For many hardcore fans, the big ticket item for the first day of WonderCon 2014 was the world premiere of Son of Batman, a film adaptation of Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert’s 2006 comic book that gives us Damien Wayne’s origin story.

Son of Batman is stunningly DCU’s 20th original film, and the second featuring new Batman voice Jason O’Mara (Life on Mars, Terra Nova).

As the lights dim, and the movie begins, one devout DC fan shouts “Marvel sucks,” which is just silly. But, it is clear that the animation realm is where DC excels, and Son of Batman is no exception, as we get some stunning, Japanese inspired animation to tell the story of one of the more divisive heroes in the DC universe.

We open on the League of Shadows fortress, with Ra’s Al Ghul (Breaking Bad and Revolution‘s Giancarlo Esposito) promising the League to his grandson Damien. That would be Damien Wayne, a love child between Talia Al Ghul (Firefly and Homeland‘s Morena Baccarin) and Bruce Wayne (the aforementioned Jason O’Mara), one that Talia has until now, kept secret from the Bat. Within moments, the League is attacked, as a ton of agents and helicopters rain down on the stronghold, showering the League assassins in bullets. Since no other League member is worth their salt, its up to Talia and Ra’s to fight back against hundreds of faceless villains. Sheer numbers and firepower win out, and it doesn’t hurt that the enemy is led by one Slade Wilson (Thomas Gibson) AKA Deathstroke AKA DC’s new favorite antihero. In Son of Batman, he’s all evil. We’re blessed with a brief fight between Ra’s and Deathstroke, that’s interrupted by a massive rocket taking down the building, incinerating Ra’s al Ghul in the process.

That’s when Damien springs to action, and it’s clear that having the DNA of Ra’s Al Ghul, Talia and Bruce Wayne is nice to have, as he cuts through Deathstroke’s army like butter, and even goes toe to toe with Slade himself, taking out his eye in one of the first moments that elicited unbridled cheers from the audience. Deathstroke flees, but the damage is done: Ra’s al Ghul is unable to make it to the Lazarus Pits before finally succumbing to death (though I still doubt it). This leaves a power vacuum at the top of the League of Shadows, one that Deathstroke intends to fill.

After the tragedy, Black WidowTalia decides it’s time to tell Bruce that he has an annoying, hyper-violent, maybe psychotic, defiant tween. Talia comes to Bruce, reveals the truth, and literally sails away on a boat seconds later, leaving Batman to take care of his seed. It plays out like a sitcom, which is hilarious. Damien sets the tone of their early relationship when he comments: “I thought you’d be taller.” He also thought the Bat Cave would be bigger, and calls the Robin outfit insipid and never wastes a second in ridiculing the garish outfit. Of course, fans will know that he’ll soon wear it himself, because he’s a young kid in Batman’s care. That’s just what happens.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kirk Langstrom (Being Human‘s Xander Berkeley) is hard at work on a breakthrough, clearly under conscription by Ra’s al Ghul. Now his deal shifts to Deathstroke…who’s not as forgiving, and kidnaps his family as leverage, because that always brings out the best work in scientists. Comic book or cartoon fans will know that Kirk Langstrom comes to be known as Man-Bat. In this film, he makes a slew of them, and a Bat-Gorilla, which is as ridiculous as it sounds.

Damien’s arrival obviously puts a crimp in Batman’s style, but luckily Alfred (David McCallum) is there to make wry, sarcastic and dry remarks. He’s none too pleased by Damien’s demeanor and trying attitude either. Every quip Alfred makes is pure comedic genius. It’s a shame that he doesn’t deliver every line. Damien’s intent on getting revenge on Deathstroke, to avenge his grandfather’s death, but Batman, of course, preaches the whole “no death” thang, putting the pair at odds, as they try to take on Deathstroke and Dr. Langstrom’s horde of medical monstrosities.

The movie is filled with appearances by other significant Bat-characters, including fan-favorite Nightwing (Firefly‘s Sean Maher), who’s used as a get out of jail free card throughout, along with a few brief glimpses at the villains you’d expect to fill up Arkham, and several others I don’t want to spoil.

There are some awesome sequences, a few missed opportunities (they skip over a Nightwing/Damien fight), but thanks to beautiful artwork, way too many gratuitous shots of Talia’s cleavage, great voice acting and a solid story, Son of Batman doesn’t disappoint in bringing Damien Wayne to celluloid for the first time. While Damien’s abilities made him seem more like the son of Superman, I suppose that’s par for the course for a cartoon hero.

