Batman: Caped Crusader

I'll be honest, I was turned off by the first episode. You walk right into it and see a lot of characters have been changed from their traditional comic appearances to appeal to "modern audiences." Penguin in particular is just bad as some angry convincing mother. BUT the next episode absolutely nailed ClayFace with plenty of homages to the early 30s and 40s Universal Horror movies who the character is based off of that I decided to stick with it. The show as a whole copies the artistic style of the 90s Batman: The Animated Series which is considered by many to be the best Batman show of all time. This show mimics its Noir elements while also ramping up the age rating, giving us more gore, more horror, more "adult" themes, and the occasional swearing. However the show isn't without its flaws, because it's beyond obvious the creators had to make it more diverse so it would appeal to "modern audiences".

When this show misses, it's a strike out. Penguin is hands down the worst change. Bullock is also bad as an accomplish to the corrupt Flash. In the original show, he didn't trust Batman, but at least he was a honest cop. However when the show hits a home run, it's absolutely out of the park. There are so many Easter eggs and call backs to the various comics and what influenced the various Batman characters/arcs I couldn't help but appreciate the show has a hard core fan. For instance, Catwoman's costume is very much a callback to her golden Age outfit while her iconic claw marks scar is a reference to her Year One trademark. Firefly likewise they nail his psychological disturbance with fire (who imo is a very utilized villain) where once he sees a flame, he HAS to make it grow. Harley Quin, yeah they "change" her appearance (cough cough) but they actually do her psychologist profile justice much like her original appearance in the Animated Series, and no she is nothing like the MAX show depiction.

Is the show perfect? No. Am I happy they "updated it for modern audiences?" Also no. However that does not mean you should instantly write it off as a bad show. Skip the 1st episode and you will see the creators at least tried to make it a love letter to the existing Batman Media from across the decades.

The first episode was promising. I didn't have a problem with race or gender changed versions of some character. But when I'm watching a Batman show with his name on it, I prefer to watch him or Bruce Wayne for most of the time rather than Gotham PD or Dent. The show focuses lot more on Gotham PD, corruption, Dent's moral compass but not on Bruce Wayne. What made him turn into Batman? Where did he learn to fight like this? Investigation skills? Also he addresses Alfred by "Pennyworth" (though by the end of the series he calls him Alfred) and talk in his Batman voice with him! Even in his House! The only two episodes I enjoyed the most were the one with Gentleman Ghost, bringing in the supernatural corner of the Batman lore and the seventh episode where Dent is on a revenge ride. Hamish Linklater did a good work on Batman, sometimes he feels too closer to Kevin Conroy. Animation is very poor in some places, specially the background structure. Gotham isn't properly shown in any shots. Overall this series could have been better.

It's certainly not the worst Batman show, but there are a lot of things that work against this project. The portrayals of all the characters come off as poor/boring versions especially the villains. All characters lack chemistry with each other as well.

With Batman/Bruce Wayne there's no depth or character development it's just the same bland and tiresome version of this version of the caped crusader.

I would say the biggest issue I have with this show is that it struggles trying to decide if it's for more mature audiences or if it's kid friendly. One second it's showing PG styled phrasing and cookie-cutter action, the next it's showing murder and serious dark topics yet holds back on showing any blood or graphic depictions. At the end of the day just pick a lane and stick to it.

Negatives:

• The Voice Acting
• The Writing
• The Soundtrack
• Modern Politics

Positives:

• The Animation
• The Release date

At the end of the day I would just stick with watching the Batman Year One animated movie. As it does a much better job of representing the origin of Batman becoming a true crime fighter while learning how to navigate through corruption and justice.

There is a popular misconception that Bruce W. Timm was the mastermind behind the classic Batman: The Animated Series and the whole of what became known as the DC Animated Universe, which also comprised of Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, The Zeta Project, Gotham Girls, Static Shock, Justice League, and Justice League: Unlimited...However, that is false. In actuality, there were several hands that crafted the series and its spin-offs over the years, the most influence Timm had on it all was his designs for the characters and the world around them. He is for certain a fan of the characters, but not quite the DC encyclopedia many had assumed he was, in fact, he found the whole of DC's heroes and villains to have been rather dull in as a youth and gravitated more towards Marvel when he was buying and reading comic books. In the years since the DCAU technically finished with the final episode of Justice League: Unlimited, the fan-concepted belief of him knowing exactly what is right for the iconic characters began to diminish, with some unimpressive animated features and television series that followed, and now more people have come to the conclusion that he is an over glorified cartoonist. Batman: Caped Crusader proves this quite well as Timm has been given more creative leeway than he had before and most of the people who were involved in Batman: The Animated Series and its continuations are absent, and the lack of quality really does make it clear what is missing.

It is not technically a bad series. The animation is generally nice, though lacking the atmosphere Batman: The Animated Series presented. The voice acting ranges from good to great, with Hamish Linklater doing a fairly good job at Batman and guests stars like Christina Ricci shining in the part of Catwoman. The stories are conceptually interesting but delivered between the lines of "okay" and "good enough", with sprinkles of unimaginative and flat action beats that don't leave enough impact. And if you are a purist in how these characters are to be traditionally portrayed in media, you will not be very satisfied by the results, and to a degree very upset.

Could've been great and could've worse. This is really an "in-betweener" sort of program, whether or not you are a fan of these characters.

As a Batman fan in all forms, it pains me to say this. Considering the talent and pedigree behind this version of Batman, it is easily the worst. 30 years after BTAS, you'd think they could do better than this. Stiff limited animation. At this point a more fluidly animated version is more than possible along the lines of a Blue Eye Samurai, but Netflix then Prime didn't want to spend the money or make the effort. Generic art design and pseudo-art deco design. It's not entirely clear what decade this is supposed to take place in. They took some of the best and most innovative ideas from BTAS and squandered them. Unnecessary character gender swaps and incoherent villain origins. We deserve better than this. Absolutely awful!