Hello, my friends. It goes without saying, but comic book characters from various publishers are no strangers to finding themselves within various kinds of toy lines. When it comes to the Dark Knight and his familiar cast of characters, they’ve seen themselves within numerous outfits that either fit their regular uniforms or are wearing costumes that’re so outlandish that they could’ve only come from a kid-friendly line. In addition, it’s up to the child’s imagination to come up with various kinds of situations to put these kinds of people in. For one particular toy line, it’s managed to branch out into visual mediums that’re ripe for reviewing. On that note, I welcome you to a new string of critical breakdowns called…
This will specifically focus on a line of action figures that DC would make in collaboration with the toy manufacturing company known as Mattel. Specifically, we’ll be covering the various kinds of media that’s spawned from this specific line. For our first entry, let us prowl our way into the mini-franchise’s first film known as…
Released on May 12, 2015, this would be directed by Butch Lukic while Heath Corson wrote the script. As for what the Caped Crusader would find himself going up against for this initial outing, let’s begin this critical hunt in order for us to find out.
Following the title card, we open in Gotham City where a news reporter mentions an asteroid called the Midas Heart that will be passing over their skies three days from now. She also brings up how this particular space rock has a solid gold core and that it regularly passes by the planet once every 77 years. Afterwards, she says that the city’s newest and tallest building called the Aviary will have its grand opening tomorrow and that Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. Penguin (voiced by Dana Snyder) will host an exclusive celebration there. We then shift to a pair of police officers in their flying car who’re out on patrol and that they haven’t found any trace of the Dark Knight himself. Unbeknownst to them, they’ve then passed by Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) who grapples away before converting his cape into a personal hang glider.
He then proceeds to scan for any suspicious activity before he gets contacted by his butler Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Alastair Duncan) who wants to know which formal suit should get prepped for an upcoming meeting.
We then shift over to S.T.A.R. Labs where some guards in armored mech suits are suddenly approached by a robotic wolf that’s jumped over the perimeter fence and easily defeats them. Shortly afterwards, Bruce notices the downed guards and heads over to check it out.
Inside the building, the automated creature reaches a vault that’s guarded by several security lasers. The being is then able to easily maneuver its way around the beams before using its metal tendrils to acquire a key device within the center of the room.
Suddenly, its slim limbs get struck by a Batarang while several more take out the security beams before Batman confronts the automaton. It then proceeds to scan him before using its various tendrils to break through the ceiling and flee.
Bruce manages to follow after it as a rooftop chase ensues before the mechanized wolf jumps towards another roof while using a tendril to get there, yet Batman disrupts that attempt with an explosive Batarang. The being then crashes down onto a busy freeway before Bruce continues his on-foot pursuit of it, even though the creature has dashed into the opposing lane.
The beast then leaps onto a tanker which makes the driver panic and causes him to tip over as Bruce manages to dive out of the way in time. With the creature having fled, the tanker’s operator along with the rest of the backed up patrons spot him in stunned awe before he takes his leave via Bat-Grapple.
Later at a jewelry store, a cat-like figure has entered the building from the rooftop unaware that Dick Grayson a.k.a. Nightwing (voiced by Will Friedle) has spotted said person. Just as the cat burglar manages to swipe some jewels, Dick approaches her and discovers that it’s not Catwoman that he’s facing, but Barbara Ann Minerva a.k.a. Cheetah (voiced by Laura Bailey).
Ultimately, a fight breaks out between them before she mentions that she didn’t come here by herself. Soon enough, a massive being bursts up through the floor as it’s revealed to be Waylon Jones a.k.a. Killer Croc (voiced by John DiMaggio).
The two guys then proceed to fight each other before Barbara Ann intervenes and strikes their foe down, to which Waylon then tells her to “finish the mission” while he takes care of their adversary.
From there, Nightwing fires a projectile from his Escrima Stick at the alarm which activates it. He then takes advantage of this distraction as he proceeds to rough up Killer Croc, yet Cheetah was able to sneak up and smack him with his other Escrima Stick in order to knock him out. She then tells her partner-in-crime that “it” is completed before they both attempt to escape, but they’re immediately met upon by Barry Allen a.k.a. Flash (voiced by Charlie Schlatter). Dick then asks him what he’s doing here, to which Barry says that he’s been following Waylon for the past week since the fiend had robbed the Central City Copper Quarry.
Allen then spots the perps trying to flee, yet he zips over and surrounds them with swift images of his figure while he helps Grayson up. Nightwing says that he didn’t need help, yet Flash essentially mentions that the alarm attracted him here before he proceeds to engage Jones with several swift punches while also cracking some wit.
