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Holy Musical B@man! is a musical written and performed in 2012 by Team StarKid. It is an Affectionate Parody of Batman, The DCU, and comic book superheroes in general.

After witnessing the brutal murder of his parents, young born billionaire Bruce Wayne reacts the way any rational person would and dresses up like a giant bat to wage a one-man war on crime. But as it turns out, there is one big downside to being a lone Anti-Hero: it's pretty lonely.

Can a young orphaned acrobat named Dick Grayson fill the hole in Batman's heart shaped like his parents getting shot and murdered in an alleyway? And what of Superman, an annoying and all-powerful superhero from Metropolis who is secretly jealous of Batman's popularity?

Can be watched for free here.

Has a fledgling character sheet here.


Holy Musical B@man! contains examples of:

  • Actually Pretty Funny: When Robin encounters Sweet Tooth and realizes that he's the new threat in Gotham, he matches the man's puns with one about how he needs to trade in his Peppermint Patties for a padded cell in Arkham. Sweet Tooth lets out a huge guffaw at that, acknowledging it was a good one.
  • Adaptational Badass: When Batman and Superman come to blows, Batman emerges as the clear winner, most of their fights in other works tend to end in a draw.
    • Justified as he only wins by wielding a lump of Kryptonite. Up until that point, Superman was pretty much curb-stomping him.
  • Adaptational Jerkass:
    • Superman is a Boy Scout that traditionally cares more about doing the right thing than winning a popularity contest. This version of Superman is insecure that he's not popular, and can't help but troll Batman about having powers.
    • Batman's creed is Never Hurt an Innocent in most of the comics, and he tries to bring villains alive. It's parodied that he punches everyone, civilians and villains alike, uses missiles on his plane and does have a body count. It's implied he kills Joker and definitely kills Sweet Tooth for attempting to murder Robin.
  • Adaptational Personality Change: Dick at first is a little crustier when he meets Bruce than he was in his first incarnation, in the Golden Age. It's not because his parents died, but because he's been an orphan for years. He explains that a number of billionaires have adopted him over the years because a circus boy seems to be a nice novelty. Then the charm wears off and they cede custody of him. Bruce wanting to emotionally connect with him breaks Dick out of his shell, especially when they fight crime together.
  • Affectionate Parody: Of superhero movies/comics, specifically Batman and Superman.
  • All-Knowing Singing Narrator: Dylan Saunders plays one of these as a random citizen of Gotham in Act 1, although he reprises this role again at the end of the show as Green Lantern.
  • Always Save the Girl: Deconstructed. Batman, when forced to choose between saving the city or Robin, chooses his partner. Robin is grateful to be saved, but tells Batman now they need to rescue everyone. When Batman refuses, since Sweet Tooth said everyone voted for his partner to die, Robin gets mad. He pulls up the Facebook poll and reveals everyone chose to save him rather than themselves. This makes Batman suffer a Heel Realization that people can be good when the occasion calls for it.
  • Ambiguously Gay: Robin is rather effeminate, and there is a lot of Ho Yay between him and Batman but it never gets explicit. Lampshaded in 'Superfriends'
  • Anachronism Stew: Early in the story, Alfred mentions that it's 1997, explaining why he's looking at personal ads in the paper instead of online. However, Facebook and Twitter figure heavily into the plot, most characters use modern cell phones, and Barack Obama is president.
  • Antagonist in Mourning: Batman occasionally muses over how much he misses the Joker.
  • Appeal to Obscurity
    Superman: Have you ever heard of Mr. Mxyzptlk?
    Green Lantern: No.
    Superman: No! That's right. It's because I do my damn job.
  • Author Appeal: Denise Donovan insisted on being cast as Catwoman because she was her favorite character as a girl, even though in this show Catwoman is a very minor character.
  • Author Filibuster: Most of Batman's pep talk to Superman towards the end is pretty obviously the Langs gushing about how awesome superheroes are and how anyone who thinks that they're unrealistic or corny is a pretentious douchebag. And, much like the Author Filibuster from A Very Potter Sequel about Harry Potter, if you're a fan, it's awesome and heartwarming.
  • Badass Adorable: Robin is usually dorky, keetish and pretty wimpy. But he does kick Penguin's ass at one point
  • Bait-and-Switch: What do you call a league for justice? Super Friends!
