Lost in Translation 469 – Batman: Caped Crusader
Batman has been covered a few times here at Lost In Translation. One of DC’s Triumverate, along with Superman and Wonder Woman, Batman has been in a number of comics, serials, movies, and TV series. Possibley the best know animated version of the character is from the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series, starring Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Conroy portrayed Batman, the private Bruce Wayne, and the public Bruce Wayne note perfectly. Bruce Timm and Paul Dini were the showrunners for the series, taking the visuals from the 1989 Batman and turning Gotham City into a mix of the Forties and Nineties archetecture and technology.
In 2024, Amazon streamed Batman: Caped Crusader. Developed by Bruce Timm, Caped Crusader takes Batman back to the Forties. The series stars Hamish Linklater as Bruce Wayne/Batman, with Jason Watkins as Alfred, Krystal Joy Brown as Barbara Gordon, Eric Morgan Stuart as Commissioner Gordon, John DiMaggio as Harvey Bullock, Gary Anthony Willians as Arnold Flass, and Michelle C. Bonilla as Renee Montoya. Recurring characters include Diedrich Bader as Harvey Dent, Jamie Chung as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, Tom Kenny as Eel O’Brien, Bumper Robinson as Lucius Fox, and Cedric Yabrough as Rupert Thorne.
Similar to the Batman: Year One comics, Bruce is early in his career as the Batman. The Gotham City Police Department is corrupt and considers Batman as either an urban legend or a threat. Dent is an ambitious District Attorney with his sight set on becoming Mayor of Gotham. Barbara is the Public Defender that tries to do what’s best for her clients against Dent. Commissioner Gordon is trying to clean up the GCPD, but the corruption runs deep. Worse, the villains are entrenched in Gotham City. Rupert Thorne and the Penguin are competing over turf. During all this, Bruce is still getting an idea of how to be Batman. He’s intense, pushing himself to become a one-man clean-up crew conquering crime, but he doesn’t take failure well.
The first season features the Penguin, Catwoman (Christina Ricci), Harlequin, Clayface (Dan Donohue), and the Gentleman Ghost (Toby Stephens), Nocturna (Mckenna Grace), and Onomatopoeia (Reid Scott). Some have tragic endings, others are just arrested by the GCPD after Batman is done. With the tragic figures, Batman does work to help despite what they had done, seeing them as victims of their own circumstances. The notable omissions from the Rogues Gallery is the Joker, though a brief scene at the end of the last episode hints of what’s to come in the next season.
The art style is similar to BtAS, but not identical. The series itself is episodic but with a plot line running in the background. Audience members who know of the various characters associated with Batman can see some of them coming, like Harvey Dent becoming Two-Face. Caped Crusader is rated 13+, a notch higher than BtAS‘ TV PG, allowing for deaths on and off screen. The artwork is clean, still using the contrast of colour and grey that Batman and his villains work with. The writing is tight and often nods at the comics. One episode, “Nocturne”, takes the names of the victims from the various Robins throughout Batman’s history.
The cast is solid, with veteran voice actors taking on regular roles and established live action actors in guest roles. The only quibble may be Hamish Linklater as Bruce Wayne. Linklater’s Batman is intense, focused. As Bruce, though, the intensity is still there. This could be from Bruce still getting used to being Batman; he’s not as experienced as the Batman in BtAS. To be fair, comparing anyone to Kevin Conroy is unfair; each actor brings a new interpretation to the role. The Batman of Caped Crusader is dedicated to cleaning up Gotham City. Linklater gets a pass; his Batman isn’t Conroy’s.
Batman: Caped Crusader is a thrilling addition to the line of Batman animated adaptations. Having Bruce Timm back as showrunner harkens back to a classic series while still being its own work. The series is well worth a look.