Batman vs. Robinis a 2015 Americananimatedsuperhero filmwhich is the 23rd film of theDC Universe Animated Original Moviesand the fifth film in theDC Animated Movie Universe.The film is partially based on the "Batman: The Court of Owls"saga written byScott Snyderand illustrated byGreg Capulloand Jonathan Glapion, combined with aspects ofBatman & Robin: Born to Kill[broken anchor]byPeter TomasiandPatrick GleasonandDetective Comics: Faces of Deatharcs byTony S. Daniel,and serves as a sequel to 2014'sSon of Batman.The film was shown duringWonderConon April 3, 2015, and was released onBlu-rayandDVDformats on April 14.[2]

Batman vs. Robin
DVD cover
Directed byJay Oliva
Screenplay byJ. M. DeMatteis
Based on"Batman: The Court of Owls"
byScott Snyder
Greg Capullo
Jonathan Glapion
Produced byJames Tucker
Starring
Edited byAl Bretienbach
Music byFrederik Wiedmann
Production
companies
Warner Bros. Animation
DC Entertainment
The Answer Studio(animation services)
Distributed byWarner Home Video
Release dates
  • April 7, 2015(2015-04-07)(digital)
  • April 14, 2015(2015-04-14)(physical)
Running time
80 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Stuart Allan,Jason O'Mara,David McCallum,andSean Maherreprise their respective roles fromSon of Batman.It was McCallum's last film role before his death in 2023. He would be replaced by James Garrett in future DCAMU films.[3][4]

Plot

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In the past, a youngBruce Waynelearns of a secret, shadowy organization called theCourt of Owlsfrom his fatherThomas.After witnessing the death of his parents, Bruce suspects that the Court was behind the murder but finds no evidence, which leads him to believe the Court was in fact just a story. In the present day, Bruce's sonDamian[N 1]goes out as Robin to rescue missing children abducted byAnton SchottAKA Dollmaker, who has been brainwashing them into his "dolls". While Batman frees the children, an angry Damian confronts Anton on his own. A mysterious figure in an owl costume appears and advises him to kill Anton, tearing Anton's heart out when Damian refuses and leaving a feather behind. Batman comes across Anton's corpse and suspects Damian of killing him, due to his past violent actions and the fact that the mysterious figure was only seen by him. Bruce thinks Damian is dangerous, prompting him to place security measures around Wayne Manor to prevent him from going out as Robin without his permission.

The following night, Bruce goes out as Batman to track down the source of the feather, leading him to a museum where he finds it came from a large preserved owl. Bruce is ambushed by a group of owl costumed assassins, wounding him. Bruce is rescued by Dick Grayson. While driving to meet with his girlfriend Samantha Vanaver, a group of thugs in owl masks run him off the road and take him to their headquarters, where he meets their leader the "Grandmaster". The Grandmaster offers Bruce the chance to join them, but he kindly declines, after leaving a tracking device in their hideout. Unaware he is Batman, the court lets him leave safely. Meanwhile, Damian escapes Wayne Manor, and while out he meets the same assassin who killed Anton, who introduces himself as Talon. Talon takes Damian under his wing, training him to become a Court assassin.

Bruce infiltrates the Court headquarters and is dosed by hallucinogenic gas, causing him to see a future where Damian becomes a murderous vigilante, but is rescued byNightwingandAlfred Pennyworth.When Damian is revealed to be Bruce's son, the Grandmaster rejects him under the decision to emotionally cripple Bruce with Damian's death, prompting Talon to attack the Court, killing several members in the process, before killing the Grandmaster, who is revealed to be Samantha. Now having control of the Court, Talon gathers an army of immortal Owls and leads an attack on Wayne Manor, but Batman, Nightwing and Alfred fend them off by freezing them.

Talon then confronts Bruce in a duel and severely wounds him. Damian escapes the Court headquarters and defends Bruce from Talon, telling him he could never be a better father than Bruce. In his defeat, Talon takes his own life by forcing Damian to stab him through the neck with his own sai. This greatly traumatizes Damian, who rejects Bruce's offer to return home, claiming that he doesn't know who he is. Bruce consoles Damian and allows him to leave, suggesting him to go to a monastery in the Himalayas he once visited, to find himself, which Damian accepts.[N 2]

Cast

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Reception

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Thereview aggregatorRotten Tomatoesreported an approval rating of 100%, with an average score of 8.4/10, based on 5 reviews.[7]IGN rated it 6.7/10[8]and Screen Rant 2.5/5.[9]The film earned $4,275,434 from domestic home video sales.[10]

Sequels

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A sequel titledBatman: Bad Bloodwas released in 2016 which was followed byBatman: Hushin 2019.

Notes

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  1. ^Introduced in the 2014 filmSon of Batman.
  2. ^Damian returns in the 2016 filmBatman: Bad Blood.

References

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  1. ^"Batman vs Robin".YouTube.
  2. ^"Batman vs Robin Release Dates".The World's Finest.RetrievedDecember 17,2015.
  3. ^"David McCallum, star of hit TV series 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' and 'NCIS' dies at 90".Yahoo. September 25, 2023.RetrievedSeptember 25,2023.
  4. ^"David McCallum, Heartthrob Spy of 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.', Dies at 90".New York Times.
  5. ^abcdefghij"Jason O'Mara, Jeremy Sisto and even" Weird Al "Yankovic are among those lending their pipes to the 'Son of Batman' sequel".The Hollywood Reporter.January 14, 2015.RetrievedJanuary 20,2015.
  6. ^abcd"Batman vs Robin: Backstage - Cast and Crew".The World's Finest.RetrievedApril 9,2015.
  7. ^"Batman vs. Robin".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango Media.RetrievedOctober 10,2021.
  8. ^Batman vs. Robin Review - IGN,April 14, 2015,retrievedDecember 23,2020
  9. ^"'Batman vs. Robin' Review ".ScreenRant.April 13, 2015.RetrievedDecember 23,2020.
  10. ^"Batman vs. Robin (2014) The Numbers listing".The Numbers.Accessed October 4, 2019.
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