Mythology Gag/Western Animation/Batman: The Brave and the Bold

"Bat-Mite: This. Is. AWESOMESAUCE!"
 * The conversation in Crazy Prepared (specifically, that Poison Ivy has brainwashed Superman to fight Batman) is basically an early fight in the Hush story arc.
 * This is apparently Jaime's thing: He later speculates the exact classic origin of the Green Lantern, which Paco dismisses as ridiculous.
 * When AQUAMAN starts reading from his memoirs he mentions that his first memories are of a lighthouse, referencing how a lighthouse has been some part of several of his comicbook origins.
 * Likewise, the cheesy names AQUAMAN gives his past adventures would fit in very well with the actual titles of his comic books from about 50 years ago.
 * One of Fun Haus' gadgets is a bomb shaped like the Batman the Animated Series villain Baby Doll. Tragically, she does not coo "I didn't mean to!" after exploding, probably due to having exploded.
 * Batman's mystic Bat-armor in "Day of the Dark Knight!" is patterned after the Batman of Tangent Comics.
 * Green Arrow's impression of Batman uses the "I Am The Night" speech from Batman the Animated Series. Speedy uses "Holy" much like Burt Ward.
 * This also serves to poke fun of the fact that Green Arrow was originally just Batman with an arrow theme.
 * When Batman teams up with Jack Kirby's creation Kamandi, Kamandi knocks over a billboard advertising the creepy "Build-A-Friends" from Kirby's series OMAC.
 * Batman and Guy Gardner: . In an episode written by J.M. DeMatteis, who co-wrote the comic where said iconic Guy-and-Batman encounter first occurred.
 * And in "Death Race To Oblivion!", Bats takes out with One Punch. And Guy mocks him for being so weak as to go down with one punch.
 * In the comic, Red Tornado blows up. A lot. Guess what happens at the end of his Christmas Episode?
 * "Deep Cover For Batman!"/"Game Over For Owlman!" has references to Earth 2 (evil owl-themed mirror-universe Batman), the Elseworlds Leatherwing (pirate Batman) and Red Rain (vampire Batman), and the once-canon "The Batman Creature" (hulking creature Batman).
 * "I'm Batman...". Also, in "Game Over For Owlman!," he calls the Batmobile by remote, and stops it via voice command, exactly like he does in the 1989 film.
 * Batman's spare Batmobile in "Game Over for Owlman!" is the version used in the comics from 1941 to 1950. (His main one looks more similar to the version in the '60s TV show.)
 * The impostor Batman looks a lot more like DCAU Batman than this version does, because it resembles the old Bob Kane Batman (right down to the purple gloves); there's even a Homage Shot of his first pose in costume from the original origin story, which itself was a Homage to a pose from Tarzan. Owlman's own costume also has more elements of this look than any of his comics counterparts, particularly the outward pointing ears; this also makes him look quite similar to Justice Lords Batman from Justice League.
 * And in a later episode, a flashback features the real Batman as a rookie hero earning his keep with the Justice Society and wearing virtually the exact same costume.
 * "Mystery In Space!" has repeated use of the TMS Explosion, a piece of Stock Footage frequently used in Superman: The Animated Series and other bits of the DCAU.
 * Speaking of which, the people of Rann dress a lot like DCAU Kryptonians - two of the first ones we see even resemble Jor-El and Lara.
 * The title of "Mystery In Space!" (as well as the setting and the guest stars) is taken from the name of a 50s-60s comic, though it was dusted off for a miniseries as recently as 2006.
 * Batman's torn costume in "Trials of the Demon!" gets repaired into his Gotham by Gaslight garb.
 * In the "Trials of the Demon!" cold open, Scarecrow has four Mooks dressed up in themed outfits to surround and attack Batman one by one, exactly like Adam West used to fight every week.
 * In "Menace of the Conqueror Caveman!", Booster Gold mentions that Skeets can turn into a giant insect, a reference to the plot of 52.
 * Robin's costume in "The Color of Revenge!" is a dead-ringer for the Earth-2 version of Robin, who kept his Robin identity through adulthood and modified the costume accordingly.
 * Also, the episode starts off with the two of them getting a call from the Commissioner, sliding down fireman poles into the Batcave, and leaping into the Batmobile, just like the Adam West version.
 * Not to mention the Shakespeare bust hiding the button to the secret entrance, music based on Neal Hefti's score for the 1966 show, a quick cut of them putting their seatbelts on in the Batmobile (which looks more like the George Barris version), a wall-climbing moment, Dutch Angles, and a "Holy ____!" Catch Phrase! The only thing we didn't get were superposed sound effects (but see "Legends of the Dark Mite!")...
 * In "Legends of the Dark Mite!", when Bat-Mite fantasizes that he is Batman, he stands on a rooftop dramatically while lightning strikes in the background, just like in the opening to Batman the Animated Series.