Son of Batman arrives on HD stream April 22nd. Order it here. The DVD/Blu-Ray combo pack arrives May 6th, and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

After a fairly crowded arena at WonderCon witnessed the world premiere of DCU’s newest animation confection, Son of Batman, we were also treated to a Q&A with some of the brilliant talent involved in the production. That means James Tucker, the DCU “super” producer, director Ethan Spaulding, heralded animator Phil Bourassa, casting director and voice actor guru Andrea Romano, actor Xander Berkeley (who plays Kirk Langstrom in the film), Firefly star Sean Maher (Nightwing), Stuart Allen (Damien) and Jason O’Mara (Batman).

Let’s dive in.

The film is rated PG-13, and it’s filled with blood, cleavage, and a sperm donor line. Tucker “can’t find the line,” he’s unable to cross with the ratings system, and wants to give the audience bang for their buck, upping the stakes for the film. Blood, cleavage and sperm are what every fan wants. Proof:

Son of Batman is based on a comic book of the same name by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert, and Tucker was asked what the difficulties were in adaptation, and the choices they made. They clearly made changes, and took liberties with the story, as they “had room to adapt,” though it was difficult, because it couldn’t be 20 hours long.

It was Jason O’Mara’s second time as the new voice actor for Batman, after Justice League: War. When asked what it’s like, he couldn’t stop talking about Talia al Ghul’s cleavage (“that made this a great Friday night”) and the “silicone” pits, which became a running topic of discussion during the panel. In all seriousness, it was hard for him to find the elusive Bat-voice the first go round, but thanks to Andrea, they found it, and brought that experience onto SOB, which is an ill-advised abbreviation that I’m going to continue using.

Stuart Allen is asked what it was like to play Damien. When he first read the script, and was introduced to the character, he thought Damien was a brat. Then he went to Gamestop for the down low and insight into his character, and really got it. I still think Damien’s a brat myself. Stuart is as excitable and neurotic a kid as I’ve ever seen. He’s like a 9 year old on coke.

Berkeley, an in-demand voice and live action actor (he’s on Salem, premiering on Sunday), was asked what drew him to Kirk Langstrom. For him, it’s Batman, “of course you wanna do it. Who wouldn’t?” Good point. Especially when Andrea is involved, he’ll do it.

Sean Maher’s role as Nightwing is his first role in an animated film in his career. During the film and the oft-viewed Talia cleavage, Sean was constantly reminded of Morena Baccarin’s cleavage on Firefly, which consistently got sunburnt on set, and became a butt of jokes. This makes sense because Baccarin voices Talia.

Phil Bourassa is a God in the DC animation world, but this was his first solely Batman movie, and he’d been wanting to do one forever. Every artist has their own take on Batman. Any day drawing Batman is a good day. Amen.

With no disrespect to Sean Maher, it’s asked why Nightwing is the only one who can take down Damien in the film. Their fight is skimmed over in the film, but stay tuned for the credits to get a taste of their battle royale. They apparently couldn’t fit in the movie/couldn’t figure out how to make it cool enough (pretty much what they said). They could’ve cut out the Gorilla-Bat scene and replaced it with the Nightwing/Damien fight.

When asked by an audience member who they’d dress up as on the exhibit floor, Jason O’Mara responded with Boba Fett to many cheers. Stuart Allen offered Green Lantern and Iron Man.

Andrea Romano is thanked at least three times for an amazing childhood by fans, which is one of the better compliments I can dream up.

Then came a parade of crappy questions that you know the panel can’t answer, like will there be more Damien/Son of Batman movies, or if they have plans for Character A and Character B, yadda yadda yadda. One guy, effusive in his praise for the DC animated films, then insults them by arguing that he’s fatigued with Batman and that they are relying too heavily on Batman (fair), and pointing out that Marvel respects and utilizes all their characters (true, but unfair and beside the point). This “question” isn’t met positively.

When asked what characters they’d like to see explored in a future film, James Tucker mentions Spectre, and Bourassa talks up Kirby’s Fourth World characters.

Apparently Dick Grayson/Nightwing is the only Robin in the new DCU animated continuity (until Damien comes along), which means that there is no Tim Drake. They aren’t hating on Tim, but “normal people need to understand this too.” It didn’t come out as insulting as that sounded. Tim Drake is asked about another time, because nobody listens TO OTHER QUESTIONS.

