Batman in popular media

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This article is about the depiction of the fictional character Batman, the DC Comics superhero, in various media. For Batman's comic book depiction, see Bibliography of Batman titles.

Contents 1 Theatrical movies 2 Direct-to-video 3 Television 3.1 Live action 3.2 Animated 4 Newspaper 5 Books 6 Radio 7 Musical theatre 8 Video games 9 Cancelled Batman projects 9.1 The Batman 9.2 Batman Triumphant 9.3 Bruce Wayne or Gotham City 9.4 Batman Beyond 9.5 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 9.6 Batman vs. Superman 9.7 Batman: Year One 9.8 Smallville 10 Games, action figures, and other toys 11 Theme park attractions 12 Notable fan films 13 Batman parodies and references 14 References 15 External links 16 See also

[edit] Theatrical movies

A number of Batman theatrical films have been made.

• 1943: Batman, 15-chapter serial starring Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as Robin.
• 1949: Batman and Robin, 15-chapter serial starring Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan.
• 1966: Batman, feature film starring Adam West and Burt Ward.
• 1989: Batman, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker.
• 1992: Batman Returns, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Danny DeVito as the Penguin.
• 1993: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, animated feature spun-off of Batman: The Animated Series.
• 1995: Batman Forever, directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Val Kilmer as Batman, Chris O'Donnell as Robin, Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridian, Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face, and Jim Carrey as the Riddler.
• 1997: Batman and Robin, directed by Joel Schumacher and starring George Clooney as Batman, Chris O'Donnell as Robin, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl, and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy.
• 2005: Batman Begins, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Liam Neeson as Ducard and Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow.

Upcoming:

• The Dark Knight, announced sequel to Batman Begins, set to star Christian Bale, Gary Oldman and Heath Ledger as the Joker.

[edit] Direct-to-video

• 1998: Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, based on Batman: The Animated Series.
• 2000: Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, based on Batman Beyond.
• 2003: Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, based on Batman: The Animated Series.
• 2005: The Batman vs. Dracula, based on The Batman.

Upcoming:

• Justice League: The New Frontier based on DC: The New Frontier mini-series

[edit] Television

[edit] Live action

• 1966 - 1968: Batman starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin.
• early 1970s: Superkeds commercial featuring unknown actors as Batman and Superman.
• 1972: "Equal pay" Public Service Announcement featuring Dick Gautier as Batman and Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig as Robin and Batgirl.
• 1979: Legends of the Superheroes by Hanna Barbera, featuring West and Ward as Batman and Robin.
• 2001: "OnStar" commercials featuring Bruce Thomas as Batman, Michael Gough as Alfred and followed the visual style of the 1989-1997 film series.
• 2002: Birds of Prey, TV series that featured Batman in the first episode, played by Bruce Thomas.

[edit] Animated

• 1968 - *1969: The Batman/Superman Hour by Filmation
• 1969: Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder by Filmation, repackaged from previous show.
• 1972: The New Scooby-Doo Movies produced by Hanna-Barbera - Batman and Robin appeared in episodes "The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair" (9/16/72) and "The Caped Crusader Caper" (12/16/72).
• 1973 - 1985: Various Super Friends series produced by Hanna-Barbera.
  • 1973: Super Friends
  • 1977: The All-New Super Friends Hour
  • 1978: Challenge Of The SuperFriends
  • 1979: The World's Greatest Super Friends
  • 1984: Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show
  • 1985: The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians
• 1977: The New Adventures Of Batman by Filmation
• 1992 - 1995: Batman: The Animated Series / The Adventures of Batman & Robin by Warner Bros.
• 1997 - 1999: The New Batman Adventures by Warner Bros.
• 1999 - 2001: Batman Beyond, by Warner Bros. Known as Batman of the Future in Europe and Latin America.
• 2001 - 2006: Justice League / Justice League Unlimited by Warner Bros.
• 2004 - (present): The Batman by Warner Bros.

