WonderCon 2019: Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Review

Continuing the celebration of Batman’s 80th anniversary DC Comics held the world premiere of Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at WonderCon 2019. With Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles not releasing digitally until May 16th and physically on June 4th this was a big treat for WonderCon attendees. Being at WonderCon there was no way I was going to miss two of my favorite franchises crossing over in animated form.

The Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated movie takes a lot of elements from the comic book series written and drawn by James Tynion IV and Freddie Williams II. While taking inspiration from the comic this isn’t a beat for beat adaption of the comic series. It was a smart choice as it allowed the director, writers and animators to tell their own version of Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while still hitting on the big moments from the comics.

To keep spoilers to the absolute minimum, the biggest broad change made for the animated movie is that Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exist in the same universe. This was a smart choice to streamline the story to keep things simple and get right into the action. And with both franchises having an appeal that extends well past the comic books this decision helps welcome in fans who are only familiar with the cartoons and movies for Batman and TMNT.

On top of that it allowed the movie to take the time to develop this version of the DC Universe in which the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exist in. There was a lived in feel to this new DCU as all the parties involved had their own established mythos. This added credibility to how the main and sub-plots of this movie went down.

Additionally, having Batgirl and Robin be major parts of the story gave way for some fun pairing opportunities. This is where the runtime of the movie benefited everyone involved. There was more time to develop the Batman Family and TMNT’s relationship and give a smoother growth for their respective character arcs.

The only odd thing that may throw some fans off in terms of characterization is the way Damian Wayne acted as Robin. This isn’t the same serious Damian from the comics or the DC Animated Movie Universe. Instead, this version of Robin in this DCU is more of a combination of Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne. But with how fun the movie was and how this DCU was defined Damian’s character worked to continue the fun between the Batman Family and TMNT.

And the grand scheme of this movie is really where it excels. On top of playing up the fun of seeing the Batman Family and TMNT interact with each other, the filmmakers did a great job with all of the villains. With all the fantastic Batman villains that are involved it is Shredder who, by far, steals the show. His fights with Batman will leave fans with a giant smile on their face. The same goes for how Shredder interacts with Ra’s Al Ghul. Seeing both characters on screen together put over the credibility of Shredder in this universe as he more than held his own with Batman’s villains.

As for Batman’s villains, Ra’s is the main player in that respect given his ties with Shredder. He is definitely given some very good character moments. The same goes for the other Batman villains used in the movie. While I won’t go into who is used or how they enter the plot, it all worked within the context of the story that was set up. Those villains roles also added to making Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feel like a big event.

Overall, Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a massive success. This may very well be the best animated movie that WB and DC Comics have put out. It is just pure fun and a must have for everyone that is a DC Comics or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan.

Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10

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