Mythology Gag / Batman: The Telltale Series

Season 1

• Batman shares several traits and gadgets with his other counterparts:
  • This version uses holograms to reconstruct crime scenes like in the Batman: Arkham Series.
  • Batman uses a voice modulator to help disguise his voice and make it more intimidating, similar to the Batman played by Ben Affleck in the DC Extended Universe.
  • The Batmobile shares a resemblance to the one from The Batman. It can also disguise itself as a red sports car, which may be a homage to the original Batmobile, a red sedan. Alternatively, it might be a reference to the 1943 Batman serial, where the bad guys had a car that could disguise itself by changing color.
  • The gloves of his suit possess a device in the fingertips for spying on rooms, much like in Batman Beyond.
  • If the color of Batman's tech is red, his eyes will sometimes glow the same color, similar to the Flashpoint incarnation of the character.
• Part of the major plot impetus at the beginning (replacing Arkham Asylum with a modernized hospital as Bruce's parents would have wanted, Oswald Cobblepot playing a part) are definitely taking cues from Gotham.
• Also doubling as Comic-Book Fantasy Casting, Harvey resembles a younger Tommy Lee Jones.
• The first two episodes establish that Penguin and Catwoman are grudging allies and up to some mischief during the Mayoral election, just like in Batman Returns. The fact that said mischief results in the creation of Two-Face may be a reference to an earlier draft of that same movie, in which Billy Dee William's Harvey Dent was to be scarred by electrocution instead of the replacement villain Max Schreck.
• Alfred bears more than a passing resemblance to Alan Napier, the actor who played him in the 1960s TV show (minus the mustache), and a slight one to Jeremy Irons as well.
• In the flashback, Joe Chill resembles Jack Nicholson as seen in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a nod to the first Burton movie (where Nicholson's Joker played Chill's role).
• One of the dialogue options in the bar scene in Episode 2 leads the bar patron to comment "you're shorter than I thought you would be," flipping one of the first lines Damian Wayne says to Bruce in the comics: "I imagined you taller." (Batman encountering people who were Expecting Someone Taller is a pretty frequent gag).
• One of the news reports mentions an ongoing accident at the Ace Chemical Plant, the site where The Joker was born.
• A female doctor at Arkham is named Leland, which is a reference to Joan Leland, a minor character in Mad Love who also worked at Arkham.
• Penguin has a freakishly strong, enormous goon with unnatural bluish-gray skin in his employ, who answers to "Roland" — i.e. Roland Desmond, also known as Blockbuster.
• During his intro speech, the leader of the Children of Arkham uses the term "Nothing To Fear".
• Editing security camera footage to make it seem nothing's wrong to evade GCPD and Batman's suspicion was also done by the Suicide Squad on Batman: Assault on Arkham. In both cases, it doesn't fool Batman for long.
• Harvey Dent running for mayor and his campaign being backed by Bruce is a plot also seen in Beware the Batman. Both versions of Dent even ask Bruce if they can count on Bruce's money in a similar manner. He also hires a group of mercenaries and abuses his power to enact martial law, though directly as mayor instead of intimidating the mayor like he did in Beware.
• The city is confirmed to have both the Stacked Deck Bar and an Otisburg district, a nod to Batman: Arkham Knight (which itself was an homage to a famous moment in the 1978 Superman: The Movie).
• Even if Harvey isn't scarred, he will still mention how his therapist was concerned the serum may have brought out some of his more deep-seated issues. With the hardline stance on crime he pursues afterwards, this might also be a reference to the "Judge" persona.
• In Episode 3, Batman foils the Children of Arkham's plans to use the skyrail to spread Psycho Serum in a heavily populated area of Gotham. This plan is a smaller scale version of the League of Shadows' plan from Batman Begins.
• When Gordon uses the Bat Signal to summon Batman, he jokingly remarks he'd rethink his methods if Batman had given him a phone number to call, a nod to the "Batphone"
• If Bruce asks Selina to help him stop the Children of Arkham, she'll scoff at the idea of the pair of them as a "Dynamic Duo". Additionally, one of the coffee mugs in her apartment seems to be a souvenir from Haley's Circus.
• When at Selina's apartment in Episode 3, one of the dialogue options may result in Selina saying there is no such thing as a fresh start, similar to the statement the Nolanverse version of Catwoman made in the final film of the Dark Knight trilogy.
