Batman fans may be waiting for Batman 2 or the upcoming Penguin TV show, but you’re missing out if you don’t try Caped Crusader.
Batman: Caped Crusader is a 10-part animated series that has achieved the rare feat of a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. At the time of writing, anyway.
Of the 36 reviews included, not one has apparently dropped below the 6/10 threshold required to make Rotten Tomatoes consider it a predominantly negative review.
But what is Batman: Caped Crusader? It’s a Prime Video series that, in the vein of X-Men ’97, brings back a classic style of superhero animation.
This is Batman as a noir detective, not just a brawling crime fighter. If you were around for the 1990s Batman animations, the opening title sequence will take you right back to those days.
Empire says “the show often plays like a revisitation of the character’s genre origins: moody detective noir, gothic horror, swashbuckling adventure,” in its 4-star review.
It calls Caped Crusader “a show that feels like a renewal rather than a retread.”
Riotus gave the show a glowing A+ rating, and says “in a year of reinvigorated superhero animated series, Batman: Caped Crusader might be the brightest spot in all of them in a very competitive scene.”
The show has an impressive cast too. Midnight Mass’s Hamish Linklater plays Batman, Christina Ricci is Catwoman and Minnie Driver takes on the Oswalda Cobblepot role.
What limited signs of dissent there are among he reviews hinge on questioning whether all that creative effort might have been better spent making something brand new rather than a throwback.
The Spool review’s sign off says just that: “Part of me can’t help but imagine what all the talent behind Batman: Caped Crusader could’ve done blazing a new trail for the Dark Knight rather than deliver excellent comfort food to my generation.”
Of course, key members of the creative team were just the people who brought the series’s stylistic inspirations to life. Bruce Timm was Batman: Caped Crusader showrunner, alongside Batman veteran James Tucker, and he was a key figure on the classic Batman: The Animated Series show.
All 10 episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader are out on August 1.
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