green Lantern: Beware My Power, this instalment returns to the beloved comic-book aesthetics of what Superman and Batman are all about, expanding their visually immersive worlds with flair. While it's different at first, it's not off putting at all and helps allow for grander world (and galaxy) building and animation.
Roots of this story can go back to 2014s Son of Batman where we first spend time with Damian and explore his upbringing and relationship to Batman. The back catalogue of the Wayne heir helps provide reasoning for his actions here and the polar opposite of who he is to Jonathan Kent. It's the mirror of Batman and Superman, and quite fun to see these two generations play out together. This new inclusion of young Wayne and Kent add some welcome expansion to the DC universe, including relationships between the Teen Titans and Justice League. We explore their attitudes to what makes a superhero, how they view their own place in society and often seeing the pressure put upon youth to live up to the reputation of their fathers.
But we do get to explore classic tropes such as Jonathan discovering his powers, dealing with being the son of the Big Blue Boy Scout and finding common ground with Damian who is a much more troubled youth behind his bravado and lust for fighting.
Jack Dylan Grazer and Jack Griffo bring welcome wide-eyed youth and naivety to Superboy and Robin, offering a different take on the superhero animation not just focused around the grown-ups, but with no loss in comic book heart and fun.
Starro is a gruesome villain. While small in stature as a pulsating purple starfish (familiar to most now thanks to 2021s The Suicide Squad movie) the parasites he uses to control others reside in the victims throats, crawling from the host's mouth to control their mind and body. Nasty stuff, but it works!
The story is simple enough and short at only 80mins, but it's not trying to re-invent the wheel when it comes to these sorts of stories. Superman and Batman get embroiled in a galactic threat, end up needing help, and only Superboy and Robin can work together to save them. Through the film it's nice that director Matt Peters never loses the themes of what makes the DC heroes and villains entertaining to watch. We have a scattering of action with hi-tech gadgets, Bat-vehicles and dizzying battles above and below Earth. And this is all laced with the snarky fun of the DC comic characters.
Family-friendly with no bad language or grizzly gore, thanks to the youth introduced, but still offering a grown-up addition to the DC lore with quality production as always. And thankfully there seems to be room for a follow-up adventure which will be more than welcome if it continues the run laid out here.
A welcome breath of fresh-air in the DC Animated Universe, thanks to the focus on Superboy and Robin. Even superdog Krypto makes an appearance! Fresh and fun, without being silly, this is another strong entry into the WB/DC animation library.
'Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons' is a co-production between Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment.
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