• Arnold Wesker is forced to use a sock puppet while inside Arkham, referencing the "Socko" persona he developed when separated from Scarface in Knightfall.
• Zsasz's mania with making sure the scars "match" his number of kills draws on the two-part "Victims" storyline, where he makes a tally after stabbing Alfred and becomes obsessed with finishing the job when he learns he survived, mentioning that his skin is "crawling" and "feels... wrong".
• When Batman jams Harvey's semi-auto shotgun, the exploding round goes off over his arm and suit, making it look not unlike Two-Face's design in the Arkham series.
• "John Doe" tells Bruce that if he helps him out of Arkham, Bruce will owe him a favor, though he's not sure what it is yet.
• "John Dough" is a name that The Joker once used in a plot against the Justice League.
• In Episode 4, Cobblepot wears a Google Glass-style eye computer over his right eye, referencing the monocle the character sports in other media.
  • In addition, his hacking of Batman's tech is likely a reference to the scene in Batman Returns where he hacks into the Batmobile in an attempt to kill him. There's even a scene in the Episode where Batman briefly loses control of the car while driving it.
• On Episode 4's flipside, if you choose to confront Harvey, he'll whip out a massive automatic shotgun loaded with explosive shells. This feels like a Setting Update of the tommy guns gangsters used in Batman: The Animated Series, one of the more obvious touches the writers used to create the show's Dark Deco atmosphere.
  • At the fight's climax, Batman summons a swarm of bats to distract Harvey and his enforcers, much like in Batman: Year One and Batman Begins.
• Also in episode 4, Batman tells the boy in the Vale's home that "you're the kid who saved Batman".
• An optional line immediately following the fight with Cobblepot is "Stay down", his post-match line in Injustice: Gods Among Us.
• If you stopped Penguin in Episode 4, Bruce defeats Two-Face by depriving him of his coin mid-flip. The resemblance is only heightened if you choose to throw the coin down the stairs.
• If Batman went to Wayne Manor and stopped Harvey/Two-Face at the end of Episode 4, he will be forced to downgrade to an earlier prototype of the Batsuit after his gets fried by one of Penguin's EMPs. The suit in question heavily resembles both the one from Dawn of Justice and the one from Year One. On the other hand, if he went to Wayne Enterprises and stopped Penguin from hacking into the Batcomputer, he'll upgrade to an armored suit that slightly resembles the Batsuit from Arkham Origins.
• If Batman defeats Harvey in Episode 4, Bruce will confront Penguin in Episode 5. Since it's raining, Oswald will be carrying an umbrella, which his comic book counterpart is famous for weaponizing.
• Bruce addresses Alfred as "Al", much like Robin did in the Schumacher movies.
• If Bruce gets his ear blasted by Lady Arkham in Episode 5, then when Alfred comments on it at the end, Bruce mentions that "Dr. Thompkins said it adds character". Dr. Leslie Thompkins run a free clinic in Gotham, and is one of Batman's oldest allies, being one of the few people who know his true identity.

Season 2

• Batman's new suit heavily resembles the one from Injustice: Gods Among Us.
• The new Anchor gadgets in his gauntlets are basically miniature versions of the Remote Claw from Batman: Arkham Origins.
• In his introductory scene, the Riddler asks Mori "What is the one question you can never answer 'yes' to? Are you dead?" In his debut episode in The Batman, Riddler gives that same riddle, except there, in reference to that Riddler's voice actor's most famous role, the answer is "Are you sleeping?"
• One of Waller's agents is a man named Blake.
• Tiffany says that "it's so hard to know what to get a man who has everything," a phrase used in Superman and Justice League in storylines focusing on Black Mercy, and more recently in Batman during Boosterpoint.
• This isn't the first, second, or even third time that Waller has blindsided Batman with his real identity.
• A promotional image for Episode 2 has Batman standing atop a skyscraper, posed the exact same way as in the opening to Batman: The Animated Series, complete with his cape blowing in the wind.
• The effects of Venom on Bane's physiology (discolored, greyish skin and glowing spiderweb veins) make him look like, of all things, the version of Bane from Batman & Robin.
• When Batman and Bane fight for the first time, at one point Bane grabs Batman and holds him over his head.
• John's "house" in the Pact's lair has a sign reading "Ha-Hacienda" on it, which is what the Joker often called his hideouts in the '70s.
