Call me old school, but the last time there was a good Batman cartoon, it was the seminal “Batman: The Animated Series (BTAS)”. There have been others that have come and gone since then but none have managed to capture the atmosphere of BTAS until now. Releasing on Amazon Prime on August 1st, “Batman: Caped Crusader” gives us a Batman that seems familiar, yet different. And no, it’s not a reboot nor a reimagining, sorry to let you down.
Helmed by JJ Abrams, and Bruce Timm, the one responsible for the successful BTAS, and written by Edward Brubaker, this series is a step forwards and back in all of the good ways. This version of Batman is a 1940s Depression Era Batman (Hamish Linklater), that while in his early days is far removed from a Batman with gadgets. If anything, this series revolves a little less around him and more around Gotham City and its denizens. If you are familiar with Edward Brubaker’s writings, then you know that he has a great knack of developing characters and that is what you will get here.
As far as the character design, a lot of inspiration for Batman draws from the early Detective Comics in the late 1930s to early 40s. He has a very fearsome, nearly vampirish look. Also, as some of his Rogues’ Gallery is introduced in the series, its notable that they too, follow a similar design. There are a few major differences in character design that in its own way updates the stories told to today’s standards.
For one, the Penguin (Minnie Driver) has been gender swapped and also is a cabaret singer and also no less than well written. Catwoman (Christina Ricci) this time around as a broke heiress, Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader) is portrayed as not so goody two shoes as we have seen in recent incarnations. Harley Quinn (Jamie Chung) is far from the psychopathic killer that we know and I can only imagine what that fall into villainy will look like. The biggest change that will most likely upset a small cross section of fans is that Commissioner James Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart) and Barbara Gordon (Krystal Joy Brown) are unapologetically Black, and I am here for it. Also, Barbara Gordon is a defense attorney opposite Harvey Dent, something that just didn’t exist in the 1940s.
While it may seem like the setting and animation design is aping BTAS, it does more in the space that it was given. I would venture to say that this series is really not for small children as this series is a lot more violent and death than its predecessors have been in a while. The story, while early on may seem like one-off episodes, builds to a conclusion while not overly shocking will have you saying a few expletives along the way. With the exception of one episode, the majority of the series is very well grounded in reality. I credit this mostly due to Brubaker’s writing. We have themes of police corruption and how the criminals interact with Gotham police, the slow breaking of Harvey Dent, and even the evolution of Batman’s relationship with the GCPD and in many quiet ways, Alfred (Jason Watkins). All of it is a great slow burn over 10 episodes.
I had no major complaints about this series except for one and that is Hamish Linklater’s Batman voice. Hands down, Kevin Conroy, rest in peace, will continue the be the voice of Batman. Hamish’s version is a bit hammy in comparison. Beyond that, the art deco design and last century vibe is more than enough to keep me on board for another season. The animation can be iffy at some points but the stories told are solid. I think Timm and Brubaker gave a look offering that is worth looking at especially if you were looking for something similar to that great 1990’s cartoon that everyone will be comparing it to.
Final Grade A-
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