As expected from a LEGO game, the new adventure of the Bat-Man is packed with humor. As we traverse the levels and the semi-open world of Gotham City in LEGO Batman: The Bat-Man’s Legacy, we encounter countless easter eggs, jokes, and references not only to the Batman and DC Comics universe but also to pop culture. There are too many to name them all, but here are the ones we liked the most.
We also invite you to read our review of this title.
Ra’s Al-Ghul Has a Very Particular Set of Skills
One of the first references we find in LEGO Batman: The Bat-Man’s Legacy is to the movie Taken, as Ra’s Al-Ghul utters the iconic line from the film’s protagonist: “I have a very particular set of skills.”
Liam Neeson, the star of Taken, played Ra’s Al-Ghul in Batman Begins.
Gotham City Psychopath
When Bruce Wayne hands his business card to the assistant at Wayne Tower, the other people present make the same observation as they did about the card of one of the characters in the film American Psycho.
Christian Bale played both Patrick Bateman in American Psycho and Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises.
Shawshank Redemption
One of our favorite references in LEGO Batman: The Bat-Man’s Legacy shows us an Arkham prisoner with a spoon in front of a poster of a cavewoman.
This is a reference to the film The Shawshank Redemption, where the protagonist is unjustly imprisoned and digs a tunnel from his cell with a spoon, which he covers with a poster of Raquel Welch from the movie One Million Years B.C.
Bat-Mite is an Otaku
In Bat-Mite’s shop, we can find references to various anime/manga series.
- Dragon Ball Z
- Akira
- Cardcaptor Sakura
- Gundam (or another mecha series)
- Naruto
- One Piece
- Attack on Titan
And speaking of Akira, in Chapter 5, we see Batman performing Kaneda’s iconic slide.
As Frank Reynolds Would Say
During the fight against the Penguin, he utters the line “Anyway, I started blasting.” This is a very iconic phrase from the character Frank Reynolds in the American series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
The actor who played Frank Reynolds is Danny DeVito, who also portrayed The Penguin in Batman Returns.
Paint the Fence, Dick-san
The training montage for Dick Grayson in Chapter 3 makes references to the films The Karate Kid and Rocky.
Yabba-Dabba Do!
In the Gotham Museum, we find a prehistoric exhibition with a car that strongly reminds us of the Flintmobile, Fred Flintstone’s car from the animated series The Flintstones.
How Attractive is Tom Hardy
In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane is played by Tom Hardy, who doesn’t show his face. Near the end of the game, the LEGO version of Bane is unmasked, and we see that his face was based on the actor’s, clearly represented by his iconic lips.
Profit!
Other References to the Batman Universe
Just at the beginning of the game, we discover that young Bruce Wayne is a fan of the Gray Ghost, a fictional superhero from the Batman world inspired by The Shadow, who first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series.
In the Art Gallery, we find references to Batman’s origins and history in the comics, including an image of the character’s creators, Bob Kane and Bill Finger, and the covers of the character’s first appearances in Detective Comics and The Dark Knight Returns.
In the same Art Gallery, we find references to other DC Comics characters, such as Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth and Green Lantern’s Ring.
The names of some buildings and characters in Gotham City in LEGO Batman: The Bat-Man’s Legacy are references to important names in the character’s history.
- Miller and Moore refer to writers Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns) and Alan Moore (The Killing Joke).
- Beatty, Pulido, and Martin refer to comic authors and artists Scott Beatty, Javier Pulido, and Martin Pasko (or Marcos Martín).
- West and Ward refer to Adam West and Burt Ward, the actors who played Batman and Robin in the 60s series.
- Conroy “The Voice of Gotham” is a reference to Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman in English in the animated series and some of the video games.
The intro to Chapter 4 is a recreation of the legendary introduction from Batman: The Animated Series.
Some signs in Gotham City are references to characters who don’t appear in LEGO Batman: The Bat-Man’s Legacy, offering nods to theatrical works.
- The Phantom from the brilliant animated film The Phantom of the Opera, referencing The Phantom of the Opera.
- Music Meister, referencing the musical The Sound of Music.
- The musical ‘Bats’ with Man-Bat is a clear allusion to the infamous Cats.
- Love Me with Mary Louise Dahl refers to Baby Doll, the petite villain from the animated series.
- Les Minifigures is, of course, a reference to Les Misérables.
- It’s not a theatrical reference, but there’s an advertisement for a clinic headed by Dr. Hugo Strange.
The citizens captured by The Joker are disguised as specific versions of the character:
- Cesar Romero from the 60s series.
- Joaquin Phoenix from Joker and Joker 2: Folie à Deux.
The song playing during the credits will bring back a lot of nostalgia for those of us who saw the Batman movies in the 90s, as it’s Seal’s Kiss from a Rose, from the soundtrack of Batman Forever.
Other references we found:
- On the way to the League of Shadows temple, there’s a crashed plane from Shiva Airlines, a reference to Lady Shiva.
- In the Arctic World level, we use a shark-repellent Bat-Spray, just like in the movie based on the 1966 Batman series.
- Waylon Jones, who will eventually become Killer Croc, appears with an innocent man wrongly accused of stealing something in an optional mission.
- In Arkham, a henchman continues the eternal joke of confusing Deathstroke with Deadpool.
Other References to the Rest of the DC Comics Universe
In the dock area, we find numerous references to companies from the DC universe.
- S.T.A.R. Labs – The research organization that appeared in Superman comics.
- Q-Corp – This is another name for Queen Industries, Oliver Queen’s (Green Arrow) organization.
- Kord Industries – This is the company founded by Ted Kord (Blue Beetle).
- NygmaTech – This is The Riddler’s company.
- Wayne Enterprises – Obviously, Bruce Wayne’s company.
As we explore the city, we find more signs promoting some of these organizations.
In the Iceberg Lounge, we find entrances to two venues referencing two heroes from the Justice League Dark: John Constantine and Madame Xanadu—and a shark wearing a crown, which obviously references King Shark.
Other characters appearing on posters include:
- Black Canary appears on a poster advertising her concert.
- Jonah Hex appears on banners in the museum.
- Zatanna and her father Zatara appear on posters advertising magic shows.
As we said at the beginning, these are just some of the references, easter eggs, and nods we found in LEGO Batman: The Bat-Man’s Legacy, not only to the DC universe but to pop culture in general. There are many, many more. Which were your favorites? Is there anything else you think we should have mentioned? We await your comments.
