‘Justice League: War’ will be the first Warner Brothers’ animated movie set within the New 52 continuity, but following it up will be ‘Son of Batman’ which will be the animated debut of Batman’s illegitimate son Damian Wayne.  Technically, Damian made his comic book debut prior to the New 52, but didn’t actually work with Bruce Wayne until the relaunch.  He’d previously been paired with Dick Grayson who was filling in as Batman while Bruce was believed to be dead.

Damian is the son of Bruce and Talia Al-Ghul, the lethal daughter of immortal eco-terrorist Ra’s Al-Ghul.  Damian was secretly raised by the League of Assassins in order to be a ruthless killer… and they were successful.  The character was initially introduced as an unnamed infant in 1987’s ‘Batman: Son of the Demon’, but that story was considered out of canon.  Then in 2006, Grant Morrison revisited the concept and introduced Damian as Bruce’s long-lost son, roughly ten years old at the time.  Talia left Damian in Bruce’s care, secretly so he would disrupt Bruce’s work.  Damian is spoiled, superior and perplexed by Bruce’s refusal to kill.

The character became a breakout hit, as Morrison clearly had a blast writing him.  Fans were amused by Damian’s mixture of immaturity, violence and snottiness.  Unfortunately, things never really went smoothly for him.  No spoilers.

‘Son of Batman’ features the voices of  Jason O’Mara as Batman/Bruce Wayne (who also provides his voice in ‘Justice League: War‘ out February 4th); Stuart Allan as Damian; Morena Baccarin as Talia, Damian’s mother; Giancarlo Esposito as Ra’s Al Ghul, leader of the League of Assassins and one of Batman’s most notorious enemies; David McCallum as butler Alfred Pennyworth; Xander Berkeley as Kirk Langstrom (aka Man-Bat); and Thomas Gibson who voices the master assassin Deathstroke.

The movie, while based on the comics, appears to be greatly condensed and could actually spin into an original plot line.  Damian certainly dons the Robin costume a lot sooner than he did in the comics and certain big moments for the character revolved around big crossover event story lines including ‘Batman R.I.P.’

‘Son of Batman’ will debut at Wonder Con in Anaheim, CA over Easter weekend, then will be released on DVD and BluRay later in the spring.  (Date to be determined.)

Check out the trailer below:

Are you excited to see Damian animated?  Or do you think it’s pointless in light of recent events in the comics?  Will you be adding this to your Warner Brothers home video collection?

Source: TV Guide