It’s easy to mistake stills of Batman: The Caped Crusader with Batman: The Animated Series, that iconic ‘90s series that many of us grew up watching. And while they are more or less helmed by the same showrunner, the newer adaptation is sleeker and cleaner, stripped of color and replaced with noir. It sounds ironic, but despite its Art Deco setting and near-monochrome design, The Caped Crusader feels refreshing to watch. It explores plenty of other villains besides the usual suspects, forgoes actual powers for skills and gadgetry, and uses plain but engaging dialogue to get its points across (no annoying snark here). This Batman goes back to his Detective Comics roots, in other words, and this show is like a police procedural that anyone of any age (and DC exposure) can enjoy.
"In its 10-episode first season, Caped Crusader takes the foundational aspects of the [Noie] genre — paranoia, conspiracy, and dramatic chiaroscuro visuals — and gives them a spin recognizable to Batman fans but not limiting to newbies."
— Roxana Hadadi
"Casual fans should be happy, die-hards will find plenty to savor, and a new generation may be about to discover a Bat-series to call their own."
— Ben Travers
Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human—the Batman. His one-man crusade for justice attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.
Alongside co-executive producers JJ Abrams (Star Trek) and Matt Reeves (The Batman), The Batman: Animated Series producer Bruce Timm returns for a new iteration of his '90s classic, this time featuring more villains, more action, and more moody noir.
Vulture’s Roxana Hadid already beat us to it: this is exactly like a season of Perry Mason.
Does the world really need another Batman adaptation? Not really, but this show’s refreshing return to form makes it a worthwhile entry.
