Hello, my friends. Within the vast grey areas of our world, evil is capable of taking on many shapes, sizes and forms. As our featured version of the Dark Knight will ultimately discover, it’s a looming terror that’s looking to not only cause despair, but it also doesn’t even originate from the mortal plane. On that note, I once again welcome you back to my signature review series known as… 
As I’ve shared my various thoughts upon this familiar superhero film series over the years, we’ve come across several stories that’ve ventured outside of the familiar DC realm. From an alternate version of the World’s Greatest Heroes and a Victorian Era Caped Crusader to a Soviet-raised Man of Steel and Kal-El descending into a towering tyrant following a tragic loss, DC’s Elseworlds have seen no shortage of animated adaptations. With that in mind, we have another venture that aims to take some familiar figures and place them within unfamiliar settings, though these terrifying trappings are looking to terrorize on both a historical and otherworldly scale. On that note, let us venture into the unknown with a tale called…
Released on March 28, 2023, for Blu-Ray, 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray and Digital Download, this was based on a three-issue mini-series that was initially published from September to November 2000. Said story was originally written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola alongside Richard Pace, drawn by Troy Nixey, inked by Dennis Janke and colored by Dave Stewart. As for its translation from the page to the small screen, Jase Ricci worked on the screenplay while directing duties were given to Christopher Berkeley and Sam Liu. So, what kind of horror is looking to descend upon the Caped Crusader’s municipality? Let’s venture into the unknown and find out.
We open at Cape Victoria, Antarctica in the year 1928 where Bruce Wayne (voiced by David Giuntoli) has arrived with his small expedition team as they discover and report their findings of some frozen figures that were members of the Cobblepot base camp. He’s then met upon by two of his teammates as Dick Grayson (voiced by Jason Marsden) and Sanjay “Tay” Tawde (voiced by Karan Brar) inform him that they haven’t found anything other than deceased bodies. Thankfully, they discovered the ship’s manifest and have ultimately realized that only two figures are still missing: Grendon and Cobblepot. While Sanjay says that it’s unlikely for anyone to survive out within the chilly landscape, Bruce tells them that they’ll keep looking as he proceeds to head out.
Shortly afterwards, Dick discovers Oswald’s journal upon the snow-covered ship as he opens it up and begins to read its recorded entries. As Wayne presses on with his search, it gets intercut with Cobblepot’s written entries which mention how over the course of ten days, the frozen landscape that he and his team have embarked upon has spooked their dogs into an uncalmable state and had to be put down as a result. Not only that, but Grendon has vanished from the group and the whole team has gone mad to the point where they’ve been locked into an unshakably fearful state. By the end, he’s all by himself and is also hearing something from within the ice telling him that “it’s coming”. Eventually, Bruce climbs up a cliff and discovers Oswald Cobblepot (voiced by William Salyers) naked & in a near-frozen state. However, he’s able to flee as Wayne tries to follow after him. Suddenly, a piece of the cliff gives way as he slides down and lands near the entrance to an ice cave.
With a lit torch in hand, he proceeds to make his way inside before he finds someone scraping away at an ice wall. This figure turns out to be Grendon (voiced by David Dastmalchian) as he mentions how he’s been chosen to be something’s “messenger to the world”. Bruce then asks him who he’s being a messenger for, to which Grendon describes this mysterious figure as something that exists “outside time and space” and has also “shambled down out of the stars when Earth new and spawned abominations in the seas and blights upon the land”. When Wayne spots a vague set of multiple eyes from within the ice wall, he suddenly keels over in mental pain as Grendon rambles about how gazing upon this otherworldly form “is to invite madness”. He then reveals that in order for him to properly serve his master, he wound up removing his eyes.
Bruce then tries to take Grendon back to his ship, but his efforts are suddenly disrupted when some demonic-looking penguins emerge and proceed to attack him. As Wayne tries to fend them off, Grendon grabs his pickaxe and frantically strikes away at the ice wall, causing enough damage for the otherworldly being to begin emerging from it.
Back with Bruce, he begins to get overwhelmed by the demonic penguins while the tentacled monster allows a piece of itself to be consumed by Grendon. Just then, Wayne is able to use a flare gun as he scares the demonic birds away. Grendon then runs in and tries to attack him with his pickaxe, but Bruce defeats him with a single punch. Afterwards, Grendon warns him how “the lurker is on the threshold” and that it’s coming.
Back on the Argo, Wayne manages to contact the ship as a young girl named Kai Li Cain (voiced by Tati Gabrielle) is instructed to supply him with all of their onboard explosives. Later, Bruce uses them to seal the cave as Grayson asks him if it was wise to do so given “the scientific value of the prehistoric creature” that lurked within. Wayne assures him that it was necessary to keep it buried, given that said mysterious being was able to infect the surrounding wildlife with a “mutational agent” that laid dormant for ages, and it was able to infect Cobblepot’s entire expedition party. Sanjay then asks him if he found Oswald, to which Bruce simply tells his three youthful comrades that Cobblepot is gone. As they all return to the Argo with Grendon’s body, Oswald oversees them alongside some demonic penguins.
Later, the Argo has set sail as Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Brian George) comes across the three young expedition members and is met upon by an abhorrent scent. They tell him that it came from Grendon’s spoiled corpse once they warmed his body up and that until Dick is able to create something that will keep the body frozen, he was ordered by Wayne to store it within their meat freezer. Over within Bruce’s cabin, he looks over Cobblepot’s journal before he’s met upon by Alfred. Wayne informs him that Gotham is in danger and that even though Oswald wasn’t entirely of “sound mind”, the journal entries have helped him confirm his discoveries of an ancient cult’s existence with deep ties to said municipality. As such, he tells Pennyworth that after two decades of their global-trotting expedition, it’s finally time for them to return home as he also unveils his bat suit.
Ultimately, they arrive back in Gotham City as our youthful group members are in the meat freezer while they talk about how long they’ll actually be staying within said city. Kai Li mentions how they’ve never stayed in a single place for more than a few weeks in the two years that she’s been a member of this team, to which Dick tells her that he’s been traveling with Bruce for a decade and that it was always in the plans for them to return to Gotham. When Cain then asks what they’re returning for, Grendon creepily chuckles as he says that they’ve returned for their own doom.
