Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 Review by Ryan Balkwill

TV Series / August 5, 2026 / Leave a Comment

Plot: Forged in the fire of tragedy, billionaire Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human–the BATMAN. Night after night, against overwhelming odds, he wages his relentless one-man war on crime.

New villains on the streets of Gotham City, and there’s only one man for the job.

Season 2 of Caped Crusader was Really Good.

Pros: The show still carried it’s 1940 thriller noir tone hard. James Gordon & Barbara Gordon got developed further. I like some of this season’s take on classic Batman villains & newest enemies compared to last season. The animation feels stiff, but it gets the job done. It slowly shows how the corruption happens through the eyes of citizens of the city. Scarecrow was scary. I like this take on the Joker. Harley Quinn got a great character send-off. Thorn impressed me & I felt the stakes were high when hearing the last two episodes. And how the conflict between Batman and The Joker was carefully set up & I have had more enjoyment out of this season than last time.    

Cons: I didn’t like how a lot of villains, like Strange, Riddler, Mr. Zero & Joker maybe died? There were episodes I enjoyed the least. There is still a problem with the animation being stiff & awkward. I am still not a fan of the bat-suit. & Also, villains went to the wayside and could have done more with them.

Genre: Kids & Family, Action, Adventure, Animation

Developed by Bruce Timm

Showrunners: Bruce Timm, James Tucker

Based on Characters from DC

Voices of Hamish Linklater, Jason Watkins, Krystal Joy Brown, Eric Morgan Stuart, Gary Anthony Williams, Diedrich Bader & Michelle C. Bonilla.

Music by Frederik Wiedmann

Executive producers: Bruce Timm, J. J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, Ed Brubaker, James Tucker, Daniel Pipski, Rachel Rusch Rich, Sam Register, Geoffrey Thorne, Sarah Geismer

Editor: Marc Stone

Production companies: Bad Robot Productions, 6th & Idaho Motion Picture Company, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, Amazon MGM Studios, DC Studios

Network: Amazon Prime Video

Voice Casts & Characters:

Main

  • Hamish Linklater as Bruce Wayne / Batman, a troubled socialite who secretly fights crime on the streets of Gotham City as a bat-themed vigilante.
    • Santino Barnard as Young Bruce Wayne
  • Jason Watkins as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce’s loyal butler and assistant.
  • Eric Morgan Stuart as James “Jim” Gordon, the commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department and a secret ally of Batman. Gordon is among the very few members of the Gotham City Police department who is not corrupt. He is willing to look the other way in regards to Batman due to him believing Batman is out to help the city, and sees him as being capable of doing things that he himself can’t. In contrast to his comic book counterpart and other appearances in most media aside from Matt Reeves’ film the Batman, Gordon is depicted as African American and fairly advanced in age, having served in the GCPD for several years, as opposed to having spent time in Chicago like his comic book counterpart. Gordon begins working with Batman in secret at the end of season 1 and is shown to cooperate with Batman out of sight from most officers in the GCPD aside from Renee Montoya, one of the few officers he trusts. In season 2, he is shown considering the Bat-Signal as a means of contacting Batman when he cannot be reached by phone. 
  • Krystal Joy Brown as Barbara Gordon, Jim Gordon’s daughter and a public defender whose brand of morality tends to clash with her father’s. Barbara is initially wary of the Batman, but begins to cooperate with him during season 1. By season 2, the two are in semi-regular contact, with Batman contacting her by phone when he has need of information. She eventually brings Batman and her father into more direct contact and alongside Montoya and Gordon, becomes a direct ally of Batman’s within Gotham’s legal system. She is a former friend of Harleen Quinzel, and believed her to be dead at the end of season 1. Barbara is trained in the use of firearms, and helped to fend off the hitman Onomatopoeia in season one, not realizing that she, rather than her father, had actually been the assassin’s target.
  • John DiMaggio as Harvey Bullock, a corrupt police detective on the Thorne crime family’s payroll with the goal of unmasking Batman and proving him be a fake. Bullock is demoted in rank from Detective to Officer in season 2 following the events of the assassination of Harvey Dent in the show’s first season, taking the fall for his then partner Arnold Flass. Though he is a corrupt cop, Bullock is shown to be subordinate to Flass when acting on any assignments given to them by Thorne in the show’s first season. In season 2, Bullock encounters Carrie Kelly, and while he believes she is untrustworthy due to being an orphan, and despite threatening her with significant harm, he proves unwilling to follow through on his threats when he has the opportunity, though the two continue to have an antagonistic relationship. Bullock is determined to put her into Juvenile detention if possible.
  • Gary Anthony Williams as Arnold Flass, a corrupt police detective on the Thorne crime family’s payroll and Bullock’s partner in season 1. When Bullock is reduced in rank in season 2, Flass is partnered with Renee Montoya by Gordon in the hopes of keeping Flass under control, as Montoya is not among the corrupt officers on the force. This version of Flass is depicted as an African American, in contrast with most depictions of Flass, such as Batman Year One, which depicted him as Caucasian. Flass is also depicted as being the more openly corrupt between himself and Bullock and was depicted as usually leading any of their criminal behaviors in the first season.
  • Michelle C. Bonilla as Renee Montoya, A police detective who has her suspicions about Batman. She is among the few honest cops in the department, and has earned the trust of Commissioner Gordon. She was briefly romantically involved with Harleen Quinzel in season 1 and at some point between the two seasons took her in and harbored her at her apartment until the events of season 2, when Quinzel turns herself in to keep her from being accused of aiding and abetting a fugitive. This version of Montoya is openly lesbian, a trait that was given to the character in the comics when she was transplanted into the DC comics continuity from Batman: the Animated Series. Montoya is skilled in hand to hand combat and firearms. By the end of season 2, she has become an active ally of Batman and is among the few officers on the force who is aware of the fact that Commissioner Gordon and Batman had begun working together at the end of season 1.