  • Becoming the Mask: Alfred tells Bruce that Lucius Fox is his real identity, and he only took on the "Alfred Pennyworth" persona to fulfill a life debt to Thomas Wayne. Even so, he seems to keep the "Alfred" accent and affect in all of his other personae, and taking care of Bruce really does seem to be his only goal in life.
  • Big Bad: Sweet Tooth (who is pretty much turned into an Expy of The Joker as Batman's new nemesis).
  • Big "NO!": Robin unleashes one when Sweet Tooth makes Rachel's head explode by forcing her to lick a Warhead.
  • Black Comedy Rape: Robin uses his pipe-weapon-thing to anally penetrate The Penguin.
  • Bonding over Missing Parents: Batman and Robin. Later, Superman and Batman for a shorter amount of time.
  • Brick Joke: Superman's rant in the first act about how stupid Batman and his villains are. Every single one of his complaints becomes true.
  • Bridal Carry: When Batman kills Sweet Tooth by pushing him into THAT vat of boiling hot chocolate, he picks up Robin in this style, and runs with him. Many fans could interpret this as an example of Ho Yay.
  • Broken Ace: Batman and Superman.
  • Butt-Monkey: Two-Face. Superman has shades of it.
  • Canon Foreigner: Calendar Man, Mother Grimm, and Sherlock Holmes are all introduced for the play as rediculously silly characters. Ironically, Sweet Tooth is a real one-off villain from the comic books that the creators didn't know about.
  • Captain Ersatz: Really, the only difference between Sweet Tooth and the Joker is Sweet Tooth's candy theme. Likewise, Candy to Harley Quinn, right down to the abusive relationship between her and Sweet Tooth/Joker.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Batman's knowledge of Superman's weakness to Kryptonite ends up being how he defeats Superman during their fight. Superman's Shout-Out to his movie ends up stopping Sweet Tooth's plans entirely.
  • Cluster F-Bomb: 'To Be a Man'. Overall, the musical itself drops enough of these to wipe out a small country, especially when compared to other StarKid musicals.
    • 'To Be a Man' wins because the first line of its chorus (that is often repeated) is "Fuck you, I'm gonna kick your ass!"
  • Coconut Superpowers: In the great StarKid tradition. Batman's jet is represented by a small model that goes over his shoulders, and Superman's flight is achieved either through Jim Povolo carrying him or Brian Holden sticking his arms out and making wooshing noises like a five-year-old.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Batman wins against Superman beating him with kryptonite.
  • Composite Character: Sweet Tooth has elements of the Batman: The Animated Series Joker (the purple suit and Candy), The Dark Knight Joker (some of the manic pronunciation, the final scheme and stabbing Chilly Willy), The Riddler from Batman Forever (the hair, the puns and the rampant mugging), and his namesake Sweet Tooth from The New Adventures of Batman (his name, candy theme, and plan involving Water Source Tampering).
    • Played for Laughs with the many alter egos of Alfred Pennyworth/Lucius Fox/O'Malley/Quon Li/Spider-Man.
  • The Conscience: Robin becomes this in the climax of the musical. He gives Batman a What the Hell, Hero? for wanting to abandon Gotham City, and believing everyone voted for him to die. Robin is right; Gotham citizens weren't willing to condemn a child to death.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Somehow, Sweet Tooth has a candy prepared for every occasion, or pun.
    • True to form, Batman. He just happens to be carrying a lump of kryptonite on him when he has to face down Superman.
  • Crosscast Role: Commissioner Gordon, Calender Man, Evil King Arthur and The Green Arrow are played by Lauren Lopez. The Riddler is played by Meredith Stepien, and The Flash is played by Jaime Lyn Beatty.
  • Crossover: For a parody musical this is surprisingly averted, with almost all the characters being real DC Universe characters with the occasional Canon Foreigner — except for Team Starkid's favorite Shout-Out from A Very Potter Musical, Spider-Man (although other Marvel characters like Iron Man and the X-Men are also mentioned). Possibly justified when we find out Spider-Man is just one of Alfred's identities and possibly fictional in-universe.
  • Cruel Mercy: Sweet Tooth forces a captive Robin to watch his lackeys murder Rachel Dawes by making her taste a Warhead, causing her head to explode. He then doesn't bother doing the same to Robin, finding that wouldn't be any fun. Instead, he talks about how the citizens hate Robin despite him putting his life on the line for them, so they can decide if they value their lives over his, by voting on a Facebook poll. He'll keep Robin alive, but poison their water instead, if they choose to save the boy. Oddly enough, Sweet Tooth keeps his word up to when Batman storms the villain barricade, and he tries to murder Robin and poison the water supply at the same time.
