After a two-year wait, showrunners Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series) and James Tucker (Batman: The Brave and the Bold) are back with their noir-infused spiritual BTAS successor, Batman: Caped Crusader. And now with episode title cards.
Set in the 1940s, the first season followed Bruce Wayne (Hamish Linklater) in his early Batman days. His only ally is Alfred Pennyworth (Jason Watkins), whom he treats more like the help than a family member. He had run-ins with various villains of the week, including Oswalda Cobblepot/Penguin (Minnie Driver), Basil Karlo/Clayface (Dan Donohue), Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Christina Ricci), Firebug (Tom Kenny), Gentleman Ghost (Toby Stephens), Natalia Knight/Nocturna (Mckenna Grace), and Onomatopoeia (Reid Scott).
As both Bruce and Batman, he also encountered Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Jamie Chung), an upbeat psychiatrist by day and a twisted torturer by night, who delivers a warped form of justice in her “play pen.” After her secret facility was destroyed, she went over a cliff, presumably to her death. But she later makes a phone call to her love interest, Detective Renee Montoya (Michelle C. Bonilla), saying she’s going into hiding.
Cocky district attorney Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader) went through his Two-Face transformation and killed a few of mob boss Rupert Thorne’s (Cedric Yarbrough) men, including the one who threw acid in his face. In the finale, Commissioner Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart), his daughter, public defender Barbara (Krystal Joy Brown), and Montoya try to protect him from Thorne’s men. But he’s shot and killed by corrupt GCPD detective Arnold Flass (Gary Anthony Williams) to prevent him from testifying against Thorne.
The season ends with Bruce finally opening up to Alfred a little bit, and accepting that the Gordons and Montoya are with him in going up against this “endless tide.”
The Season 2 premiere wastes no time getting into the action. It’s seemingly been weeks since the events of Season 1, and a new character, Hattie Tetch (Laraine Newman), the host of Hattie’s Tea Party live talk-show, gives us the rundown on the current state of Gotham. Rupert Thorne is on trial, and the crime-ridden city’s chaos is too much for the GCPD to handle. Harvey Bullock (John DiMaggio) and Flass are unfortunately still on the force, but after they kidnapped and ultimately killed Dent, only one of them is a detective now.
Batman expands his group of allies beyond just Alfred and starts working more with the Commissioner and Barbara, along with Montoya. But there isn’t a Bat signal yet. Some fans weren’t too happy about the focus on secondary characters in Season 1, so with Batman finally forming a team, he gets more screen time. He’s also evolving. With each case, he’s learning he needs to be less single-minded. He even reluctantly works with Harleen to solve a mystery at Gotham University.
A new season means new antagonists, of which there are many. Within the first five minutes of the premiere, we’re introduced to Hattie Tetch, aka the “Mad Hatter of News,” who doesn’t need any mind-controlling devices to influence people. We also meet Eddie Nygma, aka Riddler (Ronan Raftery), a lieutenant for a temporarily incarcerated Thorne, and the prominent bad guy. He is a captivating villain, though rather one-note. He’s not so much about riddles; he’s more focused on money and murder. Taking away his signature is certainly a choice, one that I anticipate most fans will not like.
Riddler links up with Rose aka Thorn (Fryda Wolff), a vengeful, mysterious femme-fatale. Due to her red hair and green attire, fans speculated she was Caped Crusader’s take on Poison Ivy. But she appears to be a mash-up of Rose Canton (1947’s Flash Comics #89) and Rose Forrest (1970’s Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #105), both of whom have a villainous persona called Thorn.
Batman meets Roxanne Sutton aka Roxy Rocket (Wunmi Mosaku), a minor villain created by Timm and Paul Dini for The New Batman Adventures. However, this iteration is not a thrill-seeking stuntwoman but a doctor. There are also brief appearances from other rogues like Calendar Man (JP Karliak), Hugo Strange (James Urbaniak), the fear toxin-spreading Scarecrow (Josh Brener), and a Mr. Freeze-esque character called Mr. Zero (Kevin Michael Richardson).
In the Season 1 finale, we saw the Joker (Matthew Needham) testing out his laughing gas, which makes people cackle hysterically until they die. The scene implied that he’d be the main villain this season. However, audiences will have to be patient, because we only get glimpses of him at first. But I’d say the slow-burn reveal pays off. We meet a different version of the Clown Prince of Crime that longtime comic fans will recognize. The creators looked to German Expressionism and silent film actor Conrad Veidt for inspiration, the original influences for the character. Instead of his usual high-energy chaos, this Joker is menacingly stoic.
Given Gotham’s latest increase in crime, this season of Caped Crusader has a slightly darker tone. There’s more action and horror, and it’s definitely more violent. Eddie has a short fuse, meaning a lot of his henchmen end up riddled with bullets on the regular. He’s the most unhinged rogue of the season; you’ll find him laughing maniacally with a Tommy gun in hand as he causes mayhem all over the city. Meanwhile, Joker operates in the shadows as he gradually enacts his grand plan. It’s a chilling take on such a well-known character.
Batman: Caped Crusader delivers a solid sophomore season with more reinterpretations of classic characters that continue to be surprising and entertaining. It builds on what was established in Season 1, expanding not just the rogues gallery but Batman as a character.
All 10 episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 premiere July 31 on Prime Video.
