Streaming on: Prime Video
Episodes viewed: 10 of 10
It’s a testament to the timelessness of Batman that he and his carnivalesque rogues’ gallery is open to all manner of interpretations. The 1940s-set Batman: Caped Crusader makes the most out of that fact. Developed by Bruce Timm, best known for co-creating the landmark ’90s classic Batman: The Animated Series with Paul Dini, it feels like a visual offshoot of their past work. The Gotham of the previous Bat-show (nominally set in the present day) was designed to look like it existed out of time; this 1940s Gotham, on the other hand, takes that old-school aesthetic literally.
Timm’s design sensibilities and unique approach make the show feel familiar yet different. With animators taking their cue from Golden Age comic designs, the art direction is angular and expressionist, full of shadows and Art Deco architecture. The silhouettes of its character designs favour square jaws, trilbies and broad-shouldered suits. Even the opening credits recall how the original series was painted on black backgrounds. The way that the setting changes the very texture of a Batman story is a joy to watch, too: his investigations here are satisfyingly analogue, examining microfilm and abandoned chequebooks instead of computers.
A moody and unique return to the character’s core.
As well as looking and feeling distinct, the show often plays like a revisitation of the character’s genre origins: moody detective noir, gothic horror, swashbuckling adventure. Episode 2 thrillingly combines all three, as a case involving a monster and a movie star leads Batman back to his Zorro roots with a sword-fight in a castle. Those folk-hero origins extend to the overall story of the season: a portrait of a corrupt city, structured to keep the rich comfortable and everyone else in line.
It’s a story coloured by interesting reinventions of famous characters. One episode, titled ‘The Stress Of Her Regard’, presents a more domineering take on Harley Quinn, with voice actor Jamie Chung speaking in a seductive whisper rather than the brash New York accent of Arleen Sorkin’s take in The Animated Series. Not every character gets a totally fresh spin — the tragedy of Harvey Dent can be seen coming from a mile away — but it still manages to be effective.
Batman’s need for revenge is reflected in these villains, the quest becoming just as much about saving his own soul as well as those caught in the crossfire of Gotham’s corruption. It’s a moody and unique return to the character’s core, far more than just a Batman show where everyone says “swell”, “broads”, or “he’s got a lot of moxie!” Though that element is a lot of fun, too.
