When it comes to DC superheroes, I’ll admit to not being super up to date on who’s who and what’s what (much to the dismay of my father, who is a massive DC fan – sorry Dad). But if there’s one DC hero I’ve followed pretty closely into his various incarnations on TV and film over the years, it would be Batman. So, when I was presented with screeners for the upcoming Prime series Batman: The Caped Crusader, I was intrigued to see just what this latest Batman animated series would have in store. And I have to say, I enjoyed it a heck of a lot.
The series is set in the 1940s and the aesthetic is clear in the animation style and renderings of the various characters and settings (the era accurate Batmobile is particularly cool). The pulpy stylings of the storytelling help set the mood – this is a broody Batman, with a dark and broody Gotham City to go with him. From a narrative perspective, the episodes are mostly self-contained tales wherein we’re introduced to the villain of the moment (often a familiar face from Batman’s Rogues Gallery – but sometimes a deeper dive into the annals of his villain history) and we see how Batman (or, in some cases, Bruce Wayne) manages to scope out the heavy and come up with a plan to take him or her out.
Occasionally, we get a bit more time with one of our villains, like Harley Quinn (Jamie Chung), who we get to see in her day job as a therapist – great friend to Barbara Gordon (Krystal Joy Brown) and potential love interest for Renee Montoya (Michelle C. Bonilla) – for a couple of episodes before her true nature (and creepy after-hours work) is revealed. And there’s the through line of the corrupt wing of the GCPD trying to get the city to believe Batman is the true bad guy – especially once he starts sniffing around regarding their own links to organized crime. But on the whole, we get self-contained episodes that provide more than enough entertainment in their half-hour packaging that you don’t need to get a more serialized tale.
As for the voice cast, well, it’s a heck of a list. Hamish Linklater tackles the Caped Crusader himself and pulls it off with aplomb. In terms of series regulars, in addition to Barbara Gordon and Renee Montoya, we get to spend time with Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader) who is gunning to move up in the political landscape of Gotham, Alfred (Jason Watkins), Commissioner Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart), and Lucius Fox (Bumper Robinson). Oh, and Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot has been gender-swapped for this series (and it works, I promise) and is voiced by none other than Minnie Driver. Honestly, each episode I found myself saying “Wait. Is that . . .?” And running to IMDB to check if I had correctly identified the voice of various actors.
The series is produced by JJ Abrams, Matt Reeves (the brain behind Robert Pattinson’s version of Batman), and Bruce Timm, and it’s clear that all three – along with their writing and directing corps – knew what they wanted out of this particular series. It feels slick, it’s smart, and it knows how to utilize the various characters to maximum effectiveness. The series isn’t solely about Batman/Bruce Wayne – the storytelling spreads around arcs and character development, fleshing out supporting characters who might normally get overlooked in favor of more fighting and Batman being Batman. And, despite the episodic nature of the storytelling, the characters do grow and develop over the course of the season. Which is pretty fun to see – too often animated series treat each episode as stand-alone and we miss out on the type of growth that comes more easily with a live action series.
So, if you’re a Batman fan – or even a Batman newbie – Batman: Caped Crusader is well worth a look. Plus, the entire season drops at once, so you can get your binge on.
Batman: Caped Crusader premiers on August 1. All ten episodes were provided for review.
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