#he believes clayface and harvey and selena and harley can get better

[mistergreatbones]

okay i think enough time has passed that i can joke about it

Jason: Your methods are ineffective. If you don't permanently stop criminals they will just continue to hurt people. Bruce: *finds a permanent way to stop people from being violent and uses it on Jason, a dangerous criminal* Jason:

[fantasyinvader]

I think what Batman Caped Crusader is doing is kinda... I mean, in a world where Homelander, Omniman and Injustice Superman exist and made people accepting of the idea of Evil Superman, My Adventures with Superman is a show trying to get us to trust the Man of Steel again. Caped Crusader, by contrast, seems to be more about making us question Batman.

Batman takes down Penguin, but the episode treats it as him screwing up at the end because he realizes someone else will roll in and take over her territory when in jail. He talks about how he needs to be better. Her treatment of her kids could also foreshadow the distant relationship between Bruce and Alfred in this continuity.

In episode 2, he fights Clayface who is called out on using makeup and chewing the scenery to elevate his performances as a villain in movies. Considering how Batman uses fear and at one point duels Clayface in a movie-like swordfight, it could be taken as calling out how Batman tries to make himself appear scarier than he actually is. Not to mention, Clayface's motivation in the end is revenge.

Episode 3 portrayed Catwoman as someone who steals for the rush of it while mistreating her maid. This also shows how affected Bruce was by the death of his parents, him wanting to make criminals pay while Alfred is along because he was the driver the night the Waynes were murdered. This is also a Bruce who isn't as close to his Alfred as other Bats. Episode 4 continues this with Firebug, a genuinely disturbed guy in a suit, before episode 5 shows Harley as a villain who goes after those she believes are the problem with Gotham, the rich, whereas Gentleman Ghost in episode 6 believes the poor don't deserve any sort of wealth and therefore believes he is justified when he steals from them.

In 7, he fights Onomatopoeia, who only makes comic book sound effects. Combine with Clayface, it highlights how things that would be okay in a fictional story take on different tones in reality. Those sound effects may be cool in a comic, but instead seem really goofy when people are calling them out during what is meant to be a more grounded story. It makes Batman look absurd and over the top.

In 8, we see Batman nearly preyed upon by Nocturna like the kids who are all Robins in other continuities and even needs to be saved by Carrie. Bruce is just like a big kid perhaps? Or maybe he's meant to be like Nocuturna's brother, who turned her into the vampire in order to help her before she got addicted to it. Combine that with Catwoman, and there's a case Bruce is addicted to being Batman.

In 9, we have Harvey seeking revenge for his disfigurement, and 10 we have the crooked cops again after episode 4 with Flass acting like being a cop makes him a good guy before Bruce empties a gun around his head over him killing Harvey.

Put this together, and the show depicts Batman as someone with issues dealing with his parents' deaths and is seeking retribution against the criminal element he blames for it. However, this puts him into parallel with the likes of Harley, Gentlemen Ghost and Harvey, characters who are meant to have crossed some form of line. He may be Batman to let out his repressed anger, getting something out of it like Catwoman, or because it gives him strength like Nocturna. He's not close to anyone, not even Alfred like Selena is with her maid. His fear tactics come across like those of an actor in a bad movie, like Clayface, or he may just be a manchild in a suit. His actions may simply cause more criminals to come in and take over those he's stopped. There's also the threat of elevation, as the show's closing hints that the Joker is coming. Not everything he does can be justified by him being the “good guy,” as the cops are supposed to be good guys as well. He fires at Flass without intent to kill, unlike when Flass tried to kill Catwoman, but the fact he did so could indicate that Bruce is on a slippery slope. After all, him using Harvey is what caused him to snap and begin killing people.

This Batman is a very flawed version without going into Goddamn Batman territory, but the ending when he refers to Alfred by his given name rather than family name shows he may be learning to treat people better. It established this version of Bruce better than I initially thought through his antagonists, but also highlights how much he still needs to grow as while there's a glimmer of hope for him but he's not bringing hope to Gotham yet.