Neal Justin: Batman returns, and we’re thrilled

The most unexpected takeaway from the thoroughly entertaining “Deadpool & Wolverine” is that you don’t leave the theater hoping that the most menacing of the X-Men be admitted into the Superhero Retirement Center in Florida. Against all odds, Hugh Jackman has kept us entertained through 10 films — and I won’t be mad if he suits up again.

But Wolverine’s long on-screen life pales in comparison with Batman’s run. The Dark Knight has been the main character in more than a dozen feature films, almost all of which achieved blockbuster status, and he’s been a small-screen staple since the campy TV series from the mid-1960s.

“Batman: Caped Crusader,” now streaming on Prime Video, is the latest reincarnation of the DC hero and it provides plenty of clues as to why he’s still able to pack a punch.

These 10 new episodes look a lot like other recent animated versions with an art-deco aesthetic that suggests the action is set in the 1940s. Hamish Linklater, who voices the title character, sounds just as somber his predecessor, Kevin Conroy, who died in 2022.

But this version, whose producers include J.J. Abrams (”Star Trek”) and “The Batman” director Matt Reeves, has adapted to modern tastes, starting with a full-throttle effort to embrace diversity.

The Penguin is a woman, voiced by Minnie Driver, who takes a break from casual killing to warble “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home.” Barbara Gordon, who is Black and a public defender, doesn’t need to transform into Batgirl to prove she’s no damsel in distress. She throws a punch and handles a gun as well as the Boy Wonder ever did. Psychiatrist Harley Quinn is Asian-American and more focused on seducing Detective Renee Montoya than the Joker.

Quinn and the Penguin aren’t the only familiar faces in the rogues’ gallery. Two-Face, the Firebug and Gentleman Ghost all pop up. But the baddies who prove most troublesome are on the city payroll. Detectives and politicians are the real supervillains, perhaps a nod to the current skepticism about government officials.

The fact that Batman struggles with rank-and-file evil shows off an unprecedented degree of vulnerability. He’s not nearly as tough as he was when Christian Bale slipped on the suit. At one point, he gets bested by a carnival strongman who leaves him unconscious on a riverbank. More than once, he relies on Commissioner Gordon to save his bacon.

Not that he’s ever thankful. This Batman is kind of a jerk.

As Bruce Wayne, he’s about as charitable as Ebenezer Scrooge. The way he treats women, I wouldn’t be surprised if he thought the 19th Amendment was a worse idea than Prohibition. Alfred Pennyworth, his longtime butler, puts up with so much abuse that you keep hoping he kicks his boss right below his utility belt. Perhaps the biggest hero of the first season is the judge who orders Wayne into therapy after he knocks out someone for insulting his mom.

Wayne isn’t the most agreeable patient, but the sessions echo today’s theory that everyone could benefit from mental health care — even (especially?) a superhero.

Some fans will balk at these alterations. But they have plenty of other ways to get their fix. “The Penguin,” the highly anticipated TV series with Colin Farrell, premieres Sept. 19 on HBO. “The Batman Part II” with Robert Pattinson comes out in 2026. There’s even talk of “Lego Movie 3,” which will almost certainly include a juicy role for the Dark Knight.

The Batmans in those projects could be very different — and that’s what makes the Caped Crusader so enduring. He’s enigmatic enough to mold into various shapes, serving society however we need him.