With the Argo now fully docked, Alfred tells Wayne that their city has become more “untended” than how they remember it before Bruce says that it better not be how he recalls it. From there, we transition into a flashback as Thomas Wayne (voiced by Darin De Paul) tells his son that their family’s history is entwined with Gotham. Martha Wayne (voiced by Emily O’Brien) then mentions to Bruce that their family helped to build this city and that he’s part of this long legacy, to which she then tells her son that he’ll have big shoes to fill some day. Suddenly, they’re approached by a scruffy man who mentions how they’ve brought a curse upon themselves before he pounces onto Thomas while brandishing a knife. Martha tries to save her husband, but the assailant smacks her towards the statue’s base where she hits her head and immediately dies. Afterwards, Thomas tells his son to run before he gets stabbed in the chest.
As the raggedy killer laughs, Bruce runs into a nearby church before he reaches the top of its bell tower. Suddenly, he hears some ominous murmurings before he gets a brief glimpse of an otherworldly monster, followed by a massive cloud of bats emerging from the darkness as they proceed to fly over the spooked child.
We then shift back into the present time where Grayson informs him that Grendon has been properly secured. Wayne then confirms with them that he wants the body kept in their ship for the time being in order to prevent the otherworldly virus within him to spread due to the Gotham Police’s lack of proper precautions. He then says that one of them has to stay behind in order to look after Grendon, to which they proceed to draw straws. Ultimately, Sanjay winds up with the shortest straw as he reluctantly heads out to fulfill his duty.
As Alfred, Bruce, Dick and Kai Li drive their way through the Gotham streets, they notice some uneasiness within the municipality, ranging from Prohibition to a rise in homelessness. Eventually, they arrive at Wayne Manor where they’re met upon by Lucius Fox (voiced by Tim Russ) as he informs Bruce that their company’s business is in excellent order, especially with their board members believing that Wayne is providing them with their executive directives. Lucius then informs Bruce that he’s placed all of his received shipments within his wine cellar, to which Wayne says that it’s actually a cave.
As Dick and Kai Li head up to the second floor, Alfred then informs Bruce that Oliver Queen has invited him over to his place for “dinner and drinks”. Just as Wayne gets a strange feeling about how something’s not right within his mansion, they all hear Cain’s yelp as they discover what she’s just come across. In particular, it’s a scratched-up corpse sitting on a chair within the study. As they look over the deceased body, Dick notices the claw marks and assumes that a bear did this. However, Bruce notices that the scratches are being extended from the bottom up and that it’s physically impossible for a bear to make those kinds of marks. With them also noticing a bruise around the victim’s neck, they realize that the man was strangulated by something with hands and was actually murdered somewhere else before being brought here. Suddenly, Bruce hears some strange noises from the body as it then utters “I Am Langstrom” before it’s then revealed that he was the only one who heard that. Wayne then says that they’ll eventually call the police and that he’ll handle this situation.
Later that night, Bruce is getting ready to head out towards Oliver’s evening dinner. Just then, he notices a certain man standing right outside his manor. After being let in, this man turns out to be Jason Blood (voiced by Matthew Waterson) who introduces himself as someone who’s able to notice things that’re “invisible to most”. He then brings up Wayne’s past, specifically his parents’ murder on June 26, 1908, which ultimately led him into spending the next two decades traveling the world in order to learn about various kinds of criminology, psychology & martial arts in order to avenge his fallen folks and become a savior to his city. However, he warns Bruce that his return to Gotham has set certain things in motion. As such, Jason informs him with three pieces of information. First, he has to find a pair of spirits, specifically one that’s “wrapped in bats” while the other one is “in flames”. Second, the only way for him to succeed is if he becomes his true self through death. Finally, the only way that Gotham can be saved is if it’s “burned to the ground”.
Wayne doesn’t know what he’s talking about and is about to escort him out, but Blood grabs him while mentioning that his own self-doubt will be his downfall. Bruce manages to break free and pin him to the table, yet Jason transforms into Etrigan The Demon and assures him that he’s not his enemy. After mentioning that he’ll be there when he faces his foe, he then jumps out the window and leaves just before Alfred arrives to take Wayne to his invited dinner.
Later, Bruce, Dick and Kai Li are having supper with Oliver Queen (voiced by Christopher Gorham) who says that he’s heard about them coming across Oswald while they were “down south” and assures them that Cobblepot wasn’t mentally sound before his expedition. Dick then notices the various animals that Oliver has captured on his numerous hunts, to which Queen says that it’s his globe-trotting passion before a notable guest arrives. It turns out to be Harvey Dent (voiced by Patrick Fabian) who’s a longtime friend to both Wayne & Oliver and is also running for Gotham City mayor. Just as Harvey is stunned to see Bruce back in town and Queen mentions how they’re reunited; Kai Li then takes notice of a certain bracelet upon Oliver’s wrist.
We then have a quick scene back at Wayne Manor where Alfred receives a phone call. Just as he mentions that Bruce is away for the evening before asking if they would like to leave a message, the caller simply hangs up.
Back at Queen’s manor, Wayne asks Dent if he’s familiar with the name Langstrom. Not only does Harvey recognize this as Prof. Kirk Langstrom, but Ollie is also familiar with him since he’s been labeled as “the Batman of Crime Alley” and that he sees Kirk as a crazy man, especially since their city has had plenty of looney people. Dent then mentions that Langstrom is a biologist over at the local university, specifically a chiropterologist and that he’s developed an “unhealthy obsession” towards the bats that he’s been studying, to the point where he even claims to be a bat. Bruce then asks him if he has access to Kirk’s address, to which Harvey says that he lives within Robin’s Row. Afterwards, he begins to head out in order to get a little rest before heading into the office. Kai Li then mentions a coin trick that he does, to which he performs it before he finally takes his leave. From there, Wayne then asks Oliver if he and his youthful comrades can spend the night while Pennyworth is still airing out his own mansion, to which Queen drunkenly accepts before Bruce slips away.
Back on the Argo, Sanjay continues to keep watch as Grendon mentions about how he’s feeling the power of “his cold gift” within him. Tawde tells him to be quiet before he feels the abnormal coldness upon the freezer door that emanating from Grendon. Thankfully, he uses his arm to close it.
We then have a quick scene back at Queen’s manor where he drunkenly sings while playing on his piano as Dick and Kai Li wonder where Wayne is at.
