Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for the Batman: Caped Crusader finale.
Batman: Caped Crusaderis a series acting on two fronts: It’s a spiritual successor toBatman: The Animated Series, even includingBruce Timmalongside its collection of executive producers. It’s also the latest critically-acclaimed animated superhero series, following in the footsteps ofX-Men ‘97,My Adventures With SupermanandInvincible. ButCaped Crusaderalso takes a few liberties with the Batman mythos. First, it’s set fully in the ’40s, making this the first Batman period piece. Secondly, it puts new spins on Batman’s foes,particularly the Penguin and Harley Quinn. The bulk of Season 1 mainly focuses on Batman (Hamish Linklater)attempting to dismantle organized crime in Gotham, particularly Rupert Thorne’s (Cedric Yarborough) criminal empire.
But the Dark Knight runs into a few obstacles along the way. Not only does he have to contend with criminals like Clayface (Dan Donohue) and Catwoman (Christina Ricci), but the fact that Thorne’s empire is far larger than he thought. Thorne doesn’t just have his fingers in most of Gotham’s criminal enterprises; he’s also buying off police officers and civil servants. Eventually,this war leads to the birth of a new villain and hints at the appearance of another.
Batman: Caped Crusader
In Gotham City, where corruption and crime are rampant, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne transforms into Batman following a personal tragedy. His relentless pursuit of justice attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but also spawns deadly consequences. This series reimagines Batman’s mythology through the creative lenses of J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Bruce Timm.
One of Batman’s Most Tragic Foes Is Born in ‘Caped Crusader’ – and Suffers an Even More Tragic Ending
A subplot running throughoutBatman: Caped Crusaderis Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader) running for the office of mayor, using his status as a prosecutor to ruthlessly close court cases. Batman fans know that Dent eventually becomesthe scarred criminal Two-Face, butCaped Crusadertakes its time with setting up his transformation. It also hints that Dent may not be the moral paragon he’s usually presented as in other Batman stories. In the episode “Night Ride,” Thorne offers Dent a hefty donation when a mysterious ghost threatens to upend his campaign. Dent eventually takes the donation two episodes later in “Nocturne”, but refuses to drop criminal charges against one of Thorne’s friends.One of Thorne’s thugs ends up throwing a vial of acid at Dent’s face, scarring him and transforming him into Two-Face.
After a murder spree against Thorne’s forces and a confrontation with Batman, Dent goes to Arkham Asylum and tells Barbara Gordon (Krystal Joy Brown) that he’s willing to testify against Thorne in court. Barbara’s father Jim (Eric Morgan Stuart) and Detective Renee Montoya (Michelle C. Bonilla) work with Batman to protect Dent, leading to a shootout at the Gotham docks.Dent winds up throwing himself in front of a bullet for Barbara,dying from his wounds. But even though Thorne technically gets off scot-free, he’s visited by Batman during a rainy night, hinting that the Dark Knight will continue to hunt him.
Other Characters From the DC Universe Show Up in ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’
Batman: Caped Crusadermight be firmly set in Gotham,but the creators have slipped in other characters from the DC Universe into Season 1. In “Kiss of the Catwoman,” a photographer named Eel O’Brien is shown taking pictures at a museum exhibit and is later convinced by Batman to get pictures of Catwoman’s robberies. O’Brien becomes the elastic wisecracking superhero Plastic Man in DC Comics canon, even joining the Justice League on Batman’s recommendation. “Night Ride” has Batman going to the vodou shaman called Papa Midnite for help with battling ghosts; Midnite has often come into conflict with John Constantine. The biggest Easter egg concerns the episode “Night of the Hunters”, and a group of reporters; one fan on Twitter noticed thatLois Lane is among them, sporting her designs from the 1941-1942Supermancartoons. A redheaded photographer is spotted with her, who may beCaped Crusader’s take on Jimmy Olsen.
These cameos may stem from the fact that Bruce Timmwas originally considering a new Justice League animated series.Speaking to TheWrap, Timm says that he and producerJames Tuckerhad thrown out the idea of a new Justice League series, and thatCaped Crusaderwas originally meant to be a continuation ofBatman: The Animated Seriesbefore evolving into its final form:
“That was more of an open-ended concept that we could incorporate the entire DC canon in it, instead of doing just another Joker story, or just another Harley story or whatever.”
‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ Ends With the First Appearance of the Joker
Batman: Caped Crusader’s Season 1 finale ends with a rather terrifying scene: a group of corpses piled in a warehouse, as a man injects them with a strange liquid before declaring that his formula is “perfect”. The corpses have their faces fixed in a horrifying smile,confirming that the mystery man is the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime will often make his way to Batman-related stories, and this ending hints that the two will finally meet in Season 2. It also marks an interesting dynamic, given that Harley Quinn (Jamie Chung) has already appeared as an antagonist for the Dark Knight and has no ties to the Joker. Should she show up in Season 2,Caped Crusadercould put a unique twist on their relationship.
Season 1 ofBatman: Caped Crusaderis available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
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