WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Batman, which is currently in theaters.
Batman by Matt Reeves detailed the character’s offline portrait to highlight Bat as “the world’s greatest detective”. This was seen mostly in the comics, The Mask of the Phantasm, and the 90s animated series, with fans wondering what Reeves could draw from given the decades of knowledge that existed for The Dark Knight. With that in mind, let’s break down the best DC Easter eggs and references.
The Long Halloween Influenced Batman’s Plot
The film is loosely based on The Long Halloween, starting with the Riddler killing Mayor Mitchell on Halloween night. It is dedicated to the Holiday Killer from a 90s short story by Jeph Loeb and Time Sale, in which the Bat pursues a murder mystery and mysteries. Here, the Riddler took down Gotham’s corrupt elite and targeted Carmine Falcone, alluding to how Holiday was after Falcone’s circle. The Long Halloween also targeted the Maroni family as rivals, but in the film, Sal Maroni simply used Sal Maroni to emphasize Carmine’s double-crossing.
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Year Zero and No Man’s Land Leaked into Batman
Scott Snyder’s Year Zero in The New 52 details Batman’s early days of fighting crime, while this film plunged into its second year. Interestingly, the Riddler flooded Gotham early in Snyder’s story to cause havoc, while this movie ended on the same note after he blew up the sea wall to clean up the city. It was also similar to Batman: No Man’s Land, where the Cataclysm event caused an earthquake in the city, turning it into a danger zone where the villains went out of control. It’s possible this is where Reeves is filming the sequel, as The Bat helps restore it.
The revelation of Catwoman’s dad in ‘Batman’ also mirrored the comics
The Long Halloween hinted that Falcone was Selina Kyle’s father, and Catwoman: When in Rome from the same creative team confirmed it. This film followed a similar path when Puss told Bruce that Carmine was her father, so she worked at his club and plotted to rob him. He killed her mother Maria and best friend Annika as he was a toxic man which caused her to scratch him with her nails during a fight. This is an homage to Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One where she did the same while trying to rob Falcone.
Many of the Riddler’s personalities have been secretly appearing in The Batman
When Riddler was captured, the cops found a lot of documents on him. Edward Nygma has been something fans have been used to since Bill Finger and Dick Sprang created him in the 40s. But there was also Edward Nashton from the DC stories “New Earth” and “Year Zero” and Patrick Parker, another pseudonym he once used in the books.
Batman in the spotlight The Iceberg Lounge
This sinister nightclub was Penguin’s base of operations, where Selina worked. He made his comic book debut back in 1995 from Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan, turned into a casino, and although he has appeared in many Batman cartoons and the Harley Quinn series, he has never made it to the big screen until now. It is another of Penguin’s most iconic assets, although it is not known how badly it was flooded and what Cobblepot’s plan was.
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Arkham Asylum and Blackgate remain main characters of Batman
Here, the Riddler was placed in Arkham, which was revealed to be the mental hospital that Thomas Wayne built after marrying Martha Arkham. He wanted to help the mentally ill, and Martha, ironically, had her own mental problems. It’s a staple of many comics, movies, cartoons, and animated movies and has been home to many of Batman’s rogues since the 70s. Amadeus Arkham created him and Jeremiah watched over him. As for Blackgate, Penguin teased Falcone that he would end up in this prison for denouncing the mafia. He was introduced in the comics in the 90s by Peter Milligan and Jim Aparo to house non-mad villains.
Batman showed some villainous teases
Barry Keoghan was seen as the Joker in a cell next to the Riddler, wanting to befriend. Previously, many of the Riddler’s Bat cards featured an owl (teasing the Court of Owls), a red-haired lady (teasing Poison Ivy), and a bald-headed man with glasses (nodding at Hugo Strange). The ventriloquist puppet also nods to Scarface puppet gangster. Also, when Riddler also talked about Falcone killing a reporter named Edward Elliot to cover up Martha’s illness, the man was named Edward Elliot. “Hush” ran across the screen, nodding to Tommy Elliot, Bruce’s childhood friend who secretly hated the Waynes and became Hashem.
