Referenced By / Batman

It's not easy bein' Batman^note Image from Muppet Parody Calendar: The Sequel

Shoutouts abound to one of the heroes best ingrained in the public consciousness, there's even a trope all on its own to straight parodies of the archetype Batman codified; the Batman Parody.

Please, only direct examples. Any resemblance to a Batman story or concept without Word of God to back it up is speculation.

References to the Nolan trilogy can be placed on their own page at The Dark Knight Trilogy.

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References to Batman in other works:

Advertising

• A commercial for Virtual Boy Wario Land ended with Wario saying "Wait till they get a load of me!"

Anime & Manga

• In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, Batman is mentioned as one of the many fictional characters brought to life by Ungalo's Bohemian Rhapsody, with some civilians spotting him on a rooftop.^note This occurs in the anime. It was originally Spider-Man in the manga.

Asian Animation

• In Happy Heroes, robots with costumes of Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man are known to appear every once in a while.
• In the Lamput episode "Super Docs", Specs Doc wears a costume that is almost entirely black in color with little pointy ears at the top and a yellow belt, clearly meant to be Batman's iconic outfit. His buddy Skinny Doc wears a Superman costume.

Comic Books

• Big Bang Comics: Most characters are thinly disguised versions of Golden and Silver Age DC Comics characters, and Knight Watchman is a Captain Ersatz of Batman, while Kid Galahad/Galahad is one for Robin/Nightwing.
• Captain America: In issue #180, when creating his Nomad costume, Steve Rogers is using some fabric that's all black and is thinking about having a name that should be dark and mysterious. He then comments "I hope a bat doesn't fly in my window or I'll be in big trouble!"
• The cover of issue #91 of Marvel Two-in-One features the Thing being covered by the silhouette of what appears to be Batman, giving the impression that it's a crossover with DC's iconic vigilante. Of course, that's not the case and the silhouette actually belongs to the antagonist of the issue, the Sphinx (a Nova villain).
• The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis:
  • An issue of Batman is among the comics that can be seen on Nerdanus XII.
  • Batman himself makes a Lawyer-Friendly Cameo alongside other superheroes from DC and Marvel in the final issue.
• Issue 172 of Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics) has Scourge The Hedgehog telling Sonic that it would only take one bad day for him to end up like him.
• Sovereign Seven: There's an argument as to whether Michael or Val is better...with a conclusion that Adam beats both.
• Transmetropolitan: Quoth Spider (Cosplaying as Jesus):
  Spider: Messianic fuckheads are a superstitious, cowardly lot, and I must strike fear into their hearts.

Comic Strips

• Mutts:
  • This strip, part of a series in which the characters portray superheroes, features Mooch and a bird as Batman and Robin.
  • Another series in which the characters portray characters from comic books includes this strip, which features one of the strip's two mischievous squirrels as the Joker.
  • Batman actually appears in this strip.
• Off the Mark:
  • "That's ridiculous, Robin... what makes you think I've been seeing Catwoman?"
  • Batman and his sports utility belt.
  • So THAT'S where it was..."
  • Never mind the bat signal, he gets here quicker if I show pictures from last year's Christmas party..."
  • Watching The Horse Whisperer, Ghost Whisperer, Dog Whisperer, and any Batman movie with Christian Bale.
  • The Grand Canyon explained.
  • The cruel secret behind the bat signal.
  • "Don't listen to him, Claudia! It's not a tattoo..."
  • Batman appears in this strip alongside Superman, Spider-Man, and The Thing. He's listening to Steve Miller's "The Joker".
  • "I hate it when he tries using sonar..."
  • How you'll feel when working with Habitat For Humanity.
  • "I can't believe you're better at me than this!"
  • Batman had that flying dream again...
  • Sorry. I must've buttsignaled you."
  • Batman is too busy texting to notice the batsignal.
  • How to capture Catwoman.
  • A trick-or-treater dressed like Batman sneezes, resulting in his mask flying off onto the face of the woman who's answering the door.
• Pictured atop this page is a Mafalda strip where Felipe discovers Batman (1966) is all the rage.

Fan Works

• In the Halloween Episode of Ma Fille, Dingo Bone is dressed as Batman.
• Plan 7 of 9 from Outer Space. During a domestic squabble a woman tells off her boyfriend for keeping a 'Batmobile' in the garage. He protests that it's a classic Lincoln Futura concept car.