Supporting

  • Grey DeLisle as:
    • Lily Gardner (season 2), the Riddler’s girlfriend
  • Cedric Yarbrough as:
    • Linton Midnite, a voodoo shaman who gives Batman advice on how to defeat the Gentleman Ghost.
  • Bumper Robinson as Lucius Fox, Bruce Wayne’s lawyer.
  • Yuri Lowenthal as Detective Eric Cohen
  • Jamie Chung as Dr. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn, a crazed psychiatrist who resents Gotham’s elite and has a particular interest in Batman. She is a former friend of Barbara Gordon and developed a romantic attraction towards Renee Montoya in season 1. At some point between the two seasons, Harleen lived with Montoya in secret. When the Scarecrow begins subjecting students at Gotham University to his fear toxin, Quinzel begins to investigate the situation and briefly works with Batman to defeat him. Unwilling to put Montoya’s career at risk, she turns herself in, keeping her time at Montoya’s home a secret.
  • Tom Kenny as:
  • Kimberly Brooks as Romy Chandler, a Gotham City Police Department detective
  • Corey Burton as Jack Ryder
  • William Salyers as Mayor Jessop, the Mayor of Gotham City. In season 2, Jessop is killed by the Joker as part of his plan to destroy Gotham City.
  • Roger Craig Smith as:
    • Jim Corrigan / The Spectre, a corrupt cop who planned on assassinating Barbara for a bounty whilst she and her father were being hunted down by Onomatopoeia.
  • James Arnold Taylor as Marcus Driver, a Gotham City Police Department detective
  • Ronan Raftery as Eddie Nygma / Riddler (season 2), A psychopath gangster and Rupert Thorne’s lieutenant who “riddles” his victims with bullets
  • Laraine Newman as Hattie Tetch / Mad Hatter (season 2), A TV news gossip who is vocally opposed to Batman She is killed by the Joker as part of a plan to destroy Gotham City.
  • Matthew Needham as Joker (season 2), A German-accented criminal with a clown-like appearance This Joker is shown to be skilled in hand to hand combat and firearms. A physical match for Batman as well as being skilled in chemistry, he attempts to destroy Gotham City via a modified version of the toxin he uses to kill Hugo Strange and Hattie Tetch, among others. He is impaled during season 2’s climactic battle with Batman and throws himself from the roof of the building the fight had been taking place on but is not confirmed to be dead. Unlike most incarnations of the character, this version is generally calm and rarely laughs. He is shown to have respect for Batman, referring to him as “brother” when they finally meet.

Guest

Characters making non-speaking cameo appearances include Joe Chill, the mugger who shot Bruce’s parents Thomas and Martha Wayne; and Jimmy Olsen, a photographer for the Daily Planet.[

I still recommend watching this season on Prime Video to those who like Season one.

Rating: 8 out of 10 Stars

Ryan Balkwill:

Resident TV reviewer,

Level Best Art Cafe

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