I’ve finally caught up with the cartoon show Batman: Caped Crusader. Other than some very nasty killings, it doesn’t add much – visually or dramatically – to the 1990s’ Batman: The Animated Series, although admittedly this is a pretty high bar. That series perfected elements from across the franchise’s rich mythology (most notably from Englehart’s and Roger’s iconic run in the late ‘70s), including a witty take on the Alfred-Bruce dynamics (that perennial stand-in for the UK-US special relationship) and a tragically humanizing spin on much of the rogues’ gallery, which embraced this world’s moral ambiguity. In turn, for all the promise of a return to the roots, echoing the aesthetics of Batman’s very first comics from the early ‘40s (albeit now set in a context with much less racial, gender, and sexual discrimination), Caped Crusader strives to reinvent the wheel. Sure, the result is still as slick a piece of super-noir as you’d expect from the likes of Bruce Timm, Ed Brubaker, and Greg Rucka, but while I kept waiting for something to blow my mind, I ended up settling for a comfy cover version of familiar beats, enjoying the show’s new riffs on the Dark Knight’s classic storylines and supporting cast (particularly its twisted Harley Quinn).
Nothing about it beats the comics, though. So, without further ado, here is a reminder that Batman splashes can be awesome:
Legends of the Dark Knight #2
Gotham Knights #50
One Dark Knight #3