Films — Animated

• In Mulan, Mushu and Cri-Kee scare off the Huns by copying Batman and Robin's entrance and mannerisms.

Films — Live-Action

• In Season of Miracles, one kid is a fan of Batman and doodles the logo on the baseball. He later patiently explains to his friends that "Holy ______" is a Batman reference.
• In Electra Glide in Blue, a group of old people squabbles over comic books, including Batman.
• The Drummer and the Keeper: Gabriel tells Christopher that during his manic phases, he feels like he can do anything, like Batman.
• In Eternals, Karun being described as Kingo's butler makes Gilgamesh note "Like Alfred to Batman!"
• In Getting Straight, Garcia plans to write a book report on a Batman comic book. Harry compares Batman's heroism to Don Quixote. Later, he learns that the comparison inspired Garcia to read Don Quixote.
• In Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022), Chip watches Batman Vs. E.T..
• The last line of Kick-Ass is "As a wise man once said, 'Wait 'till they get a load of me.'"
• Space Jam: A New Legacy has a few, given that DC is one of the many WarnerMedia properties featured in the Massive Multiplayer Crossover. During the pitch of the "insert yourself into Warner media", one part has LeBron James as Mr. Freeze encasing Batman on ice. While in the DC Animated Universe where Daffy Duck and Porky Pig have taken refuge, Bugs Bunny dresses as Batman (with LeBron as Robin). Both Alfred and Harley Quinn (the latter in her civilian outfit) can be seen inside a train. When Bugs and LeBron try and fail to stop the out-of-control train, the 1966 TV series theme song is played in the background. Afterwards, Batgirl appears alongside other DC heroes to confront Daffy for what he's done regarding the train. During the climactic game, many Batman characters are spectators, most prominently the Schwarzenegger Mr. Freeze having basically a courtside seat, along with the Jack Nicholson Joker, Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, and many of the 1966 versions (including Robin and Catwoman).

Literature

• The Dresden Files:
  • In Turn Coat Harry tells Georgia to "send up the wolf-signal" when he arrives at her place and want the rest of the pack to come in to strategize.
  • In the short story "Backup" there's a semi sarcastic utterance of "Holy Clay Face, Batman."
• In There's More Than One Way Home, Anna nicknames Alex's study the "Batcave."
• In Evidence of Things Not Seen, Batman is one of the comic books that Chuy uses to learn English.
• Joe from Blue Iguana wears a Batman T-shirt in one scene.
• In Every Shiny Thing, Ryan's favorite pajamas, which don't fit him anymore, are of Batman.
• Planet Earth Is Blue: In a flashback, Bridget and Nova go to a Halloween party where one of the guests is dressed like Batman.
• Jack from Navigating Early brings Batman comics with him to Boarding School.
• The Boy Who Drew Monsters: During Jack Peter's former obsession with comic books, he and Nick used to read Batman together.
• In The Evolution of Emily, Miles wears a Batman T-shirt.
• In Clade, Dylan programs a sim of the dead child Matthew Meek that shows him wearing a Batman outfit.
• Eddie from The Speed of Sound has Batman sheets and a Batman pillowcase.
• Leah from The State of Grace sleeps in a Batman T-shirt.
• The Syrena Legacy: In Of Poseidon, Toraf speculates that the reason Emma has Syrena powers but seems human is that she's a superhuman like Batman, whom Toraf saw on Galen's TV. Galen explains that Batman isn't a real person, just an actor pretending to be a superhero so other humans will watch him.
• In Takashi Yanase's children's anthology book Twelve Pearls from 1971, Batman alongside Superman both make a cameo appearance◊ in an older version of his Anpanman story.

