NOTE: This article obviously contains SPOILERS. Proceed at your own risk!
Official Summary
After a series of robberies in Gotham, Batman wrestles with the possibility that the culprit might be from beyond the grave. Meanwhile, Harvey Dent’s morality is tested when a generous campaign donation comes in from a most nefarious source.
My Summary
After multiple attempts to apprehend a highwayman-themed phantom are unsuccessful, Batman must reluctantly suspend his disbelief and seek outside help to capture the so-called Gentleman Ghost. Meanwhile, as Harvey Dent loses support among the working class in his mayoral campaign, he finds himself accepting a campaign contribution from crime boss Rupert Thorne.
Voice Cast
Hamish Linklater as Batman / Bruce Wayne
Toby Stephens as James “Gentleman Jim” Craddock / The Gentleman Ghost, Russell Craddock
Diedrich Bader as Harvey Dent
Bumper Robinson as Lucius Fox, Reporter 2
Jason Watkins as Alfred Pennyworth
Cedric Yarbrough as Rupert Thorne, Linton Midnite
Gaille Heidemann as Wilma
Jason Marsden as Gormon, Reporter 1
Kari Wahlgren as Guard, Secretary, Reporter 3
Commentary
In addition to police corruption and brutality, a recurring theme in many episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader has been class conflict. To win the mayoral election, Harvey Dent is chasing the favor of the upper class for support. Following her father’s arrest for tax fraud—a rich man’s crime—Catwoman turns to burglary in an attempt to maintain her quality of life. Dr. Harleen Quinzel, frustrated with the sins committed by the elite in her care, kidnaps and tortures them into giving away everything they own. In truth, the series simmers with economic disparity and resentment, and it frequently threatens to boil over.
At the center of it all is Batman. Critics of the Dark Knight say that, in essence, he is a rich man who uses his wealth to beat up the poor. Victimized by an unknown mugger when he was eight years old, he dedicated his life and personal wealth to waging war on criminals, most of whom—most likely—turned to crime simply to survive. Even without the benefit of historical touchstones to create an official timeline, Executive Producer Bruce Timm stated in an August 7th post on Anime Superhero that the series “takes place in [an] elastic time bubble, anywhere from roughly 1939 to 1950” (b.t.). Assuming that this season takes place closer to the beginning of this time frame, that would place the series at the tail end of the Great Depression.
Stretching from 1929 to 1939, the Great Depression was a period of economic distress featuring abject poverty and high unemployment, during which Bruce Wayne was presumably unaffected, and he spent large amounts of his money and time training to become Batman while others moved into Hoovervilles and stood in bread lines. He chose to become a vigilante—with the customized costume, gear, and vehicles—rather than become a police officer (however, considering the state of GCPD, he probably made the right decision there). In the world of BTAS and the comics, this spending is tempered by Bruce Wayne’s philanthropy—the presence of Wayne Enterprises (which brings industry and employment to Gotham City) and the Wayne Foundation (which helps the impoverished)—but in Caped Crusader these things do not exist. Here, Bruce Wayne is just a rich guy with a weird, but noble, passion that costs incredible amounts of money.
The absence of the Wayne Foundation is keenly felt at the beginning of “Night Ride,” where a female guard describes Gotham City’s decline:
Man, just look at this place. I remember when these factories were open round the clock. My pops used to work in that one right there; made paper clips. And that fire hit a few years back and FWOOSH. […] We had a government worth a damn we’d rebuild; pump some life back in. But instead we get to keep the slums.
In Wayne’s defense, the trauma of seeing his parents’ murder undoubtedly did damage to his psyche, to say nothing of his empathy. During the interviews leading up to the series’ debut, Bruce Timm discussed how Bruce Wayne is “a construct […] a completely fake person suit that he’s created. […] He’s literally Batman, like 24/7” (qtd. in Schedeen). As for the Dark Knight himself, Timm describes this “24/7” Batman as “extremely aloof and almost inhuman” (qtd. in Breznican) whose “not adjusted to being a human being” (qtd. in Holub). The damage is so deep; he’s more than just a Batman who masquerades as Bruce Wayne to evade suspicion. Here, this incarnation of the character has no idea how to even be a person.
His inability to relate to others shows in multiple episodes. This Batman holds everyone at arm’s length, including Alfred—the man who served as his surrogate parent for nearly two decades (assuming he’s mid-twenties at the beginning of Caped Crusader)—to whom he refers to only by his surname, “Pennyworth.” In “The Stress of Her Regard,” he is unable to express empathy to Barbara Gordon regarding the apparent death of her friend. And in the upcoming “The Killer Inside Me,” he forces his friend—the physically and emotionally-damaged Harvey Dent—to leave his home to grill him about his accident in public, which appears to aggravate his mental state, causing a psychotic break. I can’t help but wonder if he can actually see the gradations of right and wrong while fighting crime, or if he merely sees them like a robot following programming does.
