by Greg Uke, Reporter

The legend of Superman began in 1933 with a writer named Jerry Siegel and an artist named Joe Shuster. Superheroes were a primitive concept back then, as were the notions of how much power was “too much” and what made an interesting protagonist. It’s no surprise that our caped Kryptonian went through several different iterations after that. With phenomenal cosmic power and a childhood grounded in wholesome agrarian wisdom, he is often portrayed as a man without flaw. A pure ubermensch who means many things to many people. To some, he is an inspiration. To others his power is so vast that nothing can challenge him, so he comes off as boring or trite. Sometimes he is more intellectual. Sometimes he is more angsty.

But Superman has *done* things, and a few of them were even real. In American radio, he once battled the Ku Klux Klan, demonizing them so severely that attendance at Klan rallies plummeted down to “safely-raidable-by-the-FBI” levels. This makes him the only fictional superhero in history to have defeated a world evil that was real. But at no point do mainstream iterations ever portray him as “bad”. He is always either warm or stoic. Only in the one-shot comics has he ever been otherwise, and these are always marginalized as what-ifs.

Now…let’s talk about Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons. I began this review with a diatribe about Superman because it is mainly an origin story about Jon Kent (Jack Dylan Grazer), whose personality and artistic style are reminiscent of Prince Callum from the Netflix Original Series The Dragon Prince. He has some huge shoes to fill, mainly because he needs to be worthy of his father’s legacy while also not being a typecast Superman clone AND likable in his own right. And does he do this?

Yes. Yes, he does.

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons has many merits and many flaws, but let’s start with the good stuff. In addition to being an origin story about Jon Kent, it also establishes his relationship with Damian Wayne (Jack Griffo). This is somewhat hampered by the fact that Damian doesn’t appear at all in the first third of the movie, but he catches up quickly. Their relationship is best described as a semi-caustic bromance, where Jon is more upbeat than Superman and Damian is more emotional than Batman. Still, they work. Jon’s purity and Damian’s causticity serve as a microcosm of their fathers’ relationships. The characters’ voices are all spot on, particularly in the case of Batman. Kevin Conroy left some big vocal shoes to fill, but Troy Baker (Batman) is equal to the task. The strengths of both boys are well expressed in the writing, and there are moments of wit that play well to develop their relationship.

A special shoutout also goes to Laura Bailey (Vox Machina), who is now, in my opinion, the most accurate Lois Lane. In Supersons, we get to see Clark’s love interest move away from her classic “damsel in distress” role into an “attack the president with a flamethrower” role, which makes her a strong role model for young women everywhere. I’m not being sarcastic here. The world needs more Lois “Rambo” Lane in the same way it needs more cowbell, which is to say badly.

In the interests of fairness, this movie also warrants some constructive criticism. The character of Jon Kent is a bit too goofy, especially considering who his father is. A brief father-son talk about responsibility and their role on Earth would have done a lot for both characters, but we don’t get to see anything like that. Damian Wayne is also depicted as highly caustic in this movie, especially compared to other DC animations. This hurts the character because the heir apparent to the League of Shadows is normally shown to have a high degree of intelligence and dignity drilled into him. The villain and the plotline are both well-worn, especially considering recent DC movies, but they are well-delivered.

Special Features:

• 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.

Overall:

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons is worth watching and has its charm, but it doesn’t have the same level of impact as the other DC animated installments. Should the creative team continue to play in this new universe, we hope that the animation style will be improved in future releases. 

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons 3 out of 5 Starro battles.