Live-Action TV

• The Big Bang Theory: The characters are comic fans, so the character is inevitably mentioned. A later season episode guest-starred the late Adam West with the cast asking who he thinks is the best live-action actor of the character.
• Community: Abed Nadir has dressed as the Dark Knight in several occasions.
• Full House:
  • At the end of "Divorce Court", D.J. and Stephanie make up after a fight, with the former dressed in a Joker costume and the latter in a Batman costume. When D.J. decides to take Stephanie to the Halloween carnival after all, they hug each other, which Danny happens to witness.
    Danny: Awww, Batman hugging the Joker. Now this is how the movie should have ended.
  • In "Stephanie Plays the Field", Danny gives Michelle the job of being the bat boy at Stephanie's baseball game. Michelle later shows up dressed in a Batman costume.
• How I Met Your Mother: The episode "The Naked Man" parodies the tropes found in many Batman live-action adaptations, particularly The Dark Knight Trilogy. Barney later calls himself and his girlfriend Robin "Barnman and Robin".
• Only Fools and Horses has Del and Rodney dressing up as Batman and Robin for a costume party. It's one of the show's best-known scenes.
• In Parks and Recreation, as Ben joins Tom and Donna in their "Treat Yo Self" trip, he decides to buy himself a Batman suit. (adequately, it's The Comically Serious dressed as the poster child for that trope, specially when he fixes a router in full costume) There's also Leslie sending a Bat-Signal and a reporter once starting a speech with "People of Gotham..."
• Probe's "Computer Logic": When the Serendip CEO sends Michelle to Austin's home, he calls it the Batcave, referencing the President's choice to hide himself away instead of running his own company.
• Radio Enfer:
  • Jean-Lou is trying to lose weight, with Maria suggesting him to follow Michelle Pfeiffer's personal diet:
    Maria: That's a diet for you.
    Jean-Lou: With meat and sauce!?
    Maria: No. No, it's a yogurt-based diet, but it works. Because before this diet, it wasn't Catwoman she was supposed to play in "Batman 2", it was the Penguin!
  • During a Season 4 episode, Carl is embarrassed when the others see him wearing a pajama with Batman's logo on it that his mother bought for him but that he doesn't like.
  • The teasers of Season 6 focus on Jocelyne inside a freezer. In one of them, she says that she is starting to understand what Mr. Freeze's wife must be feeling.
• Reservation Dogs: Upon learning why Big became a tribal cop, Cheese declares his origin story to be like Batman's. He then proceeds to elaborate about how they aren't actually that similar at all.
  Cheese: Wow, that's kind of like Batman's origin story, in a way. I mean, except your parents didn't die and you don't have a butler. You're not that rich, either, or else you'd fix this radio. Probably have a better car, too. Not all that smart, either. Not like Batman.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: Batman jokes abound when Mike and the bots spot Adam West in Zombie Nightmare.

Music

• The music video for Eminem's "Without Me" sees him as a Robin Expy named "Rap Boy" with Dr. Dre being (the non-costumed) Batman analogue.
• On the cover art for Iron Maiden's Somewhere in Time there's Batman under the billboard of Tehe's Bar.
• R.E.M.'s B-side "Winged Mammal Theme" is a loose reinterpretation of the 1966 show's theme song. The piece was written for the Batman Returns soundtrack but was made the B-side to "Drive" when Warner Bros. (who also owned the label the band were signed onto) rejected it.

Professional Wrestling

• CHIKARA titled its Cibernetico shows from 2004-2012^note Excluding 2009's Cibernetico Increible after Batman references. (E.g., 2007's Cibernetico & Robin).
  • The Season 11 events (2012) were titled after episodes of the 1966 Batman TV series.
• In an Ascended Meme after fans compared Taeler Hendrix to Poison Ivy her official title became "Poison Princess".
• In the 1960s and early 1970s, Tony Marino wrestled for The WWWF in a Captain Ersatz/Writing Around Trademarks gimmick as "Battman."
• Rey Mysterio dressed as The Dark Knight version of the Joker during WrestleMania 25.
• Alexa Bliss dressed as the Riddler during WrestleMania 33.

Puppet Shows

• In an episode of Eureeka's Castle, Batly's favorite superhero is revealed to be Bat Boy, to the point where Batly has a signed poster of him and sings his theme song.

Video Games

• ANNO: Mutationem: The Flavor Text for the Freezing Chip describes a certain "Mr." who proved the power of cryotechnology for his own uses.
• Flight Rising: The bestiary includes the entry: Nightwing Bat: "The Nightwing once nested with a darker, more cunning species of bat. That species is now extinct."
• In Infinite Craft, Batman and Joker are possible crafting recipes.
• League of Legends:
  • Jhin's "murder as art" ethos is very reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's portrayal of The Joker in Batman (1989).
  • Shaco's lore describes him as "Valoran's first fully-functioning homicidal comic," akin to the Joker from Tim Burton's Batman describing himself as "the world's first fully-functioning homicidal artist".
  • Vayne's character and background draws heavy inspiration from Batman, albeit if he didn't adhere to his Thou Shalt Not Kill rule. She even has bats flying around her when activating her ultimate!
• One boss of The Revenge of Shinobi is a vampire Batman - at least in the first print, later versions of the game altered the sprite to reduce the copyright infrigement.
• Mortal Kombat 11:
  • The Joker appears as a Guest Fighter, has a Batman puppet and makes comments related to Batman and other heroes.
  • Raiden and Spawn briefly discuss their previous crossovers with Batman in one match intro^note Raiden with Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and Injustice 2, and Spawn with the Spawn/Batman comic by Frank Miller. Sub-Zero also mentions visiting "an unjust world" with "a dark knight and a caped wonder".