He also appeared in episodes of Superman: The Animated Series: World's Finest, Knight Time and The Demon Reborn, although in Knight Time he appeared as Bruce Wayne. Since 1997, Warner Bros. has released the entire run of Batman: The Animated Series on video (both VHS, DVD) where Kevin Conroy voices of Batman. There are four volumes total, covering both Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Gotham Knights (Also known as "The New Batman Adventures"). Three volumes complete the Superman animated series, and both seasons of Justice League have been released as well.

[edit] Newspaper

From 1943 to 1946, Batman and Robin appeared in a syndicated daily newspaper comic strip produced by the McClure Syndicate. Other versions appeared in 1953, 1966, and 1989. The original run is collected in the book Batman: The Dailies. One more comic strip series ran briefly after the success of the 1989 film.

[edit] Books

Batman is also slated to appear in a novel by cyberpunk/horror novelist John Shirley, entitled Batman: Dead White from Del Rey books. Many other novels and short story collections featuring Batman have been published over the years, including novelizations of each of the recent movies and several of the more popular comic book arcs. There are also several more scholarly works, aimed at either Batman's history or art, such as Les Daniels' Batman: The Complete History and compilations such as Batman: Cover to Cover : The Greatest Comic Book Covers of the Dark Knight. In 2004 The Batman Handbook: The Ultimate Training Manual, written by Scott Beatty was published by Quirk Books (ISBN 1-59474-023-2). Written in the same style as The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook series, the book explained the basics on how to be Batman. Amongst the skills included in the book are "How to Train a Sidekick", "How to Execute a Backflip", "How to Throw a Grappling Hook" and "How to Survive a Poison Gas Attack". Finally, there are of course countless sticker, coloring, activity, and other children's books [1] featuring the Dark Knight.

[edit] Radio

Beginning in March 1945, Batman and Robin made regular appearances on the The Adventures of Superman radio drama on the Mutual Broadcasting System. Efforts were made to launch a Batman radio series in 1943 and again in 1950, but neither came to fruition.

[edit] Musical theatre

While a parody of a Batman musical was featured in one of the most recent series' comics, in 2002, Jim Steinman, David Ives, and Tim Burton had worked on a theatre production called Batman: The Musical although it was ultimately cancelled. Steinman has recently revealed five songs from the musical. The first is the opening theme for "Gotham City" and the entry of Batman with his tortured solo "The Graveyard Shift"; followed by "The Joker's Song (Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?)", "The Catwoman's Song (I Need All The Love I Can Get)", "We're Still The Children We Once Were" (the climactic sequence) and "In The Land Of The Pig The Butcher Is King", sung by the corrupt blood-suckers ruling Gotham, recently covered on the Meat Loaf album Bat Out Of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose. These songs can be heard at http://www.jimsteinman.com/dreampol.htm

A Batman musical is also parodied in the animated series Batman Beyond. The episode "Out of the Past," (first aired October 21, 2000) opens with Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis attending a performance of (a fictional)Batman: The Musical, featuring caricatures of prominent members of the Rogues Gallery (Joker, Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn). Series creator Paul Dini, who wrote the episode in question, also wrote a song for the fictitious musical entitled "Superstitious and Cowardly Lot."

An episode of the sketch comedy show Mad TV also featured a Batman: The Musical parody

[edit] Video games

Main article: Batman computer and video games

Several Batman video games were created:

• Batman for the ZX Spectrum, MSX and Amstrad PCW in 1985. Now known as Batman 3D.
• Batman: The Caped Crusader for various 8-bit and 16-bit platforms.
• Batman for Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Atari Lynx, Commodore Amiga, Sinclair ZX Spectrum and other platforms. (In October 1989, the Amiga 500 was bundled with this game as part of the Batman Pack [2], which was sold in the United Kingdom and was a phenomenal success).
• Batman: Return of the Joker for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Game Boy.
• Batman Returns for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo (Super NES), Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega Game Gear, and Atari Lynx.
• Batman: The Animated Series for Game Boy.
• Batman & Robin: The Animated Series for Game Gear.
• Adventures of Batman & Robin for Super Nintendo (Super NES), Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and Game Gear.
• Batman Forever for Super Nintendo (Super NES), Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, and Sega Game Gear.
• Batman Forever: The Arcade Game for Arcade, Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
• Batman & Robin for the Tiger Game.com and the Sony PlayStation.
• Batman: Total Chaos for Game Boy Color.
• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker for the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation.
• Batman: Vengeance for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, PC, and the Xbox.
• Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu for the PlayStation 2, PC, Xbox, the GameCube and Game Boy Advance.