"Batman: How's your aim? Thomas Wayne: Impeccable, old chum."
 * Bat-Mite decides to give Batman a new look, and cycles through several different costumes that Batman has worn in the past. They include the Vampire Batman costume from Batman and Dracula: Red Rain ("Imposing, but too Dracula."), Bat Hombre from the Silver Age ("Too dashing."), the Adam West Batsuit ("Too campy..."), the rubber bat-nipple suit from Batman and Robin ("Too icky..."), Zebra Batman ("Too confusing!"), and Batman's hulking grim look from The Dark Knight Returns ("Too psycho...").
 * Bat-Mite's fantasy also has a clear visual reference to Detective Comics #365, "The House the Joker Built", with a funhouse having a Joker-shaped door.
 * The fantasy sequence also references Detective Comics #140, the debut of the Riddler (Bat-Mite trapped in the bent-wire cage) and overall parodies the Bob Clampett cartoon "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery".
 * All of the villains summoned up in Bat-Mite's fantasy (Mr. Polka Dot, Tiger Shark, Mr. Zero et al) were actual villains who had appeared in Silver Age Batman comics and, in a handful of cases, virtually never since.
 * The title of "Legends of the Dark Mite!" is a play on that of the classic BTAS episode "Legends of the Dark Knight"—and the anthology comic that inspired it.
 * Lashina's joining forces with Hex in the coda of Duel of the Double Crossers is possibly a reference to her being one of the very few Female Furies to have served a stint on the side of the good guys in the comics. (Not that it ended well for her print counterpart.)
 * The final number of "Mayhem of the Music Meister!" sets up Black Canary and Green Arrow as a couple.
 * In "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure!", every time AQUAMAN sees another hero and decides to head out to help, there's a brief flash to a Superfriends-style title card, complete with the classic scene transition noise from Superfriends. You know the one.
 * Arthur Jr., introduced in this episode, wears the deep sea camouflage costume briefly worn by AQUAMAN in late 80s comics.
 * Also, the US map AQUAMAN's family uses for their vacation contains pretty much every superhero home city (Smallville, Blue Valley, Coast City, Star City, Fawcett City, Middleton, and Metropolis).
 * In "Sidekicks Assemble!" a meeting between the heroes and their sidekicks takes place at the Hall of Justice. Also at the end,
 * The Metal Men being introduced during a fight with Chemo is a nod to Chemo first appearing in the comics as an enemy of the Metal Men.
 * The Gibble People from "Rise of the Blue Beetle" have the exact same texture as the shapeshifting alien race from the Justice League pilot arc.
 * In the opening for "Chill of the Night!" Abra Kadabra turns a crowd into an army of puppets just as he once did to The Flash.
 * Adam West voices Thomas Wayne in "Chill of the Night!" and has this exchange with Batman:


 * "Siege of Starro" includes a Homage Shot of the titular villain's first appearance on the cover of Brave and the Bold #28, though the heroes involved are different.
 * One of the Faceless Hunter's trophies is Gleek the Space Monkey from Superfriends. He has others of a Justice League Thanagarian, the Silver Age Brainiac (A Coluan?) and a Parademon.
 * The Metal Men combining to form Alloy is a reference to Alloy from Kingdom Come, who is described, you got it, as the combined form of the Metal Men.
 * Blue Bowman is one of the original evil mirror versions of the heroes, but his name isn't. Z list Batman villain Signalman used it for a short time in the 70s.
 * Mr. Zero, Katana and Black Lightning have gotten costumes reminiscent of their comic counterparts in "Chill of the Night!" & "Siege of Starro!" part one.
 * The teaser for "The Last Patrol" has two. First, Batgirl is introduced fighting Killer Moth, the first villain she fought in the comics. Secondly, a large overgrown caterpillar can be seen which resembles Silkie from the Teen Titans cartoon (originally created by Killer Moth.)
 * Also, it's part of a flashback seen while in a Death Trap by the Penguin. It's a stretch, but the choice of Penguin for the villain in the here-and-now after a Killer Moth flashback makes sense: in The Batman, Killer Moth was worked for the Penguin (and in that story, he was mutated from a human form similar to his TB&TB look to his monstrous current form.)
 * Though the differences between the DC Universe and the Brave and the Bold (Barbara Gordon still being Batgirl rather than Oracle and Huntress wearing her Silver Age costume are the two biggest examples) make an accurate adaptation impossible, the Birds of Prey homage episode is written in the style of the comic (unsurprising, seeing how they have the same writer), and even features the heroines calling themselves "The Birds of Prey" during a musical number.
 * Part one of "The Siege of Starro!" has a scene where Captain Marvel fights a mind-controlled Guy Gardner. In the comics, the two did not like each other during their time with the Justice League, where Guy routinely referred to Marvel as "Captain Whitebread".
