"Batman & Superman: Battle of the Super Sons" Animated Release Talkback (Spoilers)

[James Harvey]

Legacies must rise to unearthly challenges as the children of Batman and Superman are charged with saving their famous fathers – and the world – in Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons.

​

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation
Release Date: October 18, 2022 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital; January 17, 2023 HBO Max Streaming Service

Synopsis: Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, the PG-13 rated Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons begins as 11-year-old Jonathan Kent discovers he has superpowers, thrusting the half-Kryptonian into the complicated world of Super Heroes and Super-Villains – who are now under attack by a malevolent alien force known as Starro! It’s a race against time as Jonathan must join forces with assassin-turned-Boy-Wonder Damian Wayne to rescue their fathers (Superman & Batman) and save the planet by becoming the Super Sons they were destined to be!

Jack Dylan Glazer and Jack Griffo lead the Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons voice cast as Jonathan Kent and Damian Wayne, respectively. The supporting cast features 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, and Myrna Velasco as Wonder Girl & Lara. Matt Peters directs from a script penned by Jeremy Adams. Producer is Jim Krieg and Supervising Producer is Rick Morales. Executive Producer is Michael Uslan. Sam Register is Executive Producer.

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons – Special Features
4K, Blu-ray and Digital
-Rival Sons: Jonathan and Damian (New Featurette) – Legacies collide as Jonathan Kent and Damian Wayne set aside their differences, forming an unlikely alliance to save the world.

Also available is Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons - Music from the DC Animated Movie, from Dynamic Soundtrack Records.

Discuss the Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons animated release here!

Please note this talkback is for both the Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons animated feature and all aspects of the assorted home media releases. Spoilers are allowed, so those who have yet to see the movie may want to avoid this thread until they have.

Note: We appreciate and encourage discussion, but please keep your posts civil, relevant and insightful. And remember to keep the discussion on-topic!

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[Spider-Man]

Wow, so this was really really good. They nailed Jon and Damian and the story was a lot of fun. It felt sort of "classic" too. The animation looked fine though there were a few rough parts. Some reviewers are calling this a DCU Movie too. I wish they'd look a little closer and get things right. I wouldn't be surprised if there is another one after this. They really got something good here and I'd love to see some more movies with Jon and Damian leading.

 

[CyberCubed]

I really liked the dynamic with Superman and his son, they really nailed all the family stuff here. I also liked the interactions between him and Damian. The CG animation looked pretty good for the most part, I didn't mind it.

A few negatives is I feel this is like the millionth time we've seen the Starro plot in cartoons, movies and animation. What is it about this story that is so popular that we have to see the same starfish plot used again and again? It really is just a generic sci-fi concept of humans being enslaved dating back to the Twilight Zone. What is the obsession with Starro?

Besides that the movie was good and fun. Also was Penguin voiced by the same actor who played him on The Batman cartoon? I just watched it and he sounded the same

 

[khuddle]

I'm actually stunned @ all these positive reviews. The animation in the trailers, to me, left a lot to be desired. But that was the trailers, and the trailers won't deter me. Sounds like a winner from DC Animated.

 

[Wag]

I didn't like it. I'm not sure who it was for, it seemed too scary for little kids yet too simple for older viewers. I'm not fond of the flat, cell shaded CG animation style either.

I don't understand why they feel the need to rehash Superman's origin story, and then do a montage of his growing up? It seems like that whole part was just padding to fill time. The rest of it just didn't work for me. I didn't like a lot of the voice actors, especially Travis Willingham's Superman, he sounded out of place. The kids were fine and Troy Baker as Batman is great as usual.

 

[Otaku-sempai]

Besides that the movie was good and fun. Also was Penguin voiced by the same actor who played him on The Batman cartoon? I just watched it and he sounded the same

Yup! That's Tom "Spongebob" Kenny!

 

[SweetShop209]

I didn't like it. I'm not sure who it was for, it seemed too scary for little kids yet too simple for older viewers. I'm not fond of the flat, cell shaded CG animation style either.

