More than 30 years after the Kevin Conroy-voiced Dark Knight waged his vengeful war against crime in Batman: The Animated Series, a new caped crusader is answering the call of the Bat-signal. Set in 1940s Gotham City — the era that birthed Batman, the character’s first self-titled comic after his debut in the pages of Detective Comics by Bob Kane and Bill Finger — the new animated series Batman: Caped Crusader isn’t just a throwback to the golden age Batman. It’s a “timeless classic” and “one of the best-animated takes on the Dark Knight.”
Videos by ComicBook.com
Caped Crusader is “a series that is sure to be held in wide regard for years to come, and feels like an essential part of the Batman mythos,” Evan Valentine writes in ComicBook’s review. “Whether you arelooking for a spiritual successor to Batman: The Animated Series or want a decidedly different take on Gotham’s heroes and villains, Caped Crusader is most assuredly worth your time.”
Keep reading for everything you need to know about the new Batman animated series, which comes from executive producers Bruce Timm (who co-created and developed Batman: TAS), visionary The Batman filmmaker Matt Reeves, J.J. Abrams, and former Batman and Gotham Central writer Ed Brubaker.
How to Watch Batman: Caped Crusader Online
Batman: Caped Crusaderwill be available to stream exclusively on Amazon’s Prime Video in more than 240countries and territories worldwide beginning Thursday, August 1st. Streaming Batman: Caped Crusader requires a Prime Video subscription ($8.99 per month with ads,or $11.98/mo for ad-free) or an Amazon Prime membership ($14.99 permonth with Prime Video ads, or $17.98/mo with ad-free Prime Video).
Batman: Caped Crusader Release Time
Episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader will be released on Thursday at 12 a.m. PT / 3 a.m. ET on Prime Video.
Batman: Caped Crusader Episodes and Schedule
Batman: Caped Crusader consists of a 10-episode first season, and all 10 episodes will drop on August 1st. The series has already been renewed for a second season.
What Is Batman: Caped Crusader About?
The official synopsis: “Welcome to Gotham City, where the corruptoutnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens livein a constant state of fear. Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthysocialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human —the Batman. His one-man crusade attracts unexpected allies within theGCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseenramifications.”
Who Voices Batman in Batman: Caped Crusader? Who’s in the Cast?
The Batman: Caped Crusader voice cast includes Hamish Linklater (Midnight Mass) in the title role as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets) as Catwoman/Selina Kyle, Jamie Chung (Gotham) as Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzel, and Diedrich Bader (Harley Quinn) as Two-Face/Harvey Dent.
Other announced cast members include Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) as Natalia Night/Nocturna, Toby Stephens (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) as Gentleman Ghost, Reid Scott (Venom) as Onomatopoeia, Dan Donohue (For All Mankind) as Clayface, Jason Watkins (The Crown) as Alfred Pennyworth, John DiMaggio (Futurama) as Harvey Bullock, Eric Morgan Stuart (Fallout 4) as Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon, Krystal Joy Brown (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) as Barbara Gordon, Michelle C. Bonilla (9-1-1: Lone Star), Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) as Firebug, and Minnie Driver (The Witcher: Blood Origin) as Oswalda Cobblepot, the Penguin.
Batman: Caped Crusader Villains
A cast announcement videorevealed Linklater’s Batman voice and the Dark Knight’s rogue’sgallery. They include such classic characters as Catwoman, Two-Face, Harley Quinn — reimagined as Bruce Wayne’s psychologist — and a gender-flipped Penguin.
Among the lesser- known Bat-villains are the pyromaniacFirebug, Natalia Knight (in the comics, a reformed career criminal withphotosensitive skin known as Nocturna, the mistress of the night), thephantom criminal called Gentleman Ghost, and Clayface (the Golden Age Clayface of the 1940s was Basil Karlo, a once-famous character actor and makeup expert turned costumed killer).
Batman: Caped Crusader Characters
Batman – A cold, remorseless avenger of evil,seemingly more machine than man. Forged in the fire of tragedy, everyfiber of his being is dedicated to the eradication of crime. (The Batmansuit is influenced by the character’s earliest appearances in Detective Comics,by creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, with longer, narrow ears, acollared cape, and with black gloves rather than the original purple.)
Bruce Wayne -To the public at large, Bruce Wayne is a shallow dilettante, apparentlywasting his parents’ vast fortune on frivolous pursuits and hedonisticpleasures. In fact, he’s an elaborate facade, carefully constructed todivert attention from his activities as Batman.
Selina Kyle / “Catwoman”– Selena Kyle is a blithe and pampered heiress whose family lost theirfortune after her father was imprisoned for embezzlement. Despite havingthe silver spoon yanked from her mouth, Selina refuses to quit livingin the lap of luxury and becomes Catwoman as a “fun” way to maintain herlavish lifestyle.
Dr. Harleen Quinzel / “Harley Quinn” – Despite apersonable and bubbly demeanor, Dr. Harleen Quinzel is a brilliantpsychiatrist who treats some of Gotham’s elite. However, as HarleyQuinn, she is a different person, entirely. A creepy, quiet, calculatingmenace who secretly dispenses her twisted justice to the trulydespicable among her elite clientele.
Commissioner Jim Gordon– Former beat cop close to retirement, Gordon was hired to play alongwith the corrupt system and run out the clock till he can draw apension. But they’ve sorely underestimated Jim Gordon. His unassailablecharacter brings him into conflict with dirty cops and crookedpoliticians, alike. Not to mention, he has to reckon with a derangedvigilante beating up Gotham’s criminals.
Clayface – Thanks to his “unique” facial features,screen actor Basil Karlo has been forever typecast as a B-movie heavy.Frustrated by the limitations his appearance put on both his career andpersonal life (he fell hopelessly in love with his co-star), Karloturned to an experimental serum that promised to change his face.However, not only does this serum ultimately disfigure his face, but itruptures the last of his sanity – creating the tragic, vengeance seekingvillain, Clayface.
Batman: Caped Crusader Credits
Batman: Caped Crusader season 1 comes from Warner Bros. Animation (My Adventures with Superman, Bat-Family), Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions (Lovecraft Country, the Star Trek films) and Reeves’ 6th & Idaho (2022’s The Batman, The Batman – Part II). Along with Abrams, Reeves and Timm, Batman: Caped Crusader executive producers include head writer Ed Brubaker (DC’s Batman comic, Gotham Central), James Tucker (Justice League Unlimited), Daniel Pipski (The Penguin), Rachel Rusch Rich (Castle Rock), and Sam Register (Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One and Part Two).
The series premieres August 1st only on Prime Video.