Jason O’Mara is impressing fans. One questioner even says “Kevin who?”, a reference to the god of Bat-voices, Kevin Conroy. Hold your horses, kid. There was a lot of pressure on O’Mara to do the voice, but he tried to tune it all out, and didn’t refer to any of the other performances, hoping to create a unique and authentic voice of his own. I think he’s succeeded. Andrea points out that the voice has grown and evolved since JL: WAR, for the better.

Did Stuart feel pressure in bringing Damien to life? It is, after all, the first time he’s on the big screen (or Blu-Ray). He felt a little pressure, sure, but he’s a laid back guy. You “gotta go with the flow.” If anyone over 10 had said that, there probably would’ve been boos.

Several people harp on Tucker and company to adapt classic DC books into films, like The Killing Joke. Tucker responds that the company makes 3 movies every year, with 2 in continuity, and the third a one-off, so there’s always that possibility. TBA. If you’re playing a comic con drinking game at home, that’s a big-time drink. I think some version of the “we can’t tell you $#*!” line was used 13 times in this panel. There are some awful questions, but some worse answers. Andrea even commented on their glib responses, and apologized for them, because they can’t announce anything…until they’re announced.

Tucker apparently didn’t know that Deathstroke was being used on Arrow when they were making Son of Batman, because the myriad branches of WB work separately. Seems silly, because as the fan mentions, Slade is “everywhere right now.” Of course, since he’s a badass, that’s probably not a bad thing, and there are several different takes on the character.

After another stupid question, I stalked off, ready for dinner, my first day of WonderCon over. Tomorrow is a latter day, one with innumerable goodies in store.

Son of Batman comes out on HD stream tomorrow, April 22nd, and can be ordered here. If you want to wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray combo pack (which arrives May 6th), buy it here.

“Well, let’s just say that I’m a civic-minded citizen with a lot of time on my hands.” — The Clock King, Episode 14.

Hello and welcome to the first installment of a new ongoing series where I, Ryan, plan to focus my ample free time on examining every episode of the iconic 1990s animated interpretation of the Dark Knight.

But before we can jump cowl-first into this beloved series, we need to do a little scene setting.

First, the ‘90s was the greatest decade ever for cartoons, and it’s hard to imagine someone arguing against that (consider yourself challenged, Internet). Some of my personal favorites are/were: X-Men, Spider-Man, Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, Doug, Darkwing Duck, Tailspin, Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs, Rugrats, and the list goes on.

Long story short: It was a tough decade in which to stand out on the small screen.

Secondly, a major factor playing into this show’s success was that it came on the heels of an unquestionably monumental stretch of time for the Bat-verse on the page and on the screen. The mid-to-late ‘80s and early ‘90s saw a substantial shift for the character where Alan Moore (The Killing Joke) and Frank Miller (Year One, The Dark Knight Returns) ushered in the era of the gritty, dark interpretation of the Bat, sparking a resurgence in the popularity and cultural relevancy of the character.

Then, Tim Burton’s 1989 classic BATMAN movie fueled full-fledged Bat-mania.

Jack Napier: Enraging Batman purists for a quarter of a century.

All of these factors created plenty of stiff competition and set the bar high, but optimists at Warner Bros. Animation saw the platform it presented.

The WB brought together the art/production duo of Bruce Timm and the all-too-often forgotten Eric Radomski, a badass corps of writers, musical wizard Danny Elfman, and perhaps the best cast of voice actors ever assembled (*bias alert*) to join forces in taking us on an after-school journey into a noir crime drama that we will never forget.

Cue goosebumps….

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEx9r5enZsk&w=420&h=315]

I still remember the way that intro made me feel as a kid, and I’ll spend an entire post breaking it down frame-by-frame at some point, but in the interest of soon-to-be-abandoned conciseness, I’ll move along for now.

One of the things that really jumps out is the artistic style; it really is something to behold and admire.

With a heavy reliance on blacks, greys and reds, the dreary color palette creates a menacing atmosphere that effortlessly conveys the twisted, inherent hopelessness of Gotham.

In fact, this was the first cartoon ever drawn/painted on black paper. True story!

The GCPD may be outgunned and facing corruption at every level, but at least it has blimps!

