Batman: Caped Crusader Continues With Hit-and-Miss Villain Remixes And a Bland Hero in Season 2

I was expecting Batman: Caped Crusader to evolve in its second season. And while there have been changes, most of them are superficial. I like the new episode title cards, reminiscent of those in Batman: The Animated Series. I’m less sure on amping up the blood and violence, the show now rated 15 in the UK for little reason other than adult animation being more popular than ever on streamers. But at its core, it’s the same show with the same strengths and weaknesses, the quality of each episode hinging on whether it’s reinterpreted villain works.

In fact, not only have things not evolved, they’ve reset. The show goes from setting up a Batman vs Rupert Thorne storyline in the first season finale, the system being unable to take down the gangster, to Thorne suddenly being in prison and on trial in the premiere. The first episode has him targeting the key witness in the trial, essentially the same plot as the finale. Rewatching the first season beforehand, the transition to the second is somewhat jarring.

But the reset is most drastic with Batman himself. The second season essentially replays his arc from the first. He needs connection in his life, allies in his line of work, to be able to trust and rely on others. The show did this last season, the finale having Bruce finally refer to his butler and friend as ‘Alfred’ rather than just ‘Pennyworth’. Cut to the premiere and he’s straight back to calling him Pennyworth, as aloof as ever, just so he can have the same epiphanies again. The Joker externalises a conflict Batman fights within himself: that he’s better than other people, doesn’t need anyone else, no one else can do what he does. Of course, Batman disproves this, to The Joker and his inner demons, when Alfred saves the day. It’s good but very familiar.

It’s also a little painful to see Batman take two seasons to recognise the benefit of working with allies when that supporting cast of capable allies have essentially been the focus of the show for us, the viewer, since the first episode. It’s a series more interested in fleshing out the other heroes and villains than it is exploring Batman. There is some insight this season, like seeing Batman’s greatest fear: growing old and no longer able to save Gotham, the city burning while all he can do is watch. He contemplates eternal life, being the saviour himself forever, which is some nice consistent characterisation, but he’s backgrounded in the show that carries his name.

Much of this insight into Batman comes late in the season. For most of it, Batman, intentionally or otherwise, feels like a non-entity in the story. Most plots begin and resolve themselves with little interaction with Batman. It makes him feel ineffective and bland. The series could easily exist as a GCPD series, or like Gotham: a Batman show without Batman.

The season’s fourth episode seemed to finally be a story about Batman. People dressed like him began killing and the episode threatened to be about the public’s perspective on Batman, rather than him being a third wheel outsider to the plot. But then a character literally says “this isn’t about you” and his connection to the villain’s plot is mere coincidence more than anything. Later in the season we get Carrie Kelly as a proto-Robin/Annie, but even she bases herself on Grey Ghost rather than Batman. He has no impact on anything, no legacy in Gotham.

Therefore the series hinges on Batman’s traditional allies, and I like most of them. Montoya is probably my favourite character on the show but Barbara was more interesting last season when she had things to actually do. Here, she’s a steadfast character throughout, which after ten episodes is just quite dull. Give her some conflict, please.

The villains are, as with many Batman stories, the stars of the show. Given how backgrounded and flat Batman is, they make or break the episodes, but the villain remixes are very hit-and-miss. It feels like the writers try too hard sometimes to reinvent the characters, losing their identity completely. Hattie Tetch is fine, I guess, but I don’t see any reason why that character in that role had to be a new version of Mad Hatter rather than a wholly original character. They share a name, kind of, and a penchant for large hats. That’s it!

I do like Harley in this show, her episode might be my favourite of the season, but I also question whether this is Harley Quinn in anything but name. There’s no reason given for her to go by Harley Quinn or wear her clown costume; it doesn’t fit this version of the character’s MO or backstory. But I like the story with her and Montoya. In fact, her first season storyline was more akin to a Hugo Strange plot but he’s introduced and then immediately killed off, being nothing more than a crazy professor. 

It’s the standalone episodes in the second season that work best. Roxy Rocket gets a substantial backstory remix but it works because there’s a clear vision and purpose behind it. It’s part of the 30s/40s style of the show, reimagining her in a company selling rocket tech, presumably to the Nazis. It’s a change befitting what this show is trying to do. The Spectral Hand is a highlight of the season, offering a Christmas ghost story atmosphere. I also really liked Rose Thorn and that reinterpretation, painting her as a femme fatale to match the show’s noir vibes and sensibilities.

On the other hand, Mr Zero sucks. Since Batman: The Animated Series, Mr Zero/Freeze has been a hard character to adapt because he’s perfect in that show. Caped Crusader harkens back to his prior origin but just makes him a generic bad guy. I hated this version. He uses frozen corpses as artwork, no reason given other than because he’s a bad guy, and there’s nothing more to him than a voice box, weird metal hair, and a propensity for the third person. Plus he goes out exactly like Zam Wesell. Rupert Thorne is also a disappointment after I liked him in the first season. For his one episode, the Trump connections are a little overdone: everyone moping around because he’s won and the system can’t touch him because he essentially owns the system, and the knowing mention of Batman wounding his ear, which has now miraculously healed. 

The hit-and-miss approach wouldn’t be too bad if the two most prominent villains of the season weren’t in the ‘miss’ category. Caped Crusader features probably my least favourite version of The Riddler ever. He’s just a common, generic gangster, no reason to be Riddler at all. The only explanation we get is he “shot up so many joints they started calling him ‘The Riddler’”. But then he does say one lame riddle in the series. Either have him say none, and he got his nickname via the other definition of riddle, or say a bunch and commit. It’s a baffling character choice.

Then we have The Joker. He’s teased at the end of almost every episode, despite having no connection to the plot or themes. The final two episodes are dominated by his big plan: turn the city into monsters. Eh. It’s a plot we’ve seen before. And while the ideas Joker presents to Batman are interesting on a personal level for the hero, I don’t like this interpretation of Joker.  Fitting with the show’s era and aesthetic he’s presented essentially as a Nazi, or rather a Nazi in an old movie, with a campy accent somewhere between English and German. I would have been more onboard if they revealed just how literal we were supposed to take that comparison: is he literally a Nazi? And presenting him as completely calm, outwardly sane is lame. They already did that with Harley. Have Joker be Joker. Again, it could be a Hugo Strange plot (and literally is in the Batman: Resurrection novel) if it wasn’t for the laughter.

I’m sounding negative. But honestly, I’ll take a show that’s hit-and-miss over one that’s consistently average. Caped Crusader takes swings with its villains and while I wish more of them hit, even after a second season of big misses I’m hoping and looking forward to a third season for those few that hit. I just wish the series would try the same bold strategy with its bland hero as it does its villains.