So, I haven't seen this movie yet, but I'm guessing issues with who it's for might come down to how this is based on a comic book/graphic novel originally meant for younger audiences (I haven't read it). It's just made PG-13. Even the YouTube channel for video home releases marks clips for the movie as "for kids", something that none of the other PG-13 DC movies (which more clearly market themselves at older audiences) have.

DC Graphic Novels for Kids (Creator) - TV Tropes

DC Graphic Novels for Kids, formerly known as DC Zoom, is a DC Comics imprint aiming at a younger audience. Similar to its sister imprint DC Ink, it publishes graphic novels instead of single issues and releases them both in comic book stores and …

tvtropes.org

 

[JoeMabbon]

Pretty solid film, if a little basic.

A few negatives is I feel this is like the millionth time we've seen the Starro plot in cartoons, movies and animation. What is it about this story that is so popular that we have to see the same starfish plot used again and again? It really is just a generic sci-fi concept of humans being enslaved dating back to the Twilight Zone. What is the obsession with Starro?

Yeah, body snatcher paranoia will probably never get old. Plus, it gives the writers an excuse to have the heroes fight each other. It's why Marvel keeps finding new and exciting ways to rehash Civil War.

 

[Fone Bone]

Batman And Superman: Battle Of The Super Sons

I guess I liked it, but I liked it less and less as it went on.

We'll talk some basic opinions about this. The film was better than DC League Of Super Pets. If you ask me, this is the script DC should have spent money on with great animation and a top-tier voice cast. I'm certain many of the flaws I noticed could have been more easily forgiven if the film looked and sounded nicer.

Also need to point out there was NO way in hell that deserved a PG-13 rating, and it is more proof The MPAA is merely one step above a criminal organization. What a scam and a racket.

I loved the first half hour. I love that Jonathan isn't mad and is thrilled his dad is Superman! Which is the right reaction.

It's just once we get to Damian Wayne... Ugh.

Plenty of people have complained about this character, so I'm sure I'm saying nothing new. But the thing that bother the HELL out of me about Damian Wayne (and always has) is he is the one DC character I can think of where any writer you can think of does every possible thing wrong with that character that they possibly can. Deliberately. They take it as a personal challenge to fail him and the reader / viewer in the worst possible way they could ever conceive. If there is a way to make the reader or audience despise Damian Wayne in a way not previously explored, writers chomp at the bit to show us new ways why he sucks. I don't understand that. I don't understand why some fans tolerate a character designed for the audience to hate, not because he's badly written, but because he's intentionally written that way. DC needs a freaking intervention over Damian Wayne and yeah he just wrecked a movie I had sort of been enjoying.

I liked the animation on the Starros. It's surprisingly expressive when focused on the eye.

A strong opening made me believe I could really like this movie, but then it decided to show Damian Wayne Damian Wayneing beyond all reason. I don't like that DC created a character solely designed to piss people off and somehow expects us to care about him at the same time. Get help, DC. ***1/2.

 

[-batmat-]

This has a PG-13 rating? Huh? I thought it was one of the most family friendly and young age oriented movies in a while. Hence why I was shocked when Lois started cursing in that Luthor scene.

 

[Yojimbo]

I appreciated that they knew they had to tell Superman's origin story but told it in a quick cold open then with a comic art montage but also kept it tied into the movie's main story by making a Starro spore being in Jor-El's collection but also featuring the rocket which comes into play later in the movie. But on the other hand, yet another time we have have to see Jor-El and Lara die along with Krypton unfortunately.

I liked the pacing, 20 minutes to focus on the Kents and intro Jonathan then 20 to set up the first meeting of Batman and Damian and the take over/bit of an 80s horror body snatchers vibe, then 30 of the Super Sons team up antics that makes the movie. Also, there were other great pairings in the movie like Robin and Bat Cow as well as Hologram Jor-El and Krypto. Favorite easter eggs, I suppose was the Superman '78 nod with the girl in the plane and the framed José Luis García-López art in Jonathan's room.