Batman made some deep cuts in 1966
In the Adam West series, Bruce hid the button to open the Batcave thanks to a bronze bust of William Shakespeare. This bust is in this movie, in the background, when Bruce was contemplating his next move against the Riddler, and when Alfred was trying to figure out the cipher. West’s mask also seemed to influence what Robert Pattinson wore. Also, Bruce ran up walls using his grappling gun like Batman and Robin did decades ago, and Commissioner Pete Savage nodded to the Savage family from the old show who helped found Gotham.
Blüdhaven is Selina’s new home in Batman
When the war ended and Falcone died, Selina left Gotham for Bluehaven, where Dick Grayson ended up in the books. He opened a shop there after dropping the mantle of Robin and becoming Nightwing in 1996, wanting to be a vigilante of the light rather than one who hides in the shadows. Catwoman also spent time there, trying to forget the Caped Crusader.
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Fake Alfred “Earth One”
Batman: Earth-1 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank had a colder relationship with Alfred and Bruce. However, Alfred helped him become a better warrior using his experience in the Royal Marines. In this film, Alfred didn’t help much in making the tools, but gave advice he got while serving in the British armed forces.
Dory nodded to Aunt Harriet in Batman
Here at Wayne Tower, Bruce and Alfred have an elderly woman, Dori, who works as a housekeeper and secretary. This is another direct homage to the ’66 series and the old comics. Aunt Harriet was added there to make the notion of two men living alone less homoerotic.
Zorro’s joke refers to Bruce Wayne’s biggest tragedy
When Riddler shot Falcone, Falcone teased Bat by calling him “Zorro”. He always joked that he knew Bruce’s eyes from the night Thomas stitched up the mob boss, so it suggested that he finally saw through the identity of the Bat. Notably, Zorro is a reference to the movie in which Bruce and his parents historically saw the night they were killed. This could confirm that Falcone stabbed them in Crime Alley to ensure that Thomas didn’t report that Falcone killed Edward.
Batman used familiar gadgets
Many thought that the metal pieces in Bat’s chest were the guns that killed his parents. They were actually batarangs that he used to keep people from getting electrocuted when Gotham Stadium flooded. Bruce also had a magazine devoted to Grant Morrison’s Black Book of Cases, and the phone Bruce called to check on Alfred’s safety nodded at the ’66 phone in the mansion.
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The nickname “Retribution” is associated with “Batman: The Animated Series”
When Batman was asked who he was, the Dark Knight replied, “I am revenge.” Penguin and Catwoman later named him that, and one of Riddler’s goons attempted to appropriate the name for his terrorist mission. This alluded to Batman: The Animated Series where the Bat yelled “I am revenge! I am the night! I am Batman!”
Batman continues the tradition of not using weapons and killing
Batman has always been anti-gun and has a no-kill policy. It was sometimes garbled, but this movie followed the rules with Bat telling Gordon and Selina not to use guns. He constantly reminded Cat not to kill without letting her kill Falcone himself. He may have been snubbed when Gordon shot Penguin’s thugs or Bruce caused a highway crash to catch Cobblepot, but otherwise Bruce was trying to protect everyone.
To see all the DC tributes, Batman is now in theaters.
KEEP READING: Batman Guide: News, Easter Eggs, Reviews, Theories & Rumors
Batman just did a heroic act straight out of the MCU
about the author
Renaldo Matadin (7722 articles published)
I am a former chemical engineer. It was boring, so I decided to write about what I like. As far as geeks go, I write about comics, cartoons, video games, TV, movies, and pretty much anything nerdy. I also write about music in terms of punk, indie, hardcore and emo because they are cool! If you’re already bored, then you also don’t want to hear what I write for ESPN about PR. And yes, I also wrote sports for them! Not bad for someone from the Caribbean, huh? To top it all off, I have written short films and documentaries conceptualizing stories and scenarios in terms of human interests and social justice. On the business side, I make big money (not really) as a copywriter and digital strategist, working with some of the top brands in the Latin America region. In conclusion, let me remind you that the geek must inherit the Earth. Oh, FYI, I’d like to write a screenplay for a Disney movie, Gargoyles. YOLO. However, I’m on Twitter @RenaldoMatadeen. So scream.
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