Over on the Gotham rooftops, Bruce has suited up as Batman and has made his way to Kirk’s residence. He then spots a detective and a pair of officers within the building thanks to a landlady putting in a call to the police about a recent murder. Because they see Langstrom as nothing more than a crazy person, they’re hoping to find any money of his and keep it for themselves. Just then, Batman approaches them as one of the officers tries to shoot him. Thankfully, Bruce is able to avoid his shots before he easily defeats the corrupt figures.
He then notices a pentagram within the lab before he takes out a chemical that creates some ultraviolet light as he discovers some foot and handprints that leads him towards a certain spot on the floor. It turns out that there was a hidden spot underneath the floorboards as Wayne opens it up and finds a series of papers labeled as “The Final Statement of Kirk Langstrom”. Shortly after he retrieves them and heads out, Police Commissioner James Gordon (voiced by John DiMaggio) comes in and finds his corrupt officials knocked out.
We then have another quick scene where Alfred gets another phone call, where it’s then revealed that Barbara has been the persistent caller and that she’s been trying to get in contact with Bruce over the last three times. Pennyworth offers to leave a message for him, but she simply hangs up.
Back with Batman, he proceeds to read the final statement as Dr. Kirk Langstrom (voiced by Herbert West himself, Jeffrey Combs) mentions of a great doom that’s looking to enter this world. Despite this description making it seem like he’s gone mad, he claims that the bats have spoken to him and that they’re able to gaze “beyond what man dare fathom”. As such, the bats have warned him “of a growing horror” that’s waiting right outside of their own reality and is looking to feed its hunger upon the world. He then mentions its own evil acolytes known as the Cult of Ghul and that for several centuries, they’ve been trying to help this otherworldly being enter their reality. Even though they’re getting dangerously close to accomplishing their goal, Kirk mentions how “a single hope” is standing in their way. In order for the Cult of Ghul to bring the monster to their plane of existence, they’ll need to find a book called the Testament of Ghul since it’ll contain the information that they need to carry out their ultimate goal. As such, Langstrom concludes his testament by saying that the book must be kept from them at all costs. From there, Bruce recalls a specific entry that he previously discovered within Oswald’s journal. In particular: “My Testament shall remain in Gotham. Forever in my keep”. He then realizes that Cobblepot had discovered it as he proceeds to swing his way towards his destination, unaware that a certain woman is discreetly following him.
Later at the University repository, its lone employee named Prof. Manfurd (also voiced by William Salyers) gets a phone call from Batman who’s managed to create his own makeshift telephone upon a phone line and says that he needs to acquire the Testament of Ghul. However, Manfurd claims to have never heard of it before Bruce simply ends the call. From there, the professor opens up a secret compartment within his shelves and retrieves the Testament of Ghul as Batman discreetly observes this from afar. Manfurd then mentions that despite being ordered from Oswald to destroy it, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.
Suddenly, he’s approached by the familiar woman as it’s revealed to be Talia Al Ghul (also voiced by Emily O’Brien & reprising her role from the “Gotham Knights” video game) who proceeds to unleash a red lizard named Daitya from a container. From there, it manages to swiftly crawl into his ear and cause him to keel over while she acquires the book.
Just then, Batman smashes his way in and orders her to hand it over. However, she refuses as Daitya take full possession over Manfurd and transforms him into a fiery being as it proceeds to attack him while Talia simply takes her leave. Their fight becomes incredibly fierce as Daitya’s strikes causes some heated damage to the room and begins to set it on fire.
With the roof beginning to cave in as a result of the weakened structure, Batman uses some corrosive acid to create a hole in the floor in order to escape before the whole room collapses onto the fiery monster. Just as Bruce is about to leave however, Daitya manages to return after surviving the crumbled room. Thankfully, Etrigan bursts in and tells Batman to leave since he’s the only one who can stop the unknown monster before he proceeds to fight his fiery foe. As he beats Daitya up, Etrigan then tells Bruce that he’s sacrificing himself in order to help him “end this curse”, yet it’ll be for naught if Talia has the Testament in her possession.
As such, Batman manages to escape before he catches up to her and once again demands for the book. However, she’s not spooked by him since she mentions how she’s fully aware of the “real matter of demon, Djinn and devil”. She then mentions that the Cult of Ghul has actually ended several centuries ago and that she’s its last member before she tosses a vile containing a powered chemical onto his face, causing him to become woozy. She then reveals that she was the one who left Langstrom’s corpse in his study before Bruce realizes that his actions have allowed her to follow him towards the Testament’s location and that she was the one who murdered Kirk. He then says that whoever wants the book is looking to do some serious harm towards Gotham with it, but she tells him that the city will be given its purpose and there will be honor towards “the damnation which bore it”. Suddenly, Batman is met upon by Killer Croc where it proceeds to take advantage of Bruce’s weary condition and unleash some fierce strikes upon him. During this, Talia briefly mentions that she became an ally to this creature during her “812 years” of existence before she takes her leave.
Back with Batman, his fight against Killer Croc sees him getting viscously smacked and tossed around. Thankfully, he uses his grapple gun to swing himself with enough force to strike the reptilian foe towards the train track beneath the bridge. From there, he manages to dodge an oncoming train while Killer Croc gets hit by it. Afterwards, Bruce is able to ride the top of a box car and escape before the physical toll from his outing catches up and causes him to pass out.
Later, Talia is making her way through the sewer before she’s met upon by Killer Croc. Despite her realization that the creature failed to kill Batman, she doesn’t take him as a serious threat to her plans. From there, she tells Killer Croc that “the key” has been delivered and is currently located at Gotham Harbor. As such, she wants her reptilian ally to retrieve it for her.
Back at Queen’s mansion, Oliver has drunkenly passed out at his piano before Dick and Kai Li help him up. He then mentions that he used to poke fun at Bruce in their letters to each other about him bringing children under his wing from some global ports, yet Queen has respect for both Grayson and Cain. They then place him onto his sofa before Oliver tearfully says that he owes Wayne more than he’ll ever know and he even apologizes to him. Dick assures him that Bruce doesn’t hold any grudges against a good man, yet Queen wonders if he’s truly a good man and mentions how “the sins of the father are heaped upon the son” before he finally dozes off.