CGI/2d blend came out pretty well. Sure a bit stiff during some of the fight scenes and 'character' interacting like Batman hugging Robin at the end but overall, not too shabby.

As for the special featurette. Jim-El sells it! Makes sense in retrospect they drew on some 80s movies. Always head scratching not to have a commentary track, seems like the easiest and cheapest thing to make. Or would have dug a bts featurette on the animation for this movie since it's a taaaad different than the animation style used for other movies. The only other one in recent time with a similar style was Batman Ninja.

 

[Rick Jones]

I appreciated that they knew they had to tell Superman's origin story but told it in a quick cold open then with a comic art montage but also kept it tied into the movie's main story by making a Starro spore being in Jor-El's collection but also featuring the rocket which comes into play later in the movie. But on the other hand, yet another time we have have to see Jor-El and Lara die along with Krypton unfortunately.

I liked the pacing, 20 minutes to focus on the Kents and intro Jonathan then 20 to set up the first meeting of Batman and Damian and the take over/bit of an 80s horror body snatchers vibe, then 30 of the Super Sons team up antics that makes the movie. Also, there were other great pairings in the movie like Robin and Bat Cow as well as Hologram Jor-El and Krypto. Favorite easter eggs, I suppose was the Superman '78 nod with the girl in the plane and the framed José Luis García-López art in Jonathan's room.

CGI/2d blend came out pretty well. Sure a bit stiff during some of the fight scenes and 'character' interacting like Batman hugging Robin at the end but overall, not too shabby.

At first, I thought they would do another Bruce and The Waynes headed to Crime Alley scene in a sort of compare and contrast to Kal-El's origin, before I saw that they were attaching Starro to the origin in a way.

I went into this kind of expecting it to be a sort of pilot for a TV series or movie series. I have no idea if they would do anything more but I enjoyed this a lot. The style did remind me of something like Batman Ninja or other anime projects that have been done mostly in CGI. It still is taking some getting used to but I appreciate them exploring this. I thought the designs stood out for sure .

I initially thought they might tone the age they were aiming at down since it centered around two tweens but I was strangely kind of pleasantly surprised by how PG-13 the language and violence got at times (Lois alone almost pushed that rating up). It feels a tiny bit rebellious compared to how sanitized some stuff aimed at kids can be. I remember Batman vs TMNT having the same sort of tonal thing going on and I wasn't sure what to think at the time although I loved that movie. The 11 year old me who laughed everytime I heard Spike swear in Transformers The Movie, or who would sneak with friends to watch their older brother's anime tapes, probably would have eaten this up though.

The Super Sons are a lot of fun and it would be nice if they did more with them and explored the possibilities.


Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Yojimbo]

I initially thought they might tone the age they were aiming at down since it centered around two tweens but I was strangely kind of pleasantly surprised by how PG-13 the language and violence got at times (Lois alone almost pushed that rating up). It feels a tiny bit rebellious compared to how sanitized some stuff aimed at kids can be. I remember Batman vs TMNT having the same sort of tonal thing going on and I wasn't sure what to think at the time although I loved that movie. The 11 year old me who laughed everytime I heard Spike swear in Transformers The Movie, or who would sneak with friends to watch their older brother's anime tapes, probably would have eaten this up though.

I'm glad they didn't sanitize it. Turning the dial down on Damian, they lost the character i.e. see Batman Unlimited. PG-13 is a good compromise for animated Damian, imo. In the Tucker-supervised DTVs, we saw a version of Damian in a couple R movies and that was a bit much for some people.

Yeah, I think of it as Jonathan live in this PG, slice of life world aka Smallville and once he gets powers and Superman takes him out of the state, the reality is the world of superheroics is really PG-13. Or in the PG sense, he had a forgetful mom who couldn't remember where her phone was or forgets her purse but in the PG-13 world, she's using hairspray and a lighter on an alien parasite attached to President Luthor. Clark is a boring dad with a boring job who is always away but is really Superman. And so on. It was an interesting theme of contrasts in the movie.

Ha ha, I laughed at that opening exclamation in Transformers: The Movie when Unicron is attacking Cybertron and my mom was furious and was checking the VHS box for I guess the rating. lol.

