I saw Batman: Caped Crusader

At last, I was able to consume the entirety of Amazon Prime's Batman: Caped Crusader. As in my early-impression review (see my additional, 8/4/24 post), the series kept a 1990s flavor within the 1940s, with a juxtaposing linkage that was both brave and bold yet familiar in the classic, detective-noir mode. To say the least, I liked what I experienced, even if some of the tweaks were more than distinct.

For one, not every speck of The Caped Crusader is distinct to the 1940s, at least not the version most of us know. I guess that's okay, since this animated venture should be perceived as a parallel one. (Long live the DC Multiverse, right?)

Some alterations were quite obvious, e.g. Oswalda Cobblepot, and others were just plain alarming, like Harvey Dent being a semi-unethical, disrespectful jerk to attorney Barbie Gordon. What's then the point of turning him into Two-Face? Then again, maybe that is the point. He possessed the short-fused seeds all along, and only needed a little acid for them to sprout. (Okay, I must come clean, I found his Hyde-bound outrage most invigorating, perhaps the most identifiable yet for dear ol' Dent.) 

Other parts of the series were, in fact, touching, as with the bond formed between Jim Gordon and Batman in the Firebug installment. Others were packed with gleeful or haunting breeziness, as with Selina Kyle's stealthy thievery and Natalia Night's ravished, Bradbury draw, while others were hits-home disturbing, like Onomatopoeia and Floyd Lawton's relentless, assassination attempts and the dark-haired Harleen Quinzel's transformation into a creepy automaton who reigns over a menagerie of mirthful madmen. (I also fancied the Adam Anti-ish Gentleman Jim Craddock, Waylon Jones' carny cameo, the Joker's chemical cameo and how about that King Tut variant in Quinzel's grasp! Heck, why not? Let's face it, in the scheme of this show, the swinging, alternate 1960s aren't that far off.) 

The pulpiest episode by far featured Basil Karlo, aka Clayface, who became pliable through a Jack Pierce-inspired make-up artist (who, in turn, may have sprung from Robert H. Harris' Pete Dumond of How to Make a Monster). That rumor has it that Clayface may be the prime antagonist in Matt Reeves' The Batman: Part Two (and Reeves is an exec producer of this series) makes me wonder if the Phantom of the Opera/Shadow persona presented might not morph into a live-action equivalent. (Then again, it was once believed that Batman: The Animated Series' Patrick Stewart-imprinted Mr. Freeze was a sealed deal for Batman & Robin, before we got Arnold Schwarzenegger's bulky chrome.)  

The main thing is that nothing was too out of whack for the sake of this "reinvention." Therefore, this new, Batman series has huge, ongoing potential. I'm assuming that the ten (Season 1) episodes are but a snug warm-up, and if so, this one could go down as the best yet in the Dark Knight's animated annals, but only the years and deeper rumination can (and shall) foretell.  

Batman: Caped Crusader Begins

I was going to wait, and maybe I should have for the sake of giving an all-out, full assessment of Amazon Prime's animated Batman: Caped Crusader. But here I am, succumbing to the need to scratch a big-time itch and comment on the first episode of executive producers Bruce Timm, James Tucker, Matt Reeves and J.J. Abrams' ten-part series.

I can right off the bat (pun intended) say this: Though this new incarnation may not be a veritable sequel to (or semi-retelling of) WB's 1990s Batman: The Animated Series, it sure looks it, despite taking place fifty years prior and give or take a few character adjustments. (I'm not objecting to the insinuated, aesthetic retread, I must point out; I'm just acknowledging how it strikes me, based on what I've seen.)

The advent episode is Copplepot/Penguin oriented, perhaps a wee enticer for the live-action, Max series that's set to spring. For the record, the Penguin is female in this instance, a mother, a Cass Elliot-styled, club singer and coined Oswalda, though she stays pretty much in sync with Paul Williams' 1990s version than, let's say, Colin Farrell's Soparanos-steered villain or Robin Lord Taylor's murderous, Norman Bates-ish bird. Nevertheless, it all comes out in the wash. The Penguin is the Penguin, no matter the reassignment, vocalization, timeframe or avenue of criminality ... I, uh, suppose.

For "In Treacherous Waters," Oswalda keeps competitor Rupert Thorne (an underused, DC baddie) under her thumb, and when this habit slips, she exhausts her frustration by killing one of her sons. Her second son, meanwhile, seeks protection in a maneuver that ends up involving Batman and a not-yet-costumed Barbara (Barbie) Gordon, a "spitfire" attorney who ironically stands in opposition to the "tough on crime" Harvey Dent. The situation doesn't sit well with the Penguin, who decides to annihilate the Gotham Police Station for pure, cathartic cause.

Despite the story's flamboyant margins, the exploit adheres to a general, 1940s, dark-detective scheme (in the Lamont Cranston/Richard Wentworth vein), which should please all the Eddie Mullers out there.    

The moody animation is, of course, attractive, with a Fleischer-inspired pigmentation carrying all the way through. The vocal talent feels (sounds) right, as well, with Hamish Linlater (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Minnie Driver, Paul Scheer, Christina Ricci, Diedrich Bader, James Marsden, Jason Watkins, Gary Anthony Williams, Krystal Joy Brown, John DiMaggio, Toby Stevens, Michelle G. Monilla, Eric Morgan Stuart and several others enlivening the characterizations.   

I'm anxious to view more, so I can get a better sense of how (for better or worse) the further character alterations might (d)evolve. I must admit, some of the teaser images look fascinating, in particular the Basil Karlo/Clayface redo (a hint at a Reeves, two-part movie yet to come?); but no matter the pervading traditions or daring modifications, I'm now invested. I'll keep viewing and assessing, and when all's said and done, share my outcome.