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I don’t like to judge a TV show till I have seen at least 3 episodes and when I realized that I would catch the third episode of The Cape and the third episode of Young Justice the same week it just seemed natural to compare both shows. On the one hand you have a live action show on a major network that is an original concept… or is at least supposed to be an original concept. On the other hand you have Young Justice not only does it have the source material of a DC Comic that ran for over 50 issues but can be viewed as just the newest in a series of cartoons that have all spun of from the 1990’s Batman Animated Series. Other great cartoons would include Batman Beyond, Justice League, Superman, Justice league Unlimited and Static Shock. (Before anyone harasses me and says they are not spin offs I am referring to the fact that Batman’s success caused a surge in DC cartoons to be created. All of who seem to share a cohesive universe) Now if the internet is any indication I am following the crowd on this in that I find Young Justice to be a better-written show. I normally hate to do that, but I can’t argue with reality. The Cape is a series of highs and lows for me. I enjoy the visual elements of the show, the vanishing effects, the use of the cape as a weapon, the look of the hero and the villain are all amazing. Unfortunately the story has too many clichés, contradictions and inconsistencies. In one episode he goes from nearly dead to a master illusionist, escape artist and fighter in what seems like a crazy weekend for him. Had they made it seem like more time had passed for him I might buy it. In the three episodes I watched I came up with about a few problems I had with the story that could have easily be rewritten to make the story more believable.
If he is some sort of former military badass why not use guns. One of the key things about classic heroes is they don’t kill and I get that the Cape is supposed to follow that thread but all I keep thinking is if this is a former soldier and a former cop why the hell doesn’t he use a gun.
Why is he working with criminals and why are the criminals working with him. The circus of crime is cool and all but I don’t get why they are working together. Supposedly it was cause of The Capes access but the security would change after the first few robberies why does the circus keep him around?
If you were betrayed by your best friend wouldn’t you watch him. See if he tries to do anything shady to your family.
Why reveal yourself as The Cape only to your son. Now anyone he tells about “The Cape” is going to think he is crazy.
Why trust Orwell at all she got you screwed over and doesn’t trust you enough not to tell you her name when she knows everything about you. (And writers it’s not going to be a surprise when you reveal that Orwell is related to Chess, probably his daughter. Unless the writers change it at the last minute cause everyone already figured it out.)
How is he learning everything so fast? It seems like he becomes a master knife catcher in like an afternoon. I will admit the scene was funny just not believable.
Overall I don’t expect the cape last long, what is probably most disappointing is some executive is going to point to The Cape and say comic book shows don’t work. The truth is this show will fail cause of bad writing and bad writing alone. Meanwhile Young Justice is an excellent show that I hope lasts a long time. The show is slowly developing but in such a good way that you are interested. It has made some changes from the original source material but the changes to me feel like they are taking the best elements from the 80’s Teen titans series, the Young Justice comic book and the current Teen Titans series and combining them in such a way that I think the story is unfolding nicely. Speedy not joining the team yet introing him and showing images of another arrowed theme female hero leads me to believe that Arrowette will be introduced soon. This means not only is the team not complete at the end of the first episode but we are 3 episodes in and we still have not been introduced to the whole team. I think this is being done to make sure that nothing feels rushed which is my main problem with The Cape. It is sad that a cartoon geared at a younger audience is treating it’s viewers with more respect for their intelligence than a show on major network during prime time.