 

[Yojimbo]

If it is before 1984, this film probably receive PG because PG-13 didn't exist at that time.

Yeah... Rick and I already know that because we're both old.

 

[Classic Speedy]

I'm mixed on the CGI look. It did give the crew more flexibility in rotating the camera in 3D space, and the character designs translated well to the 3D models, but the actual animation was mostly choppy. It's a far cry from the major CG studios' work. I was stunned when I saw that Studio Mir was the studio- I know them solely from their 2D work.

Batman And Superman: Battle Of The Super Sons

I guess I liked it, but I liked it less and less as it went on.

We'll talk some basic opinions about this. The film was better than DC League Of Super Pets. If you ask me, this is the script DC should have spent money on with great animation and a top-tier voice cast. I'm certain many of the flaws I noticed could have been more easily forgiven if the film looked and sounded nicer.

Also need to point out there was NO way in hell that deserved a PG-13 rating, and it is more proof The MPAA is merely one step above a criminal organization. What a scam and a racket.

I loved the first half hour. I love that Jonathan isn't mad and is thrilled his dad is Superman! Which is the right reaction.

It's just once we get to Damian Wayne... Ugh.

Plenty of people have complained about this character, so I'm sure I'm saying nothing new. But the thing that bother the HELL out of me about Damian Wayne (and always has) is he is the one DC character I can think of where any writer you can think of does every possible thing wrong with that character that they possibly can. Deliberately. They take it as a personal challenge to fail him and the reader / viewer in the worst possible way they could ever conceive. If there is a way to make the reader or audience despise Damian Wayne in a way not previously explored, writers chomp at the bit to show us new ways why he sucks. I don't understand that. I don't understand why some fans tolerate a character designed for the audience to hate, not because he's badly written, but because he's intentionally written that way. DC needs a freaking intervention over Damian Wayne and yeah he just wrecked a movie I had sort of been enjoying.

I liked the animation on the Starros. It's surprisingly expressive when focused on the eye.

A strong opening made me believe I could really like this movie, but then it decided to show Damian Wayne Damian Wayneing beyond all reason. I don't like that DC created a character solely designed to piss people off and somehow expects us to care about him at the same time. Get help, DC. ***1/2.

Damian was exceedingly unlikable when he was first introduced, but got less scummy when he and Jonathan had to team up and save the world.

I'm assuming the PG-13 was solely due to a couple stronger curse words- you're right that the violence was pretty tame for WB DCAU standards. In fact I think the only blood in it was towards the very end.

I'm more or less in agreement- the first half was better than the second half. Had some deja vu from some of the action in the climax. But I did like the "Lois on the plane" scene and the Krypto chase scene.

I appreciated that they knew they had to tell Superman's origin story but told it in a quick cold open then with a comic art montage but also kept it tied into the movie's main story by making a Starro spore being in Jor-El's collection but also featuring the rocket which comes into play later in the movie. But on the other hand, yet another time we have have to see Jor-El and Lara die along with Krypton unfortunately.

Yeah, I'm getting kinda tired of seeing baby Supes blasting off while Krypton explodes. We have more than enough versions of it to last us a long while.

 

[Moe]

I watched Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons right after released and I gave a rating - 9 out of 10.

Nice art style in CGI, cool Krypto chase scene, crazy fight between Robin and Superboy, and has some horror element because of Starro.

Speaking about content rating, most animated DC DTV usually receive PG-13 but some received PG and R-rated. In my opinion, I found this movie to be PG at minimum. MPAA doesn't follow PG-13 definition anymore and some movies received PG-13 that supposed to be R-rated because of favoritism between studio and MPAA, and found some PG-13 movies to be more violent than R-rated movies.

This film would have to contain a lot of bad languages, a lot of gores or/and nudity to warrant the R-rated, but fantasy violence usually given a PG at minimum.

 

[Medinnus]

Yeah... Rick and I already know that because we're both old.

