Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review)

This latest original DC Animated Movie, Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons is directed by Matt Peters. The title is a bit of a misnomer as it makes it sound like there is a big showdown between the offspring of DC’s big two. In fact, although Batman’s son Damian AKA Robin and Superman’s son Jonathan AKA Superboy get off to an antagonistic start, mostly due to Damian, they end up having a good relationship and are forced to team up.

Jonathan finds out his dad is Superman when Clark Kent is obliged to reveal his identity to his son after Jonathan’s abilities begin to manifest. Superman flys his son over to Gotham City to meet Batman and his son Damian, where Batman can use his advanced equipment to run a scan on Jonathan and figure out what or if he will develop any other super skills. Damian, is not too keen on the ever-cheerful Jonathan at first, but later, after an alien parasitic hive mind creature crashes into the Justice League’s Watchtower space station and begins taking over the planet, including infecting all of the Justice League and the Teen Titans, Damian and Jonathan are left to fight it alone, with their final battle including a showdown with their super dads!

This is one of the more enjoyable DC Animated Movies in recent times I have come across even if it is straightforward and somewhat predictable. The chemistry between Damian and Jonathan is well developed and Jack Dylan Grazer (Jonathan) and Jack Griffo (Damian) do excellent jobs voicing the characters, infusing them with lots of life. Helping to create an enjoyable experience for this one is the animation style, which seems to take cues from anime without being outright copping an anime style. Rather than the usual, often flat look we get in DC or American ‘superhero’ animation on the whole, there’s a depth and detail to this animation and it looks a lot more contemporary, while also maintaining the classic look. This film may not raise to the epic proportions of The Long Halloween, but they pack a lot of action into it and a group of enjoyable, classic characters and vivid artwork.

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The Video

The 4K Ultra HD disc of Battle of the Super Sons comes with a 1.78:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) HDR10 encodement. It has a MaxLL of 911 nits and a MaxFALL of 316 nits. The digital animation looks splendid on this disc. There is superb clarity, crisp detail, and a good bit of ‘pop’ in the specular highlights. The Blu-ray holds up well against the 4K but colors look a little less vibrant with the lack of wide color gamut.

The Audio

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons comes with an aggressive English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 that fills all the channels with lots of activity, like most of these DC Animated Movies. There is just one flaw I find and that is there is a bit of excessive low end, like they are trying too hard to show off how spectacular the sound is. It sometimes sounds just a bit out of balance, but otherwise the mix works.

The Supplements

The bonus features are all on the included Blu-ray, which also contains the feature film in HD. A Movies Anywhere digital code is also included.

• Rival Sons: Jonathan and Damian (1080p; 00:14:38)
• From the DC Vault: Batman The Animated Series – “The Demon’s Quest, Part One” (1080p; 00:22:22)
• From the DC Vault: Batman The Animated Series – “The Demon’s Quest, Part Two” (1080p; 00:22:18)

The Final Assessment

A fun adventure from the folks at DC and Warner Bros. Animation that keeps the action level at 10 and serves up dazzling animation on a pristine 4K platter. Recommended.

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons is out on 4K Ultra HD Combo October 18, 2022, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

• Rating Certificate: PG-13 (for violence and language)
• Studios & Distributors: Warner Bros. Animation | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
• Director: Matt Peters
• Written By: Jeremy Adams
• Run Time: 79 Mins.
• Street Date: 18 October 2022
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: HDR10
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • MaxLL: 911 nits
  • MaxFALL: 316 nits
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Secondary Audio: French DD 5.1 | Spanish DD 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH | French | Spanish