Review: Batman - Bad Blood

When Batman seemingly dies in an explosion, his one-time partner Nightwing returns to Gotham City to continue his mentor’s legacy as the city’s protector. With a new Batman on the streets, the original Batman’s estranged son Damian and the newcomer Batwoman join him in investigating what really happened to the Dark Knight. This uneasy alliance must find a way to work together in order to combat the devious Heretic and his shadowy boss.

Batman: Bad Blood is a 2016 animated film starring Jason O’Mara, Yvonne Strahovski, Stuart Allan, Sean Maher and Morena Baccarin.

Batman: Bad Blood is the second sequel to Sonof Batman and is the fifth entry into the DC Animated Movie Universe. In the aftermath of Batman vs. Robin, Batman has returned to operating alone while his wayward son Damian is honing his skills in the Far East. Additionally, a new vigilante named Batwoman has surfaced and she’s determined to rid Gotham City of a mysterious crime syndicate that has its tendrils imbedded into the city’s underworld. Batman and Batwoman thus begrudgingly team up together, which only leads to Batman’s apparent death during a high octane explosion. His surrogate family must then pick up the pieces and continue his legacy, but they’re not so convinced that he’s truly dead and gone. In actuality, he is being held captive by an old enemy and they plan to bend him to their will.

To date, Bad Blood is the most enjoyable of the offerings from the DCAMU. It builds on the elements of its predecessors while adding in a series of unexpected twists. The addition of Batwoman to the cast is simply brilliant and it helps to inject some much-needed estrogen into the mix. She’s tough and she’s sassy, more than proving she’s capable of her spot in the Bat Family’s boys’ club. Best of all, we get her (truncated) origin neatly tied into the plot and her father becomes a minor supporting character. The writers also toss in Renee Montoya for good measure. Batwoman is used in a manner similar to Damian in the first two Batman-centric DCAMU films. She’s more extreme in her methods and even uses a firearm in battle. Though this doesn’t jive with her comic book persona where she’s much more hesitant about taking a life, it does seem to work as a reference to her past as part of the military and works to contrast her against Batman. Her characterization and integration overall is quite strong. The only weak spot is a questionable scene wherein she’s walking around in lingerie in front of her father and she must defend herself against an attack. It’s tonally jarring for the character. That said, it is counterbalanced by a sequence wherein we see Bruce in nothing but his skivvies.

While Batwoman is an organic inclusion into Bad Blood, the same cannot be said for Batwing. Introduced as the son of supporting cast mainstay Lucius Fox, Luke Fox reluctantly becomes a vigilante in order to seek justice for an attack on his father. Though I enjoyed the playful teasing that Batwoman does at Batwing’s expense, his presence in the film was distracting and not as well-planned as it could have been. There’s undeniable potential with his character, but his sidestory was one subplot too many.

The animation and design work is strong with this particular entry into the DCAMU. While I’m rather fond of the details added to Batwoman’s iconic costume, the best work is done on the villains. D-listers Killer Moth and Firefly are given cool modern redesigns, while Onyx gets a very exotic costume update. The one weak link is Mad Hatter, who doesn’t look much like we’d expect him to. The characters all look great and the action sequences are expectedly well done. Interestingly, some of the best sequences are those that focus on female fighters. They’re faster, more fluid and, in some cases, far more ruthless. In fact, one of the standout sequences involves the Bat Family facing off against gun-toting nuns (jokingly referred to as “nunjas”).

Batman: Bad Blood is thus far my personal favourite of the Batman-centric animated films within the DC Animated Movie Universe. Of course, I may be biased due to my love of Batwoman. The film is easy to follow, but features a more layered story than its predecessor. It’s a superior sequel to Batman vs. Robin, especially since it makes a leap forward by developing the Bat Family further and pulling away a little of the focus from Robin. Despite its title, the film features very little of the Dark Knight and it is instead much more concerned with the other members of the cast. This isn’t a bad thing though, as it allows audiences to get to know a different set of characters. Now, if only we could get a Batwoman-centric film as a sequel…

RATING: B+