In October 1993, DC Comics did the unthinkable. With Superman #75, they killed Superman in his battle with the enigmatic beast known as Doomsday. It was a choice that shook comic book fans and made news around the world. That same year, DC Comics began a story arc for Batman titled “Knightfall” comprised of three sections — “Knightfall,” “Knightquest,” and “KnightsEnd” — which would not only introduce the villain known as Bane, but would end its first arc with the psychological and physical defeat of Batman. Specifically, at the end of the 11th issue (Batman #497), Bane would break Batman’s back, leaving many to question how The Dark Knight would overcome and return from such an injury. Now, with director Jeff Wamester (Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy) at the helm and writer Jeremy Adams (Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge; Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans) adapting, the seminal trilogy is transitioning from page to screen beginning first with Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall. With a runtime just shy of 80 minutes, Part 1 rushes to get to the eponymous event, using much of its time to establish supportive characters rather than the inherent danger of someone understanding how to take down The Batman. Because of this, it fails to deliver all the weight and significance it requires to carry the intensity forward to the middle arc.
Trouble is brewing in Gotham. Arkham Asylum has exploded and the inmates are free. Two days on mission and Batman (voiced by Anson Mount) is starting to feel the toll. Adding to things, his latest Robin, Tim Drake (voiced by Jack Griffo), isn’t following orders and recovering assassin Jean-Paul Valley (voiced by Pablo Schreiber) isn’t showing any signs of trustworthiness in the field. As each battle cost piles on, Batman finds himself on a collision course with a reckoning long in the making.
The following home release review is based on a 4K UHD Blu-ray retail copy provided by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE). Additionally, for the sake of ease, this review will refer to the whole trilogy as Knightfall and this specific entry as Part 1.
At present, the original first arc of Knightfall (nearly complete) resides alongside the other comics collected during my childhood including a standard-issue black bag of Superman #75 and the folding cover of Batman #497. What follows will not compare or contrast the original arc to the film, but look at the film itself and the choices made in adapting that work. That said, there’s a reason that the original Knightfall was preceded by stories that could introduce characters and set the stage for the drama to unfold in order to surprise readers. Here, Adams is forced to cram in a great deal of character setup so that the audience understands the important new player at the cost of reducing time spent with Batman/Bruce Wayne. While understanding Jean-Paul is critical to what comes next in the fall/rise story that is Knightfall, given the narrow runtime for each of the Warner Bros. Animation features, narrative real estate is premium, and not enough is given to creating the weight of Batman’s psychological toll. For instance, the way Adams deals with getting the audience up to speed is through the use of a doctor, Dr. Shondra Kinsolving (voiced by Toks Olagundoye), recommended by Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Simon Templeman), whose questions directly inform the audience of the absence of Dick Grayson (Robin #1) and the death of Jason Todd (Robin #2), while providing a reminder of his own orphan status. Considering how much time is afforded to introducing Jean-Paul and Bane, the work here is swift by comparison and trades on established knowledge by the audience whereas the other two are treated as brand-new. The use of Batman’s past traumas is smart in the sense that it’s not only comic accurate, but it allows the film to more quickly separate Batman from his Robin, thereby causing more physical and psychological wear as Batman faces various members of his rogue’s gallery; however, it never feels earned. The result of this is that when we get to the end of this entry, the enormity of what happens comes off as inevitable instead of as shocking. It should be shocking. It should be disturbing. This moment is meant to convey just how mighty Bane is — how strong, sure, but also how brilliant as a tactician — and, with so little time to devote to explore the complex figure, Bane comes off as little more than a supped-up brute with delusions of grandeur. It’s a far cry from the depiction in Batman & Robin (1997) and the animators certainly nail the look of Bane as the larger-than-life figure shown on Batman #497, but what the story fails to do is capture what makes Bane compelling or the fall of Batman brutal.
Accompanying Part 1 are two featurettes: “Breaking the Bat: Adapting the Knightfall” and “Batman Needs a Robin.” The first, the 10-minute “Breaking the Bat: Adapting the Knightfall,” is an exploration of the adaptation process for this first portion of the arc. Between animatics, sketches, final footage, and more, Adams, producer Jim Krieg (Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy), supervising producer Rick Morales (Teen Titans Go! To the Movies), DC Archivist Benjamin Le Clear, former executive editor/director animation Mike Carlin, actor David Dastmalchian (Batman: The Long Halloween), actor Pablo Schreiber (First Man), and more discuss the adaptive process as it relates to original artist Kelley Jones, how they worked in aspects of Batman: Sword of Azrael, and show off the actors in the recording booth. Unfortunately, what becomes clear is that the focus seems to be on Bane’s size, making sure that he looks like the imposing force he is, rather than addressing the tactician portion. Only actor Michael Mando (Spider-Man: Brand New Day) mentions the intelligence and patience Bane possesses when discussing his approach to performance, which stands out a great deal against that absence by the filmmakers. The second, the seven-minute “Batman Needs a Robin,” drills into the Robin element. Like “Breaking the Bat,” the filmmaking crew breakdown what Robin means to Batman and how that character figures into the overall arc. They start by explaining the absence of Dick Grayson and his transformation into Nightwing. Then they provide the backstory on Jason Todd, including how DC Comics involved readers in the decision to kill the character. While this is known by comic readers, this storyline is not yet incorporated into the animated films, so all of the information spoken here about both Grayson and Todd is essentially new to the viewers. (One doesn’t count the interactive film Batman: Death in the Family (2020) as cannon here because that was pre-TomorrowVerse which Crisis has “erased” as the main timeline.) There is, of course, more to discover about the filmmaking crew’s perspectives on Robin and Drake, specifically.
**Be advised that the bonus features are included only on the 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and digital editions.**
As this is a 4K UHD presentation, from a technical perspective, the on-disc presentation is quite strong. Even with the two featurettes on the 4K UHD disc, which takes up space for the film, they are both few and short so they don’t impact the compression of the film as much as one might expect. (It being a short feature doesn’t hurt either.) For the majority of the film, the bitrate hovers in the 80 Mbps range with a few dips into the 70s and the occasional rise into the 90s. While the visual style is the same house style of the TomorrowVerse, several of the background and establishing shots are allowed to have a little flair about them, evoking both the Batman: The Animated Series matte look and art design of Kelley Jones’s work on the source material. Unfortunately, there’s little spark in the overall design that makes the film feel inspired as an animated tale, so one would be hard-pressed to recommend the 4K UHD edition as the Blu-ray will likely provide the same visual and auditory impression for a difference in cost.
Considering that Wamester’s Crisis trilogy is, overall, quite a strong and enjoyable adaptation (though the first entry is the strongest of the three), one feels willing to see how Part 2 fares under his guidance. The original second arc is two parts — “The Search” and “The Crusade” — so there’s a bit of concern that the focus on narrow runtimes will impede the emotional significance of both arcs out of a need to condense them, but Crisis was also a lot and it was mostly managed well. With that in mind, and the understanding that it’s likely not the case that Knightfall will be released in a single deluxe edition (nothing yet for Crisis), tread lightly when considering picking up Part 1. This adaptation is absolutely not going to satisfy the die-hards looking for a 1:1 adaptation, but those comfortable with modern WB Animation adaptations may find this a good jumping-off point to meet these characters.
Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall Special Features:
*Breaking the Bat: Adapting the Knightfall (10:17)
*Batman Needs a Robin (7:02)
Available on VOD and digital August 25th, 2026.
Available on 4K UD, Blu-ray, and DVD September 8th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Warner Bros. Pictures Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall webpage.
Final Score: 2.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Video, Reviews, streaming
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