In Review: Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

Synopsis: It’s back to the 1960s as Batman and Robin spring into action when Gotham City is threatened by a quartet of Batman’s most fiendish foes – Penguin, The Joker, Riddler and Catwoman. The four Super-Villains have combined their wicked talents to hatch a plot so nefarious that the Dynamic Duo will need to go to outer space (and back) to foil their arch enemies and restore order in Gotham City. It’s a truly fantastic adventure that will pit good against evil, good against good, evil against evil … and feature two words that exponentially raise the stakes for both sides: Replicator Ray. Holy Multiplication Tables, Batman!

Review: Holy Deconstruction, Batman! Every iteration of Batman since the 1960’s has existed in progressive darkness relative to the stylings of Adam West and Burt Ward. This meant that the only way to revisit that original small screen era was to deconstruct it. Michael Jelenic and James Tucker crafted a masterful and loving script that balanced the tone of the original series with commentary on the tonal shifts that followed. I particularly enjoyed the more visceral descriptors used in the fight sound effects balloons after a drugged Batman took to brass knuckles. I also appreciated how Under-The-Influence Batman told off Gordon and O’Hara for being the incompetent boobs they were.

There was something even more wonderful than the script, however. West, Ward, and the eternally awesome Julie Newmar were happily eating the script with three giant spoons. Animation may be a visual medium, but the joy lay in listening to those three riff off each other. Their exchange alluding to the ending of The Dark Knight Rises was worth the price alone!

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and V.O.D now.

Cast

Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar

Director

Rick Morales

Producers

James Tucker, Michael Jelenic, Sam Register, Benjamin Melniker, Michael Uslan

Writers

Michael Jelenic, James Tucker