Editor’s Note: The following contains The Batman spoilers.
WithMatt Reeves’The BatmanstarringRobert PattinsonandZoë Kravitzfinally out for all to enjoy, and now available onHBO Max, there’s a lot to dig through for fans in its three-hour run. This means that there are plenty of Easter Eggs you may have missed. But to make things easy, we’ve managed to note down 10 Easter eggs that hint at exciting things to come.
The Batman
In a dark city plagued by crime and corruption, a masked crusader investigates a puzzling string of crimes linked by cryptic messages. His journey into the depths of the city’s sinister underworld reveals connections among its most powerful citizens and forces him to confront his own complex relationship with justice.
The Arrival of Harvey Dent
While the man with Two Faces didn’t show up in the first Matt ReevesBatmanfilm, we did get two supporting players with strong ties to it. ActorsMaxandCharlie Carverworked in security at the Penguin’s club and were featured in multiple scenes in the film.The fact that two not-very-bright characters are identical twins likely means that they are Max and Min, two henchmen of Two-Face’s fromBatman: The Animated Series.The Batmanintroducing elements of theBatman: The Animated Seriesinto live action isn’t as odd as some may think, considering the movie’s popular “I am vengeance,” line was first used in the animated show. Plus, we’ve gotten great storylines like Mr. Freeze’s, and characters like Harley Quinn that have become part of pop culture due to the popularity of the show. This makes Max and Min harbingers of Two-Face’s imminent arrival if not just a clever Easter egg.
Thomas Elliot’s Hush
In one of the more shocking parts of the movie,The Riddler reveals that The Waynes were indirectly involved in the murder of journalist Edward Elliot and his wifeafter the journalist seemed hell-bent on exposing Martha Wayne as an Arkham as well as her battle with mental illness. This forced Thomas Wayne to ask Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) to pressure Edward Elliot to leave them alone, but what Thomas wasn’t aware of was the lengths Carmine was willing to go, murdering the Elliots to have something on the Waynes. This is important becausethe comics have gone on to establish Thomas Elliot as a key antagonist for The Dark Knight.
Arkham Asylum
With so much of the plot focusing onBatman: Earth One’s central Arkham storyline, it makes complete sense that one of the upcomingHBO Max spinoffs’ is set in Arkham Asylum. The film ties into theEarth Onelore of Martha being an Arkham patient and alsolays the foundation for Arkham Asylum as a potential hotbed for future criminal activity, with The Riddler seen interacting with the Joker. This could hint at developments to come for theArkham Asylumshow, which Reeves has stated is horror in nature, and could even lay the groundwork for future villains to come from the Asylum.
Barry Keoghan’s Joker
This one is arguably easier to spot than some other nods to the Batman rogues' gallery, withBarry Keoghan’s take on the Joker coming up towards the end of the film. In the scene, we see Riddler in Arkham Asylum, talking and ultimately laughing with a fellow inmate. Although Keoghan’s voice and the little that we see of him, doesn’t fully resemble the Joker we all know and love, according to Matt Reeves, that’s very much intentional.When talking to Collider, Reeves spoke about the scene and added that there was another scene where Batman initially spoke to this universe’s Joker. Reeves also established that in this iteration of the Joker,he is still in the prepubescent stages of his Joker transformation and hasn’t become the ultimate formidable foe he is in the comics.
Batmobile and Bat Tech
Those who are familiar with the Batman games or have read the comics know that The World’s Greatest Detective is aided by his Wayne Technology equipment. The movie features this through the Batmobile, a sleek but advanced car capable of withstanding shock and pressure and also seemingly fireproof, all of which was shown in the car chase with Penguin. Another cool gadget that Batman uses, which could be a nod to the Arkham games, is his contact lenses. While there isn’t any direct comic book link to the contacts, in both the Batman games and the comics, Batman’s cowl has featured a computer processor much like in the contacts, that connects to the Batcomputer and decodes information in real-time. The film’s focus on Arkham, coupled with this style of Bat technology,points to the influence of the popularBatman Arkham Knightgame series on the movie.
Selina Kyle’s Story
There’s a lot that’s mined from the comics in the film, with the first time Batman tracks her down being an almost carbon copy of the frames inBatman: Year One. Her father being Carmine Falcone is also reminiscent of the infamousLong Halloweencomics where she learns that she is Falcone’s illegitimate daughter. Her tussle with Falcone in the second act, where she scratches his face, is straight out ofBatman: Year Onetoo. Her arc closes with her deciding to leave Gotham to move to Bludhaven,a town best known for being Dick Grayson’s new home when he becomes Nightwing.
Bane’s Venom
Although the film never established Bane as a preexisting threat in Gotham, we got our first look at Venom in the third act whenan almost defeated Batman injects himself with an adrenaline-boosting substance. Comic book fans would know that this very Venom is what fuels Bane and is seen coursing through the pipes to his veins.
The Long Halloween
In addition toBatman: Earth OneandYear Onecomics being key inspirations, one major influence on the movie isThe Long Halloween, a famous graphic novel that turned Batman’s crusade against his rogues into a whodunnit detective story. This falls in line with the detective noir Batman in Matt Reeves' film and, given that both stories start on Halloween, this seems to be a wink to the source material it borrows from. A major plot point it borrows from the classic story is Carmine Falcone’s surgery. In the movie,the criminal recalls how Thomas Wayne once saved his life at Wayne Manorand how Bruce saw that as a child.
Penguin’s Future
Oz ‘The Penguin’ has long been a fixture of Batman mythology, but the movie’s grounded take on the character doesn’t see him donning his monocle or carrying his obligatory umbrella. However, following the car chase scene, we do see him walk with a bit of a limp,which is the introduction of his famous Penguin walk and most likelyhints at future developments to come for the character. The film also hints that he will become the criminal mastermind he is in the comics towards the end when we see Oz staring out at the distraught Gotham and realizing that it is now up for grabs with Falcone out of the picture.
The Great Flood
Another nod to the comics is in the form of the flood that Riddler succeeds in creating by blowing up the reservoir and isolating the city from the outside. This is ripped from the pages ofZero Yearcomics and sees the Riddler succeed in creating a wasteland in Gotham with other villains competing for and succeeding in grabbing territory in Gotham. This included power players like Mr. Freeze (a villain that Matt Reeves has expressed interest in), Two-Face, and Oz. With the HBO Max Penguin series all set to go, we could see this play out in his show before we see it in the films. The animatedHarley Quinnseries has previously done this storyline quite well, so it should make for some riveting TV.
The Batmanis available to stream on Max in the U.S.
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