Season 1 |
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Episode Guide
Episode 1 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 2 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 3 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 4 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 6 -| Review Score – 2/5
Episode 7 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 8 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 9 -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 10 -| Review Score – 3/5
Cancelled by Warner Bros and picked up by Amazon Prime, Batman: Caped Crusader is billed as a spiritual successor/ sorta-sequel to the acclaimed Batman: Animated Series from the 90’s. The show certainly has parts of it that shine and stand out, but there’s equally some heavily weighted ideas that hold this back from being the smash hit it so easily could have been.
The show takes what worked in Batman: The Animated Series and runs with that, adding a modern flavour for much of the production. Expect a colourful and diverse team of men and women here (but lets be real, the women are at the center of this one), with many Batman characters reimagined for 2024. Some work well (like that of Barbara Gordon being a lawyer) but others are disastrous (like Harvey Dent being an asshole before he turns to Two-Face) but on the whole, the show isn’t that bad… as long as you go into this without thinking too hard.
In essence, what we get here is a very simple 10-episode series, with a small overarching plot involving Two-Face and a crime gang running amok, but largely bottle episodes featuring some of Batman’s infamous rogue gallery. Clayface, Firebug and Harley Quinn make an appearance here, to name a few, but the latter is arguably one of the worst charters in the show, with her entire fascinating backstory ripped out in favour of her just being born a psycho and wanting to punish rich men.
In fact, the quality of these episodes swings so wildly throughout the series that you’re likely to get whiplash. Episodes 1 and 5 are arguably the worst of the entire series, while an idea for Batman to wield a gun in the finale is another big point of contention that throws his entire character into question.
But then we get episodes that are actually pretty good by comparison. Episode 2 is a bottle episode with plenty of investigative work for Batman to undertake in to try and find Clayface. The way this foe is dispatched is a bit subjective but the work up until that point feels like the Batman of old.
Similarly, we get an episode that focuses on Two-Face’s origin, but while most of the work here is good, his character arc is completely butchered which is a real shame. I won’t get into the geeky side of breaking down every single character and why some work and some don’t in this show, but suffice to say Two-Face has basically been reduced to “arrogant asshole” and “psychopathic asshole” rather than the actual two faces of being, well good and bad.
The stories are simple enough but when it comes to the animation, it’s pretty basic across the board. The characters are poorly drawn at times, the backgrounds range from passable to hideously dated, with some scenes even showing static characters that don’t move. That’s before mentioning the character models themselves, which are hit or miss too. Harley Quin and Two-Face are two of the worst, but Batman doesn’t fare much better either.
While the animation is quite stiff and at times uninspired, it’s certainly not helped by the sound design. There’s not much in the way of sound effects thrown into fights so every kick and punch feels weightless. It’s just weird to see kicks and punches hit and not a single sound following it up. But then this is the sort of show that Amazon are banking on you blasting through as quickly as possible to hook you in for a second season without thinking too much about those aspects.
The problem with this approach is that the more you sit and digest these episodes, the more holes you’re likely to find. There are a myriad of issues that I haven’t even mentioned here, like backstories changed in bizarre ways that break the universe completely. The idea of a female Penguin being a *checks notes* sex icon even though she’s super ugly and grotesque doesn’t work. Or how about Catwoman being snapped at the scene of the crime by a photographer but having charges dropped because… reasons? These moments can be brushed aside by casuals watching this and just wanting to put something on in the background but those avid Batman fans are going to find a lot to grumble about here.
Ultimately, Caped Crusader is not a complete disaster like some are making it out to be, nor is it the best thing since sliced bread. Instead, this is actually an average and forgettable series overall. There’s definitely an attempt to emulate the old Animated Series, but it feels like all the heart and soul has been taken out in favour of a more modern spin and ideas that mostly fail to gel into the story. Sporting a cliffhanger ending too, it remains to be seen how many will return for a second season of this.
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Verdict - 5/10
5/10