  • Cultural Posturing: The people of Gotham become incredibly defensive and spiteful towards Superman when he points out how much better of a superhero he is (both in abilities and personality), claiming that he is "their boy" and eventually chases him away with guns.
  • Curse Cut Short: In "Rogues Are We", there's a line that goes: "I'll weed out any wussy/ I'm a pretty little kitty/ But I ain't no -", only to be interrupted by the rest of the Rogues gallery shouting, "Rogues are we!".
  • Decomposite Character: "Matches", the criminal played by Jim Povolo, is named for Matches Malone, the alter ego Batman uses to infiltrate the mob in the comics. (Although in some stories Malone is a real person whose identity he stole.)
  • Decon-Recon Switch: The Batman-Robin relationship is deconstructed in Act Two. Citizens of Gotham note that the child makes Batman happy, and Batman should never be happy. He's also a kid, and people being rescued snark about babysitting duties. Then Sweet Tooth threatens to murder Robin, and Batman launches on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge to save him. Once he does, Robin says that they need to save the innocent citizens of Gotham City. When Batman says they're not worth saving, Robin shows him the citizens voted to save Robin because they wouldn't hurt a child, and Batman vouched for Robin. Robin is necessary as The Conscience and Morality Chain for Batman.
  • Department of Redundancy Department: The friendship ship.
  • Distress Ball: Robin grabs it when Sweet Tooth kidnaps him. Despite the fact that he's not even tied up, Sweet Tooth is able to lug him around like a sack of potatoes, and he doesn't fight back.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: Alfred 'buys' Robin for Batman from the Classifieds in a newspaper Later Robin says:
    Robin: I've been with my fair of wealthy billionaires throughout the years. It's always the same song and dance with you types. They think it's fun to take in a young acrobat for a while, but after the novelty wears off, I'm back on the streets.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: The Joker is killed off-screen during the show's opening number. Appropriately enough, he falls off a bridge.
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: Superman is really annoyed about Batman having more fans despite him having more powers and, in his opinion, better villains.
  • Eagleland: 'The American Way'. America, the Beautiful AND America, the Boorish - just compare Superman's 'Truth and liberty and justice' idealism to Batman's more cynical 'If money can't fix it then I haven't found it yet', 'Be a born billionaire and have your butler build a jet', and 'Inheritance trust funds, million dollar bills' as the cornerstones of American society.
  • Exact Words: Of course Sweet Tooth will "let Robin go"... into that vat of boiling hot chocolate.
  • Even Evil Has Standards:
    • Penguin isn't pleased when Sweet Tooth murders his penguin lackey to make a point, given it was a bird and loyal to him. While he does agree to serve Sweet Tooth along with the other villains, he kills himself with a Fruit Gusher before Batman and Robin can take him to jail, implying that he followed the guy more out of fear than out of actual loyalty.
    • She does go along with the plan, but Poison Ivy looks briefly discomfited when Sweet Tooth gives an Evil Laugh about using Robin as bait for Batman, and a means to take him down, especially when he thanks her for the idea. (It makes sense if you read her comic history, and Ivy sometimes has a soft spot for kids, especially those who were abused.)
  • Everyone Has Standards:
    • Batman, an Adaptational Jerkass, is disturbed when Penguin commits suicide via Fruit Gusher in front of him and Robin. Not because the candy is poisoned— and Robin nearly eats one— but because normally the villains go to jail, and they're not fine with it but they accept the situation.
    • The citizens of Gotham think that Robin's cheerful nature and lack of pants take away Batman's brooding side. They're horrified when Sweet Tooth takes him hostage, threatening to kill the boy unless they vote for Sweet Tooth to poison their water supply. As one man puts it, Robin is just a little kid! Kids are off-limits for actual death and murder.
  • Expy: Sweet Tooth is one for the Joker, and his giggly henchwoman Candy is very much an alternate Harley Quinn.
  • Face Death with Dignity: Robin to his credit is cool and collected as the Boy Hostage in this musical when Sweet Tooth threatens to murder him.
  • Fanservice: Basically Fan Service: The Musical. So many of the Starkid Boys are running around in spandex and underwear. Which is to say nothing of the girls.