Later, morning has risen upon Wayne Manor as Alfred begins to open the living room curtains before he discovers Batman right outside the window. After he gets inside, Pennyworth notices his injury, but Bruce refuses his medical care since he wants to analyze the substance that’s on his costume in order to properly fight back against his reptilian foe. From there, he makes his way towards the Bat Cave.
As night falls, James and his fellow police officers see the Argo completely covered in ice over within Gotham Harbor even though it’s the middle of June. Just then, Oliver, Dick and Kai Li arrive as they’re initially barred from getting near the ship. Thankfully, Queen is able to distract them long enough for Grayson to sneak his way towards a motorboat. As Gordon and the officials pursue after him, they’re all unaware that Killer Croc is discreetly approaching the vessel.
Dick manages to reach the Argo’s lower levels as he finds Sajay, only to discover that he’s been frozen to death. Just then, he hears Grendon laughing before he aims his shotgun at the imprisoned figure. Suddenly, Killer Croc bursts in and proceeds to attack him.
Back outside the ship, James, his officers, Oliver and Kai Li hear Grayson’s screams of terror as well as some gunfire coming from the Argo. Gordon and Queen manage to reach the lower level where they not only find Sanjay’s frozen corpse, but they also discover that Dick was mutilated. Not only that, Grendon had also managed to escape.
Back outside, Kai Li wants to get inside the Argo, but the officers were ordered by James to prevent her from doing so. Thankfully, she manages to break away and reach the ship’s lower level. She soon discovers Grayson and Tawde’s grim fates as she breaks down and cries, to which Oliver gives her a comforting hug. She then asks him what caused this, to which he says that he doesn’t know, yet he promises to make the culprit pay.
We then shift over to a certain area within the Gotham sewer system as Talia places a particular containment unit in the middle of a summoning circle. As she does so, she mentions how several millennia ago, a particular figure “descended upon these wicked grounds” in order to learn about some unholy secrets. With his remains within the unit, she plans on using said secrets to bring said being back to life in order for them to bring the otherworldly being called Iog-Sotha into this realm. Just then, Daitya returns and reveals that it’s managed to trap Etrigan within the specific vile. With it having accomplished its initial mission, she then has it perform one last task before being sent back to Hell. Daitya proceeds to step into the summoning circle and ignite it with its hellfire before it proceeds to sink back into the Underworld.
As a result, the unit shatters before Talia chants an incantation and successfully revives her father Ra’s Al Ghul (voiced by Navid Negahban, also reprising his role from the “Gotham Knights” video game).
Over at Wayne Manor and within the Bat Cave, Bruce looks at a subterranean map of Gotham City and discovers that Talia is hiding out somewhere within the many miles of the municipality’s underground tunnels. Just then, Alfred comes in and supplies him with a key book as Wayne ultimately comes across some important pages.
Specifically, it mentions about the Mausoleum of the Serpent and that serpents existed before humans. Within said mausoleum, there was several “masters of an ancient dark magic”. He then finds out that as far back as 2000 B.C., Ra’s was a dark priest who would discover the ruins of said unholy grounds. Armed with his necromantic dark arts, he tore their deep secrets from them and thus, gave himself control upon “the nature of the cosmos”. However, his truest of desires was to serve an outer god named Iog-Sotha and bring this devastating being into their reality. Despite this potentially grim discovery, Bruce still sees this as a myth that has remnants of truth if they look hard enough. Just then, he notices a certain spit of land within a waterway upon the book’s pages and that it’s written with a specific language called Aklo. Wayne realizes that it’s giving him coordinates as he locates a similar spot upon the Gotham map as Alfred wonders if the aforementioned mausoleum is actually underneath their city, to which Bruce says that he intends to find out.
Back with Ra’s, he tells his daughter that Iog-Sotha has been longing to reach Earth for many million years yet has been held back due to an entryway that it can’t open from its own side. As such, they’ll perform a ceremony within the Mausoleum of the Serpents in order to find where this door is located. Just then, Killer Croc returns with Grendon by its side as the latter will be used as a vital key towards accomplishing their devious goal.
Back at Wayne Manor, Alfred gets a phone call as he automatically assumes that it’s Barbara once again trying to get Bruce’s attention. To his discovery however, it’s her father James who proceeds to inform him of the lethal fates that have fallen upon Dick and Sanjay. Pennyworth then asks for Oliver to look after Kai Li for now and that he’ll share this grim news with Wayne the moment he returns home.
Over in the sewer system, Batman’s search has led him to the aforementioned spot as he overhears Ra’s chanting before he discovers the Al Ghul duo performing an incantation in order to learn where the particular door is located so that they can bring their outer god onto their world. Just then, Batman makes his presence known as he uses a Batarang to snuff out the candles being used for the incantation. Talia then tells her father to continue with their spell while she and Killer Croc take care of their intruder.
Bruce proceeds to take on his reptilian foe as he ultimately smashes some small containers of acid onto the creature. The chemical proceeds to eat away at Killer Croc before it manages to completely disintegrate the being for good. Talia then demands to know about the kind of magic that he just used to exterminate Killer Croc, yet Batman simply says that it was Chlorine concentrate. She then proceeds to blow her unique powder at him, yet he’s able to put on his gas mask in time. As such, she decides to physically deal with him as she emerges through the powder and jump kicks his gas mask off of his face.
They then proceed to tussle for a bit while Ra’s continues with his location incantation. During their fight, Talia takes out a dagger and tries to stab Batman while they’re near the container that Etrigan is trapped in. Fortunately, he shatters her small blade and acquires the vile before successfully subduing her.
He then tells Ra’s that whatever he’s up to, it’s all over. Al Ghul then chuckles and says that it’s only over for Bruce before a small rumble emerges and Talia frees herself from his grasp while mentioning that the location ritual is now complete. Suddenly, several snakes and lizards emerge from some demonic corpses as Ra’s mentions that reptiles used to rule over the globe. Now, this scaly plague will lead them to the door that Iog-Sotha is waiting behind. With Batman starting to get overwhelmed by the swarming creatures, the floor then opens up as he and some of the scaly beings fall into the Lazarus Pit below.