But the atramentous world isn’t the only thing that stands out; it’s the style of the buildings, cars and people that inhabit it.

The artistic team referred to its creation as “dark deco,” paying homage to the art deco movement of the 1920s and ‘30s. That unique look really took this show to a different level.

It’s hard to put a time frame on this series as, in many ways, it does feel like it takes place in a Dick-Tracy, gangster-era Chicago or New York, but for every paper boy in a flat cap or Tommy Gun-toting mobster, there is also a high-tech Batcomputer or an elaborate machine that induces dreams. And this confusing timeline was purposeful.

Holy Gatsby-era street urchin, Batman.

Radomski and Timm were inspired by what the former referred to as an “otherwordly timelessness” seen in Burton’s film, where vintage clothing, antique cars and police blimps portrayed a Gotham that resembled a grungy Roaring Twenties-era metropolis, while at the same time littering it with modern amenities and various technological advancements.

Otherworldly, indeed.

And taking another note from the ’89 film, the city itself is exaggerated, massive and ominous in a way that transforms it into a character more than a setting; an animated version of Burton’s hell on earth. This effectively puts Batman in a setting that not-so-subtly imparts on the viewer a measure of the evil that resides within; one of the many layers that gives this show its staying power.

Gotham City as it was meant to be.

It really is a time and place all its own. And that cannot be understated in its importance in the long-term success of BTAS (that’s the acronym we’re going to roll with, FYI).

Truth be told, I could ramble on for another thousand words about the art, so we’ll just pick this time to move along to something I know nothing about: music!

Don’t get me wrong, I love listening to music, but I don’t know a damn thing about it and have zero natural ability with it in any capacity. And on the opposite end of that spectrum, we have Danny Elfman.

Mr. Elfman did what any self-respecting person did in the pre-Internet age and put his God-given ability to use, blessing my ringtone gallery and the world at large with two of the most iconic superhero theme songs ever produced with his work on BATMAN ’89 and Batman: TAS.

He also did the theme music for Spider-Man 3, but if you’re anything like me you’ve spent the past seven years pretending that movie never happened.

No. No it wasn’t, Harry.

But back to the point at hand, Elfman really rubs in his musical talents having composed the music and/or theme for the following: Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, The Flash, Beetlejuice, Army of Darkness, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tales from the Crypt, Corpse Bride, Chicago, Desperate Housewives and most famously of all — The Simpsons.

He’s a machine and his jam-packed schedule probably played some role in him turning down the initial job offer to compose the theme for BTAS,  but he eventually hopped on board and wrote a variation of his hit BATMAN ’89 theme for the show.

Listen and compare below.

Batman ’89  (Skip ahead to the 30-second mark)

and

Batman: TAS

While undeniably similar, the BTAS theme is different enough to stand on its own, and it absolutely captures the mood of the show and how it deviates from the film. And that’s not even taking into consideration the masterful in-show music he provided, which I’ll touch on in the next installment.

Speaking of delayed gratification, the voice acting is something I’ll tackle more thoroughly on an episode-by-episode basis as characters are introduced, but if you are unfamiliar with the glorious performances this show was graced with, here is a handy video I stumbled upon that will provide an overview of what is to come.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmu-9ln-kjs&w=560&h=315]

Most people know and revere Kevin Conroy’s Batman and Mark Hamill’s Joker (both of which are still the voices I hear in my head when I read Batman comics) and those are deservedly lauded, but they tend to overshadow other worthy performances, most notably Arleen Sorkin’s Harley Quinn.

Not only was Sorkin the first to voice Mr. J’s  uber popular sidekick, she literally provided the inspiration for the creation of the character by Paul Dini in 1992.

You can see (or hear, rather) the makings of Miss Quinn in this clip from Sorkin’s “Days of Our Lives” stint:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ORRN1Tbb3g&w=420&h=315]

In addition to the previously mentioned trio, Efrim Zimbalist Jr. (Alfred), Bob Hastings (Commissioner Gordon), David Warner (Ra’s al Ghul) and Richard Moll (Harvey Dent) were just a few of the other standout performers that instilled this show with the believability, charm and emotion that helped bring the unique art and the intelligent, thoughtful writing to life.

All these factors combined continue to give Batman: The Animated Series a lasting allure and relevance more than 20 years later and warrant it wholly deserving of this labor of love I am embarking upon.

On behalf of Batman and myself, we’d love to have you along for the ride.

Until next time.