  • Female Gaze: See above Fanservice.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: Nobody respects Two-Face, not even the other villains of Gotham.
  • Frothy Mugs of Water: Played with. Commissioner Gordon's favorite method of celebration is doing water shots, with actual water.
  • Ham-to-Ham Combat: The entire point of "To Be a Man".
  • Harmful to Minors: Given that Robin is said to be a "little kid" compared to Batman, it's probably not good for his trauma that Sweet Tooth made him watch Rachel's head exploding.
  • Harmless Villain: Two-Face.
  • Heart Is an Awesome Power: Villainous example. The rogues laugh at Sweet Tooth storming their meeting and demanding to know why he wasn't invited, saying he's a cheap knockoff of the Joker. Then he kills Penguin's bird lackey with only a Tootsie Roll pop, causing a Mass "Oh, Crap!" and an Even Evil Has Standards moment from Penguin. When Sweet Tooth says he's their leader now, no one argues.
  • Hero of Another Story: Alfred, of all people, runs off towards the end to stop Two-Face's "dastardly" plot, only to return dressed as Spider-Man. God only knows what he was up to in the interim.
  • Hope Spot:
    • When the Joker is Killed Off for Real, Gotham celebrates and Commissioner Gordon gives Batman a key to the City. They expect it will be smooth sailing. Then Sweet Tooth barges into the remaining rogues wanting to team up, kills Penguin's bird lackey casually, and says that he'll be their leader now. They agree, at first under protest, and soon a new wave of villains emerge for Batman to fight.
    • Batman becomes a Defrosting Ice King when taking on Robin as a partner. He starts smiling more and becoming better at taking down criminals. There's just a problem: Sweet Tooth knows that Batman is never happy and has a "soft spot" for Robin. He tells his rogues that they have to do something about the little bird.
  • Horrifying the Horror: Before he commits suicide via Fruit Gusher, Penguin with visible terror tells Batman that "Gotham still has a Sweet Tooth, and that means no one is safe."
  • Hurricane of Puns
    • Lampshaded, every villain makes puns based on their theme that would make the 60s show proud. Sweet Tooth takes this trope up to eleven.
    • Robin loves to do this too, and Batman joins in after they team up.
    • You could do a drinking game with it. Take a shot when a superhero doesn't make a pun; it'll save your liver than doing it the other way around.
  • Idle Rich: Batman says that he's never worked a day in his life.
    • Of course, bats are nocturnal...
  • I Lied: Sweet Tooth says that Gotham's citizens voted to kill Robin, most likely to break Batman's spirit. Robin checks the Facebook poll and reveals to Batman after the latter saves him, that everyone unanimously voted to sacrifice their lives.
  • I Just Want to Have Friends
    • Bruce. His eventual friendship with Robin is built on them being perfect for each other, but Superman and the other Super Friends take more effort to win over.
    • Superman, too, has to work at fulfilling his longing for friendship.
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Two-Face.
  • Inferiority Superiority Complex: Downplayed in Superman. He may act like he's "super" popular and super-erior to Batman, but really he's very sensitive about the fact that no-one wants to hang out with him and that Batman has way more twitter followers, and just wants to be Batman's friend.
  • "I Want" Song: "Dark, Sad, Lonely, Knight": "I want to be somebody's buddy!"
  • Japanese Ranguage: Quon Ri the Chinese butter.
  • Kick the Dog: Sweet Tooth at first gets a few scoffs from the villains gathering to talk about getting rid of Batman. Penguin sends one of his lackeys, a sapient penguin, to evict Sweet Tooth. Sweet Tooth then murders the poor bird to show that he can stay.
  • Lame Pun Reaction: While the various villains of Gotham speak exclusively in their own puns, they all react very poorly to Two-Face's 2-puns.
  • Large Ham: Most of the cast at some point or another, but sweet Jesus, Sweet Tooth. Most of the characters that Lauren Lopez portrays are, even when compared to the general cast, exceptionally hammy.
  • Legion of Doom: Batman's entire Rogues Gallery, including the obscure D-listers and a few villains made up for the show, team up under Sweet Tooth's banner to kill Batman once and for all.
  • Little Guy, Big Buddy: Batman and Robin. There isn't that much of a height difference, but is especially noticeable considering how often Robin is picked up and moved around with relative ease.
  • Lonely at the Top: Bruce, despite being absurdly rich and a popular superhero, has no friends.