• Batman: Dark Tomorrow for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube
• Batman Begins for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance (2005).

Batman appears in Justice League Task Force Super Nintendo fighting game, a couple of Justice League games for Game Boy Advance, and an arcade game based on Tim Burton's original movie. Also, the 16-bit Sega game The Revenge of Shinobi features a (non-authorized) Batman as boss. He appears in the Justice League Heroes game for PS2, Xbox, and PSP.

[edit] Cancelled Batman projects

Despite the success with the Batman film franchise, there were several plans to introduce the Dark Knight to other audiences, many of which never saw the light of day. Prior to the success of Batman Begins, the Batman franchise spent nearly eight years in development hell. Several of the reasons were the same: legal rights, copyright laws, budgetary reasons, casting problems, delaying of production, etc. Directors and a large number of writers were attached to the project for one time or another, but many dropped out due to the lack of progress in the producing of the film. Big Hollywood actors were all tested for the role of Batman, but they declined due to fears of typecasting and salary demands. Directors like Schumacher, Darren Aronofsky, the Wachowski brothers, and Wolfgang Petersen briefly became involved with the movie, but all were eventually replaced by Christopher Nolan. Most of them left due to creative differences, as most noted below in Triumphant and Year One.

[edit] The Batman

Before Tim Burton directed the 1989 film Batman, there had been plans for nearly ten years to make a Batman movie. Tom Mankiewicz, who co-wrote Superman: The Movie and Superman II, wrote a first draft called The Batman that focused on Batman's first year as a crime-fighter.

Originally, Mankiewicz wanted an unknown actor to play Batman, Jack Nicholson as the Joker, William Holden as Gordon, and David Niven as Alfred. His script was given high marks by the Warner Bros executives, but they were unable to hire a director or cast permanently. The project went into development hell for nearly five years, but Mankiewicz's vision of having the Joker did come true in the end.

[edit] Batman Triumphant

Originally planned to be released on the 60th anniversary of Batman's debut in Detective Comics, Batman Triumphant was shelved following the box office failure of Batman & Robin (film) [3]. George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell were planned to reprise their roles from the previous film.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Bruce Wayne or Gotham City

^{[citation needed]}

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar planned to launch a five-season series called Bruce Wayne or Gotham City. Focusing on young Bruce's travels and experiences with the criminal underworld, as well as his burgeoning friendship with Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent, the pilot script was given high marks by reviewers and critics on the Internet. Tim McCanlies, writer of The Iron Giant, outlined the projected show in a series bible that documented various plotlines and themes. One story arc would focus on Harvey's abusive father, Harvey's drinking problems, and his law school struggles, while another would focus on Selina and Bruce's love/hate relationship cultimating in a one-night stand that leaves her hateful of him when they break up. A recurring character on the show was to be a teenaged farmboy from Kansas named Clark Kent, who would play both a foil and friend to the future Dark Knight. During the timeline, Bruce would secretly train with and use gadgets from Wayne Enterprises that would one day become part of his arsenal as Batman. Although the project never officially began production, Gough and Millar turned the concept of a young Batman show into a pre-Superman teenaged show: Smallville, for which McCanlies currently receives royalties.

