| Batman: Bad Blood | |
|---|---|
 Blu-ray cover art | |
| Directed by | Jay Oliva |
| Screenplay by | J.M. DeMatteis |
| Based on | Batman Incorporated byGrant Morrison Cameron Stewart Frazer Irving |
| Produced by | James Tucker |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | Christopher D. Lozinski |
| Music by | Frederik Wiedmann |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Home Video |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 72 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Batman: Bad Blood is a 2016 Americananimatedsuperhero film which is the 25th film of theDC Universe Animated Original Movies and the sixth film in theDC Animated Movie Universe. It serves as a sequel to the 2015 filmBatman vs. Robin.[1] The film was released on January 20, 2016 foriTunes and the Google Play Store, and onDVD andBlu-ray on February 2. While not a direct adaptation of a particular storyline, it derived fromGrant Morrison's run onBatman, primarily theLeviathan story arcs.
Jason O'Mara,Sean Maher, andStuart Allan reprise their roles from the previous films asBatman,Nightwing, andRobin, withMorena Baccarin returning fromSon of Batman asTalia al Ghul, whileYvonne Strahovski joins asBatwoman.[2]
Six months after the defeat of theCourt of Owls,[N 1]Batwoman intercepts a crowd of criminals inGotham City that includesElectrocutioner,Tusk,Firefly, andKiller Moth. When a fight ensues,Batman arrives. They are confronted by the apparent leader of the criminals, a masked man calling himself "Heretic", who reminds Batman of his vision ofDamian Wayne as Batman. Alongside his subordinateOnyx, Heretic detonates explosives planted within the facility. Batman flings Batwoman to safety and apparently dies in the explosion.
Two weeks later, a concernedAlfred Pennyworth sends a distress signal toNightwing. Meanwhile at a monastery in theHimalayas, Bruce's twelve-year-old son Damian Wayne watches a news report of Batman's disappearance and sets out to return to Gotham. Batwoman's civilian alter-egoKatherine Kane meets with her fatherColonelJacob Kane explaining she feels responsible for Batman's apparent death, as his sacrifice reminds her of the childhood trauma she still carries. In the past, Katherine, her sisterElizabeth, and her mother Gabrielle were abducted and held for ransom. When her father attempted to rescue the three, both Beth and Gabrielle were killed, leaving Kate as the sole survivor. Kate later joined the military, but was discharged for unstated reasons. After her expulsion, she began frequentingnightclubs and overindulging in promiscuous sex and drugs. One night as she left a nightclub in a heavily impaired state, she was attacked, but was saved at the last minute by Batman. This experience motivated her to become Batwoman.
Batman apparently resurfaces and is quickly noticed by Robin and Katherine. Both of them intercept Batman and deduce that it is Nightwing wearing an older version of the Batsuit. They begin their own investigations into the Heretic, unconvinced that Bruce is truly dead. The Heretic and his henchmen attack Wayne Enterprises, forcingLucius Fox to open the way into the vault by threatening his sonLuke. Though Nightwing and Damian arrive, they are unable to prevent the Heretic from escaping with Wayne technology, and Lucius is injured. Before they leave, the Heretic kills Electrocutioner when he is about to kill Robin.
The Heretic returns to his headquarters where it is revealed that he is working for Damian's motherTalia al Ghul.[N 2] They are holding Bruce prisoner and theMad Hatter is slowly trying to brainwash him. The Heretic breaks into the Batcave and kidnaps Damian, revealing himself as a clone of Damian created by a genetics program run byRa's al Ghul and theLeague of Shadows. He wishes to have Damian's memories and personality to feel like a real person, but Talia arrives and kills him for defying her orders, much to Damian's anger. Nightwing and Batwoman then arrive, having located Damian through a tracker in his costume. They are joined by Luke, clad in an exosuit designed by his father and styling himself as Batwing. The three rescue Bruce and Damian, but Talia and most of her henchmen escape.
A week passes and Bruce seems to have recovered, though he remains adamant that Katherine and Luke should not be involved. After Katherine is forced to fight her father after he suddenly attacks her for no reason, Dick realizes that Bruce is still under the effects of the Mad Hatter's mind control. Luke realizes that the League of Shadows are planning to brainwash world leaders at a tech summit held by Bruce.
As the brainwashing takes place, Nightwing, Robin, Batwoman, Alfred, and Batwing arrive and fight Talia and her henchmen. During the fight, theCalculator is killed by Alfred, interrupting the mind control and killing the Mad Hatter in the process as well. Bruce, still brainwashed, defeats Nightwing. Talia orders him to kill Nightwing and Damian, but thanks to a speech Nightwing gave, Bruce resists the brainwashing. Incensed, Talia escapes in a vessel only for Onyx to confront and attack her to avenge Heretic's death. The vessel crashes and explodes, with the two being presumed dead. Bruce is later seen comforting Damian over Talia's supposed death. Alfred remarks to Dick that despite Talia's madness, she was still Damian's mother.
As theBat-Signal shines in Gotham City, Batwoman, Batwing, and Nightwing meet Batman and Robin on top of the police station for their nightly patrol, the former two now officially part of the team. When everyone arrives, they notice a robbery in progress down the street being committed by thePenguin, and head off to stop him. On a nearby building,Batgirl observes the group and prepares to join the pursuit.[N 3]
Thereview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 100%, with an average score of 7.6/10, based on 5 reviews. Critics praised its characters, fight scenes, and nods to long-time fans. The film's complex storyline and intense action were also highlighted.[3] Scott Mendelson's review forForbes highlighted the film's strong action sequences and the introduction of new characters. He found the film entertaining and saw potential in its approach for future animated and live-action projects, though he criticized the repetitive use of certain villains and wished for more exploration of Gotham's reaction to Batman's presumed death.[4] Andrew Pollard ofStarburst applaudedBatman: Bad Blood for its cinematic style, action-packed scenes, and the introduction of Batwoman. Pollard praised the film for its strong character dynamics, particularly between Dick Grayson and Damian. While Pollard acknowledged the sharp dialogue and atmospheric portrayal of Gotham, it critiqued the potential overcrowding of characters and a perceived lack of focus on Batman himself.[5]
The film earned $4,806,737 from domestic home video sales.[6]
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