Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons' Troy Baker Details a Paternal Dark Knight

The latest DC Universe Original Animated Movie, Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, puts a twist on the iconic World's Finest superhero dynamic by putting the focus on their children. As the Man of Steel (Travis Willingham) and Dark Knight (Troy Baker) find themselves outmaneuvered by the villainous Starro, it's up to their sons Jon Kent (Jack Dylan Grazer) and Damian Wayne (Jack Griffo) to step up and save the world from the invading extraterrestrial. With Starro telepathically controlling the greatest heroes and villains in the DCU, the two young heroes' work is certainly cut out for them as they scramble to save their families and the world while learning how to work together.

In an exclusive interview with CBR, Troy Baker explained his personal connection to playing Batman in Battle of the Super Sons. He shared how much he enjoys this fresh animated take on the DCU and its colorful characters and hyped up the upcoming television adaptation of The Last of Us.

You've been Batman before, but did you change anything up knowing he was going to be a dad in this film?

Troy Baker: I feel like I kind of have to. The second that I walk in with anything old, with what I did in a previous one, on this... When you watch these movies, you see that there is no rehashing of anything. There's always something new -- either a new cast, a new story, [or] a new take on an old story -- otherwise, we'd just rinse and repeat these. I really have to give credit to what DC and Warner [Bros.] is trying to do with this, which is take stories that are either canonical, like The Long Halloween and The Killing Joke, and present them to a new audience who may have never read the source material -- and our hope is that you do -- or here is a storyline you may have never known of, and we're going to introduce it to you. We hope you dive deeper into the source material.

What's a way we can present Batman and Superman, two of the most iconic superheroes ever, in a unique and interesting way? Let's make them dads and have them disappear within 20 minutes of the movie starting. [laughs] I don't know how that pitch happened! We've got Batman and Superman, and remember that D-list villain Starro? We're going to have starfish come out of their face, and they're going to be out for the entire movie and make this a Superboy and Damian feature film, and it's going to be the first all-CG movie that we've ever done. I feel like everyone who's been a fan of this got away with making something they were never supposed to make, and they pulled it off.

The opening title sequence blows my mind because almost every time you do a Superman or Batman story, you almost always have to do some version of the origin story. You've got to show Crime Alley or Krypton, but they did it in such a refreshing and unique way. You bring in Nolan North to play Jor-El, [and] the fans know they've gotten Superman and Superboy [previously played by North] to play Jor-El. Nolan gets to play three generations of Superman, and as Nolan gets older, it's right for him to play a patriarchal character. I love him. [laughs]

You've got this great montage showing the source material from where this started from as panels of a graphic novel. You tell an entire story in a single panel, and you tell the story of how Clark and Lois came to be and how Jonathan came to be in this beautiful story. You then transition into the best-looking animation I have seen to date -- it's incredible! The Long Halloween looked so good, but this is next level, a totally different style and story that we're telling. It's so incredible, and it's the one that I have the least amount of screen time in, so you know that I'm being honest!

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You've worked with voice director Wes Gleason before, but how was it working with him on Battle of the Super Sons and finding your performance here?

Poor Wes -- first of all, because he has to wrangle me. I love to talk about how it's like this [comic] storyline, and let's talk about how Talia al Ghul got to be pregnant and how Batman is the father. Wes is like, "We really have to get to our lines of dialog, and I know Troy only has this much to say, but we have this much to do." He has to herd all of the kittens that are being brought into the booth under his guard. Wes is really good, and I appreciate really succinct direction.

Wes is really good about going, "Here's the situation. I know what they're going for here, and here's what it's going to ultimately look like, so let's give it to them. Starro is going to cover your mouth and take over your face." I went, "Are we going to use special effects?" and he was like, "I want to know how it sounds when you do it." He would walk me through it, and it takes someone very diligent and skilled to be like, "It's going to sound like this." Not everyone is as nerdy as Travis [Willingham] and I and need a little more context. Kudos to Wes for being able to wrangle all of us because we are certainly wild children in that booth.

To that point, how did you find the version of your voice with a starfish coming out of your mouth and covering your face?

There's always an opportunity in every session where you're like, "I've never thought about this before, but let's see what happens!" I was walking down the streets of Paris today, and I saw a sign that said "Dance like everybody is looking," and I thought that that's actually important. I think it's important sometimes to be fearless in this and be okay with failing. The people that I worked with on this, I've worked with several times now. I know they just want to make the best thing possible, so I get to jump as high as I want because I'm working with a [safety] net, and they're never going to let a bad take through.

They're always going to go, "Troy, I'm glad you got that out of your system. Now let's go for a real one." [laughs] My job as an actor is to just try things I've never tried before and never feel afraid to fail. It's their job to cut it together and make something that we're all really proud of.

The last time we spoke, you mentioned the first comic book you picked up was Batman at your grocery store spinner rack. How is it getting to come back to Gotham, either as the Dark Knight or Clown Prince of Crime?

It sounds so glib and so actor-speak to say it, but I never thought this was going to be my path. I never thought that this would be my job. I never thought I'd be able to sit down and talk with you as a part of this. You and I could have this whole conversation as nerds and just talk about it and criticize whoever was playing Batman and Superman. I never thought it would be this. It's really taken on a whole new life in the wake of having a son because now I get to see him start to be into these things. It's brand-new for me all over again. I'm really impatient because I know what's waiting for him. I can't wait for him to go to the grocery store, go to the spinner rack, and see what comic book he picks up first. I just hope that it's not Superman because Travis will never let me live that down. [laughs]

I know you're part of The Last of Us television adaptation, but as hype begins to build, what do you think the secret sauce is to successfully bring The Last of Us from video games to television?

Honestly, it's the same thing that it is for this. Let the fans make it, and as long as it's in the hands of the fans, it will never steer you wrong. That's what we have, not only with the HBO series, and there's not a bigger fan of the game, story, and these characters than [Creator] Craig Mazin, and he's at the helm of this. There are so many people in the cast and crew -- there are people in the camera department who signed on to do this show for a year which is unheard of because they just wanted to be a part of making the television adaptation of The Last of Us because they were such fans -- that had tattoos of Ellie because this game has meant so much to them.

It's the same thing that we're dealing with [in] Battle of the Super Sons. This is something that's being made by fans for fans, and it's something being made -- at least for Travis and I -- by dads for dads. Something that dawned on me is that I hope dads see this with their kids and moms see this [with] their kids and realize that this is an opportunity to see Superman being Superman and Batman being Batman but not saving the day by putting on a cape or cowl but by being there for their kids; that is being a hero. Making sandwiches for your kids' school lunch, helping them with their homework, [and] showing up for that baseball or soccer game is being a superhero. You don't have to save the world; you just have to show up for once, and I think that's the message of this movie.

Directed by Matt Peters from a screenplay written by Jeremy Adams, Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons is available now on 4K UHD/Blu-ray and digital HD.