However, the attacks aren’t able to harm Killer Croc as he proceeds to retaliate with a fierce strike. Dick & Barbara Ann then resume their tussle against each other as she roughs him up and flings him over to the Scarlet Speedster. By the time our heroes manage to get back onto their feet, their foes have managed to escape.
Over at the Gotham National Bank, a gorilla-esque being has made his way inside. He then reaches the vault before using a device to deactivate the electronic lock in order to get inside and swipe several mineral bars within a duffle bag. Just as he approaches the front door, the bottom of the bag gets torn open as the mineral bars all fall out.
As for who caused the well-aimed rip, he soon reveals himself as it turns out to be Oliver Queen a.k.a. Green Arrow (voiced by Chris Diamantopoulos) as he actually calls his adversary “Gorilla Grodd light”. The sentient beast then presents himself as Silverback (voiced by Keith Szarabajka) before he fires some lasers from his gauntlet, to which Oliver easily evades those shots before using a smokescreen arrow to obscure his foe’s vision. However, Silverback uses a heat sensor to locate Queen via his body heat and returns fire.
Over in the skies, Batman contacts Nightwing as the latter uploads some “footage” into Bruce’s subnet so that he can learn about Cheetah and Killer Croc’s team-up in addition to the Flash also confronting them. Wayne then recalls about the aforementioned copper quarry and that it doesn’t seem like something that Waylon would be interested in, to which Dick passingly mentions that maybe the approaching Midas Heart may be connected. Just then, Alfred contacts Batman and mentions that another “animal-related crime” is occurring at this moment. Bruce then has his butler upload the coordinates on where it’s occurring before telling Grayson to find out where Minerva and Jones have escaped to.
Back at the Gotham National Bank, Green Arrow is evading Silverback’s constant laser blasts. After he’s forced to take cover behind a thick pillar, Oliver preps and fires of pair of arrows which manages to destroy his foe’s heat sensor while also disabling his gauntlet.
Queen then flees towards the upper level before Silverback begins to climb up after him while also deflecting and evading his shots. Green Arrow then prepares for his foe’s arrival before he’s then covered within the shadow of a bat, to which he assumes to be Batman. However, it actually turns out to be Man-Bat who grabs and drops Oliver before Silverback grabs & slams him onto the ground. From there, the sentient fiend tells our hero that they’re in the “Animiltia”.
Afterwards, Batman arrives by swinging in and kicking Silverback away. As he heads out to reengage the evil ape, Bruce tells Queen to use a sonic-tip arrow in order to scramble Man-Bat’s radar. Green Arrow proceeds to do so as Kirk becomes disoriented, yet Silverback is able to throw some excessive rubble at Wayne and hits him before he activates some “back-up”. Fortunately, Batman is able to recover and fire some bolo cables towards Silverback’s legs in order to trip the fiend up before Man-Bat gets knocked out by Oliver’s boxing glove arrow.
Bruce then throws a Batarang towards Silverback, yet a robotic tiger leaps in and grabs it with its mouth. The being then proceeds to engage Wayne while Queen soon finds himself up against a robotic bat which fires its laser eyes at him. During this commotion, Silverback & Man-Bat are able to take advantage of this distraction and flee.
Back with our heroes, their fierce tussles against the mechanized creatures continue before Green Arrow manages to slam his bow onto the robotic bat and ground it. As for Batman, he manages to toss a Batarang into the mecha-tiger’s neck as the creature ends up retreating while also retrieving its downed comrade. Shortly afterwards, Bruce makes his signature silent escape while Oliver isn’t looking.
We then shift to a store where a couple emerges with some groceries, yet a trio of thugs manage to scare them off and even take their recently-purchased produce due to the pair dropping it. Just then, they spot Penguin approaching them before they proceed to make fun of his waddling walk. Oswald then approaches them and uses a discussion to distract the hooligans as he uses his monocle to notice some loose bricks that’re affected by a supporting pipe, to which he then uses his umbrella to cause said bricks to spring out toward one of the perps before the last one hits said goon and knocks him out cold.
The two remaining thugs then attempt to retaliate, yet Cobblepot is able to easily defeat them with his umbrella and cause them to become unconscious before he takes his leave.
We then shift over to Wayne Manor before we properly transition into the Bat Cave where Tim Drake a.k.a. Red Robin (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) is fighting some training robots. During this, Wayne informs him that he doesn’t have any information about Silverback other than his use of “computerized gadgets”. He also doesn’t have any useful details on Man-Bat before he then mentions some reports on Killer Croc and Cheetah joining forces on their crime spree ever since they broke out of Arkham Asylum three months earlier. Tim then wonders why four animal-themed felons are now working with each other, to which Batman also includes the three robo-animals with them.
