It’s unusual for a show to lead its credits with the executive producers of the program but the names behind Amazon Prime Video’s “Batman: Caped Crusader” justify top billing. For fans of everything animated Dark Knight, Bruce Timm is a legend, one of the men who so thoroughly shaped the history of Bruce Wayne that decisions he made on his animated programs and characters he co-created (like Harley Quinn) would forever alter the mythology of superhero history. He was the head producer behind “Batman: The Animated Series,” a true game changer in animated entertainment, along with numerous other great animated properties like “Batman Beyond,” “Superman: The Animated Series,” and the phenomenal “Justice League Unlimited.” His stamp on “Caped Crusader” means a great deal, but it’s amplified by his partners here: Matt Reeves (director of “The Batman”), J.J. Abrams, and Ed Brubaker, one of the best living comic writers, a man who knows this character inside and out, and brings a hard-boiled aesthetic to “Caped Crusader.” Of course, a talented crew can still misfire, but I open with this one to illustrate the pedigree behind this show. It’s the real deal. And they don’t miss.
“Caped Crusader” is a playful journey through origin stories that have been well-told, but not always in this specific manner. For example, Harley Quinn returns to her roots as a psychologist named Harleen Quinzel (Jamie Chung), seen as Bruce Wayne’s shrink before revealing her villainous intent in a later episode. Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader) is not yet Two-Face, just an aggressive district attorney. Even Batman is a mysterious figure on the fringe of Gotham, a vigilante being tracked by Commissioner Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart) and his daughter Barbara (Krystal Joy Brown). The Bruce Wayne (Hamish Linklater) here is a figure in the shadows, something that returns him more to the original Detective Comics iteration of a crime-solver, often closer to noir than action.
While origin stories are undeniably overdone, the return to the basics here feels fresh after years of moody Batmen in film and television. It allows the writers to be playful with characters they’re reshaping in a way that marries versions of them from generations ago to something that would play for all audiences today. For example, in the premiere, Penguin is rebooted as Oswalda Cobblepot (Minnie Driver), a crime lord so truly evil that she’s willing to murder one of her own children to get what she wants.
The version of Catwoman here is pretty familiar, but Christina Ricci is still having a blast with her, and the writers get to have some fun with lesser Gotham villains too, like Gentleman Ghost (Toby Stephens), Firebug (Tom Kenny), and a spectacular episode involving Clayface (Dan Donohue), returned to his origin story from the ‘40s as a failed actor named Basil Karlo. In a time when superhero culture seems dominated by multiverses, there’s something charming about a property that seeks to recreate what comic book readers fell in love with almost a century ago.
The voice actors all deliver, especially Ricci, Chung, Brown, and, most importantly, Linklater. The star of “Midnight Mass” brings the necessary gravity to Batman without overplaying any of it, even adding a little vulnerability to a character who is constantly seeking a vengeance (for the murder of his parents) that can never possibly be satisfying. Fans of Timm’s animated properties know that Linklater has some pretty big shoes to fill in that this is one of the first major properties for which the recently passed voice actor Kevin Conroy won’t be wearing the cape. Linklater both puts his own stamp on it and feels consistent with what we expect from this character, which is all fans can ask for.
“Caped Crusader” isn’t perfect. A couple of the first-season episodes feel a bit flat, but it’s a relatively small percentage, and something that can be said about most animated hero shows. The animation can sometimes also cross that threshold from retro into dull, but, again, it’s only an occasional complaint. Every time that “Batman: Caped Crusader” slips, it quickly regains its footing. It helps to have people like Timm, Reeves, Abrams, and Brubaker to be there to pick it up.
Whole season screened for review. Premieres on August 1st.
