Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons is an animated film that loosely (very loosely) adapts Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s icon run starring the progeny of both Batman and Superman. Spoilers ahead.
We are treated with an introduction to Superman’s backstory yet again, and yet this time with a small twist. As infant Kal-el is shot off in a rocket towards Earth, we see that a baby Starro latches onto the ship. This apparently wouldn’t pay off until Batman and Superman have children, so who knows what Starro had been up to for 20 years. Either way, he is the main villain for the film and is a perfect choice because his setup allows for the boys to be free of adult supervision in a way that feels organic.
The biggest misstep in this film is the lack of screen time and character development for Master Damian Wayne. For reference, he doesn’t even make his first appearance until after the 25 minute mark in a 80 minute film. As a result of such a late introduction, Damian is treated more as a supporting character than a co-headliner. While Jon gets a full origin story complete with father-son montage where Superman flies Jon around in the sky, Damian literally gets nothing. Nothing more than a few passing references to his mother or his grandfather.
However, right away we are treated to the goofy dynamic that both characters share. It would have been nice to cut down on the origin story stuff and include more of the character development between both young heroes. Damian’s naturally salty personality is a perfect compliment for Jonathan Kent’s simplistic and oft-times naive optimism. Damian has literally killed people, and Jonathan could never imagine it. This makes for an even better odd-couple than Batman and Superman themselves, and while we are treated to brief glimpses of this dynamic, by not making Damian a more central character in this tale we lose the deeper meaning that results in emotional punch.
This is fully shown towards the end in the climactic battle between the junior dynamic duo and the justice league. Diving in at the last second, Jon takes an arrow in the chest for Damian, and crumples to the ground. For a moment that should have been ultimately emotional and cathartic, it feels force and falls flat. This is because we had a truncated odd-couple getting along sequence without the balance of understanding both Jon and Damian’s motivations. Since Damian is a bit more mysterious, the moment when he lays bare his heart lacks the substance to really hit you in the gut. Also it was obvious at that point a normal arrow wouldn’t harm Jon so that could have really been played up if it was an exploding arrow or something that could potentially be harmful to a young super-lad.
A major standout of the film is the overall visual quality, which is tasteful and artful. As far as the animation goes, the look and style of the lines and shading inspired by Patrick Gleason’s run on Super Sons give the right base for a comic book movie. The colors are solid and clear with minimal gradients that might normally create an overly flat look. However this is offset by using a glowing light to create form and depth that gives it a Josh Middleton sort of look. Both the linework and shading work together to create a clean modern look that straddles the line between 2D and 3D animation.
There are many great comedic moments that showcase the absurdity of two young boys being superheroes. When a possessed Lois Lane jumps on Damian’s batwing and starts punching the glass in, Damian tells Jon to use his laser eyes to kill her. Jon yelps that he is not going to kill his mom, which showcases the fact Damian’s casual violence and disregard for human life is only comical when paired with someone who doesn’t share the same values. Jon settles for dumping his mom in the lake, which allows for further plot development by freeing Lois from her mind-controlled status. There’s another hilarious segment where after breaking into the fortress of solitude when Superman’s dog Krypto chases after them with his own laser eyes.
In terms of plot development, the story is fairly straightforward and devoid of any real surprises. Because so much of the first act was devoted to Jon’s character development, the plot itself has to take a bit of a short cut to the end. It is the dynamic between the boys that carries the film and so this wasn’t the worst set up for the duo. The two still have a lot of learning to do about themselves and how they can work together by playing off each other’s strengths, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in subsequent films.
