Superman Finally Reveals His Impressive Batman Impression

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Justice League #7 by Scott Snyder, Jim Cheung, Mark Morales, Walden Wong and Tomeu Morey, on sale now.

Readers were treated to one of DC's funniest exchanges in the very first issue of the recently relaunched Justice League comic. For two pages, a few League members, clearly enjoying the heat of battle, decided to have some fun at Batman's expense by mocking the Dark Knight's voice -- something that has become the subject of many jokes in pop culture after Christian Bale's on-screen depiction of the Dark Knight.

Flash mimicked the Caped Crusader, as did Wonder Woman, but Cyborg indicated that, as good as they were, no one could touch Superman's imitation. Readers had to take his word for it, as Superman didn't offer up his take in that fight, but come Issue #7 we've finally gotten Kal-El's impression, and it's one that pays homage to a classic Batman moment pertaining to his origin story.

As Lex Luthor battles Hawkgirl for possession of the Totality and Sinestro gears the Ultraviolet Lanterns up to fire at Earth, Superman tries to protect the planet by creating an x-ray field. Thankfully, Hawkgirl succeeds and saves the day, which results in the Legion of Doom retreating and Superman falling to Earth, safe and sound. In this very moment though, he goes from breathing a sigh of relief to an air of humor -- which Scott Snyder has had a ball with in writing this arc thus far.

Thanks to Martian Manhunter's telepathic link, Cyborg reveals their enemies are teleporting away, to which the Man of Steel retorts, "Why not? After all, criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot." The League is immediately in awe at Superman's mimicry, with Batman, as expected, refuting he sounds like that.

Cyborg once more reaffirms this is the exact reason why he called Superman's impression the best, now confirmed to be true from the League's reactions to the roasting. It's unsurprising, as Superman did once boast the power of super-ventriloquism. Batman, of course, is bitter over his friends playfully making fun of him and jests that they're lucky he's in a body cast, so he can't react the way he really wants to. DC loyalists, however, know this punchline is more than just a burn. It's a tribute to a classic Batman quote from Detective Comics #33.

Published in 1937, this comic from Bill Finger, Gardner Fox, Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff was the first look into the origins of Batman (who made his debut in Issue #27 of this series). It dealt with Bruce Wayne losing his parents in Crime Alley, then perfecting his expertise as a scientist and training his body to become a vigilante of the night. However, as he sat in his mansion pondering what identity he'd take, that's when he muttered the line to himself, "Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible." That scene was quickly followed by a bat flying through an open window, inspiring Bruce to become the Batman.

It's one of DC's most iconic sequences, referenced by a plethora of cartoons, comics and movies thereafter, but this sequence here is one of the most light-hearted and funny tributes ever. How Superman came to find out about it, well, that remains to be seen.

Either he stole Bruce's diary (if he even keeps one!) or got him to recall his earliest days in a bonding conversation between the World's Finest, but we'll just leave that up to the world's greatest detective to figure it out for now.

CBR

Superman FINALLY Delivers His Bat-Voice in Tribute to Batman's Classic Origin