Batman: Caped Crusader is Comfort Food, And That’s Fine
August 16, 2024
Written by Jamie Galea
When it comes to superheroes on television, Batman’s been the clear winner for nearly six decades. Whether it’s revelling in camp, being dark and broody, or giving the spotlight to other characters, Batman’s always been a constant on TV, and has always been able to easily adapt to the needs of any given show. The latest attempt at a Batman show, Batman: Caped Crusader, takes Batman to the world of streaming, but also back to its past, and it works better than you think.
I’d been watching the show slightly before release thanks to screeners sent over by Amazon, and the biggest thing that strikes me watching it is how much of a throwback it is to older Batman media. Yet this isn’t a clear nostalgia play, because it knows it’s a modern television show and keeps to more contemporary trends and ideas.
You can see this right from the very first episode, which follows a traditional villain of the week model, but also sets up plot threads that the show expands upon and develops throughout the season. It’s also much appreciated that every episode is around 25 minutes long and briskly paced. There’s even an honest to god title sequence in lieu of the ten second title reveal that’s become the standard across every streaming show.
In spirit, it feels closer to the legendary Batman: The Animated Series from the 90’s, but updated contemporary audiences. Given the heavy involvement of that series co-creator Bruce Timm in this show, it’s not hard to immediately draw comparisons to one of the most lauded pieces of Batman media ever created.
What helps it here is that Caped Crusader is a show that revels in its low-fi pulp inspirations. There’s no fancy Batcomputer or anything that Bruce Wayne can throw money at, just plain detective work. Given the many recent bits of Batman media that revel in darkness, it’s honestly refreshing. Though if you’re looking for a show that critiques the very idea of Batman itself, this ain’t it.
As someone who’s been diving into BTAS properly for the first time over the last year and change, going through Caped Crusader at the same time makes for a surprising companion piece. The show could’ve very easily been BTAS but modernised, but thankfully the show strives to be its own thing and has its own interpretations of the many iconic characters of Batman lore.
This is especially true when it comes to its villains. Without getting into specifics, there’s enough twists in the portrayal of Episodes 1 and 5 antagonists of that are really neat and I appreciate. They’re familiar enough, but also not too familiar to be exciting and interesting.
It doesn’t always land though, because some characters and concepts are always going to be the same no matter what. It’s not a complete deal breaker, but it’s a bummer when the show is willing to experiment and attempt new things.
Which is why that despite all this, the most damning thing I can say about the show is that it can often feel a bit too straightforward at times. If you’re familiar with any Batman adaptations you almost know exactly where a lot of the story beats tend to lead to, or what exactly they’re going to try incorporate. I get that there’s not a lot they can do with a lot of Batman stories and characters to freshen them up, yet at the same time, it’s hard to see a flashback of the events of Crime Alley and not reach for the remote to fast forward through it.
You know where it goes and you’ve seen it a thousand times, and Caped Crusader isn’t going to change that, and you begin to question why it’s there when we *already* know about this from most other adaptations. It’s the same problem Spider-Man has with Uncle Ben and that’s a problem that has been solved by not even acknowledging it in-universe, because out of it, we know it all too well!
Just about the only thing the show does with its setup that feels slightly fresh is early on, where Batman is presented as a mystery, let alone a myth, to just about everyone. Even then, that’s not exactly a unique thing, there’s been plenty of Batman stories and media that’s played with this idea. The shows approach though, is to use this as a developing plot point as people begin to realise Batman isn’t a myth and how they react to that. It mostly works too!
If it sounds like I’m down on the show, I’m not! There’s a lot that I genuinely like about it and I’m happy it turned out the way it did. It’s a surprise that we got a show that takes the feel of Batman: The Animated Series and transplants it into a modern streaming show. It’s pure comfort food and I love that about it. I just wish that for a show that attempts to try a few new things and portrayals, that it went a little further instead of sticking to tradition.
