Batman's latest animated outing is stylish and compelling
From The Batman (2022), way back to Miller and Mazzucchelli’s Batman: Year One in 1987, there have literally been dozens of interpretations of the early days in Batman’s career across movies, television, and comics. There’s a moment in a lot of these stories where a pair of ne'er-do-wells carrying out their latest crime will inevitably denounce The Batman as an urban legend moments before the Dark Knight swoops down to foil them.
I’ve seen versions of this moment play out again and again, and I’ll be the first to admit that it’s getting a little tired. I understand that stories need a good jumping-on point, but how many times are we going to walk this same path? All these thoughts and more were taking their regular places as I watched the opening scenes of the first episode of Batman: Caped Crusader.
From a story perspective, I understand. Bruce Wayne is at his most malleable and most susceptible to change in the early days of his career before he ‘figures it all out’. “But I’ve seen this before!” I thought to myself.
It turns out, I hadn’t.
“I Shall Become a Bat”
In a shadowy, 1920’s-era Gotham City, gang crime and police corruption threaten every aspect of city life. Despite this, four figures strive for justice in a broken system: Police Commissioner Jim Gordon; public defender Barbara Gordon; detective Renee Montoya; and a fresh-on-the-scene vigilante known as The Batman.
What makes Caped Crusader such a worthwhile watch for seasoned Batman fans like me, who know well the beats of his early days, is that Batman himself takes a backseat in favour of exploring the psychology and arcs of characters usually only seen in supporting roles. He’s only the main character on the technicality that he appears in every episode, but in many ways Caped Crusader reminds me of DC’s Detective Comics series, which tends to focus on Gotham-based stories separate from Batman.
The writers picked relatively unknown villains for each episode, too. Sure, there’s the occasional familiar face, like Catwoman, but she’s vastly outnumbered by a host of obscure antagonists that even a Batman fan such as myself had never seen before. I shan’t name any, because part of the fun of Caped Crusader is watching Batman confront villains that I haven’t seen him take down a thousand times before.
Flying Blind
While placing Batman as a secondary character in these stories is what allows the writers to shine a light on lesser-known characters, it also has the fortunate side effect of making Bruce Wayne himself more interesting. Less is more, as they say, and I was always hungering for more Bruce/Batman scenes, but in a good way.
While everyone is going to be familiar with Bruce, the writers found fresh ways to explore the character. One stand-out episode places him under the scrutiny of a therapist, and the show also wasn’t afraid to make him somewhat dislikeable. From his curt relationship with Alfred to the deceitful ways he interacts with his “friends”, Bruce’s struggle to treat people with genuine human kindness is at the forefront of his character arc.
This is explored best through Harvey Dent, the district attorney campaigning for mayor. Bruce and Harvey mirror each other in many ways—most obviously in their aesthetic, but also in how they’re both willing to get their hands dirty and bend the law if they think it’s in Gotham’s best interests. Harvey’s arc across the season is a tactful reflection of Bruce’s, and the moral line between them is blurry.
The Dark Knight Rises… Again
Of course, even casual Batman fans will recognise Harvey Dent and his character arc—he features prominently in the third-most well-regarded film of all time—and knowing how things will likely play out with him does suck some of the tension out of the story. Harvey is given enough depth and unique interactions to keep any of it from being dull, but it’s well-trod ground.
This, once again, calls into question the merit of Batman: Caped Crusader’s existence. In many regards, the show strives to be as original as possible in an ocean of Batman stories, but I think it could’ve gone further. Harvey’s arc, which plays out across all ten episodes, is simply too familiar. I got a lot more enjoyment out of the more episodic elements of the show than I did Harvey’s serialised story, which I feel like needed higher stakes and more memorable set pieces to really cement the show as an unmissable watch.
That said, I do think this is a show worth watching. It’s not up there with X-Men ’97 in the realm of animated superhero shows, but it’s never boring. Hamish Linklater does a great job at voicing Bruce/Batman. It’s different to Kevin Conroy’s past performances—definitely surlier—but this feels intentional given Bruce’s personality here.
The animation is slick and punchy, the characters reveal complexity, and the narrative successfully pulls off the magic trick of using Batman sparingly in his own show. The noir stylings of the show seamlessly work to make it feel unique (Wide-brimmed hats! Femme fatales! Tommy guns! Chandler references!), as does the litany of interesting, rarely seen villains.
No matter what kind of Batman fan you are, you’ll find something to love in Batman: Caped Crusader.
***
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