Prime Video’s S2 Batman: Caped Crusader is Sophisticated Storytelling Wrapped Up in a Comic Book Superhero

Summer is the season for superheroes, and Batman: Caped Crusader combines 1940s art deco aesthetics with classic noir and skillful storytelling, creating a Gotham City that is both familiar and fresh. The corruption of this Gotham City is completely relevant to our era, with new interpretations of the characters that many of us have grown up with. Hamish Linklater (Widow’s Bay) voices Batman/Bruce Wayne with just the right amount of gravitas that draws you into this character immediately. Batman is always a character where I feel like… Why doesn’t he just pay to improve the quality of life for the city instead of putting on a mask and being a vigilante? But I still love the tortured billionaire who works out like crazy, uses his money to create gadgets so he can beat up criminals almost to death as he fights psychotic supercriminals. The artwork in Batman: Caped Crusader is top-notch. Chunky, curvy, thick bodies with lots of ethnic diversity, solid elements of a crime procedural with lots of action and social commentary woven through each individual episode. The series deftly utilizes black-and-white art with color seamlessly in ways that always serve the story. I guess it takes a village to create such a traditional yet fresh iteration of this iconic superhero. J.J. Abrams (Alias), Matt Reeves (Batman), and boy, is it worth it.

The Riddler (Ronan Rafferty, Gangs of London) is the first supercriminal we meet in the series, and he’s got an eerie edge that gives this traditionally kind of goofy character more depth and weight. The introduction of Rose Thorn aka Poison Ivy (Fryda Wolf, Devil May Cry) is a satisfying episode that gives a heartbreaking origin story for this character. The animation is stunning and uses a diversity of shape, size, and color to reflect a Gotham City that mirrors the diversity of New York City beautifully. The Joker (Matthew Needham, House of the Dragon) is a unique iteration of evil that draws you in. He’s not the one who laughs, and those who do are terrifying. Gone are the broad jokes that this character usually embodies, replaced with the terror of the clown portrayed with gravitas and weight. This cat is downright scary. I’m always wondering why henchmen in Batman stick with their bad guy leaders, but in Batman: Caped Crusader it totally makes sense.

The stakes for the henchmen are high. Their life support system depends on being a member of a crime gang in a city where these gangs rule the underworld. It’s clear that the power The Riddler wields is entangled with his ability to terrify and control. There is one episode in particular where you see the impact of being a henchman play out in tragic detail. The writing is elegant and at times poetic. Music spot on for the genre and allows you to lose yourself in the story. There is so much greatness in this series, and I hope that it runs for several seasons.

I was a fan of Batman: The Animated Series, and Batman: Caped Crusader is delightfully different and relevant for our times. This series is certified fresh at 4.5 out of 5 tomatoes.

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All episodes of Batman: The Caped Crusader are streaming on Prime Video.