Jeff Wamester's Batman: Knightfall, Part 1, adapted by Jeremy Adams, is the first animated feature in an overlap of famous, Batman comics, which depict one of the most significant, pop-cultural stretches in the Dark Knight's legacy. (Back in the day, it was second only to The Death & Return of Superman, and that's saying a lot, considering how consuming the latter was and still remains.)
In the case of Knightfall's R-rated intro, we get the essential groundwork for the intense, Bane-breaks-Batman's-back storyline, which intersects with other DC passages, including Bane's prison-based upbringing, his venom-fueled alteration, and his ultimate unleashing of Arkham's madmen to wear Bruce Wayne down, accompanied by the advent of Azrael, aka Jean-Paul Valley, a regal but relentless, Dark Knight proxy.
The juxtaposing of the saga's established chapters could have been confusing, but at least with Part 1, the combination stays coherent. (One needn't have experienced the comic saga to get the gist of where one portion ends and another begins.)
For flavor, the setup draws from a number of Batman's iconic compatriots, including Timothy Drake's Robin, Jason Todd's Robin (via flashback), Alfred Pennyworth, Harvey Bullock, Renee Montoya and Jim Gordon, in addition to some of the Caped Crusader's top, fiendish foes: the Riddler, Victor Zsasz, the Mad Hatter, the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Firefly, Catman, Two-Face, Franco Bertinelli and the Ventriloquist and Scarface.
This cameo novelty is a fun additive, but it's secondary to the segments that expand upon Bane and Azrael (in the case of the former, with early, foreboding tenderness; and in the latter, a surreal, anguished metamorphosis), but make no mistake: Knightfall is Batman's story.
As with any such story, this one emphasizes the character's strength and endurance, his need to thrive on principle (in particular when it comes to his no-kill policy). At the same time, he does requires help, which surfaces in his behavioral sessions with Dr. Shondra Kinsolving. We see a hero who's put upon to a suffocating cut-upon-cut extent, a crusader who's criticized for his overabundant efforts, and yet he finds the mettle, the fortitude, to overcome, to survive, to make a difference, despite the incomprehensible disdain aimed at him. That, my friends, is what Batman is all about, and Knightfall (in whole) captures it to the vigilante tee.
Knightfall, Part 1 can be viewed on a number of streaming platforms; it can also be purchased on disc. No matter the preference, Batman fans are assured to get more than their money's worth.
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