[edit] Batman Beyond

Since the board at Warner Brothers could not agree on a path to take the film franchise, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini wrote a draft for a Batman Beyond motion picture, detailing the birth of Terry McGinnis into the role of Batman and his friendship with the elderly Bruce Wayne. Little is known about the script, but Dini mentioned that Derek Powers, aka Blight, was to be the main villain of the film, and Will Friedle, who voiced Terry, was actually considered to be cast as the new Batman. This idea for a movie, however, was ultimately dropped.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Before he signed on to direct the next film, Darren Aronofsky revealed that he would love to direct an adaption of Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Some major Hollywood A-listers, like Ray Liotta and Clint Eastwood were considered for Batman, and it was rumored that Dean Cain, from Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, was going to appear in the film as Superman. This was probably a rumor from early work on Batman, which was said to be DKR and that Christopher Reeve would reprise his Superman character. It never really got off the ground, but Miller was reported to have said that he would have loved the idea.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Batman vs. Superman

In November 2001, Warner Bros. Pictures revealed that Batman vs. Superman was in the development phase.^[1] In May 2002, director Wolfgang Petersen was reported to take the helm.^[2] On July 9, 2002, the studio publicly announced its production plans for Batman vs. Superman, with Petersen confirmed to direct the film.^[3] Petersen described the role of the superheroes in the film: "They play off of each other so perfectly. [Superman] is clear, bright, all that is noble and good, and Batman represents the dark, obsessive and vengeful side. They are two sides of the same coin and that is material for great drama." The director was scheduled to begin filming in early 2003,^[4] for a 2004 release after completing The Perfect Storm, with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker attached to write the script for the superhero film.^[5] The script would feature both Metropolis and Gotham City, as well as three strong female roles.^[6]

According to the studio, Batman vs. Superman was being developed slowly as a precaution to the poor reception of Batman & Robin (1997).^[7] In August 2002, however, the project was temporarily shelved until Petersen completed Troy. Unofficially, the project was reported to be shelved due to the emergence of a script for a fifth Superman film, which would be directed by McG.^[8]

A Batman vs. Superman draft written by Walker and revised by screenwriter Akiva Goldsman can be seen here.

[edit] Batman: Year One

It was officially announced in 2001 that Darren Aronofsky would adapt Frank Miller's story arc "Batman: Year One" and release it in 2003. The script, something akin to a revenge tale like The French Connection set in the 90s, departed heavily from the comics source material, with Bruce Wayne being homeless, Alfred being a middle-aged black mechanic, and the Batmobile a souped-up Lincoln Towncar. The board at Warner Bros were far from impressed. Selina Kyle appeared as a stripper and a prostitute, while being in a love/hate affair with Bruce Wayne, and she was to appear as Catwoman in the third act of the film. It was to be narrated by Wayne's voice-overs, mostly focusing on his lust for revenge and justice, and Batman's crime-fighting methods were more brutal than those of the comics. Jim Gordon was to be a transferred cop from Chicago with marriage problems, while Harvey Dent, then Assistant District Attorney, was bent on bringing Carmine Falcone and Rupert Thorne to justice.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Smallville

The producers of Smallville wanted to get a teenaged Bruce Wayne onto the show as a recurring character acting as a friend and foe to Clark Kent, while being a potential love interest to Lana Lang. Scripted as being two years younger than Clark, the young Wayne was wandering around America trying to find his purpose in life and training in martial arts. His main story arc was to be involved in a feud with Lex Luthor over Lexcorp and Lionel Luthor's rivalry with Wayne Enterprises. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar had stated as far back as Season One that they would love to have the pre-Batman on the show.

