Batman: Caped Crusader: Mostly Incredible

Batman: Caped Crusader Is A Near-Perfect Series

Batman: Caped Crusader is incredible. A throwback that doesn’t seem redundant. Each episode of the first three introduces us back to one of the classic villains and manages to set up even more of them without detracting from the immaculate pacing. Somehow, these half-hour episodes are more engaging than most one-hour episodes of a show I’ve seen.

It also is a strong period piece. These stories feel of a time, and of a certain genre. Specifically, noir. The long shadows, the older technology, the hard-boiled detectives, the art and culture and architecture, all evoke this specific genre. But it’s also interrogating the genre; not just being a pastiche. It’s not my place to judge how well Batman: Caped Crusader handles it, but you can tell the writers focused on not excusing any of the real, malignant aspects of culture often portrayed in noir—for one thing, a lot of the villains, both major and minor, are quite sexist in different ways—but it also doesn’t pretend that those things don’t occur in real life.  

Batman: Caped Crusader is also remarkably willing to depict violence (and disturbing content) without making it gory. I know that this was an aspect of the original Batman: The Animated Series, but it’s still notable that Batman: Caped Crusader doesn’t shy away from stuff like these criminals killing people. The Penguin (voiced by Minnie Driver), for instance, is threatening because she’s very willing to hurt others and can often get away with it. But this violence always happens somewhat off-screen or is framed in extremely specific ways. It creates this carefully constructed tone that’s honestly hard to describe.

The Show Somehow Manages A Potent Grim Tone

What isn’t hard to describe is how good the voice acting is. Like, pretty much across the board. The cast for this show is huge. In every episode, there are so many minor characters who are given excellent performances. Dialogue scenes are actually more interesting than the action scenes. From Clayface’s (voiced by Dan Donohue) dramatic speeches to Catwoman’s (voiced by Christina Ricci) carefree sarcasm, it’s just fun seeing these characters interact. I especially want to point out how good Alfred and Bruce are. This Batman (voiced by Hamish Linklater) sounds so much like the classic voice for The Animated Series that it’s almost seamless and still delivers great subtle performances. He dodges Harley’s (voiced by Jamie Chung) questions with absolute precision. He’s clearly pretending he doesn’t have feelings for Selena, but it’s never outright stated. And, for Alfred (voiced by Jason Watkins), nearly every one of his lines communicates how much he just wants Bruce to be happy; he’s a concerned father trying to care for his kid. It’s just excellent work.

It’s pretty much an excellent show. Though there are a few—sometimes glaring—issues. Like, the very rare moments of CGI can be a little weird. And it’s a massive understatement that Batman as a franchise has many problematic aspects regarding its villains and that hasn’t changed here. I’m also not sure how well they handled the characters Greta (voiced by Jackie Hoffman) and Lindon Midnight (voiced by Cedric Yarbrough) as characters—they feel like stereotypes.

But, overall, Batman: Caped Crusader is still a victory. It’s a love letter to Batman, a love letter to the original animated series, and a gift to fans of either or both. Yet, its quality is so high it doesn’t require nostalgia to be enjoyed. Yet, it doesn’t need you to know much about Batman to start watching. It’s just good on its own merits.

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