Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’.
Set apart by its brooding 1940s-inspired aesthetic,Batman: Caped Crusaderhas been making some serious waves since the animated series dropped on Prime Video this month. UnitingBatman: The Animated SeriesmastermindBruce TimmwithThe BatmandirectorMatt Reevesand executive producerJ.J. Abrams, this retelling of the DC legend is uniquely its own. While many of Batman’s popular rogues appear in the show’s first season, there’s one in particular who makes quite an impact despite appearing for only seconds at the very end. That’s right, we’re talking about that Joker cameo at the very end of “Savage Night,” which is frankly the perfect way to tease a second season.
Batman: Caped Crusader
In Gotham City, where corruption and crime are rampant, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne transforms into Batman following a personal tragedy. His relentless pursuit of justice attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but also spawns deadly consequences. This series reimagines Batman’s mythology through the creative lenses of J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Bruce Timm.
‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ Season 1 Ends With a Bang — and a Laugh
The final two episodes ofBatman: Caped Crusaderare dedicated entirely to the fall and redemption of one Harvey Dent (voiced byDiedrich Bader, who previouslyplayed Batman inBatman: The Brave and the Bold), butit all leads to a masterful cameo at the very end. After betraying Rupert Thorne (Cedric Yarbrough), Harvey is horribly disfigured and left for dead. As if his physical appearance wasn’t bad enough, the former Gotham lawyer begins to suffer from rage-fueled paranoia, which further alienates him from his friends. But after Batman stops Dent from killing Thorne, the lawyer-turned-criminal decides that he needs help and is committed to Arkham Asylum, where he learns that Barbara Gordon (Krystal Joy Brown) is now his lawyer. Of course, Thorne doesn’t let Dent off that easily, not after showing a willingness to kill both the crime boss and his son, and so he sends his corrupt cops after him.
The season finale “Savage Night” picks up with Barbara’s attempts to help Harvey Dent overcome his two-faced persona, which he begrudgingly accepts, unaware that Thorne’s cops-for-hire are after him. Batman soon catches wind of the hit on Dent and aids Commissioner Jim Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart) in protecting Barbara and Two-Face. But even the Batman fails sometimes. Tragically, Dent sacrifices himself to save Barbara’s life, which almost sets Batman over the edge. Instead, Detectives Bullock (John DiMaggio) and Flass (Gary Anthony Williams) are finally arrested for their crimes. But elsewhere in Gotham, another threat looms over the city, unbeknownst to its people. As we see a half dozen victims with permanent smiles plastered across their faces, one more succumbs to a laughing toxin that results in the same.It’s then that a mysterious figure with a clown white face appears, noting ominously that his work is now “perfect.”
‘Caped Crusader’s Final Moments Tease a Different Sort of Joker
When it comes to Batman in animation, there’s only one instance where the Joker doesn’t show up to ruin the Dark Knight’s day (Beware the Batman, which still had a Joker-like character in Anarchy). These two just go together, especially when Bruce Timm is concerned. As many have noted, you just can’t do Batman without Joker. But while folks have gotten used to the over-the-top and higher-pitched version of the charactertraditionally played byMark Hamill,Caped Crusaderoffers a different (and potentially more frightening) take. While the Clown Prince of Crime is always a threat worth taking seriously, there’s something more menacing about the character when his voice is an octave or so lower. In the case of this portrayal,the Joker’s darker, more gravelly vocals are a far cry fromBatman: The Animated Series, but they might just give a tease as to what sort of story Season 2 might bring.
In some sense, this Joker’s voice is more reminiscent of John DiMaggio’s portrayal inBatman: Under the Red HoodorKevin Michael Richardson’s fromThe Batman(the 2004 animated series, not the 2022 feature film). The eerie gravitas he brings — the actor has thus far gone uncredited — feels more brooding and sinister, more like a classic Hollywood mastermind rather than an off-his-meds clown with a penchant for death and societal upheaval. No, this Joker feels somewhat akin to the character’s very first appearance in the 1940 comic book,Batman #1. From the very beginning, the Joker was there. Though Batman first appeared back inDetective Comics #27(about a year prior), the Clown Prince made his mark fairly early in the Dark Knight’s career and has stuck around ever since. In his earlier appearances,the Joker was more sadistic, murderous, and frightening than the traditional laughing clown image we associate with him today.
Batman and Joker were both toned down in the 1940s as a way to appeal better to younger audiences (the introduction of Robin contributed to this as well), but in more recent years, the character has returned to his roots. Back in 2005, writerEd Brubakerretold the original Joker story fromBatman #1in the one-shotBatman: The Man Who Laughs. Here, Brubaker revisits the villain’s first crime wave in Gotham and, likeAlan Moorebefore him withBatman: The Killing Joke, examines how a hardened and psychotic criminal like the Jokermight really engage with the citizens of Batman’s beloved city. Brubaker, who served as the head writer onCaped Crusader’s first season (and penned “Savage Night” himself), was seemingly re-inspired by Joker’s first 1940s appearance and wanted to see that particular version of the character on the Prime Video series.
‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ Review: Bruce Timm’s New Animated Series Has an Identity Crisis
‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ will be available to stream on Prime Video on August 2.
There Are Some Parallels Between ‘The Batman’ and ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’s Joker Cameos
Longtime Batman fans are likely to see some other similarities too. Thougha confrontation between the Dark Knight and the Clown Princewas removed from the final cut ofMatt Reeves’The Batman, theCaped Crusaderexecutive producer managed to keepBarry Keoghan’s Joker in the movie anyway via a cameo appearance. Much like the brief glimpse we get of the character at the end ofThe Batman,Caped Crusader’s “Savage Night” teases the future conflict between our hero and his mortal enemy. Sure, Keoghan’s Joker feels a lot more Hannibal Lector-ish than the one we see inCaped Crusader, but just as multiple interpretations of Batman can reveal different things about the hero’s character, so too can various depictions of the Joker. Whether Reeves had a hand in theCaped Crusadercameo is unclear, but the fact that we now have not one but two Batman projects where the villain is teased for a greater adventure feels significant.
IfBatman: Caped Crusaderwill be known best for anything going forward, it will bethe way in whichit reinvented Batman’s most famous rogues.Minnie Driver’s plays a gender-swapped Penguin, Nocturna (Mckenna Grace) is a soul-sucking vampire, and Clayface (Dan Donohue) is transformed into a traditional horror movie villain akin to the Universal Classic Monsters. And let’s not forget that the Joker’s former sidekick, Harley Quinn (Jamie Chung), was brought onto the scene completely independent of her “Puddin’,” making this the first depiction of Harley not to be associated with the Joker. But that might not last for long. If the Joker does indeed return ina still unconfirmed second season,Batman: Caped Crusadermight very well pair these two together again, or at least put them in the same room. However Joker manages to make his mark on the next season of this Prime Video series, there’s little doubt that he’ll be a foe worthy of Batman.
Batman: Caped Crusaderis available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
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