Up on the streets, the snakes and lizards emerge as they begin to run amok upon the city. With Gotham caught within the scaly grasp, Harvey is able to focus his mayoral campaign on dealing with this crisis once he gets elected to office. Back underneath the city, Batman emerges from the Lazarus Pit before he wearily returns to the streets amidst the reptilian debacle. He soon spots the familiar clock tower and recalls the tragic night of his parents’ murder when he ran up into it.
That moment then gets fleshed out once his child self is met upon by the numerous bats as they mention that a “thing is coming”. As such, they show him Iog-Sotha before telling him that even though he’ll try to mentally repress the image, he’s forever stuck with “the mark of madness” that it leaves behind. They then tell him that “the Bat” is the only thing that can stop it, in addition to him. Back in the present, Bruce is now able to fully remember these details before Alfred drives up in order to bring him back home.
Sometime later after the reptilian outbreak has subsided, Ra’s, Talia and Grendon hear a radio broadcast about Harvey being officially elected as Gotham’s new mayor. Afterwards, Ra’s says that he’s been informed from Iog-Sotha that “Dent is the door”. As for how he and his daughter will be able to acquire the proper key, it turns out that Grendon will fulfill that role for them since he discovered Iog-Sotha’s son named Yib Nogeroth within the ice and that it ultimately fulfilled its duty by implanting its seed within him. As for how he’ll provide them with the key however, Talia ends up impaling Grendon and causes him to expel the seed from his mouth before he ends up completely melting into water. From there, the seed sinks into the liquid before it takes the form of a familiar woman named Pamela Isley a.k.a. Poison Ivy (voiced by Gideon Adlon).
Over in the Bat Cave, Batman has been standing over Langstrom’s corpse while he babbles about a certain “doom” that’s looming upon his city. However, he’s not alone as Alfred tells Lucius that Bruce hasn’t moved from his spot ever since he was brought home, even after he was informed of Dick and Sanjay’s deaths. As such, Fox wants Pennyworth to contact Dr. Hugo Strange in order to provide Wayne with some help over at Arkham Asylum.
We then have a quick scene at Queen’s mansion where Kai Li looks over a past photo of herself with Grayson and Tawde before she notices Oliver enter a certain room and locking the door behind him. Once the morning arrives, Harvey emerges from his home to begin his mayoral duties. Just then, he’s met upon by Pamela who tells him that the people have a lot of faith in him before she shakes his hand and discreetly rubs a chemical onto him with her thumb before she heads out.
Back at Queen’s manor, Cain manages to pick the locks before she discovers a secret chapel within the room along with Oliver wearing a crusader’s outfit. She then asks him about his entire get-up, to which he explains that he has to defeat a great evil that’s about to descend upon the city. He then recalls his earlier-mentioned phrase where “the sins of the father are heaped upon the son” before he brings up his sinfully guilty father named Henry who actually managed to live for over three centuries. He also mentions how his dad “made a pact with the devil” and that it drove him mad as time went on. As such, it would eventually lead him to murder Thomas and Martha Wayne. With Oliver having been informed of this “unholy act” from all those years ago, he says that it would be the key event that stirred this grave being into ultimately smiting Gotham someday. As such, he vowed to undo all of his father’s sins in preparation for a confrontation with the eventual doom that’s looming large over the city.
It turns out that he prepared himself by hunting several animals across the globe and collecting lots of holy weapons, such as specific arrows that famously pierced Saint Sebastian. He then tells Kai Li to head out since this unholy being will be coming for him, to which she complies.
Back in the Bat Cave, Batman demands to know where he can find “the doorway to our reality”. Suddenly, he hears Kirk’s voice reminding him how “only the bats know the way to salvation”. Just then, Cain returns as she overhears Bruce demanding to know what the bats have told Langstrom. She tells Wayne that Oliver may have “lost his mind” due to him wearing a knight’s armor while also mentioning that a certain “doom” is coming, which manages to help Bruce make a realization.
Over at a doctor’s office, Harvey has gotten an outbreak of poison ivy all over the left side of his body. Dent is unsure of how he became infected since he hasn’t been outside of Gotham for several months, to which Dr. Herbert West says that it’s stemming from the demanding stress of his job. As such, he tells Dent to relax and not scratch his rash while also supplying him with some ointment.
That night within Queen’s private room, he gathers his holy weapons just as Pamela manages to make her presence known to him. He’s able to throw a dagger into her head and arm himself with a bow and arrow, but she was able to withstand the small blade before she removes it and shapeshifts into her true form.
A struggle ensues as Oliver uses some of his weapons, but she’s able to fight through them and stab him with her sentient root. Despite his disadvantage, Queen manages to use a grenade in order to sacrifice himself as they get decimated within the explosion.
Just then, Batman and Kai Li arrive as they see the aftermath of the recent fight with Oliver lying mortally wounded. After they spot Poison Ivy incinerated from the blast, Bruce tells Cain to give him and Queen some privacy. Afterwards, Oliver says that he thought that he was ready to stop the otherworldly monster, yet ultimately wasn’t. He then reveals his father’s dagger and tearfully confesses about his own dad being the one who murdered his friend’s parents. Wayne assures him that while his father did what he did, Queen has lived the life of a good man. From there, Oliver ultimately succumbs to his injuries and passes on before Batman acquires the small blade along with the quiver containing St. Sebastian’s arrows before he heads out.
We then have a quick scene at Harvey’s home where the rash has completely mutated all over his left side. Just then, he’s approached by Talia as he begs to be killed. However, she tells him that while “the end” is drawing near, he’ll actually “a little more to do” before then.
Over at the cemetery, Bruce and Kai Li are visiting Dick & Sanjay’s graves as she tells him that it’s not his fault for all of the unnatural occurrences that’ve popped up within Gotham. However, he still blames himself since he saw the signs yet didn’t take them seriously since they initially didn’t seem rational enough to him. With this otherworldly being looming upon the city, he says that he’s the only one who can stop it. However, she tells him that Oliver had that same notion yet wound-up deceased because he owed the planet for his dad’s dreadful acts. Wayne then brings up Queen’s belief of the father’s sins being put onto his sons, yet Cain reminds him of a passage from Ezekiel 18: “The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son”. Essentially, she tells him that he doesn’t have to go through with this and they can leave Gotham behind since he doesn’t “owe this city anything”. Bruce then tells her that while some people would flee from a bad situation and call for help, a small few would run right towards the perilous moment. When he initially came across her during his global travels, he realized that she would fall under the latter. Wayne then tells her that Gotham is in trouble and it needs the kinds of people who’re willing to run right towards its overwhelming problems. Just then, they’re met upon by Commissioner Gordon who says that he’s come here on behalf of his daughter. He mentions that Barbara has been trying to reach him over the past several days, to which Bruce says that he’s aware of the accident that has befallen onto her from a few years ago. Kai Li then recognizes her as the Oracle from a periodical called Spiritualism Monthly, to which James tells Bruce that a specific ghost needs to talk to him through her. Ultimately, he agrees as he tells Gordon that he’ll meet up with her tonight. After James takes his leave, Cain asks Wayne if Barbara will know how to stop the incoming monster, to which he says that she won’t. Instead, he’ll get that specific knowledge from “the spirit wrapped in flames”.
