When it comes to the superhero genre, I have really ripped into it over the years here on Hive, but I have to admit I actually quite enjoy it. That said, this enjoyment doesn't really relate to the world of cinema, where I have often voiced that criticism. Even now there are films that I refuse to ever watch because I simply have no interest in them; and that tends to pertain to the Marvel and DC releases that took over cinema and the world for a good part of a decade. But when it comes to the realm of comic books with unique art styles and themes as well as animation, I am actually quite interested in it all. The reasons behind this tends to be that there's more creativity in them, more range in the characters and stories that are told. Through comics and animation, there's just so much more room and time to explore new ideas, and being ultra serious isn't really the focus, though things are often taken seriously still. I started to watch the Harley Quinn animation a while back which I quite enjoyed for the same reasons mentioned above, but I never did get around to finishing it. It was a show quite strong in its entertainment though. So I was curious as to how his Batman animation would turn out, it's a character I've neglected quite a lot, having paid little attention to the comics and little attention to the animations over the years.
I have also mentioned countless times how much I wish I could see the animation industry thrive again, and how it's constantly a victim of tastelessness with repetitive art styles that don't suit the shows, or relying too much on adult humour as sort of an attempt to justify its existence as a cartoon supposedly aimed more for an adult audience. So it's nice to see animations still being thrown out there that don't rely entirely on the typical trends and tropes, ones that even if they are displaying a well known character in established franchises, still somewhat doing something different. The truth is, in regards to superhero cartoons, I never really did pay attention to them as a child. I never found them engaging in the same way other animations were. So this also had me quite curious as to how this one might be. I doubted that this would be a show that really hooks me in, and to be honest I had many doubts that exceeded this. I assumed I'd grow bored of it, uninterested in what it's doing, and eventually just giving up on it. But somehow this didn't happen. Would I say at this point I can recommend it? I'm not so sure. But it's really not as bad as I had assumed it would be.
Keep in mind that this post may feature the odd spoiler, though this is a first impressions post and I won't be mentioning major elements of the show's story. It's all still quite new to me even here!
Batman: Caped Crusader
It'd be a surprise to start this off by saying that this Batman series would be majorly different to most Batman stories: Bruce Wayne is your expected elite trying to solve Gotham City's problems as the highly technologically equipped masked vigilante Batman, to which in the process leads him down a series of events that result in facing the chaos of the criminal underworld head-on while creating the odd alliance in certain places. The initial Batman story is a bit of a tiresome one with how often it's taken with little to no changes, and I think these stories are often done best just mostly skipping that side of his character entirely at this point. We all know how Batman was created, we know the personal trauma he holds and why he is the way he is, and sometimes it's nice to just not have that story told to us again or used as exposition. If anything, the Batman character is often the least interesting aspect of his universe, instead it's more the villains that I find engaging, their unique designs and motives, the ways in which they interact with Gotham and how they challenge Batman. And in this regard I'd say the show is doing quite well with it. In terms of its art style it's pretty much what you'd expect from your typical comic book animation. It reminds me a lot of Invincible or the much-loved My Adventures with Superman.
One thing that surprised me was the show's more political stances which gave the show a bit more of an adult atmosphere. It worked well with the criminal side of things as we see the ways in which the criminal underworld operates, putting the youth into the blame and allowing them to take the fall over certain crimes. We also see a lot of the greed that unfolds within the elites and justice system. There's a lot of corruption established from the get-go and I found that quite an interesting take to pursue. With a bit less of a focus on Batman or Bruce Wayne's character. Mixed with this is the older style of Batman's costume, some may see similarities to the older costumes from the original television series, the simple clothing style with the grey and black. Nothing majorly designed and riddled with gadgets. I think this gave the show a bit more of a noir feeling to it, looking more into that typical gothic style of, well, Gotham. We even see how Batman pursues darker harsher methods of seeking out information, threatening to kill and putting characters into dangerous situations. Throwing in all of these world-building elements, alongside the use of ambient music in the show during certain actions, and it really doesn't seem like the kind of show you'd find released in 2024. I have really enjoyed this side of it so far.
The art style in parts looks almost traditional, with the ways in which the backgrounds and particularly the buildings of the city are drawn. It's as if there is texture on paper, with some film grain added to it. A simple use of colours and details on these backgrounds gives the show a bit more of an empty feeling in parts, which I think can ruin some immersion here and there, but the ways in which these backgrounds are displayed is quite pleasing. The texture on objects removes that more glossy look that far too many animations now hold, making things look far to clean and of course unrealistic. In the case of Batman and displaying the gritty city of Gotham, this decision makes perfect sense, to pull Gotham out of a clean look and instead find ways to portray it as the city of dirt. While I don't have a lot of experience with these older superhero cartoons, I can manage to make that connection with the more vintage ones and how they looked, and it's clear that there was inspiration pulled from them. I think this makes the show stand out a bit more with the more artistic direction it has, it is evident it has a bit more passion to it that doesn't make it scream typical superhero product. The main reason I tend to avoid a lot of superhero films and shows in the first place.
I'm really enjoying the show so far, and I'll definitely be sticking with it to see where it goes. It's a great breath of fresh air for someone like me that wants to begin enjoying some of this genre, but has no interest in the more mass produced and marketed live action side that seems void of all the fun side the genre has to offer.
