Batman: Caped Crusader achieves exactly what it set out to do while distinguishing itself from the rest of the many Batman cartoons with its brooding 1940s aesthetic. Batman: Caped Crusader features a Batman (Hamish Linklater) that leans into his detective side much more than in previous iterations and nails Bruce Wayne’s playboy facade.
While it’s undeniably a Batman-centric show, Caped Crusader is quietly building out its universe with its subtle inclusion of classic DC characters, some of which you’d need to be the world’s greatest detective yourself to spot (or at least check the credits).
10 Plastic Man
Although he’s typically outfitted in a striking red tunic that leaves little to the imagination (much like his personality), Plastic Man aka Patrick “Eel” O’Brian (Tom Kenny) appears in Episodes 3 and 4, as a nosy Gotham Gazette photographer who Batman enlists to get photos from the scene of Catwoman (Christina Ricci) and later Firebug’s (Tom Kenny) crimes. In the comics, Eel O’Brian is a small-time crook who ends up doused in chemicals after a heist gone wrong that gives him stretchy, shapeshifting abilities. However, with the help of Batman, O’Brian utilizes his newfound abilities and abandons his life of crime to become the superhero, Plastic Man.
While he isn’t a crook in Caped Crusader, it seems he’ll do anything for a story. He retains his signature Plastic Man snark, regardless of his origins, thanks to Tom Kenny. Kenny voices O’Brian in Caped Crusader, but he’s no stranger to Plastic Man. He voices the character in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and again in Plastic Man, a mini-series in 2013. Plastic Man is an iconic and unmistakable Justice Leaguer, so we can only hope to see more of Eel next season.
9 Killer Croc
Resembling a look similar to his appearance in Batman: The Animated Series, Killer Croc aka Waylon Jones makes an appearance at the Gotham City Carnival in Episode 8, “Nocturne”. If you’re wondering why one of Batman’s most brutal rogues is hanging around the fairgrounds, it’s because Waylon spent time at the circus as one of their sideshow freak attractions before he turned to a life of crime. Due to a rare condition, Waylon was born with a genetic condition that makes his skin leathery and reptilian, something that made him the butt of every joke and a monster in everyone’s eyes, even his family.
Considering Caped Crusader focuses on a very early Batman, it makes sense that Waylon would still be with the circus, but his confirmation in the episode can only mean one thing: Bat is about to be on the menu. Hopefully, by the time Waylon crosses paths with Batman, he’ll look even more crocodile than man, resembling the absolute beast that proves to be one of The Dark Knight’s most deadly adversaries.
8 Gray Ghost
Featured not in appearance but in print, is none other than Gray Ghost. In Episode 8, “Nocturne,” while waiting on Bruce like the loyal butler/chauffer/medic/dad that he is, Alfred (Jason Watkins) – or “Pennyworth” as Bruce only calls him by his last name in Caped Crusader – is reading a book called Alias the Gray Ghost. You may remember the name from a classic episode of Batman: The Animated Series, “Beware the Gray Ghost” in which washed-up television actor Simon Trent (voiced by Batman alum Adam West) realizes the impact he had on his audience as the fictional hero Gray Ghost. After crossing paths, Batman (Kevin Conroy) reveals to Trent how important and meaningful Gray Ghost was to him and how he modeled much of his persona off the character.
The last time we saw Alfred reading a book while waiting on Bruce Wayne was in The LEGO Batman Movie in which he was reading Setting Limits For Your Out-of-Control Child. While that’s understandably goofier than Alias the Gray Ghost, it’s good to know that Alfred finds time to consume literature of all genres while waiting for Gotham’s Most Eligible Bachelor.
7 Deadshot
For a man who boasts he never misses a shot, it’s a little awkward that our introduction to him is through his failed assassination attempt. When a hit is put out on Commissioner Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart) in Episode 7, “Moving Target,” – which is later revealed to have actually been put out on Barbara Gordon (Krystal Joy Brown) – the first attacker is a gangster later revealed to be Floyd Lawton (Roger Craig Smith) aka Deadshot, a mercenary and master marksman that’s crossed paths with Batman on several occasions before winding up as one of the original members of the Suicide Squad.
Before Lawton has a chance to fire, he’s shot down, but considering the number of Batman villains quietly seeded throughout this season, it’s a safe bet that he’s still alive. And when he comes back he’ll hopefully be a little quicker on the trigger because he has a name to live up to.
6 Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen
Odds are you just saw them on Season 2 of My Adventures With Superman but the dynamic duo of The Daily Planet are back (for mere seconds, with no speaking lines) in Caped Crusader. The two appear briefly in Episode 4 during a press conference and though there are no captions or credits to discern them, if you look close enough, it’s undeniably them. Jimmy has a shock of red hair and, as many viewers have pointed out, Lois is an exact model for her appearance in the 1941 Superman cartoons by Max Fleischer.