Web Comics

• Charby the Vampirate: When Charby first sees the extensive cave complex and laboratory underneath the cabin he asks if Menu ate Batman to get the place.
• The title character of The Adventures of Dr. McNinja is a huge Batman fan.
• Hark! A Vagrant presents "Sexy Batman", making criminals uncomfortable with his choices.
• League of Super Redundant Heroes: Flying Fox-man is the local Batman Parody, and he's accompanied by his young yellow, green and red wearing partner Dodo. In several strips there are style parodies to certain periods in Batman's publishing history and one panel is a match for the cover of Detective Comics 38 with Dodo and Flying Fox Man subbed in for the daring duo.

Web Video

• The Angry Video Game Nerd:
  • In his review of A Nightmare on Elm Street (NES), the Nerd compares the game's concept of the hero having to find pieces of the villain's body and destroy them (which itself is similar to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest) to the Batman killing the Joker, scattering his pieces all over the city, and collecting them all. He shows an illustration of Batman doing just that.
  • The Nerd has a two-part episode where he dresses up as Batman and reviews various Batman video games for the Commodore 64, NES, SNES, Sega CD, Atari Lynx, Game Boy, and Sega Genesis. Mike Matei guest stars as the Joker.
  • In his review of Tiger Electronic Handheld Games, among the games the Nerd plays are the handheld and wrist game versions of Batman Returns, the R-Zone version of Batman Forever, and the Game.com version of Batman & Robin.
• Console Wars:
  • In the The Adventures of Batman and Robin episode, Greg and Dan see whether the SNES or the Sega Genesis had the better licensed game based on the titular animated series.
  • In the Batman Returns episode, Greg and Dan see whether the SNES or the Genesis had the better licensed game based on the titular film.
  • In the Batman Forever episode, Dan gets an ultra-rare Blu-ray of the titular film with (fictional) deleted scenes. Along the way, Pat and Dan see whether the SNES or the Genesis version had the worse licensed game based on the film.
• DaThings: In "Postman Tap Delivers Fake Letters", Tap turns into Batman at the end of the intro, which is basically his normal self with a Batman mask poorly Photoshopped on top.
• Epic Rap Battles of History: Batman and Robin battle Sherlock Holmes and Watson in Season 2. The Joker battles Pennywise in Season 6.
• Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] Abridged: Archer constantly gets compared to Batman while Shirou gets compared to Robin and then Nightwing.
• In Jimquisition's The Addictive Cost Of Predatory Videogame Monetization the meme-tastic frame of Batman slapping Robin is used when Jim quickly introduces the fact that they despise the game's industry's explorative tactics and will not stand listening to the industry try to explain away the obvious gambling elements added to modern games as the corporations try to avoid being regulated.
• Lindsay Ellis uses a comparison between the campy '90s Batman and harsh 2000's Batman as a quick shorthand to show how pop-culture and what was acceptable to American audiences shifted after 9/11 and the beginning of the War on Terror in her Independence Day vs. War of the Worlds video.
• Philosophy Tube: In How to Fix the Housing Crisis, which frames a discussion about communism and the housing crisis as a discussion about a video game Abigail's character Niel Contentmakker says "Now to be clear, I'm not saying this is like a Batman/Joker situation, where the villain is like the dark reflection of the hero" when claiming the hero Housing Market and the villain Housing Crisis are one and the same.
• World War II: Episode 12 - "The Mysterious Threat to the Royal Navy" opens with Indy giving the date, November 17, 1939, in his usual style before a swirling transition cuts to him giving a campy impression of The Riddler directed at the leaders of Britain and France in the style of the Batman (1966) version of the character.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series:
  • Episode 7: "Into the Kaiba cave!" while the theme song for the live-action Batman played in the background.
  • Episode 35: "I'm the Goddamn Kaibaman!"
  • Episode 40: "Tell me something, Yugi: Have you ever dueled with the Devil in the pale Moon light?"
  • In Bonds Beyond Time Paradox has the same laugh as Mandark, and is accompanied by the theme music to Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
  • Bonds Beyond Time: Jaden's very first line in the movie is "I'm Batman!"