Due to legal issues and the production of Begins, the planned idea was cut from the drawing board. Ian Somerhalder was cast as a stranger named Adam Knight (named based on Adam West and The Dark Knight) who served as a boyfriend for Lana in at least seven episodes. This was in response to the plans of Wayne coming undercover to Smallville while investigating Luthor. However, in 2006, Gough hinted that the possibility of Wayne on the show before it ends is not entirely impossible.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Games, action figures, and other toys

Batman is one of the few fictional characters that can be defined by his toys and merchandising. The first boom started in 1966 during the hit television series, and since then, along with every major movie or cartoon series has come a wave of toys, collectibles, and just about any other merchandise imaginable. Over the years, hundreds of Batman action figures, die-cast models, and other miscellaneous items have reserved the store shelves. Of the many companies that have acquired the rights to make Batman merchandise, some of the most well known include:

• Ideal - Captain Action
• Mego - Action figures and dolls
• Corgi - Die-cast metal vehicles
• Remco - Playsets and roleplaying toys
• Toy Biz - Action figures
• Ertl - Die-cast figures & vehicles and model kits
• Applause - PVC figures and dolls
• Hasbro - Action figures
• Monogram - Bobble heads
• Mattel - Action figures and jigsaw puzzles
• Lego - Building bricks and minifigures

Batman has appeared as a HeroClix figure along with other Batman characters in the following HeroClix sets:

• Hypertime
• Cosmic Justice
• Unleashed
• Legacy
• Icons

For April 2006, Lego introduced a Batman line which also includes characters such as the Joker and Two-Face, at American International Toy Fair.

[edit] Theme park attractions

Several Six Flags theme parks, formerly owned by Warner Brothers, opened live-action "Batman Stunt Shows" as the movies increased in popularity. Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey is home to a looping, suspended roller coaster named "Batman: The Ride" (Six Flags Saint Louis has the same ride, as does Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois) as well as twin roller coasters named "Batman and Robin: The Chiller." On the latter attraction, riders may ride on either the Batman or Robin versions of the coaster. Six Flags Over Georgia contains a Gotham City area that contains the same "Batman: The Ride" and also features a looping coaster called "The Mindbender" that was adapted to fit the color tone of The Riddler after Batman Forever came out to fit the Gotham City section of the park it shares with "Batman: The Ride". Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California has two Batman-themed coasters, the suspended coaster "Batman: The Ride," and "The Riddler's Revenge," a stand-up type roller coaster. This Six Flags park also features an entire themed area called "Gotham City" complete with architecture to match that of the fictional Gotham City. Warner Bros. Movie World in the Gold Coast, Australia, also has two Batman-themed rides. Batman Adventure - The Ride, revamped in 2001, is a motion simulator style simulator ride while Batwing Spaceshot is a vertical free-fall ride.

[edit] Notable fan films

Several low-budget, unauthorized Batman movies have been made, including the short film Batman Dracula (1964) by Andy Warhol; the full-length Batman Fights Dracula (1967) made in the Philippines; and a second full-length Filipino movie called Alyas Batman en Robin (1993). (Critics who have seen this movie say it is very poor quality.)^{[citation needed]} Additionally, an independently-funded self-promo fan film titled Batman: Dead End was produced by Sandy Collora in 2003, starring Clark Bartram as Batman. The film featured not only Batman but also Aliens and Predators from the popular 20th Century Fox film franchises, and generated considerable buzz. Something similar happened with Grayson (2004), a fan film made by John Fiorella.

Two notable low-budget animated Batman LEGO Fan Films include Batman: Revenge (The Batman LEGO Film) (2003) and Batman: New Times (2005). Batman: Revenge is credited by Batman Fan Films as being the first Batman LEGO Fan Film and the production that brought Batman fan films into the art of stop-motion animation. Batman: New Times was created by the graduating class 2004 of Dave School as a 12-minute CGI film based on models of Art Asylum's toyline with voices by Adam West, Mark Hamill, Dick Van Dyke, and Courtney Thorne-Smith.

