Batman is one of the oldest comic book characters still receiving new books and media, including The Batman, which graced theaters just earlier this year. Batman as a character has been reinterpreted over and over throughout the years in numerous ways.
Of course, being a long-lived character, Batman has picked up quite his fair share of fans, that have plenty of jokes and memes they like to share around the fandom. Some of them are from Batman works, but others still were fan-made and made it into the works themselves. These inside jokes are by and for the longtime Bat-fans in the audience.
Batman And Prep Time
Batman is a pretty strong character, but his real strength lies in his brilliant mind. He’s a master strategist and has the resources to prepare to face almost any problem, which has allowed him to stand alongside superhumans like Superman and Wonder Woman. Of course, this trait has also led to criticisms that the character is invincible.
As long as he has time to prepare, he can think of his way out of any problem, meaning he could beat anybody in the DC Universe and potentially beyond. This over-reliance on competent preparation has led some to call the character “Batgod.” Fans have mixed feelings about Batman’s wins against foes out of his league, but they love joking about his love of preparation.
Bat Credit Card
Batman and Robin is non-stop hilarity from the beginning until the end, although it was definitely not intended to be as campy or corny as it ended up being. Batman and Robin tell corny jokes throughout the film, but there’s one that’s become more legendary than any other.
This would be the bit where Batman flashes his Bat Credit Card. It’s a joke on Batman’s gadgets and tools usually have personal branding, but this one went too far for a lot of fans. Batman doesn’t need a credit card, and it makes no sense as it might compromise his identity. It’s definitely the most famous thing in Batman and Robin besides Mr. Freeze’s ice puns.
“I’m The God***n Batman!”
Frank Miller’s comic book work on Batman is some of the most iconic for the character. His 1980s classic The Dark Knight Returns is often considered one of the best interpretations of the character. The same cannot be said for his mid-2000s work. All-Star Batman and Robin was often criticized for turning the character into a near-lunatic.
The comic was criticized for similar reasons to the aforementioned “Batgod.” Batman was always right and justified, even when he acted unhinged and swore up a storm. A lot of fans didn’t like this less sane take on Batman, but it did lead to one of the crusader’s best quotes. He yells “I’m the God***n Batman!” in one scene, and ever since it has become synonymous with Batman’s cool moments.
Holy Catchphrase, Batman!
Batman ’66 was the most iconic piece of Batman media for a whole generation. Adam West’s take is still highly influential, doing a great job of bringing the characters into the homes of exciting viewers. It also had a lot of corny inside jokes, the most famous which is definitely Robin’s catchphrase.
Robin would usually react to different things in a formulaic way. He’d say some variation of “Holy X, Batman!” It could have easily gotten annoying, but Burt Ward’s charisma and the often ridiculous nature of the thing being reacted to made it work. It’s maintained as a catchphrase of Robin’s, although is much less frequently used nowadays.
Vanishing Bat
Batman is known for his excellent stealth, which is no surprise given his extensive training. He also isn’t very trusting of his allies, so he often uses his stealth training to vanish without announcing his departure. This has led to a lot of hilarious scenes of people being surprised when Batman vanishes.
This happens the most to Batman’s erstwhile police companion, Commissioner Gordon. It seems he got frustrated by it, as he sometimes turns it around and leaves before Batman’s ready. He and Superman have both done it to him before. In fact, vanishing is a common trait among all members of the Bat-family, and Bruce often finds himself on the receiving end of sweet irony.
Heroes Don’t Do That
HBO Max’s Harley Quinn show is hilarious, but also a more adult take on animated Batman. It really leans into its R rating with violence and sexual themes. Nowhere is this better amplified than in Batman and Catwoman’s ongoing relationship in the show. The original plan for season 3 called for a scene of Batman performing oral sex on Catwoman.
However, this didn’t make the final cut for the Harley Quinn season. Apparently DC Editorial told the creators that “heroes don’t do that.” The implication that Batman wouldn’t do this because it wasn’t something heroes would do spread like wildfire. Plenty of creators who worked on the character disagreed, which was an awkward but hilarious situation for DC fans.
Dick Grayson’s Rear
After a career as Robin, Dick Grayson decided it was time to move on. He didn’t want to simply be known as Batman’s sidekick. He struck out on his own as the hero Nightwing. The downside is his new outfit caused him to be known for something else entirely.
For whatever reason, Nightwing is always drawn with a defined backside. This isn’t exclusive to certain artists, but rather a near-constant of Nightwing’s character design. It hasn’t gone unnoticed by fans, and they love to point out Nightwing’s rear whenever it appears and seem to be disappointed when it doesn’t.
Russian Batman Hat
Superman: Red Son is a great Superman movie and comic. The plot of Superman landing in Ukraine instead of Kansas spins out into an analysis of Superman and Lex’s characters. It wasn’t just the two rivals that got re-imagined, though. Other DC icons like Batman also got re-interpreted.
Unfortunately, a lot of fans weren’t fond of Batman’s Russian redesign. While his outfit is mostly unchanged, he now where’s the famous Russian Ushanka over his cowl. A lot of fans found this somewhat silly, but the author pushed back on including “Batman’s nice hat.” As a result, Batman wearing the Ushanka has become a mythology gag.
Kite Man, Hell Yeah
Kite Man is one of the silliest villains in Batman’s rogue gallery. He comes from an age when all villains had ridiculous gimmicks. The same era created villains like Mr. Freeze, who would be reinvented with a dark twist decades later. Kite Man would also get a reinvention, but it gave him a killer catchphrase instead.
Kite Man’s catchphrase is “Kite Man… hell yeah!” It’s somewhat endearing how he describes himself in his own catchphrase, and it lampoons the ridiculousness of his name with genuine enthusiasm for his silly gimmick. This has given Kite Man tons of charm, and his catchphrase is often repeated by fans, especially as he became an unexpected fan favorite in the Harley Quinn series.
Baneposting
The Dark Knight Rises begins with a tense scene of Bane hijacking a plane. It’s the first time audiences get to see the terrorist who will menace Batman for the rest of the film. It also introduces viewers to Tom Hardy’s strange Bane voice, and this voice ended up becoming the default voice for Bane in parody portrayals like the Harley Quinn show.
The voice isn’t the only thing about Rises‘ Bane that gets lampooned. The absurdity of the iconic hijacking scene has given rise to the tradition of “Baneposting”. Fans take the scene and replace scenes and dialogue from other media with the dialogue from the hijacking scene. It’s a bizarre tradition, but it’s one of the most notorious in-jokes in Batman fandom.