 * In the "Mask of Matches Malone!", Two-Face rescues the Birds of Prey dressed as Batman. While not exactly the same costume, Two-Face has donned a cape and cowl before, as part of the Battle for the Cowl storyline. (Technically afterwards, but still.)
 * The sideshow in "The Last Patrol!" features a variety of posters for Doom Patrol related acts: Rhea Jones, a surreal magnetic butterfly woman from Grant Morrison's run; Baboshka, a human stacking doll also from Morrison's run; Beast Boy (Yes, that one) shown in his original pompadoured glory; Shasta the Living Mountain from Morrison's satiracal Doom Force issue; Flex Mentallo, a Charles Atlas inspired Superhero that got DC in all sorts of trouble; and Dorothy Spinner, a monkey faced girl that can bend reality. Notably, Flex Mentallo's name isn't on his card. Gee, I wonder why.
 * And for that matter, Zahl's Parisian plot hinges upon a barely seen painting- a nod to the Painting that Ate Paris from Morrison's run. When the Patrol breaks up, Negative Man can be seen in the long coat and glasses from Morrison's run. And lastly, the ending of the story is based explicitly on
 * After ariving in a blasted present, Booster Gold exclaims "oh, boy." This is a reference to his second series, the use of which was in turn a reference to Quantum Leap. Double ref!
 * The episode "Emperor Joker" has buttloads. To start things off, the opening has references to Detective Comics #241 "The Rainbow Batman!", Batman #134 with the Rainbow Creature, and Firefly's original schtick with colors and light instead of fire. The episode proper has Bat-Mite reading an entry out of Who's Who.
 * Bat-Mite's Joker museum from "Emperor Joker" features:
 * The covers to Batman #251's "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" (notable for reintroducing the Joker has a homicidal madman), The Brave and the Bold #191's "Only Angels Have Wings", and Batman #11.
 * Sculptures depicting "The Joker's Utility Belt" from Batman #73, "The Laughing Fish" from Detective Comics #475 (the fish themselves appear multiple times throughout the episode), and the iconic Jim Aparo Pietà Plagiarism image from "A Death in the Family" (Batman #426-429) showing Batman cradling Jason Todd's dead body - complete with a completely out of place explanation for how the fans killed off Jason in a vote off(!)
 * Replicas of the Jokermobile and Jokergyro, introduced in Batman #37 and used in multiple Silver Age stories and the 2000s Grant Morrison run on Batman.
 * Later in the episode, Bat-Mite gets stuck in a jester's outfit identical to Harley Quinn's most famous costume- while Harley stays in her Mabel Normand outfit.
 * Joker-Mite also looks a lot like Jack Nicholson from the 1989 Batman film.
 * Finally, "Emperor Joker" is a loose adaptation of the "The Reign of Emperor Joker" Story Arc in the Superman comics in 2000.
 * The Bat-Bots in "Plague of the Prototypes". In case anyone missed where they came from, Black Mask says "You're trading punches with me, while the city's heading for Kingdom Come!"
 * One of Black Mask's False Face Gang members wears a Ragdoll mask, as made famous in Starman.
 * Proto, the prototype Bat-Bot who stays in the Batcave and plays with Ace is possibly inspired by Ned, the late 90s Superman Robot who stayed in the Fortress of Solitude and played with Krypto.
 * In "Battle of the Superheroes!", Batman battles Superman using a familiar suit of Powered Armor.
 * Also, the battle between Superman and Batman is almost identical in shots for the battle between Superman and Darkseid in the final episode of Justice League Unlimited. Presumably to show how Superman isn't holding back in this fight.
 * The episode is also filled with dozens of references to Silver Age "Superdickery" Superman stories. Jimmy even lampshades it. Mayor Swan is named after artist Curt Swan, who drew many such stories.
 * Superman turning into a jerk by red kryptonite is also a nod to Smallville, which red kryptonite removes Clark's inhibitions and makes him act on erotic and selfish emotions.
 * All three of the Batman's Greatest Cases cold opens are mashups of memetastic Silver Age stories and other Silver Age hoopla. The first mixes the Rainbow Batman from Detective Comics 241 with the original Firefly from Detective Comics #184 and the Rainbow Creature from Detctive Comics 134; the second mixes the Mummy Batman and Robin from Detective Comics 320 with King Tut (AKA the Pharaoh) from the Adam West show, complete with buttermilk; the last mixes the Jungle Batman from Batman 72 with Golden Age Catwoman and Mogo the Bat-Ape from Batman 114.
 * "Night of the Batmen!" is based on a story from the tie-in comic book series for the show, but also features a ton of nods to various Batman incarnations. Plastic Man takes on the form of the DCAU Batman and the Batman from The Dark Knight Returns. And the ending features the return of the alternate universe Batmen from the Owlman episode, though now joined by the Adam West Batman, Terry McGinnis, the DCAU Batman, the Frank Miller Batmen, and The Batman.
