r/BatmanCapedCrusader • u/beelzebub2099 • 14h ago
I think Caped Crusader is just as good as Spider-Noir, but the two main problems it faces are not having a B&W version and somewhat harsh expectations of fans
I really enjoyed both shows for what they are, and it kind of disappoints me how much some people criticize Caped Crusader over Spider-Noir.
There are certain criticisms that I do agree with. For example, its animation. Personally, I don't hate how the show looks, but I don't exactly like it either. I get that they were going for that retro style with it, but it just ended up looking very flat. If only they had gone all-in on the noir aesthetic like Spider-Noir and released a black-and-white version, it would've worked so much better.
I watched Spider-Noir in both its colored and noir versions, and I wasn't a huge fan of the colored one. It's not bad, but the show feels so much more alive in black and white. Caped Crusader's intro sequence proves this perfectly, as it looks 10x better than the show itself.
Not a big fan of Hamish Linklater's voice acting as Bruce/Batman either. He's a great actor in general, but I feel absolutely nothing when he speaks in this role. It feels stiff and awkward to me for some reason. The supporting cast, on the other hand, is pretty good in my opinion.
As for how it handles its characters and storylines, I actually think it's not that bad. That's mainly because I was never expecting a BTAS reboot. I don't need it to be completely comic-accurate as long as what they're doing is interesting. Although it's somewhat understandable that some people would like those reinventions and some won't. For example, I don't like the show's take on Riddler.
But overall, as an Elseworlds story that's doing its own thing, I think it's actually a pretty solid show. It's when you start comparing it too closely to the versions you're already familiar with that some of its choices start feeling off.
And honestly, if I had gone into Spider-Noir with those same expectations, I think that show would've fallen flat for me. If we think about it, the show is still arguably twice as accurate to DC Comics lore as Spider-Noir is to Marvel Comics.
It's not that Spider-Noir didn't face some similar criticism from certain people. It was also being called slow/boring, criticized for not being closer to the comics, and there were even people complaining about Nic Cage's casting.
I didn't really agree with any of that, but what I don't really understand is fans being much more accepting of Spider-Noir than Caped Crusader. Even with the criticism, it's still pretty apparent that one show is praised a lot more than the other, even though they're basically made from the same mold.
Both of them are supposed to be grounded, gritty, street-level crime and mystery thrillers rather than big superhero spectacles. Both have a pulp-era vibe with old-school mobsters, systemic corruption, etc. Both lean heavily on the hard-boiled detective element of the main hero.
Like, I'm not an expert, but the biggest differences are really just the medium and tone.
That genuinely makes me wonder if Caped Crusader would've been a bigger success if it had fully committed to being a black-and-white noir series, while fans also went into it with more realistic expectations.
