The story of the death of Robin (aka Jason Todd) at the Joker's hands was already told briefly at the start of a previous animated DC feature, Under the Red Hood. I was intrigued to see this title among the offerings on HBO Max; perhaps, I thought, they were going to give the several-book series a more complete retelling, explaining everything about Jason's mother and all of the other details that led him to his end far from Gotham City in the Middle East.

Nope. Death in the Family is a 30-minute feature -- mostly reusing clips from the original sequence in Under the Red Hood and bookended with scenes showing Bruce Wayne telling the tale to a sympathetic Clark Kent in a coffee shop -- followed by a handful of DC Showcase short films..

This was apparently released on DVD as an interactive feature -- reflecting the original comics, which asked readers to phone in their preferred ending to Jason Todd's life or death moment. The disc, I'm told, offers seven alternate endings, but that's not available if you watch it on HBO Max. While I'm curious to see where the alternative storylines led, I'm not curious enough to research it further.

Also, while the title of the movie is Batman: Death in the Family, only the first 30 minutes are devoted to that storyline. Afterwards, it wanders afield into short, unrelated comic-book features. Why? No clue.

The first is Sgt. Rock and, while I was vaguely aware there was some storyline involving supernatural creatures fighting for the allies during World War II, you won't find out how or why they're doing so here. Nope, Rock loses his unit in battle and is promptly reassigned, without explanation, to a special mission commanding a vampire (more Nosferatu than Dracula), a werewolf and Frankenstein's monster. Oh, and they'll be fighting Nazis and zombies. It's boring.

Next up is Adam Strange, with a brief story involving an attack by Thanagarians (hawk people) on one planet when he's young, an attack by giant bugs (a la Starship Troopers) when he's old, and something about a Zeta Beam that shifts him around from planet to planet with no rhyme or reason, apparently. What's the Zeta Beam, and who controls it? Why does it single him out? What's the purpose of his transportations? Knowing that he might be beamed away at a moment's notice, why did he decide to raise a child? None of these questions are answered, so the short feature feels pointless. Then, the Phantom Stranger tackles some form of life-sucking '60s-era guru, choosing to save the life of the blond girl but letting the odd Scooby-Doo(ish) gang meet their fates unchallenged. Like Sgt. Rock, I assume these were made for diehard fans of Strange and Stranger, even if nothing in the title, Batman: Death in the Family, would let fans know those characters are making an appearance.

Then, finally, the one ray of light in this movie: Death. This final chapter involves the goth-girl incarnation of Death created by Neil Gaiman, and although his hand isn't on this particular story, you can tell writer J.M. DeMatteis respects the source material.

It's hard to walk away from this one unaffected.

Jamie Chung voiced Death, while Leonard Nam is the tortured artist Vincent. The story, of how his life intersected with one of the Endless, is surprisingly touching and sad. The art suits the story, and I can honestly say this brief, 15-minute feature made sitting through the rest of Death in the Family worth it for me.