Batman: Caped Crusader - In Treacherous Waters

Bringing together some of the creative minds behind Batman: The Animated Series, mixing them with ideas from co-producer and writer Ed Brubaker, and keeping the noir style and look of that show, but with a darker tone set earlier in Batman's career centered more around gang violence and corruption than colorful super-villains, comes Batman: Caped Crusader. The first episode of the series sees gang war heating up with someone taking shots at crime boss Rupert Thorne by blowing up his factories. Batman (Hamish Linklater) confronts a corrupt cop eventually leading him to nightclub owner turned would-be criminal mastermind the Penguin (Minnie Driver).

The show will play with sex and race in creating new versions of several well-known characters. While this version of Penguin wouldn't be my favorite, it works for the narrative of the story including the grave mistake of Oswalda in misjudging which of her two sons sold her out to Thorne. The episode also works in resetting the status quo of Gotham City and several of the key characters of the city. While at this point Batman is known about by police, he is still largely thought to be a myth by most of the city.

A party aboard the Penguin's Iceberg Lounge allows for appearances from several characters including Bruce Wayne doing his partygoer billionaire routine, both crusading defense lawyer Barbara Gordon (Krystal Joy Brown) and Police Commissioner Jim Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart), and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader) who is running for mayor. Batman does some snooping aboard the ship as well, eventually uncovering the weapon which the Penguin plans to use to bring Gotham under her heel.

"In Treacherous Waters" works as a primer for the series, letting you know who this Batman is in this familiar, yet different, version of Gotham City. His costume harkens back to the character's early days (and I do love that he's wearing the classic Batman utility belt). I wouldn't complain about a bit of blue splashed in and the yellow oval back on his chest, but the look of the character (particularly when shown in shadow) matches this version of Gotham City. And, because this is a younger version of Batman, he is prone to making mistakes such as taking out the Penguin without first realizing in doing so he's increased the power and control of Thorne across the city's underworld.

• Title: Batman: Caped Crusader - In Treacherous Waters
• IMDb: link