  • Lonely Together: Robin says this when he meets Batman.
  • Mad Love: Candy toward Sweet Tooth. Appropriate, considering who they're based on.
  • Manchild: Batman. Oh, sweet Lord, Batman.
    • He and Robin bond over their shared love for juice boxes
    • Alfred at one point tells him "You can't stay in your pillow fort forever."
    • And let us not forget: "Batman loves the circus."
  • Meaningful Echo: "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us".
  • Miniature Senior Citizens: Commissioner Gordon is played by the fairly petite Lauren Lopez.
  • Mood Whiplash:
    • The show does this for laughs all over the place, but special mention goes to "Dynamic Duet", which Joe Walker has named the funniest Starkid song because of the juxtaposition of Batman and Robin's Sickeningly Sweet love song with their hilariously brutal No-Holds-Barred Beatdown of the villains.
    • As Robin and Batman are doing a kickline, earning laughs from the audience, Sweet Tooth strikes on the idea to use Robin as Batman's "weak spot". Fans of previous Batman continuities know usually how well that turns out.
  • Mythology Gag
    • Sweet Tooth's plot to place Robin's fate in the hands of Gotham by setting up a Facebook poll is reminiscent of how Jason Todd's death was decided by a call-in poll... only that Robin wasn't so lucky.
    • I'm the goddamn Batman!
    • Sweet Tooth captures Robin by having his sidekick Baby Candy pull a Wounded Gazelle Gambit, along with Robin hearing a damsel cry out. That was how Joker and Harley Quinn kidnapped Tim Drake in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
    • Superman being ordered to take down Batman by the U.S. government is taken from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
      • Sweet Tooth's henchmen Gob and Joe are take-offs of Rob and Don from TDKR.
    • Green Lantern leaves early on in the plot because "Sinestro's starting his own Corps or something."
    • There are quotes from The Dark Knight Trilogy including, "I won't kill you, that doesn't mean I have to save you", "This town has shown you that's full of people ready to believe in good". Also Alfred mentions that the Batcave was used to help runaway slaves, a mook who had a bomb in his stomach and was told by the Joker Expy that he'd make the pain go away, and one of the Gotham citizens has a "I believe in Harvey Dent" shirt.
    • Superman finding out Batman's identity by following him home after their first meeting is a reversal of how Batman discovered Superman's secret identity in Superman: The Animated Series.
    • Sweet Tooth's first scene, where he brutally stabs Chilly Willy with a lollipop stick in order to establish himself as a credible threat in front of the other villains, is modelled after the Heath Ledger Joker's infamous "pencil trick" scene in The Dark Knight.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: No one in Gotham is happy about Robin becoming Batman's new sidekick. They complain that he's too cheerful and brightly colored for the grim and gritty atmosphere. Then Sweet Tooth kidnaps Robin, and says the citizens either need to vote to save him or save themselves. Everyone chooses to save Robin, acknowledging he didn't ask for this.
  • Ninja Pirate Robot Zombie: The Penguin's "hummingbird-ostrich-hybrid murder-birds".
  • Non Sequitur: Robin spouts several of these during the final number. The first is even acknowledged:
    Robin: I want to be a modern dancer!
    Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, and Spider-Man: What a super weird thing to say, that came out nowhere!
  • "Not So Different" Remark: Both President Obama and Batman use this to pump up Superman.
  • Not-So-Harmless Villain: No one respects Sweet Tooth in the beginning; Superman says dismissively that Batman chooses to let the guy live, and even the other rogues laugh at him. He kills Penguin's lackey to make a point, and shows no remorse for it. Then he targets Robin, despite the fact that Robin is a child, as a means to break Batman's spirit.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Everyone in Gotham knows that Batman is dark and brooding. The fact that he's smiling alarms some of the citizens, and Sweet Tooth gives an Evil Laugh because it means that Batman finally has a weakness.
  • One-Woman Wail: During the reprise of "Rogues Are We".
    • You can hear Lauren Lopez doing one off-screen during some of Batman's lines during 'Super Friends'
  • Parental Substitute: Alfred to Bruce.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: Alfred has two of these, which he affects by simply putting on a hat (and a beard, in the case of O'Malley the Irish butler). He also has an unseen one, considering that he was also Lucius Fox. Averted when he is dressed as Spider-Man.
    • Subverted with Superman, as both Batman and Green Lantern knows he's Clark Kent.