[edit] Batman parodies and references

It should be noted this list is far from exhaustive, a character that's existed continuously for nearly 70 years in many media will become part of the cultural landscape. References to images like the Bat Signal and references to phrases from the 1960s TV series (particularly "To the Batmobile!" and "Holy something, Batman!") are innumerable:

• Blue Falcon and Dynomutt from Dynomutt, Dog Wonder parody Batman and Robin.
• Knight Watchman (based on Batman) and Galahad the Kid Whiz (based on Robin) are part of Big Bang Comics' recreation of the golden age and silver age of comics.
• Midnighter from Stormwatch and The Authority is cast in the Batman mold, but with superpowers and in a homosexual relationship with Apollo, a Superman analogue.
• In Alan Moore's Supreme, Professor Night and his sidekick Twilight, the Girl Marvel homage Batman and Robin.
• In the Disney comics, Donald Duck has a superheroic alter-ego called Paperinik, that has an utility belt, well-equipped car and a lot of gadgets, all inspired by Batman. Other Batman parodies are Fethry Duck's Red Bat and Jose Carioca's Green Bat.
• An episode of the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses sees main characters Del-Boy and Rodney dress as Batman and Robin to attend an evening ball. They also subsequently save a woman being mugged.
• Bart in The Simpsons comic books is known for occasionally wearing a dark mask and cape while calling himself "Bartman".
• The Tick's Die Fledermaus (German for "The Bat") is a Batman parody, with a smooth-talking, but craven personality substituted for that of Batman. In Fox's live action adaptation of The Tick, a similar character named "Batmanuel" is depicted as a phony Latin lover.
• Filmmaker Kevin Smith's character of Silent Bob spoofed Batman in his films Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, even going so far as to don a cape and pointed helmet. Smith continued his Batman references in his 2004 film Jersey Girl, wherein Ben Affleck's character referred to the construction vehicle he drove as the "Batmobile."
• There are five versions of Nighthawk from four different dimensions in the Marvel Universe, all homages to Batman.
• Batman makes an appearance in the flash animation cartoon "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny", in which he throws a Bat-Grenade at Godzilla, runs over Shaquille O'Neil and Aaron Carter in the Batmobile, is shot by Abraham Lincoln and steals Indiana Jones' gun, shooting it at Godzilla, missing, with Jackie Chan deflecting it with his fist. In the end, he is killed by Chuck Norris.
• Darkwing Duck has various references to Batman. Several of his enemies resemble Batman's villains, much of Darkwing's gadgets resemble Batman's, and he has an alter-ego similar to Bruce Wayne.
• The Children's BBC series Ratman featured Roland Rat as a Batman inspired hero, with Kevin the Gerbil as his sidekick, Pink Bucket Man. Roland Rat had already pastiched Batman's gadgets with the Ratmobile and Ratcave.
• In a few episodes of Histeria!, the show's depiction of Leonardo da Vinci dresses up as a superhero named Renaissance Man, with a theme song based off of that of the 1960s Batman series and Loud Kiddington (dressed as Robin) as his sidekick.
• Image Comics have several pastiches of Batman such as:
  • Shadowhawk
  • Rising Stars' Ravenshadow.
  • Invincible's Darkwing (no relation to the duck).
• Marvel Comics, in their Not Brand Echh! parody series, referred to the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder as Gnat-man and Rotten.
• Astro City contains the Confessor and Altar Boy, a riff on Batman and Robin.
• Powers by Brian Michael Bendis introduced the Red Hawk and Wing, a play off of Batman and Robin. Wing is a homosexual (a reference to the accusations of Batman and Robin being gay) who, after making a pass at the Red Hawk, is beaten half to death and fired. Red Hawk is a sexual deviant who has alienated his partners in Unity (a Justice League analogue) and is killed by a crazed Super-Shock, a Superman analogue.
• Ultimate Adventures had Hawk-Owl, a Batman archetype, complete with secret lair ("the Nest") and crime-fighting gadgets. Unlike Bruce Wayne, he's a socially inept middle-aged billionaire with a rather dangerous and expensive hobby who also lacks the traumatic murder experience of his DC counterpart, making him less 'severe' in some respects.
• Batman is often referenced in the flash series Homestar Runner.
• Rat Pfink and Boo Boo, the title characters of Ray Dennis Steckler's 1966 movie, are rough parodies of the 1960s television Batman and Robin.
• Spongebob Squarepants's favorite heroes are Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy; the characters are a reference to Aquaman and mock the current perception of the 1960s Batman television program, including the theme of washed-out stars.
• Larry Boy in VeggieTales.
• Batman is a recurring "straight man" in the comedy routines of David Willis' Shortpacked!.
• The music video to Shakira's Objection (Tango) had a Batman parody called Packageman who assisted Zuperman (Superman parody) into beating up Shakira's cheating boyfriend.
• In Robot Chicken's Real World: Metropolis (a parody which has several super-heroes living in one house), the Batman uses the Bat-signal to get drunk at bars and get himself out of bad situations.
• Mad Magazine has parodied Batman numerous times, the first being a comic story titled "Batboy and Rubin", where Batman is depicted as a surly midget who, at the story's end, reveals that he is actually a vampire. (Apparently, this may have been the inspiration for Bat-Mite.) Since then, Mad has featured numerous parodies of Batman's media productions, such as the shows and movies.
• In the 1990 movie Die Hard 2, an airport official suggests setting up huge searchlights to signal for help. In response, another retaliates "Where do we get those giant lights from? Batman!?", referencing the Bat-Signal.
• In "Some Assembly Required", an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy summons one of her sidekicks to a secret meeting by saying, "Sorry to interrupt, Willow, but it's the Bat-signal."
• In "Tiny Toon Adventures", Plucky Duck becomes Batduck, and would again don the Batduck costume in his own show "The Plucky Duck Show". In the first parody, Hamton takes on the sidekick role as Decoy, the Pig Hostage. This is a direct reference of course to Robin, wearing the yellow cape, and bright orange outfit, except Hamton's costume, has white circles forming a target on his belly. Also in this version, Elmyra as Alfyra the maid, in reference to Alfred.
• In the second "Tiny Toons" parody from "The Plucky Duck Show: The Return of Batduck", Plucky becomes Batduck again out of jealousy that (from Buster's statement from the newspaper), "Tim Burton's directing another Batman movie", and Babs chiming in to say "Michael Keaton's perfect for it." With this news, Plucky storms to the Warner Bros. studio lot, to face Tim Burton to "get a screen test" to become Batman. While this is essentially a parody, it is more closely related to the real Batman movies from Tim Burton, because of the animation of Michelle Pfieffer as Catwoman, who fends off Plucky's romantic advances, as well as the infamous foiled attempt by Sean Young to get Tim Burton to hire her as Catwoman on The Joan Rivers Show.