From there, he shows a city map with all of the places that were robbed and/or broken into by the Animilitia along with “all possible crimes committed by robotic animals”. Just as Alfred comes in, they all discover that they form a circle with the soon-to-be-opening Aviary being in the center of it and that the building came to be, courtesy of the lone “surviving member of a wealthy high-society family” which turned out to be Oswald who had invested his family inheritance along with seven years of his life to get the brand new tower built. Afterwards, Pennyworth reminds Bruce that he’s expected to appear at the building’s grand opening event.
We then shift over to the Aviary where the main event is being held high upon the top floor before Wayne meets up with GCPD Commissioner James Gordon (voiced by Richard Epcar) as the latter wonders why this building was built in the first place since he thinks that Cobblepot has something in the works. Just then, they’re met upon by Gladys Windsmere (voiced by Amanda Troop) who looks to bring Oswald (whom she sees as “odd”) over to Bruce before she gets introduced to Gordon and heads out to talk with him. From there, Wayne meets up with Queen and informs him that he hasn’t learned any new details on their “furry freak friends” yet.
Afterwards, Gladys returns with Cobblepot in order for him to get introduced to Bruce. While Wayne tries to talk with him about the new building, Penguin uses his monocle to overhear some of his guests’ conversations from across the room. Unfortunately for him, all of their private discussions about him are either them disliking how he physically looks & walks to how he’ll never fit amongst them despite his own wealth.
Afterwards, he excuses himself before he gives a presentation for his guests as it turns out to be the three robotic animals built at Bumbershoot Mechanics. During the video demonstrations, Oswald explains that they were made in order to deal with mankind’s own wrongdoings towards the environment. From saving workers trapped in a collapsed mine & dealing with a faulty machine that’s causing a blaze to even protecting a whale from some whalers, Cobblepot mentions that these “cyber-animals” will help preserve and restore the natural world.
Within the crowd, Bruce and Oliver discover that those robotic creatures are the same ones that they’ve encountered. Thanks to Wayne wearing high-tech video contacts, Red Robin is able to see this presentation from the Bat Cave before he’s then ordered to look up any information about Bumbershoot Mechanics. Back within the Aviary, Oswald then introduces the patrons to a zoologist who helped engineer the robotic beings as it turns out to be Dr. Kirk Langstrom (voiced by Phil LaMarr).
As Kirk gives his speech, Bruce mentions how he’ll be the key figure that knows what Cobblepot is up to. However, he and Oliver are aware that Oswald won’t allow anyone to talk to Langstrom. As such, Wayne reveals a tracking device and that they must figure out how to get it onto the doctor. Thankfully, Oliver uses his precise aim in order to flick it onto Kirk’s pants.
Afterwards, Cobblepot dismisses Langstrom from the podium before telling the crowd that the wolf, tiger and bat are the start of many upcoming models. He then fires some indoor fireworks from his umbrella before using his monocle to pick up a conversation from a pair of women who admit that he’s cute, yet they ultimately laugh at that notion. Angered by Gotham’s high society constantly looking down upon him, he then tells the patrons that this event has concluded before he uses the robotic animals to scare & force them out.
Later, Bruce returns to the Bat Cave as Batman before he has Tim bring up the map that showed the 11 prior animal-based crimes. He then explains how all of these incidents are of equal distance from each other as well as the Aviary, yet there’s two scenes that aren’t since there hasn’t yet been a crime committed at the Gotham Zoo. Drake then realizes that a pair of rare California Condors are present there within a limited display before he gets told to “alert the others” as they both head out.
Later, the Animilitia is making its way through the sewers before they burst through a manhole that’s within one of the nature domes. From there, Man-Bat uses his ultra-sensitive hearing in order for them to locate the valuable condors. However, he auditorily picks up our heroes having already arrived before they’re met upon by all five of them. Silverback then tells his cohorts to split up in order for them to complete their mission as he provides enough of a distraction for each of them to head in different directions.
Batman spots Cheetah and proceeds to go after her, Flash dashes off after Silverback, Green Arrow proceeds to pursue Killer Croc while both Nightwing & Red Robin head out to find Man-Bat.
Bruce follows Barbara Ann into the dimly-lit lion dome and makes his way up the trees, only for her to ultimately get the drop of him and force him down to the ground where he gets surrounded by a few lions.
Meanwhile, Oliver reaches the park’s alligator swamp and notices Waylon’s footprints leading into the water. Jones then emerges and withstands a shot from a regular arrow while admitting that he was hoping for Batman to show up, yet he’s not worried about engaging the Emerald Archer. From there, Queen is able to fend off the few opposing gators before the true reptilian fiend charges right towards him.