It goes without saying, but if Lois and Jimmy exist, then that can only mean Big Blue is around too, and maybe he’s also just getting the hang of this superhero thing. If Superman were to appear further down the line, the retro noir setting of Caped Crusader would make for a perfect World’s Finest team-up.
5 Scarecrow
While briefing the police department on her psychological profile of the “Bat-Man, ” Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Jamie Chung) mentions her former mentor, Professor Crane. This is a clear nod to Jonathan Crane aka, Scarecrow. Scarecrow makes a great foil for Batman because, while physically weak, his fear gas forces Batman to reckon with and battle the demons of his traumatic past.
Considering we’ve already seen flashbacks to the day his parents were murdered this season, Scarecrow would be able to cook up some trauma for Bruce that would fit the aesthetic of the show while challenging and evolving Batman as a character. And if it weren’t for Scarecrow, we wouldn’t have one of the most iconic Batman lines of all time, “I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman!” Featured in the episode, “Nothing to Fear,” of Batman: The Animated Series, Batman declares the words whilst fighting off Scarecrow’s toxins and overcoming his fears to take the villain down. If we can get a line that powerful from the great Kevin Conroy in 1992, imagine the dialogue we could get from a rematch today with Linklater’s take on the Caped Crusader.
4 The Spectre
One of the most slick cameos in Caped Crusader is more of a supporting character. Featured in a couple of episodes, Detective James Corrigan (Roger Craig Smith) is another hero in waiting, even if he’s a crooked cop where we leave him in Episode 7. In the comics, Corrigan becomes The Spectre after being murdered on the job and finding his soul linked to Aztar, the Spirit of Vengeance.
As for whether-or-not we’ll see those events transpire on the show is yet to be seen, but considering Corrigan is likely doing time after his attempted assassination of Barbara, it might not be for a while. Interestingly enough, Corrigan is voiced by Roger Craig Smith, who portrayed Batman in 2013’s Arkham: Origins. This makes Smith the third character in Caped Crusader to have voiced Batman after Diedrich Bader (the voice of Harvey Dent) who voiced him in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and, of course, Linklater’s current take.
3 The Robins
If the names of those orphan victims of Natalia Knight (Mckenna Grace) rang a bell in Episode 8, it’s because they all have something in common. Dickie (Carter Rockwood), Jase (Henry Witcher), Stephie (Amari McCoy), and Carrie (Juliet Donefeld), have all taken on the mantle of Robin at one time or another throughout Batman’s prolific comic history. Dick Grayson, the first Robin, grows up to become Nightwing, Jason Todd dies in the tragic Death in the Family arc and returns from the dead as Red Hood, Stephanie Brown, the daughter of obscure Batman villain Cluemaster, takes up the mantle of Robin for a short stint before becoming Spoiler, and Carrie Kelley is Robin in Frank Miller’sDark Knight Returns.
Bunching them all together at an orphanage is another creative change for the show, but it certainly upped the stakes of the episode. Whether or not we see any of them step into the classic Robin costume in the future, the Robins’ inclusion remains a fun Easter egg (and leaves us wondering if Tim Drake is out there).
2 Birds of Prey
We got to see a friendship blossom between Barbara Gordon, Renee Montoya (Michelle C. Bonilla), and Harleen Quinzel this season, with the latter even going out on a date. But after Harley Quinn’s scuffle with Batman in Episode 5, “The Stress of Her Regard,” tensions are sure to be heightened. Hopefully, things can be resolved and pave the way for them to form into the Birds of Prey.
Comic-wise, the trio are all members of the Birds of Prey, but Harley wasn’t as prominent of a member (busy with the Suicide Squad and Gotham City Sirens) until the Margot Robbie-led film, Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) in 2020. There are a lot of pieces in play in the Caped Crusader universe, but considering the amount of time the trio got this season, it isn’t so far-fetched to believe some form of the Birds of Prey could take flight soon.
1 Joker
The smiling victims, that horrifying laugh, those mad eyes – it isn’t outright said but the cliffhanger in Episode 10, “Savage Night,” is obviously teasing none other than The Joker for its upcoming and greenlit second season. However, this Joker is a departure from the Clown Prince of Crime we’re used to seeing in Batman’s animated outings.
When we meet him, he has a line-up of victims, presumably dead with that signature smile stretched from ear to ear. The last victim is hysterically laughing, so much so that it kills him as he goes limp like the rest. When the Joker speaks, it isn’t the jaunty Mark Hamill-esque tone we’ve become accustomed to. This Joker’s voice is deep and calculated and if there’s anything scarier than The Joker unhinged, it’s The Joker with a plan. Whatever his plans are, Batman: Caped Crusader is sure to give us an intriguing take on the iconic villain that will make the wait for Season 2 feel like an eternity.