Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham (2023) (Review)

Directors Sam Liu and Christopher Berkeley collaborate on this animated film based on the comic by the same name. The story follows Batman during the 1920s, who is battling against mysterious and otherworldly powers that are terrorizing Gotham City after he unintentionally enlivens an element known as Lurker on the Threshold.

Not Sam’s best. No, it’s not my favourite Batman animated film, but there are plenty of interesting points of view. For example, if Batman disappeared, Alfred really would have seen everyone he cares about disappear forever. Batman never kills when he can avoid it.

He doesn’t kill those who can be saved. On the other hand, if he knows that someone is going to blow up the planet, he can tell them apart. He doesn’t always manage to save the people he wants to. But neither does he hesitate to kill his friends if he knows that they have been turned into zombies or other bloodthirsty creatures for which there is no magic potion or cure. His thinking is majestic. He doesn’t hesitate to save those he loves, the innocent… but he’s also very stubborn and always does as he pleases, following his sharp instincts.

Spoilers Alert!!!

Just as Spider-Man turns into a giant spider, Batman turns into a proper bat here. Many of his loved ones end up very badly. There’s the death of his parents on a regular basis, and every time it’s another thug or criminal who kills them. The same goes for Harvey Dent: it’s always another event or accident that turns him into Two-Face.

In the end, I don’t really have a problem with reworking the story all the time. It’s just that you lose sight of the real story. But given that superheroes are modern mythology, I guess nothing is set in stone, once again.

No Joker here, no Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Riddler, Robin or Nightwing. But rest assured, there will always be new villains. The Penguin makes a small appearance.

A good time to be had! Who knows… he’ll probably be quite a few other people’s favourite.