Western Animation

• Aqua Teen Hunger Force: In "PDA", Shake tries to use a grappling hook to swing around Carl's house calling himself Batman. He also owns a Shake Signal.
• Dexter's Laboratory: The titular character from the The Justice Friends segment, "Ratman" is a blatant spoof of Batman. His origin story involves him losing his parents after leaving a movie theater, albiet not in a way that gets them killed. After his parents were scared away by rats when he was old enough to live on his own (specifically, the age of 30), the same rats took him in as one of their own. Much to his displeasure, the Justice Friends only let him join their team as their resident handyman, summoning him whenever they need him to repair something.
• In the Kaeloo episode "Let's Play Justice Masters", Stumpy dresses as Batman and Quack Quack dresses as Robin, on top of Kaeloo dressing up as Zorro.
• Kim Possible: The entire "Fearless Ferret" episode is a homage to Adam West's Batman.
• Logorama: Several Batman logos can be seen flying by the rabbit hill at the zoo before the earthquake starts.
• Looney Tunes:
  • Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z - Wile E. Coyote uses an ACME Batman costume to try to catch the Road Runner.
  • Tiny Toon Adventures:
    • "Superbabs" - When changing into her Superbabs costume, Babs first accidentally changes into a Batman costume.
    • "Bat's All, Folks", "The Just-Us League Of SuperToons", "The Return Of Batduck" - Plucky poses as Batduck, an obvious parody of The Caped Crusader.
    • "Bat's All, Folks" - the main antagonist, Question Mark, is an obvious spoof of Batman villain The Riddler.
  • Taz-Mania
    • "Comic Madness" - At the end of the episode, Taz starts a comic book company called "TZ Comics." One of the comics featured is "Bat-Taz," a parody of Batman.
  • The Looney Tunes Show
    • "Reunion" - Daffy Duck claims he is Batman. In the end, it is revealed that Bugs Bunny is Batman.
    • "Another Bat Idea" - Wile E. Coyote uses an ACME Batman costume to try to catch the Road Runner.
    • "Super-Rabbit" - At the end of the episode, Bugs changes his superhero persona from Superman to Batman.
• Muppet Babies (1984): In "Sing a Song of Superheroes, Gonzo appears as Batboy. This exchange occurs when he arrives in the Batmobile:
  Scooter: Hey, you're not Batman!
  Gonzo: Batman? Are you nuts? Warner Brothers wanted two million bucks for a three second film clip.
  Fozzie: Boy, I wonder what they pay Bugs Bunny.
  Bean Bunny: So who are you then?
  Gonzo: Batboy. No charge.
  Piggy: Well, at least the price is right.
• The Powerpuff Girls (1998): In "Stuck Up, Up and Away", when Princess Morbucks wants to become a superhero, the Powerpuff Girls tell her she can't just buy superpowers. Princess retorts, "Tell that to Batman."
• The Simpsons:
  • The "Jingle Bells" parody known as "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" has been sung at least twice in this series:
    • The first time is by Bart during the Christmas pageant in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".
    • The second time is by Robert Goulet at Bart's treehouse casino in "$pringfield".
  • In "Mr. Plow", Homer meets Adam West, who drives the Batmobile from the 1966 series (which is now a broken-down wreck), complains about the Michael Keaton Batman films, and dances the "Batusi" while the Simpsons slowly back away.
  • "Marge vs. the Monorail":
    • Burns and Smithers' escape from the courthouse parodies Batman's rescue of Vicki Vale in the 1989 film.
    • While Homer is in the out-of-control monorail, Marge is able to contact him, leading to this exchange:
      Marge: Homer, there's a man here who thinks he can help you!
      Homer: Batman?
      Marge: No, he's a scientist.
      Homer: Batman's a scientist.
      Marge: [annoyed] It's not Batman!
  • The speech patterns of the beekeeper voiced by Hank Azaria in "Lisa's Rival" are based on Adam West's portrayal of Batman.
    Beekeeper 2: To the BEEMOBILE!
    Beekeeper 1: You mean your Chevy?
    Beekeeper 2: ...Yes.
• The Venture Brothers: In one episode, the team is returning from a costume contest they lost due to Hank refusing to take off his Batman costume.

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