The fact that Brue Wayne is a wealthy man allows him to get away with many of his personality defects. During his court-appointed therapy sessions in “Kiss of the Catwoman,” he said how “life is just different for people in my position,” to which a smirking Dr. Quinzel—no doubt picturing him behind glass in her Playpen—replied, “Someone wealthy, you mean? I’m sure it is.”
Serving as a reflection to the Dark Knight here is James “Gentleman Jim” Craddock, the criminal phantom that the press refers to as the Gentleman Ghost. Reimagined here as the vengeful spirit of an 18th century British loyalist, “Gentleman Jim” was a wealthy aristocrat, one of the founding families of Gotham City, and granted the property of Heritage Hill by King George III himself. An elitist by birth, he saw his money and privilege as his birthright, and when he squandered his fortune he became a highwayman who only stole from the poor (at least Catwoman had the decency to rob the rich). Executed following his arrest, his spirit remained dormant until his great-great-great-nephew, Russell Craddock, elected to sell the family estate to a commoner. Awakened by the perceived indignity, he resumed his criminal activities, even though—as a ghost—he no longer even has need of money.
To defeat the Gentleman Ghost, Batman had to make some sacrifices, the first being an acceptance of a world in which the supernatural exists. At first believing the phantom to only be some sort of trickery, he had to dismiss that theory once his fist not only went through Craddock’s head, but it became encased in ice moments later. And while it’s true that Batman is traditionally a being of logic and reason who believes in what he can see, I think there’s more to this turn than just believing in ghosts. In Justice League of America #0 (September 2006), Superman noticed Batman’s fear following their first Justice League mission, and he realized that “[i]t was just the simple and unavoidable realization that there were bigger things on this planet than him” (Meltzer). By accepting the existence of the supernatural and seeking help from one of its practitioners, Batman was forced to accept his limitations.
Through this acceptance of humility, Batman made the second of his sacrifices. Seeking the help of Linton Midnite, he warned the Dark Knight that “[t]his magic—it will fight back. Even if you think you can handle it, it will find weakness you didn’t know you had.” Batman discovered the validity of these words during the ritual to banish the Gentleman Ghost, as the partially exorcised spirit briefly possessed Alfred, forcing him to fight his surrogate father. It was through this conflict that he was forced to recognize his feelings for him, admitting to him that “I can’t do this job without you.” This was the beginning of Batman’s acceptance of him as more than his butler, leading to him referring to him by the more familiar “Alfred” by season’s end. Through their relationship, as well as his association with the Gordons, Batman is beginning to learn the lessons denied to him by his trauma.
However, even as he begins to learn how to be human, the episode didn’t directly force Batman to recognize and reckon with his privilege. That said, it is possible that the lessons learned from “Gentleman Jim” Craddock may cause him to rethink his positions over time. Should the show last for several seasons, I see an evolving Bruce Wayne using his money to save Gotham City in ways that don’t involve him beating up criminals in alleyways.
Sadly, the lessons learned by Batman here do not carry over to Harvey Dent, another man of privilege whose mayoral run is crippled by his inability to relate to the working class. Seeking to upend the mob-ruled administration of Mayor Jessop, Dent has shown himself in previous episodes to be corrupted by money and influence, using his position as district attorney to appear tough on crime by giving criminals long sentences (much to the dismay of Public Defender Barbara Gordon) while turning a blind eye to the indiscretions of the upper class (even the cash poor ones like Selina Kyle). Unfortunately for him, Jessop takes the opportunity to paint his opponent as a rich man using his wealth to buy the election just like “Mommy and Daddy taught him to do,” and as a result of this smear campaign he loses the endorsement of two unions. However, this setback pales in comparison to what happens next.
During a photo op while riding Gotham’s train system, the train car is robbed by the Gentleman Ghost, who steals from the passengers save for Dent, who recognizes him as a fellow elite. Following this encounter, which is documented by the press, Dent drops 15 points in the polls behind Jessop. In addition, he also loses his biggest donors, and he’s out of money. Unfortunately, to remain in the game, he decides to once again compromise his principles and, in doing so, seek the aid of mob boss Rupert Thorne, a decision that—as we well know—will come back to haunt him over the remaining four episodes.
Stray Observations
As previously discussed, the Gentleman Ghost was an villain initially considered for Batman: The Animated Series, but he was most likely removed from consideration due to the creative team’s desire to avoid stories involving the supernatural (Riesman). Initially appearing in Flash Comics #88 (October 1947), the specter is traditionally considered to be a Hawkman villain, but he did appear as a recurring adversary for Batman in a number of 1970s and ‘80s story arcs.