• This isn't the first time Mr. Freeze and Bane have worked together.
• When talking about Freeze's backstory, Harley makes a quick joke about him sacrificing his soul to get Nora back. The comics actually had Freeze sell his soul to Neron in exchange for power during Underworld Unleashed.
• A promotional image for Episode 3 has Batman on a wire with lightning in the background in an homage to a cover for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
• John's solution for getting into Riddler's hideout? A crowbar.
• Examining the food in Riddler's hideout will cause Selina to remark that not everyone can have lobster thermidor for dinner every night.
• John's Nightmare Face in Episode 3 is a reference to the point in which the Joker goes insane in The Killing Joke.
• A promotional image for Episode 4 has Batman and Bruce contrasted in a way similar to a cover of Batman: Hush.
• In Episode 4, a heroic John attempts to set off a bomb, but it fails to go off. He angrily mashes the detonator until it finally goes off and surprises him. Much like when the Joker blew up that hospital in The Dark Knight. In addition the pose The Joker takes when falling off the bridge is similar to the pose The Joker takes in Arkham Origins when he's about to be blown off the Gotham Royal hotel.
• Harley calls John "Mistah J!" if he embraces becoming a villain in Episode 4.
• In Episode 4, a villainous John and Harley jump off the bridge in a way similar to them diving into the chemical bath in Suicide Squad (2016).
• The Gotham Feed story featuring Mister Freeze ends with Nora's sister, Dora Smithy, begging Victor to bring back Nora if he's still out there and alive. Dora was a character created for the Gotham Girls webseries.
• Bruce goes to meet John at the "Bonus Brothers Carnival", which was also the name of the carnival that the Joker bought in The Killing Joke.
• Like the Mark Hamill version, John backstabs Harley to Law Enforcement in the vigilante ending, just like he did in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Trial". Both Harley's reactions to the betrayal are similar. In addition in S1E4 he offers to help Bruce in exchange for one favor just like agreeing to let Charlie go for one favor. In both cases the favor involves helping The Joker with a plan. In addition his hair as a vigilante in Ep 5 greatly resembles his hair in The Animated series albeit very stylized.
• Like The Kevin Richardson Joker from The Batman, John Doe becomes a Vigilante with his own Batman gadgets and batman inspired costume. Though John's intentions are more well meaning by contrast whereas The Joker was just doing it to screw with Gotham. In addition John is introduced as a patient with a mysterious past that not even the orderlies know how he was checked in just like The Joker was in his first episode.
• John's actions in both endings of Episode 4 evoke the Heath Ledger and Jared Leto incarnations. In the Vigilante Joker ending, he attempts to set off a bomb with a delayed reaction just like the hospital scene in Dark Knight, he sets off a tear gas grenade just like in the opening scene at the bank, his rage at the agency also evokes Heath Ledger's Joker's anarchist philosophy and hatred of schemers. Meanwhile in the Villain Joker ending, he rescues Harley from Amanda Waller in a vehicle just like in Suicide Squad and his love for her and his breakdown without her if she was left behind is also taken from the Jared Leto incarnation.
• A promotional image for Episode 5 has The Joker with a camera as in the cover of The Killing Joke.
• As a member of the Suicide Squad in Episode 5, Bane wears what looks like a cross between his classic luchador mask and the metal mask worn by Tom Hardy's Bane.
• If you got the "Villain" version of Joker in Episode 5:
  • His look appears to be derived from the gaudy wardrobe Jared Leto wore when he played the character in Suicide Squad (2016). His relationship with Harley is also inspired by the movie as they are more of a proper unholy matrimony rather than the usual Boss and his ignored enamored underling dynamic.
  • His crashing of a Wayne Boardroom meeting is quite similar to how the Jack Nicholson Joker surprises the mob board meeting. The Joker can even potentially shock a board member just like the movie. Both versions declare they run the Company/mob by having henchmen hold the members hostage.
  • His endgame is a "dinner party" for Bruce and his friends where he plays sadistic games with them. Joker also does this in Death of the Family with the members of the Bat-family in the Batcave. Joker will also rant about the hero/villain relationship he has with Bats, which further references that story. Arguably the whole Villain route is a whole plot reference to the Death of the Family as in addition The Joker's entire motivation is to become Batman's best enemy and attempting to destroy his allies in a twisted attempt at improving him.
