Batman Vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: An Unexpectedly Perfect Union

So, what brings the pizza-eating denizens of NYC to Gotham? (Never mind it’s the same place.) Shredder is working a deal with none other than Ra’s Al Ghul! That’s right, the League of Shadows mixed with the Foot Clan. Ra’s wants the mutagen. Shredder wants the Lazarus pits.

There are also parts for the Penguin, Harley Quinn, Bane, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Scarecrow. Since it’s clear the writers of this movie are fans of all the characters, Joker is of course not left out.

All your favorites of both the Bat and TMNT worlds are put together in a stew of awesomeness that leave so many mind-blowing results that have to be seen to be believed. For a slight spoiler, just imagine each and every Batman villain you know and love being turned by Shredder’s ooze! Yeah, it happens.

As with any comic crossover, the “Vs” in the title stems from initial misunderstandings. After all, Batman usually assumes any new combatant in Gotham is a villain. Once the who’s who is figured out, they team up to take on the mutated villains before going after the real big bads of the movie, Shredder and Ra’s.

No one wants Shredder becoming nearly immortal with the Lazarus pits. Similarly, Ra’s shouldn’t be allowed to make the League even more deadly than it already is by mutating them. The heroes all have a hand in the final fight, but they may not pair off against who you’d expect.

The initial battle, early in the movie, between Batman and Shredder, one-on-one, is one of the coolest animated fight scenes out there. Not only is it a surprise to the audience, Shredder and Bruce are both stunned as well. Neither expected the other to be much competition. Both, of course, were wrong. I love Batman, but since he always thinks he’s the best there is, it’s nice to see him knocked around every once in a while.

The amazing possibilities that arise from combining these two comic properties is what makes this movie so very brilliant. Everything you would hope for and expect shows up and is done well. There are a lot of characters, good and bad, that we know and love being thrown together in this freaky mashup, yet the characterization and plot stays true to them all and lets everyone shine.

The trademark Batman cockiness is in the movie of course. Raph’s still rough and tumble. Leo’s still serious and very similar to Bruce. Donny’s smart as ever. Mikey’s hilarious. Robin and Batgirl pitch in with Batman to even the numbers out a bit, and Damian, as Robin, brings as much bad attitude as Raph. You can tell the writers are fans of all these characters and aim to treat them right.

With everyone flawlessly represented, the viewer is given so many incredible pairings that show how perfectly right this odd crossover is. Bruce and Leo sparring. Raph and Damian one-upping each other with sarcasm. Donny and Batgirl working tech with one another. Less we forget she was also Oracle. Alfred being frustrated by Mikey! Mutated bat villains. The oh so right Ra’s and Shredder team-up.

And, Mikey gets to be in charge of the Batmobile…