The Animated Series A Modern Update

Matt Reeves is known for directing 2022’s The Batman, but he also worked as an executive producer on a Prime Video show that took the classic Batman: The Animated Series and modernized it. Batman: The Animated Series is widely considered one of the best superhero shows ever made, and certainly one of the best animated superhero shows ever. It’s as great now as it was when it premiered in 1992, but there was still room to modernize it.

Batman: The Animated Series had some masterpiece episodes, almost perfect command of its source material, some of the best backstories for heroes and villains alike, and it topped it all off with gorgeous animation and an art deco style. The only real problem with the series was the time it came out. Batman: The Animated Series was a kids’ cartoon from the 1990s, and it had a lighter and more family-friendly tone as a result.

Modern audiences have come to expect Batman stories to be dark and gritty tales filled with mature themes and disturbing acts of evil from villains like the Joker. Most of this expectation stems from The Dark Knight trilogy, but Matt Reeves’ The Batman also set the bar for more grounded and adult Batman stories on screen. Batman: The Animated Series can’t compare to that modern expectation, and it’s much closer to the campy and fantastical Tim Burton Batman movies.

While being more kid-friendly and akin to a comic book isn’t a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, Batman: The Animated Series‘ tone still left room for modernization. Luckily, just two years after he redefined live-action Batman, Matt Reeves also got a chance to update the animated series with Batman: Caped Crusader in 2024. Caped Crusader truly feels like an homage to The Animated Series, but it also feels like an updated version of it.

Batman: Caped Crusader Modernized The Animated Series Even Though It’s Set Further In The Past

Batman: Caped Crusader has some obvious differences from Batman: The Animated Series. They exist in different continuities, have different versions of the same characters, and Caped Crusader very notably takes place in the 1940s. While it does take place further in the past, Caped Crusader is essentially a more modern, grounded, and adult version of The Animated Series.

Unlike The Animated Series, Caped Crusader is tailored to an older and more mature audience. It deals with many of the same heavy themes as the original show did, but Caped Crusader goes about depicting those themes more bluntly. Villains commit real acts of violence, the show dives right into societal corruption, and it doesn’t shy away from horror and frightening visuals. Caped Crusader doesn’t have to hide anything to preserve its age rating, something The Animated Series quite often had to do.

Take, for example, Harvey Dent’s appearance. In The Animated Series, the disfigured half of Harvey’s face becomes a cartoonish and ghoulish caricature complete with blue skin, pronounced lips, and a massive yellow eye. In Caped Crusader, his disfigured half is very clearly drawn to be flesh melted by acid. Another example is Clayface; both versions are tragic actors-turned-villains, but Caped Crusader dives much further into the realm of body horror.

Aside from its more mature tone and visuals, Caped Crusader also makes some changes to The Animated Series to just feel fresher in general. Harley Quinn, for example, is depicted as her own character, not a lackey wrapped around the Joker’s finger, yet the show never sacrifices her villainy. Caped Crusader also abandoned the “adventure of the week” format in favor of a more cohesive overarching story about Harvey becoming Two Face that ties together episode-specific plots. Both of these changes help make Caped Crusader feel distinct and more similar to modern television shows.

Batman: Caped Crusader Is More Modern, But It’s Still Perfect For Fans Of The Animated Series

Batman in the night ready to fight in Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1

Even with all the changes and updates Batman: Caped Crusader made to Batman: The Animated Series‘ formula, it’s still a tremendous show for fans of the latter series to watch. It is more violent and mature and it does change both the format and the villains, but Caped Crusader is very clearly a spiritual successor to The Animated Series. It was even created by The Animated Series‘ head producer, Bruce Timm.

Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2: Everything We Know

Batman: Caped Crusader has been renewed for a second season on Prime Video, and information, including writers and cast, is slowly being revealed.

So many of the best features of The Animated Series live on in Caped Crusader. It has a similarly sleek and beautiful animation style, it takes great strides to humanize and dive into the psyches of Batman’s villains, and it tackles heavy and mature topics head-on. The action is arguably better, given Caped Crusader‘s higher budget and reduced episode count, and while it doesn’t feature the iconic voice of Kevin Conroy, Hamish Linklater is a great successor as Bruce Wayne.

Caped Crusader as a whole feels like a love letter to The Animated Series. Kids who grew up watching the earlier show are adults now, and it feels like Caped Crusader grew up right along with them. If you grew up watching The Animated Series as a kid, Caped Crusader feels like it continues that story with an appreciation of how your tastes have changed with age. If you never watched The Animated Series, then Batman: Caped Crusader is a perfect excuse to get into the wonderful world of animated Batman stories.