 * The costume Catwoman wears in this episode is one of her comic counterpart's older Golden Age looks
 * The end of "The Knights of Tomorrow!" shows the new Batman and Robin punching Mister Toad, Professor Pyg, Eduardo Flamingo and other villains introduced in the "Batman and Robin" comic.
 * Also, when lampshading his Joker immunity in the same episode, Joker notes that he's been "blown up, knocked down smokestacks and fed to sharks," three ways he seemed to die in famous storylines (the last two happening in Mad Love and The Laughing Fish respectively, two stories famously adapted in this show's predecessor BTAS).
 * The episode ends with a futuristic Damien dramatically overlooking the classic into to Batman the Animated Series, standing atop the rooftop just like his old man. His daughter/Robin resembles Carrie Kelly from The Dark Knight Returns, and the robbers are Mutants.
 * Earlier in the episode, an aged Bruce Wayne was seen to sport a mustache much as he did at the beginning of DKR.
 * The Joker's Son has a prominent widow's peak (a classic sign of male pattern baldness), a heftier build than his old man, and at one point in the episode wrecks a museum—all of which point to being at least partially inspired by Jack Nicholson's Joker.
 * The Batman Museum features a "Hall of Holy-isms", referring to Burt Ward-as-Robin's "Holy X, Batman!" catchphrase from the 60's Batman TV show. There's also a statue of Poison Ivy that looks almost identical to her The New Batman Adventures-era BTAS character model.
 * The concept of a Batman Museum in general may be a reference to the Flash Museum.
 * It might be a stretch, but having Loren Lester, best known to DCAU fans as Dick Grayson, voice Hal Jordan makes some sense. A Batman/Superman comic found the duo in a universe where the Justice League and Teen Titans are the Justice Titans. The Nightwing of said universe was also Green Lantern. So you had Hal Grayson: Night Lantern.
 * The Wonder Woman opening of "Scorn of the Star Sapphire", had the old live action WW theme song playing in the background. And when she throws her tiara they use the live-action show's sound effect.
 * In "Triumvirate of Terror!", Joker infiltrates Paradise Island by dressing as a woman.
 * The premise of The Triumvirate of Terror! seems to be based on a similar Silver Age story where two foes of Green Arrow and Aquaman traded nemeses.
 * Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman meeting in a diner recalls Kingdom Come—but not as much as the future seen at the end, where the three of them look exactly like they do in Kingdom Come.
 * The President seen in the future is Prez Rickard, the 18 year old POTUS and star of his own self-titled series in the early 1970s.
 * Joker owing his thanks to Joe Chill for creating Batman in "Chill of the Night!" may be a sly nod to the 1989 Batman movie where it was the Joker himself (long before his fateful accident) who killed Bruce's parents.
 * The Creature Commandos section of "Four Star Spectacular!" is an adaptation of a Commandos story from Weird War Tales #100, sans GI Robot, with the Ultra Humanite (well, and Batman, obviously) added in. The Humanites' dinosaur body may count as a gag in and of itself- it's only been used once, in All-Star Squadron, and was never seen on Dinosaur Island, where it was said to be taken from.
 * In "Shadow of the Bat!", Vampire Batman asked if Martian Manhunter's blood is green (which Two-Face asked Riddler in Batman Forever). At one point, he turns into a demonic bat-creature like in Scarecrow's hallucination in Batman the Animated Series episode "Nothing to Fear".
 * There are two for Teen Titans in the "Worlds War" short. First is the Alien that the Titans fought in "Stranded" in one of the worlds that Adam Strange planet hopped to. And the next is a short appearance of Le Blanc falling on the ground after a fight with Batman. You don't see his face but his clothes look like they do in the show.
 * In "Mitefall", Bat-Mite has Batman use Handguns, like in the Golden Age and Batman: Year Two.
 * The episode's title is a reference to the infamous ''Knightfall storyline.
 * In the same episode, the alternate outfits Batman wore throughout the episode were based on various Batman toys released in the past.
 * Also, Batman has a daughter, a la the Golden Age/Earth-Two Huntress who was the daughter of Batman and Catwoman.
 * After being shocked by Black Lightning, Wildcat says: "It's gonna take a whole lot more than a little Static Shock to slow this old man down".
 * The Roast of Batman cold open featured Mr. Freeze with a Germanic accent making awful puns, a reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger's infamous portrayal of the character in Batman and Robin
 * The African member of the Batmen of All Nations is Impala, who isn't actually based on Batman but was a member of a similar Multinational Team in the comics, the Global Guardians.
 * In "The Super Batman from Planet X!", the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh resembles the DCAU Batman. His secret identity Tlano even looks identical to Bruce Wayne as he looks in the earlier seasons of Batman: The Animated Series.


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