Over with Barry, he dashes towards a cave and encounters Silverback who’s simply standing there. Allen tries to charge right towards him, yet he finds out too late that it was a hologram before he winds up stepping within a trap. Afterwards, the genuine Silverback emerges to gloat for a bit before taking his leave as the Scarlet Speedster is left to get shoved around by some apes.
Back with Bruce, he manages to flee back into the trees and places a mini-explosive onto one of the branches. Cheetah then emerges and lands on said limb before the bomb detonates and forces her to the ground. Batman then tosses a Batarang at her, which she catches with ease. Unfortunately for her, it was also an explosive as she gets taken out by the blast.
As for Green Arrow, his tussle against Killer Croc continues as he uses some net arrows to trap the remaining alligators along with Waylon. However, Jones forces his way out before he captures Oliver and ties him up with said net.
Fortunately, Queen is able to slip an arrow out of his quiver, reclaim his bow and position himself to shoot at his foe with only his legs & mouth. The projectile winds up in Croc’s mouth and releases a certain gas before the perp runs right towards the Emerald Archer. Fortunately, the sleeping gas is able to take hold and cause the reptilian brute to pass out.
Back over with the Flash, he ultimately gets himself out of the trap by using his free leg to cut through the rope. He then speeds his way towards Silverback before swiftly dodging his laser blasts and knocking him out with a precise punch.
Over within a cave, Nightwing and Red Robin are able to coming across Man-Bat sleeping alongside several other bats. Dick tries to quietly climb up and get him, yet Tim decides to toss a throwing disc at the humanoid creature which hits the fiend and wakes it up as it proceeds to screech, which forces Grayson down to the ground.
As a result, it causes a swarm of bats to fly past our heroes & out of the cave before Man-Bat flies down and grabs Drake prior to soaring off into the sky.
Back outside, Batman, Green Arrow and Flash reunite with their captured animal perps. Waylon then complains to Silverback on the grounds that he was told how their plan was supposed to be “foolproof”, to which the villainous primate assures him that he’s called for “back-up”. Just then, Man-Bat flies past all of them while carrying Red Robin on its leg and Nightwing chasing after them. Fortunately, Dick activates the taser function on his Escrima Stick and tosses it at the humanoid creature which causes it to let go of Tim who ends up splashing down into a flamingo-filled pond.
Afterwards, Man-Bat circles back around in order to free his comrades as Bruce tells Oliver and Barry to hold the line. With the fiend evading Queen’s shots, Allen tries to dash after it. However, Man-Bat emits some sticky goop which traps the Scarlet Speedster while his forward momentum carries him into the python pit.
From there, Man-Bat is able to defeat the Emerald Archer and the Dark Knight before freeing his Animiltia comrades. Shortly afterwards, the robotic animals arrive as the wolf & tiger stay put to confront our heroes while the rest of the fiends manage to fly away via Man-Bat and the robotic bat.
Batman then summons his Batmobile and drives off in it as both mechanical beasts follow after him. A chase ensues upon the Gotham streets as a few officers in a pair of hovering police cars also join in on the pursuit. During a sharp turn, the wolf loses its balance and slams into a car with enough force to make it explode. The cops then get distracted by the resulting carnage as Batman & the robo-animals speed past them before their individual dodges causes them to collide into each other and damage one of the cars badly enough to take it out of action.
As the chase reaches the highway, the robo-bat rejoins its automaton comrades and fires its lasers at Bruce who manages to evade the opposing shots. He then spots Red Robin catching up on his motorcycle alongside Green Arrow as he tells them to take out their air support, to which Oliver gets the robo-bat’s attention with an explosive arrow. However, the soaring creature is able to blast the motorbike as Queen uses a grappling line arrow in order to help Tim and himself swing onto the lone pursuing police car before telling the official to “follow that bat”.
Green Arrow then gets the robo-bat’s attention again before it proceeds to blast the vehicle with its laser, to which Oliver simply jumps off while Drake saves the officer in order for both of them to swing towards safety.
Queen then manages to jump onto the Batmobile before the robo-animals chase him and Wayne into a tunnel. The Emerald Archer then preps a taser arrow before he spots the robo-bat shortly after they emerge from the tunnel and shoots it, which strikes the automaton and crashes into a sign. Batman then tells him to retrieve the robot since he wants to run some tests on it, to which Ollie proceeds to shoot and swing his way over to do so.
Shortly afterwards, Nightwing informs Bruce that he’s approaching a construction site before he takes control of a crane in order to assist him. Wayne then drives into the site and spots the piles of steel beams hanging overhead before he uses a pair of mini-rockets to disconnect the line. Batman then speeds past the impact spot as the robo-tiger is able to avoid the beams, while the robo-wolf gets pinned as Dick takes the automaton out via his Escrima Stick’s taser function.