Later in the Bat Cave, Bruce has suited up and armed himself with Oliver’s weapons, along with the vile containing Etrigan. Just then, Alfred comes in and tries to prevent him from leaving out of fear that he’s not feeling well. However, Wayne says that he has to face this towering being and that he’s meant to confront it, especially since he’s running low on time. Ultimately, Pennyworth relents and presents him with the Batmobile. Afterwards, Bruce tells Kai Li that she’s now in charge of his “wine cellar” before he heads out.
From there, he drives towards Arkham Asylum where he meets up with Barbara Gordon (also voiced by Gideon Adlon). With her being a compliant inmate of the facility, she ultimately begins to help out as she asks him who he would like to speak to. He says that he wants to talk to “the spirit wrapped in flames”, even though the only thing that he knows about it is that “it burns in Hell”. As such, she proceeds to use her Oracle power in order to help Batman communicate with said spirit. Suddenly, Bruce finds himself as a child before he comes across the spirit as it’s revealed to be his father. Thomas then tells him that this is something he had hoped to explain when his son was older, yet he begins by mentioning that he was actually born in 1585.
Not only that, but he was part of a initial group of colonists that ventured towards the new world. He would ultimately be among those who would discover a settlement that would eventually become Gotham, yet the initial years were harsh to them due to the somewhat poor land and the fiercely cold winters. With members of their group dwindling, a particular member revealed as Oswald Cobblepot would find something buried beneath their occupied land. As such, Thomas & Oswald alongside Bartly Langstrom and Henry Queen ventured down below before they came across the Testament of Ghul. From there, they read from its devious pages and ended up performing horrific ceremonies as a result.
Despite that, it allowed their settlement to prosper into a city while those four men would discover that is also granted them with “life eternal”. Even though they would slowly forget about the initial events over time, those horrid deeds wouldn’t die out since several centuries would pass before their own original malevolence had awoken Iog-Sotha and slowly drew it towards their own realm. Realizing what their actions had done, Bartly took his own life while Cobblepot exiled himself to Antarctica. As for Henry, he would be driven towards murdering Thomas and his wife Martha.
Despite the grave dissolution of the initial four, their curse has been carried over onto their offspring with the intent of them being the ones who have to undo those “misdeeds”. Thomas then tells his son that he can stop the otherworldly monster by finding the door before Iog-Sotha emerges from it. Bruce asks him how he can do that, to which Thomas says that he must become his true self by seeking communion with “them”. After snapping back into reality, Wayne realizes that he must do so with “the bats” before he thanks Barbara for her help.
Later, he manages to set up a spell and drinks a specific formula before proceeding with his enchantment. He meets up with the bat spirits as they tell him that only the bat is able to go up against Iog-Sotha, to which Batman says that he’s willing to make this sacrifice. After being accepted as one of them, they proceed to show him the location of the potential doorway before he makes his way towards there.
He arrives as he discovers Harvey to be the door due to his otherworldly rash. Dent manages to give him his coin before Batman enters, where he then finds himself within an unfamiliar cave.
Just as Bruce begins to travel down it, he’s suddenly approached by the ghoulish figures of Oliver, Sanjay and Dick.
He manages to attack them with several Batarangs, but they’re able to easily withstand the strikes as the projectiles slide off of them. Ultimately, he uses the special arrows to free Sanjay, Dick and Ollie’s souls from their corrupted bodies.
Afterwards, Batman arrives at the base of a massive platform where Ra’s is attempting to open a doorway for Iog-Sotha with the Testament of Ghul via an incantation. Talia then sees Bruce approaching them as she uses her dark magic to cripple the stairs.
They then proceed to tussle as her fierce strikes threaten to make the weakened stairs give way. Just before they finally fall apart, both of them are able to jump off before she grabs him by his neck and tosses him over the side.
Thankfully, he fires his grapple gun as the hooked line goes through her and latches onto the remaining stairs. He then pulls himself up and impales her with his remaining arrow before she falls into the pit below.
Batman then tries to confront Ra’s, yet the fiend is able to subdue him within some dark magic before he successfully opens a portal for Iog-Sotha to use as it begins to make its way towards the doorway. Bruce is able to recover before he uses the dagger to slice off one of Al Ghul’s arms. However, this doesn’t close the portal as he proceeds to transform into a demon. He then captures Batman within his grasp and strikes him with some dark magic.
With Iog-Sotha only mere moments from entering their world, the sky above Gotham become blood red for its citizens to see. Bruce then recalls past statements from several figures (such as Jason Blood, Oliver Queen, Barbara Gordon, Kirk Langstrom, Thomas Wayne and even the bat spirits) before Ra’s slams his lifeless body onto the ground. Just then, he emerges as a reborn humanized bat before he uses his new figure to strike away at the demonized Ra’s.
Even though Batman manages to defeat Al Ghul, he’s still able to sacrifice himself as Iog-Sotha begins to emerge from the portal. Not only that, but this outer god emits a high-pitched drone that’s able to cause some auditory pain onto Bruce.
With the otherworldly being bearing down on him, Batman suddenly hears Etrigan calling out to him as he manages to shatter the vile and free the heroic demon.
Afterwards, Bruce proceeds to fly away while Etrigan unleashes a massive burst of fire in order for Iog-Sotha to finally get defeated. The explosion then proceeds to carry outward (consuming Harvey in the process) as the flames burst up from the sewers and onto the Gotham streets. Back at Wayne Manor, Kai Li oversees the city burning as a result, yet the blood red sky manages to dissipate.