Heh. Whippersnapper - you ain't old. I know, because I'm old and you are never at the meetings <3

On topic - a very refreshing change from DC, although I too wish they'd gone another direction than Starro - overused. Still, that was why it only got 4.5 star(ros) from me.

 

[Dallas Kinard]

In the opening montage, you can see Jonathan and Martha Kent's tombstones. Anyone able to make out the years on them?

 

[khuddle]

I didn't like it. I'm not sure who it was for, it seemed too scary for little kids yet too simple for older viewers. I'm not fond of the flat, cell shaded CG animation style either.

I don't understand why they feel the need to rehash Superman's origin story, and then do a montage of his growing up? It seems like that whole part was just padding to fill time. The rest of it just didn't work for me. I didn't like a lot of the voice actors, especially Travis Willingham's Superman, he sounded out of place. The kids were fine and Troy Baker as Batman is great as usual.

Strictly for kids. The animation was not as bad I expected, but the story was extremely shallow, and obviously meant for children. And I hope this is the last we see of Jonathan Kent. Least interesting character DC Animated has ever come up with. In any case, didn't Superman confess to Lois they couldn't have children in "All-Star Superman", because (quote) "our biology is completely incompatible" ? Sloppy stuff from DC Animated.

 

[Yojimbo]

In any case, didn't Superman confess to Lois they couldn't have children in "All-Star Superman", because "our biology is completely incompatible" (that's a direct quote from the film)?

11/6: On a planet orbiting a yellow sun, yes. There are ways to circumvent it like going to Kandor.

1/17/23: Jeremy Adams did a Twitter Spaces live watch.

Spoiler

Around the time of LEGO Aquaman, Rick Morales went to Adams about Super Sons and handed him a trade to read. They pushed for it ever since but theatrical was trying to do one but it never happened. Morales and Adams kept trying for years and talked about it at lunch when they worked on other movies. Morales was in a meeting for another movie and brought up Super Sons. Home Video checked. It was a go during that window when Warner Bros. and Discovery were merging. The movie was originally titled Super Sons, but due to legalities and such, it was renamed. Adams made Lois a little scatter-brained to hint at her wild times as a reporter. Jack Grazer recorded in his closet during the pandemic. The story was almost set during Christmas but Adams and Morales were working on a Christmas project at the time so it was changed to a birthday. There is a specific idea in mind for a sequel if it's greenlit. Adams originally pitched the movie as G-rated then they were told to make it PG-13 by Home Video. Adams was not happy. Jim Krieg told Jeremy "all we have to do is write an 80s PG movie" then things clicked for Adams. Adams wanted to use the cat being killed scene from the Tomasi run but no one else was up to doing it. They increased Jonathan to 10-12ish years old from 7 in the comics because 7 felt to adolescent for the stakes involved. Adams tried to write Damian somewhat likeable in terms of his logic like taking the wrong lessons from his father, i.e. knocks Jon over to activate more powers. It was purposeful nod to the Super Sons with the two pairs facing off. No one had any no idea Starro was in The Suicide Squad. Super Sons was written about a year before it. Adams had the original Teen Titans in mind. Executives were confused about Bat-Cow but Adams explained that was in the comics. There was a bit more about Batman using a passcode when he hails the Watchtower. They were only allowed so many assets in a CG movie at this level so it had to be strategic like with the Titans line-up, not because of personal preference. Krieg came up with Starros coming out of host's mouths around time when Adams was resisting PG-13. "Cunningham," the name of principal was a nod to a relative of Adams'. Adams loves DC/martial arts stuff so had to put in the two finger paralysis move. A "bend with your knees!" when the giant key is lifted was cut for time as well as Jon trying the giant key a couple times and failing. Adams emulatated Big Trouble in Little China with the in-and-out Watchtower set up. Lois Lane's lighter was kind of a nod to Margot Kidder's Lois being a chain smoker. One of first things pitched was Jon taking the arrow and discovering invulnerability. There was more cat-and-mouse between the hive mind and the boys. Originally, the movie was going to end it on the Watchtower landing on Earth.

8/29/23: Just noting it hit Max on January 17, 2023.