  • His entire motivation in this route;the fact that Bruce rejected his friendship is quite similar to the Lego Movie version's rage at Batman denying that the Joker is Batman's arch-nemesis.
  • In the final battle, he invokes his Heath Ledger incarnation when he crows "Why so shy, Brucie?
  • After the confrontation at Ace Chemicals, Joker cripples Gordon's legs, similar to what he did to his daughter, Barbara, in The Killing Joke.
  • Once finally beaten and his face covered in bruises and blood, Joker is lying down and coughing, before he stops moving entirely. Once Bruce realizes he may be dead, he immediately starts using one of his gadgets to give him controlled shocks to keep him from flatlining. His "death" is almost identical to the Joker's death in Batman: Arkham City, and the idea of Batman using an electric gadget to jumpstart someone's heart is taken directly from Batman: Arkham Origins.
• If you got the "Vigilante" version of Joker in Episode 5:
  • His choice of attire resembles Ledger's look from The Dark Knight (or, by extension, his look in the Joker graphic novel, his "Insurgency" outfit in Injustice: Gods Among Us or the Batman: Arkham Origins game).
  • His imitation of Batman might reference the Cesar Romero version from the 60s show (who also used a utility belt) or the Kevin Richardson version in The Laughing Bat episode of The Batman. A news article mentions The Joker inflicting Disproportionate Retribution on people who are committing very minor crimes much like how Bat-Joker operated in the aforementioned episode.
  • The option to take down Bane when fighting him with vigilante Joker near the start of episode 5 using Joker's car could be a reference to when Batman takes down Bane in Batman: Arkham Asylum using his Batmobile.
  • The scene of the Joker in the Batmobile visually is similar to the opening of Batman: Arkham Asylum albeit with The Joker awake.
  • During the part where Joker talks to Alfred in the background, if you let the conversation go on long enough, Joker will say "I am the night!", referring to the Batman Animated Series episode Nothing to Fear, where Batman said the same line, and has since gone on to become an iconic line for the character.
  • The basis of the Vigilante Route where The Joker and Batman are forced to team up to evade Waller and her task force comprised of Batman Villains is quite similar to Arkham Knight where the ghost (or remnant) of The Joker and Batman have a sort of team up against Scarecrow's army. Both versions of The Joker are even enthusiastic teaming with Batman.
  • His contempt at Batman's no killing policy is quite evocative of the Heath Ledger and Arkhamverse versions. Additionally his hatred of Waller and the Agency is quite similar to the Heath Ledger's anarchist philosophy and hatred of schemers.
  • During the climax, Joker gets knocked off a platform and nearly falls into a vat of chemicals, just like in the most famous version of his backstory. In this case, however, Batman saves him using his grapple.
  • At another point during the fight, Batman has Joker pinned down, only for Joker to pull out his electric joy buzzer and shock Batman on the side of his neck, mirroring how Terry defeats Joker once and for all in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
• The idea of Catwoman having a control collar on her neck originated in Batman Arkham Knight, where Riddler planted one on her to use her as bait for Batman to play his game.
• The music for Joker in both paths deliberately evokes Danny Elfman film scores, with the first battle alongside Vigilante Joker sounding very similar to "Clown Dream" from Pee-wee's Big Adventure.
• In both versions of episode 5 the fight with The Joker ends with Batman and Joker heavily wounded and right next to each other, both heavily exhausted from the fight, referencing the ending of Batman: Endgame, in which the fight with Batman and Joker ends in a temporary "mutual kill".
• Alfred leaving Bruce and Wayne Manor because he can't stand to watch Batman take over Bruce's life is something that happened at the conclusion of the Novelization of Knightfall.
• The Gotham Feed newspaper story about Oswald's parole being denied mentions that Carl Finch is the new District Attorney taking over from Harvey Dent. Finch is a character from Batman Begins who is Dent's predecessor instead.
• Joker's Brief Accent Imitation of Alfred sounds a lot like Michael Caine, the actor who played him in The Dark Knight Trilogy.
• Riddler being able to fight Batman and utilizing Cane Fu is similar to his The Batman incarnation.
• Also on the topic of the Riddler, his intelligence having been increased by the Lotus virus at the cost of his sanity may be a nod to Batman Forever, where he used an invention called the Box to make himself smarter with a similar side effect.