We then transition to several months later as Gotham has gone through an extensive rebuild courtesy of the Bruce Wayne Memorial Foundation. Not only that, but an event is being held for this occasion as Lucius dedicates this effort to both Harvey Dent and Oliver Queen. From there, Kai Li (who’s now the foundation’s main leader) gives a speech to the press about how thanks to Bruce, the city has become her home. Not only that, but she vows to help carry out Wayne’s hopeful vision of a better Gotham. As she then praises Bruce and mentions how death itself couldn’t keep him away from those that needed him, the film ends with Wayne looking over the city from within the clock tower.
Now that this harrowing tale has come to a close, let’s briefly get into my character analysis about this specific version of Batman. Following the inciting murder of his parents and the initial encounter with the swarming inspiration of his costumed identity along with a brief glimpse of the outer god that would eventually become the biggest threat towards Gotham, Bruce would go on to spend the next two decades travelling across the world in order to train both his physical & mental capabilities, all-the-while he continually came across incidents that’re somehow connected with the outer god that’s loomed over him in some capacity throughout the course of his life. Between the friends that he’s initially established in Gotham while also gathering some young comrades from his worldwide travels, he’s developed a small-scale group that’s capable of helping him with his journey into the unknown. Because of the grim outcomes that Dick and Sanjay would ultimately wind up in during the course of this movie, Alfred becomes his primary confidante since the audience gets to learn about Oliver’s connection within this whole ordeal through Kai Li. Sure, Talia and Killer Croc would prove to be the biggest obstacles for him to overcome in order to finally get to Ra’s and then Iog-Sotha. With Al Ghul’s daughter, she has a perfect combination of brains and brawn. Specifically, she knows how to stay out of the public eye while also maneuvering her way into helping her father release the nigh-omnipotent being onto their world. While Killer Croc has the more vicious strength amongst the two, Talia’s sleek swiftness allows her fighting skills to keep Bruce at bay until he ultimately regroups and figures out a way to take each of them out for good. With Wayne, his character arc sees him trying to deal with some historically past wrongdoings. Since the phrase “the sins of the father are heaped upon the son” is mentioned several times throughout the movie, it sees him going up against the grave consequences that his father made as a result of helping Gotham grow into the prosperous city that it’s become. During the journey, he’s put to the physical test by the Al Ghul duo and Killer Croc while his mental stability gets rocked a few times, initially from the brief glimpses of Iog-Sotha followed by his plunge into the Lazarus Pit before he’s brought back to the Bat Cave, and he rambles to Langstrom’s corpse for a while. It’s possible that the Lazarus Pit had put him in that later state of brief instability since in the comics, anyone who’s youth was rejuvenated by it would wind up in an initial state of madness afterwards. Thankfully, his key allies would ultimately provide him with the support that he needs in order to finally see this Outer God rubbed out once and for all. Sure, it would’ve been interesting and nice had he been the one to physically do so, especially since he had to be reborn as a human-sized bat in order to defeat a demonized Ra’s. Even though Etrigan is ultimately the one who gets to smite Iog-Sotha, Bruce’s influence upon the surviving core members allows them to carry on his legacy in order to help Gotham strive towards a better tomorrow. As for how he handled the role the second time around, David Giuntoli was just as decent here as he was in “Soul Of The Dragon”. He didn’t really stand out in a noticeable way, but he still delivered with a professional presence and nice confidence to make this iteration of the Dark Knight work as well as he could. For what he brought to this table, there was room for improvement, yet he was still effective all-around.
As with any adaptation that sees a familiar story making its jump from the page to the screen, there are some differences between the three-issue mini-series and this film. One of those changes comes in some of the youthful companions that accompany Bruce upon his excursions. While Jason Todd was replaced with an Indian boy named Sanjay Tawde, Tim Drake’s role was given to this movie’s version of Cassandra Cain. As for some other differences that I noticed, one of those involves Etrigan. While Bruce does have his initial private chat with him at his home, Jason Blood actually makes his presence known shortly after Wayne & his close allies discover and investigate Kirk’s corpse. Not to mention, the heroic demon actually wears clothes and doesn’t speak in his signature rhyme, though the notion of Gotham dying (though by having its heart cut out) is still mentioned. With Oliver Queen, his living quarters was changed from a penthouse apartment in Uptown Gotham. Within said living space, Harvey never drops by to hang out and ultimately inform Bruce about the newly deceased Langstrom, as the latter befalls onto Ollie to share those details. Once Wayne becomes Batman and he confronts Talia, he orders her to hand over the recently stolen Testament of Ghul by threatening her with a handgun (which is the same weapon that he used to fend off the demonic penguins as opposed to a flare gun in the movie). In that same scene, we have a major difference where not only does Batman lose his initial confrontation against Killer Croc, but the reptilian fiend actually knocks him out. From there, he gets brought to a discreet underground area where he learns from Talia about her father’s devious search for some dark secrets from some “race of pre-human serpent men”. As for how he was initially deceased however, it’s a detail that was left in the source material. After a whole year of subterranean searching, he returned to the surface and made his way towards the marketplace of Damascus before some invisible being “from that ancient world” went after him and ripped him to pieces with its claws in front of the populace. From there, Ra’s was cremated with his ashes and the infamous book being passed onto his daughter. It also explains how she’s been able to live for hundreds of years since she was able to capture a Jinn with some help from the Testament of Ghul. Even though she ultimately wound up within a sarcophagus, her body wouldn’t die as she rested for a whole century before she heard her father from the afterlife. When she emerged, she easily found the jar that contained her father’s ashes, but the book was stolen from her, thus sending her on her silent journey towards reacquiring it. After he witnesses her resurrecting her father thanks to Daitya, Batman is able to free himself from his chains before Ra’s unleashes his reptilian plague. Later on when Pamela comes to be and long after she infects Harvey, she invades Oliver’s living space in order to take him down. While Kai Li was sent away long before that encounter, Tim was still present when the attack occurs. The film also has a much-needed difference with this scene since Queen is able to fight Pamela off and despite getting mortally wounded, he takes her out with a grenade. In the book, she easily captures and kills him shortly upon breaking in. Later on, there’s the scene at the Gotham City Cemetary where he’s visiting the graves of his two murdered youthful comrades. For