It is worth noting that the initial ban of the supernatural on BTAS forced the creative team to create scientific explanations for the Dark Knight’s more exotic foes (such as the werewolf in “Moon of the Wolf” becoming a result of genetic engineering / splicing). Allowing ghosts and vampires (such as the upcoming Natalia Knight) from the get-go opens up a lot of additional storytelling opportunities for Caped Crusader.
The armored truck that the Gentleman Ghost steals from belongs to West Side Charities, the organization Fletcher Demming donated $1.5 million to in “The Stress of Her Regard.” Later, Batman reveals that it carried money from a charity event.
The scene with the female guard seeing the Gentleman Ghost upside down in the flipped-over truck mirrors a similar scene in Matt Reaves’ The Batman, featuring the Penguin's point-of-view following an accident during a car chase with the Dark Knight.
It appears that “Gentleman Jim” Craddock acquires the name “Gentleman Ghost” after he offered the female guard a “chivalrous” hand after the accident.
While Bruce Wayne is more than capable of multitasking (check out JLA #61 [February 2002], where Batman spars with Wonder Woman in a training session while taking multiple phone calls simultaneously), his reading the newspaper while appearing to be half-listening to Lucius Fox about his finances is rude. And, Fox, to his credit, lets Wayne know that as he leaves.
Alfred’s quote, “there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,” is another reference to a line from Act One, Scene Five of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. In the play, Prince Hamlet says how “[t]here are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / [t]han are dreamt of in your philosophy,” referring to how there is more to the world than what humanity has discovered so far (1.5.187-188).
Initially presented as a corrupt politician with ties to organized crime in the Batman comics, Rupert Thorne is presented here as he was in BTAS, as the strongest crime boss in Gotham City who also comes into conflict with District Attorney Harvey Dent. He first appeared in Detective Comics #469 (May 1977).
According to an August 4th post on X (formerly Twitter), producer James Tucker revealed that actor Raymond Burr was a “big influence” on the design of Rupert Thorne (@JTuckerAnimator).
Referred to by the Gentleman Ghost by the colloquial term “ha’penny” during the train robbery, a halfpenny is a coin no longer in circulation, but it was certainly common during the life of “Gentleman Jim” Craddock. Utilized by many nations at the time (including the United States), it was literally worth half a cent (for the history of the British halfpenny, click here).
Alfred’s quote to Batman—“when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth” (59; ch. 6)—is a quote from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s second Sherlock Holmes novel, The Sign of the Four (1890).
Based on his ability to replicate a drawing of the Craddock coat of arms from memory, it stands to reason that Bruce Wayne may have either hyperthymesia or an eidetic memory.
Introducing “Gentleman Jim” Craddock’s ancestor—his great-great-great-nephew, Russell Craddock—was a nice Scooby-Doo-like misdirect. That said, I’m glad they went with the supernatural villain, rather than make him a normal person committing robberies to pay his property taxes.
While looking through the library book, Bruce Wayne flipped past a coat of arms for a family named “Moldoff.” This is in reference to famed comic book artist Sheldon Moldoff, who co-created a number of classic DC Comics’ characters and served as one of Bob Kane’s “ghost artists” (i.e. uncredited collaborators) from 1953 to 1967 (Dorf and Morris 16).
According to Wilma the librarian, Bruce Wayne would come to the library with his mother and read about knights and quests for hours. Foreshadowing!
Despite Craddock’s crimes, I find it hard to believe that the aristocracy would execute one of their own, especially considering how he didn’t steal money from them (in fact, there are many that argue that the wealthy routinely steal from the poor). That said, the fact that he was a British loyalist in addition to being a criminal probably didn’t help his case.
During their confrontation at Heritage Hill, the Gentleman Ghost referred to Lucius Fox as one of “the rabble.” Considering the time period that he hails from and its inherent prejudices, I’m relieved that he didn’t call him something far worse.
Serving as a supernatural contact for Batman, Linton Midnite is an interesting DC Comics character to adapt for Caped Crusader, one that probably would not have been used on BTAS. Created as an antagonist for John Constantine, Papa Midnite first appeared in Hellblazer #1 (January 1988), which was part of DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint, a “mature readers” line of comics featuring more adult themes and storylines. While certain supernatural characters overlapped with Vertigo and the mainstream DC Universe (Zatanna and Jason Blood, for example), most Vertigo characters were off-limits to the DCAU creative team during its heyday (Maestro). However, in recent years, this restriction has either been lessened or removed entirely, allowing for former Vertigo characters to appear in animation (the imprint was formally discontinued in 2020).
