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TRAILER: Batman: Bad Blood

The trailer for DC’s next animated feature has been released! Batman: Bad Blood aims to continue where previous installments Batman and Son and Batman vs. Robin left off by chronicling the adventures of Batman and his bratty son Damien! While some of the most recent DCAU films weren’t quite as spectacular as Batman: Under the Red Hood or The Flashpoint Paradox in my opinion, I do think that Batman vs. Robin was an improvement over Batman and Son, if only for its inclusion of elements of the great “Court of Owls” storyline. Let’s hope that Batman: Bad Blood continues on that trajectory.

Before we get hopeful or apprehensive (or both), let’s take a look at the trailer together so that we can get all chummy about this upcoming straight-to-video release!

Alright! From the looks of it, Batman has gone missing and it’s up to Damien, Dick Grayson, and a couple of newcomers to figure out just where the heck he is! My first impression of this story is that it is taking bits and pieces from Grant Morrison‘s Batman and Robin where Dick Grayson takes up the mantle as Batman after the events of Final Crisis. I like the idea as I always enjoyed Grayson as Batman (temporarily, of course), and I think his fun and energetic nature will bring something fresh to the table for the DCAU because, let’s face it, we’ve been getting a lot of Bruce and Damien lately. Batman: Bad Blood could shake things up a bit and provide some interesting moments.

It looks like Batwoman and Batwing will also be making appearances in Batman: Bad Blood, with this being the latter’s very first appearance in the DCAU (applause). The inclusion of Batwoman could be fun, and maybe that means this will be leading up to a Question appearance as well… even if it is the Renee Montoya Question. Will Vic Sage ever get the props he deserves? Anyway, it seems like a good possibility since there’s the Kathy/Kate Kane and Montoya relationship in addition to the fact that the Question cannot resist a good investigation. Maybe we will see a cameo for Montoya as the Question in Batman: Bad Blood. Yeah, let’s hope for that.

Batwing is also in the fold with his high-tech suit and gadgets courtesy of his dear ol’ dad, Lucius Fox! I think having Damien, Dick, Batwoman and Batwing facing off against villains will be a lot of fun to watch in Batman: Bad Blood, especially if you are like me and a total sucker for team-up combat.

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From the looks of it, we have Electrocutioner as a villain, which is… interesting. Will this be the overzealous crime-fighting version of the character, or will he be full-on villain? Either way, it is definitely out of left field for a mainstream feature like Batman: Bad Blood. Then there’s the Heretic. Some of you might remember him as the Damien clone who murdered the young Robin in Batman Incorporated. If they’re going where I think they’re going with this, we just might end up with another dead bat-sidekick by the end of the film, which opens the doors to yet another Batman-related film if DC decides to go down the whole resurrection route. Like I said, lots of Bruce and Damien.

As with all the DCAU features, the voice cast of Batman: Bad Blood looks great. We’ve got Jason O’Mara who has been voicing Batman for a while now, and who does a pretty good job if I may say so. Stuart Allan makes his return as the maladjusted Damien Wayne; a role which I think Allan delivers on consecutively. Of course Damien needs his mommy so there’s Morena Baccarin reprising her role as Talia al Ghul, which lends further credence to my aforementioned theory on Damien’s demise in the film, while Sean Maher comes back to play Dick Grayson once again. All of this really shows that DC is going out of their way to create a nice continuity in their animated films with regards to voice talent. Yet, if I had to nitpick, I’d like to say that I really, really liked Neil Patrick Harris as Dick Grayson in Batman: Under the Red Hood, and that I kind of wish he was still under DC’s employ as a voice actor. Nothing against Maher, but I really feel that Harris nailed the essence of Grayson and made the character a lot of fun to watch.

Of course with Jay Oliva at the helm once again, I don’t think there is too much to worry about as he has made really only a few missteps thus far in the DCAU in my opinion (not to mention his impressive resume in the realm of comic book adaptations). Oliva has shown many times that he gets what he’s doing, and I think we can expect that Batman: Bad Blood will be no different. The score will once again be provided by Frederik Wiedmann, who has become somewhat of a staple for DC’s animated features, and should not disappoint.

Batman: Bad Blood will release straight to DVD and BluRay on February 2, 2016, so be sure to get it, and then dial in AP2HYC.com in your internet viewing screen and read our forthcoming review! Will you agree or disagree with our sentiments? The best is yet to come!

What are your thoughts on the Batman: Bad Blood trailer? Is it shaping up to be a slam-dunk Bat-flick or a snooze-fest worthy of necessary resuscitation by means of copious amounts of Jolt Cola (and only Jolt Cola)? Let us know in the comments section and on our Twitter page!

About the author

Robert Porter