Shortly afterwards, Flash is finally able to catch up before he draws the robo-tiger’s attention away from Bruce. From there, Barry is able to properly stop while the robotic fiend is unable to prevent its own forward momentum from carrying it straight into a concreate wall and wind up knocked out.
Later, all three robo-animals are brought back to the Bat Cave for examinations. As they attempt to reroute the “next level engineering” that makes up these creatures, they discover that these Langstrom-built beings were constructed “to be tough and fast” and that their mostly-copper wirings explains why Jones struck the copper quarry. Bruce then wonders what Oswald is up to since the Animilitia’s last three robberies each had the perps leave something behind that they initially broke in for, to which he realizes that the fiends weren’t there to rob those places at all. He then tells his teammates that they won’t be able to hack those robo-animals unless they get to Kirk himself, to which he then brings up the tracker in order for them to learn of Langstrom’s current location over at Bumbershoot Mechanics.
From there, Wayne tells Queen and Grayson that they’ll go with him while telling Tim to hack their captured creatures in order for them know what Cobblepot is scheming. As for Allen, he wants the Scarlet Speedster to zip towards every place that the Animilitia broke into and track down what was left behind at each site.
Over at Bumbershoot Mechanics, the Animilitia is met upon by Penguin as they inform their leader that every last receiver is in place. With the Midas Heart set to pass by the planet in less than 20 hours, Oswald tells his cohorts that they’ll lay low until then before they finally strike. Unbeknownst to them, Batman and Nightwing have made their way onto the roof before they enter the building through the ventilation system in order for them to acquire Langstrom, all the while Green Arrow serves as their archery-based sniper. Shorty after they get inside, Bruce and Dick discover that they’re right above their target.
From there, Oliver provides a distraction by firing an arrow through the window and pinning Cobblepot’s hat to a wall. Penguin proceeds to fire back with his umbrella, yet Queen evades the shots before using a combination of his boxing glove arrow and his net arrow in order to trap Oswald to the wall. From there, Silverback fires a grappling hook from his gauntlet before he and Cheetah head out to engage the Emerald Archer.
Back inside the main building, Wayne uses a mini-explosive to blow open a hole in the floor before he and Grayson proceed to tussle with Killer Croc & Man-Bat. During this fight, Penguin is able to forcefully free himself before using his umbrella’s taser function to subdue Nightwing. From there, he orders Waylon to dispose of their adversary.
Back on the nearby roof, Green Arrow notices Jones tossing Dick out of the shattered window. Batman even spots this during his aerial struggle against Man-Bat as Flash manages to show up, dash up the side of the building and save Grayson.
Back with his sky-based tussle, Bruce then spots his tracking device on Man-Bat’s leg as he discovers that Kirk and this creature are the same being. He then places a device onto the being before it emits a sonic-based wave that disorients and knocks the humanoid creature out, allowing Wayne to grab onto him before converting his cape into a glider in order for both of them to ultimately land safely.
Back on the roof, Barbara Ann had been subdued but she’s able to use her claws to free herself from her rope bonds while Silverback (who was also captured) uses his laser-based gauntlet to break out of the entrapping net. Fortunately, Oliver wouldn’t be outnumbered for too long as Barry dashes to his aid before he engages Minerva while Queen gets into a shootout with Silverback.
The Emerald Archer ultimately manages to cause some significant damage with a few explosive arrows before he, Allen and Cheetah all discover that Silverback is actually a cyborg gorilla. Just then, Penguin & Killer Croc fly in on the former’s umbrella as he tells his cohorts to flee since they have some work to do “before the fireworks begin”. As such, Silverback grows a jet pack from his back as Barbara Ann hops on to him before they soar away. Afterwards, Batman flies in with the unconscious Man-Bat.
From there, we transition back to the Bat Cave where Bruce has developed a temporary antidote for Kirk’s monstrous transformation. With his teammates unsure that Langstrom and Man-Bat are the same being, Wayne tells them that the creature has human DNA bonded with extracted genetic material that came from a bat. He then explains that Kirk is a zoologist that focused on bats and was rumored to have created a serum that would’ve allowed deaf & blind humans to have bat-like sonar sense. Despite his noble intentions, this risky venture saw him testing this formula on himself with his human side trapped within his animalistic form. From there, Oswald would recruit him into his Animilitia. Batman then says that his newly-developed antidote will allow Langstrom to briefly regain his human form for three hours. From there, the process gets underway as the brief remedy gets injected into the chamber holding Man-Bat. Thankfully, the experiment is successful as the creature is able to transform back into his regular human self.