    Superman: Wait. You know my secret identity?!
    Green Lantern: It's a secret?!
  • Practically Joker: Sweet Tooth is who Joker would be if he had a candy theme all the time and a truckful of puns under his belt. Like Joker, he abuses his girlfriend Candy for trying to be funnier than him, targets Robin for the crime of making Batman happy and giving the hero a weakness— a common theme in the Golden Age of Joker comics— and establishes his authority by casually killing people with candy. Superman scoffs that a man like that could be dangerous, as he did in the first DCAU crossover with Batman the Animated Series, only to be proven wrong. Note that unlike Joker, Sweet Tooth has one victory under his belt: convincing Batman to kill a villain for the crime of kidnapping and threatening Robin.
  • Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Superman and Batman at the beginning of "To Be a Man"
    Superman: I am a man of justice. I am a man of might.
    Batman: I am a man of vengeance. I am a man of the night.
  • Promoted to Love Interest: Inverted. Catwoman, Vicki Vale, Chase Meridian and Rachel Dawes all show up but none of them have a romance, or even a scene, with Batman. Instead he's busy off having major Ho Yay.
  • Pungeon Master: Everyone, but Sweet Tooth especially. Bonus points for props.
    • Calendar Man is extremely non-threatening. It seems like the reason for their existence as a villain is that they can eke out a few puns from dates on a calendar.
  • Reconstruction: Reaffirms the importance of Robin in the Batman mythos and argues that the concept of a child crime-fighter does nothing to ruin the gritty realism of a man who fights crime dressed like a bat.
    • In particular, many people think that Robin is a stupid name for a sidekick and that his costume is too bright and cheery. Robin has an interesting point: a large songbird coming at you with violent intent can badly hurt you and make it look easy. Batman concedes on that when he sees Robin actually terrorizing mobsters. Of note is that people underestimate Robin because he seems to be a goofy child, but he curb stomps Penguin and saves Batman from the latter's death trap.
  • Running Gag
    • Go ahead, take a drink every time Batman slugs a Meredith Stepien character in the face. You'll be drunk by the end of the show.
    • The demos on the soundtrack have a running gag about people playing the saxophone.
    • Various people going "What was daaaaht?!" in a ridiculous voice every time they get startled by something.
    • People knowing Superman's secret identity and being confused that it's supposed to be a secret.
    • Alfred's Paper Thin Disguises.
    • Batman's messing up his introductions:
    Batman: I'm Bruce-Man, I mean I'm Bat-Wayne— FUCK.
  • Sadistic Choice: At the show's climax, Sweet Tooth simultaneously delivers one to Batman and the people of Gotham. He sets up a Facebook poll, asking people to vote as to whether he should kill Robin. If they vote no, then he frees Robin, but poisons the Gotham water supply. If they vote yes, Robin dies and Gotham gets to live. If Batman intervenes in any way, he does both. Notably, both Batman and the people of Gotham decide to save Robin. It's not until Superman intervenes that a third option becomes available.
  • The Scrappy: Robin is this in-universe, since everyone thinks he ruins Batman's "dark avenger" schtick. Eventually this changes.
  • Screams Like a Little Girl: After Superman calls him a "butthead", Batman responds with a scream of rage. A drawn-out, incredibly high-pitched scream of rage that wraps around from being annoying to the most hilarious sound on Earth. This scream of rage, to be exact.
  • Serious Business
    • For Superman, Twitter followers.
    • Batman's dark and gritty image, to his fans. Just like in real life.
  • Shout-Out: Sweet Jesus, where do you even start? Certainly not on this page, the general Starkid shout out page is over here.
  • Shown Their Work: All of the "shitty villains" named in Vicki Vale's newscasts are real Batman villains of varying degrees of obscurity, as is Sweet Tooth. Similarly, all of the Super Friends in the final number are real members of the Justice League (including relatively obscure characters like Zatanna and Plastic Man), with the exception of Spider-Man.
  • Sociopathic Hero: Sweet Lord, Batman. He enjoys frightening Gotham's citizens for the fun of it, views everyone as "criminals who just haven't committed any crimes yet", and opts to save Robin and let the entire city die at the end until Robin gives him a What the Hell, Hero?.
  • The Song Before the Storm: "The American Way". Counts also for a Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number.
  • Smoking Is Cool: Superman and Batman fight over a cigarette during "To Be a Man".
