Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 Review: This Thinking Man’s Game Feels More Matt Reeves-Inspired

Batman: Caped Crusader is one of those unique animated superhero shows that feels like is not on everyone’s radar. Sure, the series is heavily inspired by Bruce Timm’s original series and it takes a new approach with some of its characters. However, Batman: Caped Crusader was special because it utilized its nostalgia effectively to tell a compelling story.

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1 managed to do this, carefully fleshing out this new, if familiar, Gotham while keeping the focus on Bruce Wayne’s fight against Rupert Thorne. However, with Thorne mostly out of the picture for Season 2, it left a seat of power to be filled. Season 2’s answer: the Riddler and the Joker.

Given Season 1’s cryptic teaser surrounding the Joker’s involvement, I was hoping that he’d be more of a dangerous threat for Batman. Although we do get that, Batman: Caped Crusader takes its time to continue fleshing its world out. As such, it feels just slightly tiresome to finally get its kicks in.

That said, there are still much to appreciate about Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2. Specifically, it feels like Season 2 knows how to better handle its new characers through its episodic storytelling. One of the major highlights is Season 2 Episode 2 “Rocket’s Red Glare”, which focuses on Roxy Rocket’s quest for vengeance against her traitorous co-leaders.

Despite the more episodic-centric format, Season 2 does a good job making each case feel impactful on this Batman. Taking this episode, for example, with Batman learning that not everything as it seems when it comes to taking things at face-value. Another episode, Season 2 Episode 3 “Deep Cover”, helps Batman learn that there may be good in others, even if they do bad things instead.

However, there’s also a lot of episodes in Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 that somewhat guide the overarching story in unusual directions. Particularly, Season 2 Episode 4 “The Devil’s Due” almost plays too much into the mythologizing of Batman, even though it is an interesting mystery.

If you haven’t read the “Dark Knights: Metal” comics, you might be surprised with how brutal this one gets, in terms of violence. However, Timm and the creative team’s decision to keep these elements more grounded is somewhat commendable.

On a broader scope, Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 still does it best to fit new recurring characters into the fold. Particularly, Hattie Tetch is the show’s equivalence to J. Jonah Jameson: she puts on an aggressive facade to stir the masses against Batman. Her maliciousness can come off as slightly annoying, but thankfully, she’s not as present in later episodes.

Other Batman allies, like Barbara Gordon and Renee Montoya, are also involved in Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2, albeit slightly restrained. However, they do get their moments in the spotlight, with Season 2 Episode 5 “The Spectral Hand” focusing on the aftermath of Barbara’s case. It plays out like a supernatural thriller, which fits the tone of the series while emphasizing different perspectives of justice.

Additionally, Harleen Quinzel and Carrie Kelly’s featured episodes are also welcome additions, but their appearances are limited to their respective episodes. They both have Batman solving separate cases, each with different emotional impacts. Carrie’s episode almost feels like a classic Timm-esque episode while Harleen’s is more of a mind-twister, but still good fun.

Furthermore, due to its emphasis on world-building, Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 lets the overarching narrative slightly take a backseat. That’s because Season 2’s main villains, the Riddler and the Joker, only get involved at certain intervals in Season 2. For the most of Season 2, the Riddler is the focus, but he constantly acts like his lid is about to go off at the smallest of issues.

It genuinely feels like the Riddler was wasted as a competent threat for Batman to face in Season 2. He’s not as manipulative or scheming as his many counterparts from the comics, but rather lets the action do the talking. It makes his demise in Season 2 Episode 7 “Her Dark Reflection” all the more unsatisfying because he didn’t get to do much.

As for the Joker, his character may be familiar if you know the “Three Jokers” storyline, but if you haven’t, be warned. He acts like Heath Ledger’s Joker from The Dark Knight with a slight German accent, always lingering in the shadows. Little by little, Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 carefully puts the pieces together to make his encounter with Batman all the more impactful.

When Batman and Joker finally have that battle in the two-episode finale, that’s where Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 hits a home run. It allows Joker to fully get chaotic while retaining his behavior, which has been seriously cunning and cold. Needham’s performance in these last two episodes really nails in the terror and I do hope he makes a comeback, should Season 3 be greenlit.

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 continues to do a good job with its world-building and character-building, but its format means that Batman’s investigation doesn’t feel as compelling as it needs to be. Hopefully, should Season 3 happen, the serialized storytelling can be further emphasized to keep us hooked.

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Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 begins streaming on Friday, July 31, on Prime Video.

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