Bruce then assures him that he didn’t cause any major harm to anyone and that he’s been temporarily cured. He then lets Langstrom out and says that if he helps him & his team, then there’s a good chance that he can be completely rid of his animalistic side. Kirk assures our heroes that he’s completely on board with this before his shares his knowledge about his robotic animals such as secondary A.I. being used for higher functions, an increase in air current flow in order for them to have “superior speed and strength” while maintaining interchangeable parts and even “specific dual vibrational” transmitters built within them.
As for what Cobblepot has in store for his master plan, Langstrom was mostly left in the dark since he was meant “to design cyber-animals for an unmanned exploration and retrieval mission”. Nightwing then admits that the robberies were intended to be covers for something big before Wayne says that the Aviary was meant to be at the center of all of the nearby robberies since it serves as the main center for a force field. Green Arrow then mentions that the antenna is supposed to be aimed at something, to which Dick adds that it would also have to be something meant to withstand the force field while Kirk also brings up that his animal robots would be picking through the rubble afterwards. The Scarlet Speedster then wonders what would possibly cause so much destruction, to which Batman realizes that the Penguin and his cohorts have their sights on the incoming Midas Heart since Oswald intends to crash the special asteroid onto Gotham before the automatons shift through the remaining space rock in order to acquire its golden center.
As such, our heroes head out to get prepped for their upcoming mission. Shortly after they all leave, Cobblepot tunes into the captured robo-animals and orders them to return to his base.
Over at the Aviary, their machine and their force field is in the final preparation stage. Just then, the captured automatons have returned before he has them reunite with their automated counterparts. From there, Silverback turns their entire machine on as the whole system along with their tractor beam is now online. With Penguin giving them the command, the devices that were planted at the various buildings that they’ve previously broken into activate as they all fire a beam through the numerous roofs and up to the tower’s rooftop antenna. From there, the force field gets formed around the Aviary along with the nearby buildings as the patrons quickly discover this newly-formed barrier. Afterwards, the tractor beam gets fired from the tower’s antenna before it captures the Midas Heart and begins to drag it down towards the city.
Back in the Bat Cave, Bruce thanks Langstrom for his help before placing the doctor back into the chamber to which he’s perfectly fine with since he no longer wishes to help Penguin with his scheme. Red Robin then assumes that they can just give him another antidote, yet Wayne shoots that idea down as he explains that the serum within Kirk’s body has “mutated and adapted”. Langstrom assures him that he’s better off in this state just as the antidote’s three-hour limit run out and he ends up transforming back into Man-Bat. Just then, Oswald highjacks all video transmissions throughout the city and informs not just our heroes but the citizens as well that he’s pulling the Midas Heart out of outer space & down onto Gotham via his tower-based tractor beam. While he remains safe within his force field, everyone else will get wiped out while he acquires the asteroid’s gold center.
Back within the Bat Cave, Barry gets equipped with a device that will help him vibrate past Cobblepot’s force field while Batman puts on some special armor. Over on the Gotham streets, James and his fellow officers stand right outside the force field as the commissioner orders the Penguin to surrender before Oswald transmits to them that he accepts their attempt to get in. As such, the police send in their specialized tank only for its shot to not remotely damage the barrier.
Just as Bruce flies in within his Batwing, Allen also zips in as Cobblepot and his Animilitia observe this from within the Aviary. Wayne then tells Gordon that he’s going to walk through the force field before he activates his armor and proceeds to phase through the barrier with ease. Penguin then angrily realizes that Kirk had provided his foe with a transmitter before he orders Silverback to send every last robotic animal after the Caped Crusader.
Back with Batman, he discards his armor before he’s then approached by every robotic wolf, tiger and bat. He then gives Flash the signal as the Scarlet Speedster proceeds to dash off in order to get a running start before he zips towards the force field. Unfortunately, he simply bounces off of the barrier.
Back with Bruce, he orders for “Ace” before his reprogrammed robo-wolf emerges and transforms into a motorcycle. From there, he rides off as our fiends discover that he’s hacked one of their automatons. Angered by this turn of events, Oswald commands every single robotic animal to smite the Dark Knight as a massive chase proceeds to unfold.
Wayne then tells Barry that it’s up to him to disable the force field as Allen once again takes his position and runs towards the opposing barrier. This time fortunately, the device finally works as he’s able to get up enough speed and phase his way inside. Just then, Batman speeds by him before he takes a gauntlet out from his robo-wolf and fires some explosive Batarangs at the pursuing creatures. Afterwards, he tells the Flash to destroy one of the receivers at one of the robbery sites in order for them to finally disable the force field.
With a pack of robo-tigers now on his tail, Barry manages to reach the Gotham National Bank. However, the automaton cats are able to keep up before they uses their tails to ensnare him. Fortunately, the reprogrammed robo-tiger comes in and smites the opposing beings which allows Allen to reach the vault in order for him to retrieve the receiver.
