The Dark Knight is back in Gotham City this summer. Batman: Caped Crusader, the noir-tinged animated series that flashed back to the Masked Manhunter’s earliest days of crime fighting, is returning to Prime Video, with ten all-new episodes debuting on the streaming service on July 31. We also have a first look at the new season, which promises to introduce new foes for Bruce Wayne’s alter ego.

New characters spotlighted in the images include Edward Nygma, the criminal mastermind known as the Riddler; Carrie Kelly, Batman’s new Robin from the classic graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, who here appears to be attired as the Gray Ghost, a fictional crime-fighter played by Adam West in Batman: The Animated Series; and Roxy Rocket, a thrill-seeking villain introduced on The New Batman Adventures. Also in the new images is the taping of a TV series titled “Hattie’s Tea Party,” which may tease the appearance of the classic Batman foe the Mad Hatter. We also see an apparent victim of the Joker’s signature toxin; Batman’s deadliest foe was teased in the closing moments of season 1. The new images also promise the return of Batman’s allies Alfred Pennyworth (Jason Watkins), Jim Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart) and his daughter Barbara (Krystal Joy Brown), and Renee Montoya (Michelle C. Bonilla), as well as the twisted new incarnation of Harley Quinn (Jamie Chung).

What Happened in Season 1 of ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’?

Set in the early days of Batman’s career, when the alter ego of millionaire Bruce Wayne (Hamish Linklater) was still considered an urban myth or a menace, Caped Crusader sees Batman gradually establish a rapport with Gotham City police officer Jim Gordon. Gordon is one of the few Gotham cops who isn’t on the payroll of crime boss Rupert Thorne (Cedric Yarborough). However, men like Thorne are a dying breed, as Batman encounters several of the new super-criminals who will come to dominate the Gotham underworld, including the malleable Clayface (Dan Donohue), the ostentatious Penguin (Minnie Driver), the larcenous Catwiman (Christina Ricci), and the supernatural Gentleman Ghost (Toby Stephens). However, it’s Thorne who inflicts the most pain on Wayne when he has one of his men disfigure Bruce’s friend, District Attorney Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader), turning him into the twisted Two-Face. Dent ultimately perished, but his death will haunt Batman for a long time.

Batman: Caped Crusader was developed by Bruce Timm, one of the architects of the groundbreaking Batman: The Animated Series; it was originally set to debut on HBO Max before it was culled in a round of cost-cutting. It is produced by J.J. Abrams and The Batman‘s Matt Reeves.

All ten episodes of season 2 of Batman: Caped Crusader will premiere on Prime Video on July 31.

via Collider