Another Batman animated series has arrived and I actually watched this one. I grew up with Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990s, but now that I think about it, I never really watched The Batman, Brave and the Bold and Beware the Batman. Huh. Anyway, I decided to give caped Crusader a try and I was pleasantly satisfied.

TV Show Rating: 8/10 – Very Good

I am not someone who rallies against constant reboots. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles get rebooted every five years or so and still tell pretty much the exact same story, and I’m fine with it. Spider-Man has had no reboots in the past, like, five years than ten people. I just don’t mind if this is what studios want to spend their time and money on. Maybe I’ll watch, maybe I won’t. I decided to watch Batman: Caped Crusader and enjoyed myself for the most part. Though I fear that releasing all episodes at once is going to disappear this from the public mind quite quickly.

Either way, join me after the jump for my thoughts and review of Batman: Caped Crusader. Expect FULL SPOILERS for all 10 episodes. And feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments below!

6. Fun little show

I liked Batman: Caped Crusader. I thought the first episode was pretty weak, but I was invested by the second episode and hooked well enough the whole rest of the way through. It’s a simplistic show, which isn’t a bad thing. I’d liken it to a gritty noir show for older children. There’s lots of gunfire, punching and plenty of murder and complex ideas, but all of it presented rather simply to hit a certain age group. That’s fine. That’s probably what the original Batman: The Animated Series was going for, and I was that perfect age group for it. So hopefully that age group of kids can enjoy this show.

The characters are complex enough, the fighting is awesome, and the detective work Batman has to do is good enough as to be compelling. All of the characters are well done and used to a good extent. The Batman mythos is perfectly captured, with just enough of a character arc for the Dark Knight himself. And the 1930’s aesthetic is perfect.

Personally, I would have liked a lot more complexity to the stories, a bit grittier, more detailed artwork, and some deeper and more meaningful themes. One review I read online suggested that, without Paul Dini, the show lacks the heart of BTAS. I’d probably agree with that. Caped Crusader doesn’t have that spark quite yet.

5. It ain’t X-Men ’97

It’s probably not fair to compare the two shows, but I’m going to do it anyway. X-Men ’97 was a masterpiece. It not only took what came before and expanded upon it, seeing as how it was a revival show. But on its own, X-Men ’97 had new things to say, new ways to say them and wasn’t afraid to dig deep and get its hands dirty. X-Men ’97 touched upon real world themes, real world issues and expertly wove them into a superhero story. Caped Crusader does none of that. It’s all surface level Batman stuff, all surface level cops and crooks stuff. Dirty cops are at the center of the story, but the show doesn’t touch upon the dirty cops of today’s world. There’s a fairly prominent same sex romance in Caped Crusader, but it doesn’t touch upon what such a relationship would really be like in the 1930s, what the couple would actually face.

I’m not saying every cartoon needs to go to those places, but coming out in the same year, the comparisons are inevitable and Caped Crusader comes up short at every measure.

4. Great main characters

Every character in this show is perfect and I want to highlight them all. Batman is great. This is a really compelling look at the early years of Batman, when he’s more urban legend than actual figure in Gotham City. I love that touch. Hamish Linklater does a fine job as both Batman and Bruce Wayne, and I especially enjoyed all the time we spent with Bruce in this show. He’s very performative and fits in very well in high society. It’s a nice balancing act. Then Batman is just awesome. He uses his car, uses his gadget, uses his mind and uses his fists to the degree we all want in our Batman. No notes.

I also love that Caped Crusader had an ensemble main cast. I loved that Batman was often a supporting character to the likes of Barbara Gordon, the Commissioner and Renee Montoya. That’s a nice touch and helps to really flesh out the show. If you’re starting this early in this career, it makes sense to showcase the GCPD as well, especially in light of the corruption on the inside. Batman needs to build his relationships with the Gordons, and this show does a good job at making that happen. The Commissioner, Barbara and Renee were all solid, enjoyable characters, same with Harvey Dent, who got to enjoy a season-long origin story. So the show has a very good cast.

3. Great minor characters

Aside from the main cast, I thought the show did a wonderful job with the villains and minor characters as well. The Penguin didn’t do anything for me (and I don’t mind the gender swap), but I thought Catwoman was devilishly fun! Rather than the competent thief of BTAS, she’s a flighty, carefree rich girl trying to ride Batman’s coattails. I loved it. Two-Face was well done, Clayface was great and Gentleman Ghost was probably the standout episode of the season. I also enjoyed some of the very minor characters, like using cops from the Gotham Central comic to round out the GCPD in this show, to that truly spectacular use of Killer Croc. That was brilliantly done!

The only cameos I didn’t care for were all the kids based on Robin in the carnival episode. Normally I’d love this sort of thing, buuuuut doing this would indicate they don’t plan on having Robin for real. And that’s a big no no in my book, dawg.

2. In case it needs to be said, I’m fine with the changes

The internet chatter is what it is and, if it needs to be said, I have no problem with the character changes made in this show. Penguin is a woman. The Gordons are Black. It’s all fine by me. I don’t and will likely never care about these sorts of character changes. The Gordons were Black in the LEGO Batman Movie, so this isn’t even the first time. So yeah, that’s my stance.

1. I’d welcome more seasons

I’ve heard that a second season is already in production and that sounds fine by me. Like I said up top, if studios want to make this sort of content, I’m all for it. New kids are born every day, and I see nothing wrong with making new reboots to cater to them instead of just relying on the old material that already exists. Though part of me does wonder when enough is enough. How many times can we reboot Batman and just do the same thing over and over again? Batman’s origin never changes. Two-Face’s origin never really changes. This show had some changes, but nothing too dramatic as to make a lasting impact. I dunno. I suppose I’m just doom rambling.

I liked Caped Crusader and would gladly watch more seasons if they want to make some. I just have one request…

Honorable Mention: Obviously I want Robin

I’m a simple man with simple requests. I love Robin the Boy Wonder, and as far as I’m concerned, no Batman content is truly complete until we get a Robin. I noticed that the Robin Easter Egg Carnival episode didn’t feature any children named Tim, so maybe Caped Crusader jumps straight to a Tim Drake-named sidekick? Doesn’t matter. Robin always works and would definitely work for this show in a second or third season.

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