He then gives it to the reprogrammed automaton as it crushes the device in its mouth, resulting in the whole barrier fading away. Back in the Bat Cave, Red Robin notices this and begins to upload a computer bug. However, Man-Bat begins his attempt to break out of the imprisoning chamber.
Back with Bruce, he’s being pursed by the opposing robo animals before they start getting picked off by Green Arrow’s shots along with Nightwing’s strikes from his Escrima Sticks.
Wayne then learns from Tim that their bug is more than halfway through its upload before we shift back into the Aviary as the Animilitia realize that they have no way to survive the impending asteroid now that the force field is down. Just then, they discover that Cobblepot is fleeing within an escape pod as he proceeds to fly away. Oliver then spots the Penguin escaping and proceeds to fire a pair of rocket arrows at the pod, only for them to not reach their target.
Meanwhile, a robo-wolf manages to tackle Batman onto the ground and struggle with him. Bruce then learns from Drake that his upload is almost done, but Red Robin is now forced to confront Man-Bat who’s just broken out of the chamber. Tim then tries to connect to the creature’s human side, but he’s not able to get a connection as he proceeds to struggle with the beast. Fortunately, the bug has been fully uploaded as every last opposing robotic animal proceeds to shut down.
Unfortunately for Drake, Man-Bat has escaped from the Bat Cave and is now flying him over the city. Red Robin then tells the mutated Kirk that his mind is in there and that he has to concentrate. Man-Bat then soars down as Tim ends up falling off and plummets towards the street, yet Langstrom is able to regain control over himself and manages to save Drake. From there, Red Robin tells the newly-reformed Man-Bat that they must help their comrades.
Over in the Aviary, the majority of our heroes along with their reprogrammed robo-tiger and robo-wolf confront the Animilitia. With their own robotic animals slowly approaching them, the fiends are stunned to learn of their reprogrammed face turns before they get defeated off-screen. Our heroes then wonder how they’re going to deal with the approaching Midas Star, especially since the tractor beam’s controls are down and that they don’t have the proper replacement parts. Fortunately, Wayne has a plan.
While Barry and Dick swiftly collect parts of the dismantled robo-animals, Oliver is able to use the defeated Silverback as a new power source for the console. From there, Batman gets to his Batwing and takes to the skies.
When Grayson then wonders how they’re going to get their new device up towards the uppermost rooftop, Man-Bat flies in with Tim before we shift over to Bruce rewiring the antenna. He then tells Allen to collect every remaining receiver and place them around the outskirts of Gotham, to which the Scarlet Speedster proceeds to do so.
Back with Wayne, he warns Kirk that he’s risking himself since he has to fly over the antenna with their device in order for them to focus their signal. Fortunately, Man-Bat motions to him that he’s still up for this as he proceeds to soar up to his position. Shortly afterwards, Flash gets the last receiver in place just as the Midas Star gets pulled into Earth’s atmosphere and is now set on a collision course with the city. Batman then contacts Queen as the latter assumes that they’ll be able to force the asteroid back into space, yet Bruce says that the tractor beam will actually pull the space rock in much faster. The Emerald Archer is rightfully stunned by this revelation, to which Wayne says that they’re not able to reverse its trajectory yet he was able to rewire the force field while Barry has repositioned every last receiver in order for them and the civilians to be protected.
From there, Green Arrow powers on the device as Langstrom flies into the tractor beam and withstands the fierce stress from the energy forces. As a result, a new barrier gets formed around the entirety of Gotham. Despite the harmful output, Kirk is able to withstand the strain long enough for their device to keep the force field active as the Midas Heart plummets towards the city and smashes onto the barrier. Fortunately, Gotham gets spared from the severe impact while the asteroid shatters into smaller space rocks which safely fall into the nearby water. From there, the civilians and the police cheer with joy over this positive outcome.
Back with Man-Bat, the massive energy output actually causes him to transform back into his human form as the barrier disappears while Kirk proceeds to fall out of the sky. Fortunately, Batman is able to fly in on his Batwing and save the good doctor.
Afterwards, Kirk is resting up as Bruce assures him that the day is saved as Langstrom then thanks Drake for believing that he still existed within his mutated form. After performing a body scan, Wayne discovers that the tractor beam’s power surge had eradicated all traces of Kirk’s serum and that his Man-Bat side is no more. As such, Langstrom thanks him for helping him get his life back.
Later, Cheetah, Killer Croc and Silverback get arrested while our main men watch this from the rooftops. Shortly afterwards, our heroes proceed to individually head out.