whatever reason, the book has him wearing his Batman outfit though with a hat and trench coat over it. In that same scene, James Gordon meets up with him and tells him that he’s aware of his secret identity. Not to mention, Barbara makes her initial appearance here as she tells Bruce that he has “two spirits standing beside him”, specifically “a man wrapped all in bats” while the other is “a man in flames”. As for Batman’s key meet-up with Barbara, that occurs at the old Gotham Courthouse as opposed to Arkham Asylum in the movie. As for the spirit that she summons in order for him to talk to Bruce, the book has it as Prof. Crosby Jacob Manfurd who proceeds to explain Gotham’s backstory and its dark connection with Iog-Sotha, as opposed to the film using Thomas Wayne. Seeing how both versions don’t really have Bruce physically meeting up with Manfurd during the story, the change to Thomas makes more sense for the movie since the whole “sins of the father are heaped upon the son” theme is made far-more prevalent in the movie. The book even explains that Killer Croc is actually a Brussels-born man named Ludwig Prinn and that he was the one who swiped the Testament of Ghul from Talia while she was in her century-long slumber. He was able to lure Thomas Wayne, Oswald Cobblepot, Bartly Langstrom and Henry Queen into the same subterranean chamber that the same reptile-men used to inhabit before using the Testament of Ghul (which he was able to decipher and use as a power source) in order to help them establish Gotham and build it into its eventual city status. However, they gave into their self-loathing shame as they proceed to beat Ludwig into a near-death pulp before sealing him within the same tomb. Eventually, he wandered towards a mysterious fungus and consumed its ominous liquid as it twists his mind and transforms him into Killer Croc before he went on to serve Ra’s Al Ghul. As for how Batman ultimately takes him down, the book has this taking place after Bruce’s meet-up with Barbara before he manages to get Killer Croc pinned underneath some underground rubble. As for how the whole final battle goes down, Ra’s & Talia’s slaves are the ones who initially confront Batman and get taken out by the arrows coated in St. Sebastian’s blood. As for how the Al Ghuls meet their end, the tale originally had Batman firing his last sacred arrow into the Testament of Ghul. With both men having turned into their otherworldly forms, Bruce is able to throw the book at Ra’s and cause him to be destroyed due to the arrow’s holy nature being passed onto the book. As for Talia, she initially tried to use the book in order to tip the balance of this fight into their favor. However, she couldn’t touch it due to the arrow already being shot through it. She then tries to call out to her “master” to help them out, but Iog-Sotha just wraps her around its tentacle and drags her down into the darkness. As for Etrigan being freed, the rumbling from Iog-Sotha’s arrival is what caused the container to fall off and smash on the ground. Needless to say, the movie improves on that part since Batman himself is the one who physically frees our heroic demon. Afterwards, both versions have Etrigan smiting Iog-Sotha while Bruce flees in order to escape from the final blast. As for how the main movie performs on its own merits, it deals with the notion of those who’re forced to deal with mistakes that were made in the past. After all, Gotham City’s centuries of growth was built on a foundation of madness and blood. Because of how the film is structured, Thomas is the one who ends up carrying those sins the longest before they ultimately get passed onto Bruce following his murder (along with Martha’s) by Henry. Over the next two decades, Wayne’s worldwide travels and slow-build recruitment of some youthful companions will send him down an investigative rabbit hole that will ultimately prove the looming connection of a devastating outer god that’s looking to reach his planet, yet needs some outside help in order to get there. In terms of the presentation of Batman’s supporting players, the movie does make some improvement over the source material’s counterparts. Oliver Queen gets some much-needed expansion and some well-deserved screen time in order to make his attempt at personal family redemption resonate more when compared to the mini-series. As for Kai Li, she essentially has the same role that Tim Drake had within the source material yet gets a few extra moments in order to help her standout such as being able to pick locks. While the character work isn’t necessarily the best out of all of these animated films that I’ve covered within this line, they do serve their purpose for a tale that deals with a looming threat from beyond (which was actually inspired by the H.P. Lovecraft being known as Yog-Sothoth). In terms of our ultimate antagonist, Iog-Sotha can be seen as a potentially-devastating entity that must be prevented from fully crossing over onto the mortal realm. Its unknown nature works in both forms since the destruction that it could potentially cause would seem unfathomable and devastating to the human mind. By comparison, Ra’s Al Ghul, his daughter Talia and Killer Croc are the only foes that Batman is physically able to take on. Whether to serve as an obstruction or be the catalysts for bringing Iog-Sotha onto Earth, all of them serve their antagonistic roles fairly well. The animation was also good throughout and helped to compliment the mostly-muted color palette. There are some scenes that allows some variation within the spectrum to shine, but the choice does fit with the time period, especially since that booming glow of the Roaring ’20s was about to be dashed by the real-world looming terror known as the Stock Market Crash. Getting back on track, the pacing also felt neat as the events of the narrative progressed at the appropriate speed. It allowed the familiar events from the mini-series to unfold while also allowing some proper expansion for key supporting characters to have its necessary room to breathe. While it does lack a certain energetic feel that could’ve helped it stand out its own unique way, its dedication towards telling as good of a story as it could is still commendable and should make for a unique viewing experience for Batman fans, H.P. Lovecraft fans, those who’re familiar with the mini-series or those who’re looking to experience a Batman tale that’s outside their normal realm of viewing experiences.
Overall, this is an Elseworlds adaptation that’s lacking on the regular thrills, yet is pretty solid in other aspects. The characters have some decent development, the animation style is suitable for this story, the action is engaging and its use of otherworldly Lovecraft horror managed to neatly fit itself into this tale. While it’s not the most engaging entry due to lacking a certain feel that some other entries have, it’s still pretty solid on its own thanks to several key factors that’re able to make this an enjoyable watch and is still recommended for anyone who’s looking to take the plunge within this realm of otherworldly madness.
Next Time: The Trinity has been united for a certain cause, though it won’t be upon Earth. After having been plucked away and placed onto another planet with no memories of how they got there, they’ll find themselves within unlikely situations that they need to work their way out of in order to reunite against their true foe. Kal-El, Diana & Bruce are going to have their off-world work cut out for them while I deliver my thoughts upon a TomorrowVerse tale called “Justice League: Warworld”.
Batman (created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger) and all related characters are owned by DC Comics.