[edit] References

• Encyclopedia of Television

[edit] External links

• Warner Bros. official Batman.com
• Batman Begins official site
• Batman-On-Film.com
• The New Batman Adventures — Official Warner Bros. site
• Batman: The Animated Series — Official site
• Batman Beyond — Official site
• Batman Films and TV series at The Internet Movie Database
• Batman: Yesterday, Today, & Beyond

[edit] See also

• List of Batman pastiches

v • d • e Batman in popular media
Actors:	Lewis Wilson • Robert Lowery • Adam West • Olan Soule • Michael Keaton • Kevin Conroy • Val Kilmer • George Clooney • Rino Romano • Christian Bale • Casts
Live-action television:	Batman • Legends of the Superheroes • Birds of Prey • Return to the Batcave
Film:	Batman (1943) • Batman and Robin (1949) • Batman (1966) • Batman (1989) • Batman Returns • Batman Forever • Batman & Robin • Batman Begins • The Dark Knight
Animation:	Batman/Superman Hour • New Adventures of Batman • Batman: The Animated Series/New Batman Adventures • Mask of the Phantasm • SubZero • Batman Beyond • Return of the Joker • Mystery of the Batwoman • The Batman • The Batman vs. Dracula

v • d • e Batman fan films
Live action	Batman Dracula | Batman Fights Dracula | Alyas Batman en Robin | Batman: Dead End | World's Finest | Grayson | Robin's Big Date
Animation	Batman: Revenge | Batman: New Times
External link	Batman fan film directory