Inspired by the three-issue comic book miniseries of the same name published from November 2000 to January 2001 under DC Comics' Elseworlds imprint, the film follows an alternate Batman in the 1920s, who is fighting against supernatural forces that are taking Gotham by storm after he accidentally reawakens an entity known as the Lurker on the Threshold.
Plot
In the 1920s, Bruce Wayne travels abroad for twenty years following the murder of his parents Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, searching for answers behind the criminal mind. While investigating the disappearance of Oswald Cobblepot's expedition crew, Bruce subdues an undead crewman, Grendon, who was freeing an otherworldly creature encased in ice. Bruce, his protégés Kai Li Cain, Dick Grayson, Sanjay "Jay" Tawde, and butler Alfred Pennyworth retrieve Grendon and return to Gotham City, unaware that Grendon was infected with one of the entity's parasites, with Jay staying on the ship to watch over him.
Arriving at Wayne Manor, Bruce and his group are shocked to find the corpse of professor Kirk Langstrom in the library, as Bruce hallucinates a demon speaking through it with Langstrom's voice. After he disposes of Langstrom's corpse, Bruce is visited by Jason Blood, the host of the demon Etrigan, who informs Bruce of a ritual which must be performed with his death, and the destruction of Gotham.
Bruce, Kai Li, and Dick are later invited for dinner at hunter Oliver Queen's mansion. They also meet Harvey Dent, who tells them about Langstrom's obsession with the bats he had been studying. Donning a bat-themed suit of his making, Bruce (under the alias of Batman) investigates Langstrom's work at Robin's Row, which is related to the Cult of Ghul, a group who worship an ancient demonic deity, with the Testament of Ghul being the tool required for the ritual. Seeking the Testament, he stumbles upon cult member Talia, who steals it to resurrect her father Ra's al Ghul.
Meanwhile, Grendon manifests ice abilities and escapes, killing Jay, while Dick is killed by a crocodilian mutant. While searching for Talia, Bruce discovers a book detailing Ra's's connection with Iog-Sotha, an inter-dimensional demon with power over darkness.
Grendon then meets with Talia and it is revealed that the key to Iog-Sotha is the seed that he was infected with. The seed emerges from his body, killing him in the process, to become Poison Ivy, who scratches Dent and mutates half of his body into a portal. Ivy and Oliver fight and kill each other, with the latter giving his holy weapons to Bruce and Kai Li.
Bruce is met by Jim Gordon who tells him that his daughter Barbara wants to meet with him. Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to see her and meets Thomas Wayne's spirit, who reveals his past. Centuries ago, he, Cobblepot, Langstrom, and Henry Queen established Gotham City, discovered the Testament in a cave, and used its magic to gain longevity and wealth as well as bring prosperity to the previously barren land. However, this also awoke Iog-Sotha and brought him to the threshold of their reality.
Bruce takes Oliver's weapons and the bottle housing Etrigan, bids farewell to Alfred, and leaves Kai Lai in charge of the Batcave, before leaving to fight Talia. He kills her but is unable to stop Ra's, who transforms into a demon. Bruce accepts his prophesized role as the Bat, transforms into a bat-like monster, and kills Ra's, but Iog-Sotha has begun to enter.
Seeing the bottle housing Etrigan, Bruce releases him and escapes the caverns as they explode, killing Dent, and Etrigan traps Iog-Sotha within them. Kai Li delivers a speech in Bruce's memory as he watches over Gotham from the bell tower.
On November 10, 2022, James Gunn confirmed that all DC projects be released under the DC Studios banner which includes animated productions.[3]
And on February 2, 2023, Gunn confirmed that the animated projects will be released as DC Elseworlds.[4]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 77% of 13 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10.[6] Writing for Flickering Myth, Hasitha Fernando praised the film as an effective adaption; highlighting the voice acting, horror elements, and the animation, saying the latter was reminiscent of Batman: The Animated Series "with a modern edge."[7] Reviewer Jackson Luken similarly praised the film as an effective adaptation of its unique Lovecraftian elements, but found that the plot was distracted by "cameos" of other DC characters.[8] Brian Costello of Common Sense Media described the film as "another superhero animated movie that's best enjoyed by the fans, who will probably have a lot to argue about with this one."[9]
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