According to an August 6th post on Anime Superhero, Bruce Timm revealed that James Tucker “wanted [Midnite] to look a bit like Geoffrey Holder as Baron Samedi,” from the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die (b.t.). In addition, in an August 7th post, Timm disclosed that “it was one of the Ebo twins [writers Adamma and Adanne Ebo] who suggested we use Papa Midnite instead of Jason Blood—I want to say it was Adanne, but I could be wrong” (b.t.).
Apparently Alfred gave Bruce Wayne a set of lockpicks for his 12th birthday. Way to enable a disturbed child, dude.
Props to Alfred for throwing himself in front of Bruce to protect him from the black cloud of the Gentleman Ghost’s energies. Not only did he act as a father would, but he must have known that a Batman possessed by “Gentleman Jim” Craddock would have been bad.
The Gentleman Ghost’s revelation that there is a “precious secret” that Alfred seeks to hide at all costs has certainly caused a stir online. In an August 6th post on Anime Superhero, Bruce Timm claims that while the creative team doesn’t have a specific secret in mind, he swears that it’s not that Alfred Pennyworth is the biological father of Bruce Wayne (b.t.). He also claims that the creative team may revisit this plot point in the future, just as long as it’s “satisfyingly surprising enough, but doesn’t [shit] all over Martha or Thomas Wayne” (b.t.).
Honestly, Alfred’s secret could be something as simple as Batman’s secret identity. It would be worthless to someone like Craddock, but it could just be instinctual by now (kind of anticlimactic, I know). Another possibility could tie it to the flashbacks in “Kiss of the Catwoman,” where the butler may feel guilty regarding the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, as well as a sense of failing young Bruce by enabling him to become the vengeance-driven Batman. We’ll see.
The familiarity that Linton Midnite uses when speaking to the imprisoned “Gentleman Jim” Craddock implies that they have met in the past (“Well, hello there, Jim. Been a long time”). Since the comic book Papa Midnite is immortal, I’m sure they’ve crossed paths previously. It might also explain Craddock’s fear of being in his possession.
In addition to resembling an outfit regularly worn in the comics, Linton’s white suit and top hat also has the distinction of resembling the traditional costume worn by the original Gentleman Ghost.
Works Cited
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b.t. Comment on “’Batman: Caped Crusader’ Season One Talkback (Spoilers).” Anime Superhero. XenForo Ltd. 6 Aug. 2024. <https://animesuperhero.com/forums/threads/batman-caped-crusader-season-one-talkback-spoilers.5799833/post-87961625>. Accessed 13 Sept. 2024.
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Dorf, Shel and Brian K. Morris. “Maybe I Was Just Loyal: Longtime ’Batman’ Artist Sheldon Moldoff Talks About Bob Kane and Other Phenomena.” Alter Ego. June 2006: 14-24. Print.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. “The Sign of the Four.” Google Books. Alphabet, Inc. 11 Feb. 2014. <https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Sign_of_the_Four/peM_AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0>. Accessed 15 Sept. 2024.
Holub, Christian. “Batman: Caped Crusader First Look Reveals Asian American Harley Quinn and ‘Really Weird’ Dark Knight.” Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. 9 May 2024. <https://ew.com/batman-caped-crusader-exclusive-first-look-asian-american-harley-quinn-8645683>. Accessed 21 Jun. 2024.
@JTuckerAnimator. “Old Hollywood types influenced most of my designs especially film noir actors. Raymond Burr was a big influence on my Thorne design.” X. 4 Aug. 2024. 3:56 p.m. <https://x.com/JTuckerAnimator/status/1820187081974710410>. Accessed 16 Sept. 2024.
Maestro (DMcDuffie). Comment on “Terror Beyond.” Dwayne McDuffie. N.p. 9 Jul. 2004. <https://forums.delphiforums.com/Milestone/messages?msg=1170.4&gid=2110278758>. Accessed 16 Sept. 2024.
Meltzer, Brad. “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.” Justice League of America #0. Illustrated by Eric Wight et al. DC Comics. September 2006.
Riesman, Abraham. “An Oral History of Batman: The Animated Series.” Vulture. Vox Media, LLC. 6 Oct. 2017. <https://www.vulture.com/article/oral-history-batman-the-animated-series.html>. Accessed 1 Nov. 2022.
Schedeen, Jesse. “Batman : Caped Crusader Exclusive Trailer.” IGN. IGN. 26 Jun. 2024. <https://www.ign.com/articles/batman-caped-crusader-trailer-plot-cast-release-date-interview?utm_source=twitter>. Accessed 27 Jun. 2024.
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Images courtesy of Prime Video, Warner Bros. Discovery, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, and DC Comics.
Another well-done case file!