  • Stylistic Suck: The costumes, namely to increase the campyness. Notably the white seam-lines on all of the Underwear of Power and all the heroes wearing Cnverse of varying heights (except Spider-Man who wears other tennis shoes.
  • Take a Third Option: Discussed and then later invoked by Batman with the help of Superman to save Gotham. According to Alfred the ability to do this is what defines a hero.
  • Take That!: There are a multiple stabs at the darker, gritty versions of Batman, specifically the Dark Knight Trilogy.
    • The nerds wear Dark Knight T-shirts during Robin Sucks.
    • One of them gets the line "a teenage crimefighter is ridiculous. It ruins the dark gritty atmosphere of a man dressed up like a bat to fight crime," which could be a reference to Christopher Nolan excluding Robin from the TDKT and holding the opinion that he's a lame character.
    • At the climax, the line "I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you" is mocked, as in this instance Batman is the one who throws Sweet Tooth to his death
    • "I'm sorry but here at TGI Friday's all we can offer you is lukewarm service and a forced fun atmosphere."
  • Tempting Fate: Batman asks Robin to promise to never get mugged or murdered on him. Robin says, "I cross my heart." Several verses later, Sweet Tooth gets a plan to use Robin as Batman's weak spot.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Bruce Wayne is an Idle Rich Jerkass, to put it mildly, at the beginning of the play. He blames all of Gotham's citizens for not saving his parents and says each of them has an inner criminal waiting to come out. By the end of Act One, he's smiling more and treating Dick, his first "real friend," as an equal and a partner. Gotham isn't exactly amused, because they like the Batdickery.
  • Troll: Bruce makes Twitter accounts for people he doesn't like (like Superman and Obama) and posts about how stupid they are.
  • Villain Song: "Rogues Are We".
  • Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Most of the Gotham villains are a slapstick Pungeon Master team but they don't have a body count owing to the fact that Batman foils them before it gets that far. Then Sweet Tooth comes in, kills one of Penguin's birds, and comes up with a plan to use Robin to take down Batman. He says, "Parting is such sweet sorrow," making the murderous intent clear.
  • Visual Pun:
    • The bat-up dancers in "Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight".
    • During "To Be a Man" Batman and Superman argue about whether sidekicks are lame or not, culminating in Batman saying "I've got one for you, right here!"... and proceeding to give Superman a "side-kick" in the leg. (Though it's technically more of a low round-house kick than a true side-kick...)
  • Water Source Tampering: Sweet Tooth plans to irradiate Gotham's water supply, imploding everyone's heads. As per Rule of Funny, this is announced to everyone in Gotham, yet no one thinks to just not drink the water. It's repeated use in Batman stories is also lampshaded.
    Construction Worker: "That nutjob Sweet Tooth is gonna poison the water supply!"
    Pizza Girl: "This is even worse than when The Joker poisoned the water supply!"
    Construction Worker: "Or when Scarecrow poisoned the water supply!"
    Pizza Girl: "Or when Killer Croc poisoned the water supply! That's how he died, the poor fool."
  • Wham Line: The first act ends with Robin and Batman fighting crime in Gotham City. Ivy mentions, "Batman was fearsome before, but now he's got Robin." Sweet Tooth gets a "Eureka!" Moment and tells her to say that again. He then tells his fellow villains that Batman now has a weak spot: the new bird boy.
  • Wham Shot: Robin saves Batman from Penguin and prepares to take Penguin into jail. Penguin warns them that "Gotham has a sweet tooth" before pulling out Fruit Gushers and using them to commit suicide. (They turn his head into a Gusher berry.) Batman is disturbed by this and the warning; usually, Gotham villains don't kill themselves when they're going to prison.
  • What the Hell Is That Accent?: Robin uses an odd, exaggerated-sounding British-like accent that sounds nicely camp. Evil Sherlock Holmes' is a bit more convincing.
  • World of Ham: Oh good god, it is. The number of reserved characters can be counted on one hand and you’d still have room left over.
  • World of Pun: Every single villain makes puns based on their themes, and even Batman and Robin join in after they partner up. There are often several puns per sentence.
  • Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Sure, the citizens of Gotham think Robin messes up Batman's M.o. They vote to save him anyway at the risk of their lives because they note he's just a kid and didn't ask to be the center of a Sadistic Choice.
  • Your Head Asplode: Happens to the Penguin and victims of Sweet Tooth's Nuclear Warhead, starting with Rachel Dawes.

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