From there, the film ends with the Penguin’s escape to the Greek Isles getting diverted due to one of Green Arrow’s arrows actually reaching the pod and disabling its guidance system. With him winding up in Antarctica, he’s soon approached by a massive colony of penguins as he vows to get his vengeance upon the Dark Knight.
Normally, I would provide a character analysis following the story recap portion of my review. As I would learn over the course of this film however, there’s not really a whole lot to dissect in that category. Despite this clearly being presented as a Batman movie, it’s ultimately a Batman-centered film with a pair of Bat-Family members along with a pair of other DC heroes joining him to help stop a situation that’s too big for him to deal with by himself. Also considering the fact that this is one of many other media entries that’s based on a certain action figure line for children, the movie’s story and the way that this narrative plays out definitely has a Saturday morning cartoon feel in terms of not taking itself too seriously for its intended audience. If there was a remote sign of a theme present within this film, then it could probably be connected with Penguin and his master plan which would’ve helped him get some horrid revenge upon Gotham’s lower and upper classes for mocking his physical appearance along with making him feel like an outsider despite his own family’s wealth. We don’t get to delve into the origin and examples as to why Oswald has been forced into this toxic viewpoint upon society, along with why his financial inheritance seems to be the only thing that makes him truly happy especially since he’s become seriously focused on acquiring the Midas Star’s gold center at the fatalistic expense of the city’s civilians. By the time we get to Cobblepot openly admitting to every Gotham civilian that he intends on wiping them off the face of the Earth in order to him to get his hands upon a valuable core, the film has already made its intentions clear that the crew is focused on entertaining younger children with cool-looking heroes & villains along with flashy weapons and powers mixed into thrilling fight scenes. Not to mention, an examination into the action figure line also reveals that Batman’s outfit in this film seems to mainly be based off of a figure that has him sold along with the robo-wolf that the packaging calls “Blade Wolf”. In fact, the robotic creatures get called by different names as the robo-tiger figure is called “Tiger Claw” while the robo-bat is called “Capture Bat” with each of them getting sold alongside a Batman figure who wears a costume that’s not present in this film. Getting back on track, the story that it presents will more likely be enjoyed by kids since it’s engaging enough for them to be introduced to all of these characters while providing some wholesome interactions and action. As an adult watching this for this review, it’s perfectly fine for what it is since it’s still a breezy view despite lacking any narrative meat that one could sink their primal teeth into. The pacing also mainly felt neat throughout as the necessary context was properly revealed at key moments while the confrontations helped balance things out with some nicely done back-and-forth struggles. For the most part, the characters were well-handled throughout yet the only one who was remotely problematic was Flash. He mainly did his duty in a competent manner during the course of the film, yet the part where he got himself caught in Silverback’s simple trap does make one wonder why he couldn’t just vibrate his leg through the rope in order to get out a little earlier. Other than that, there wasn’t anything majorly egregious about any of our heroes or villains other than one smirking at the fact that just “Catwoman: Hunted” seven years later, Cheetah (a Wonder Woman villain) finds herself go up against someone within the greater Bat-Family especially since she’s an animal-themed felon just like the rest of our main antagonists. Finally, let’s talk about the animation. Its color palette was nicely presentable towards its target audience while character movements felt pretty smooth throughout. The only gaffe I could find was when Batman & Red Robin were about to head out to the Gotham Zoo and the map that showed the prior animal-themed break-ins surrounding the Aviary only added up to 10 instead of the already-established 11 from before. Just like before though, there wasn’t anything horrifically distracting that brought the whole experience down in a crippling way. All-in-all, this serves as a good way to introduce young kids into the Dark Knight’s world through a lighter means of entertainment as they begin to enter the massively historic concreate jungle that Bruce has build for himself over eight decades.
Overall, this was a light-hearted and pleasant experience for the budding Batman fan while mainly being fine for well-established veterans who usually seek meatier material. The characters were enjoyable over the course of this tale, the animation mostly held up throughout and the action scenes were primarily engaging. Despite its story being more suitable for the younger demographic while providing just enough substance for older viewers along with the entire whole not being as sharp as it could’ve been, this was a well-handled start to this kid-friendly line of tie-in films that’s worth going on the prowl for. As such, give it a watch and see how favorable you find this by the end of your viewing hunt.
Next Time: With Oswald’s animal-themed mayhem finally tamed, Gotham will now find itself under a new group of organized terror as the Clown Prince of Crime will bring several horror-themed felons with him in order for them to cause a certain kind of chaos within the city. How will the Caped Crusader properly combat this sinister dread that will loom large like a spooky ghost with a certain twisted smile? Halloween is about to get even more terrifying within the Dark Knight’s hometown as we delve into “Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem”.
Batman (created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger) and all related characters are owned by DC Comics.
