Things Only Adults Notice In Batman Forever

From the beginning, Batman (Val Kilmer) tells Dr. Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman) that he hasn't had much luck with women, an allusion to his prior entanglements with Vicki Vale and Selina Kyle (known by night as Catwoman) in the previous two Batman films. But Chase is different for a number of reasons. For one thing, rather than lifting her name and likeness from the comics as is typical with the DC hero's supporting characters and romantic interests, Dr. Meridian was created specifically for the film.

This unique character was introduced as a psychiatrist with expertise in (as well as a morbid fascination with, especially when it comes to Bruce) abnormal psychology. Batman, too, has undergone an informal education on the subject by virtue of his many first-hand encounters with deranged criminals, so much of their initial banter hinges on their depiction as intellectual and experiential equals. Of course, their dialogue is still full of double entendres, with Batman asking, "You trying to get under my cape, doctor?" 

Chase's first interaction with Batman ranges from the two finishing each other's sentences to her coyly commenting, "Not every girl makes a superhero's night table," when he reveals that he's read her work. Batman initially retreats from Chase's advances in much the same way as she retreats from Bruce's. He shoos her away with comments (which are still quite flirty) like, in response to her swooning over the black rubber of his costume, "Try a fireman, less to take off." The banter between Chase and Batman adds to the tension of a love triangle that actually only includes two people.

Part of the reason that Batman and Robin (Chris O'Donnell) make such great partners — and arguably a major factor in Bruce deciding to take on his orphan protégé in the first place — is the Caped Crusader's guilt over the death of the young Dick Grayson's parents. Dick's family, a group of trapeze artists known as the Flying Graysons, had been killed by Two-Face when he attacked a circus production largely attended by Gotham's elite. And the supervillain's whole motive was wreaking havoc until someone revealed Batman's identity.

Bruce's guilt, of course, wasn't localized to the Grayson's deaths alone. Instead, it triggered a traumatic flashback to the demise of Bruce's own parents, revealing that he had, deep down for all those years, blamed himself for that, too.

The camera tells the story of this combined guilt without words. We see Bruce's parents lying face down on the ground in a circle of light in his flashback, and the Graysons land in a similar position after falling from the top of the circus tent. This visual analogy adds to the fact that Bruce empathizes with Dick's experience, and it foreshadows the bond he and Robin eventually share in their partnership against evil.

Without receiving an explanation for the wordplay involved in E. Nygma's name, a lot of kids might not know what an "enigma" is, or at the very least, they would have to ask their parents after watching. But there are more little details about this villain, left unexplained as a proper enigma should be, that only adults would notice.

When Edward Nygma, soon to be the Riddler, is trying to think of a name for his villainous persona, one of the options he considers is "the Puzzler." This is actually the name of a real Batman villain who replaced the Riddler in the 1960s TV show, but it was only for a brief time while the Riddler actor, Frank Gorshin, was caught up in a contract dispute.

However, the Puzzler isn't the only allusion to the past. Nygma also spoofs a famous anti-drug commercial from the '80s, which compares "your brain on drugs" to a frying egg. This little gag goes down when the crazed scientist realizes that his new invention allows him to steal others' brain power, prompting him to quip, "This is my brain on the Box, does anyone else feel like a fried egg?" While kids will totally miss the reference, parents who grew up in the '80s will definitely recognize the parallels to these anti-drug campaigns.

Two-Face's character simply drips in visual symbolism. In this film, the symbols are usually pretty thinly veiled (from his comically lopsided suit to the yin and yang symbols that decorate his henchmen and other implements of evil). But there are some dichotomies that only adults would catch, unless their children make a habit of attending fancy dinners or gun shows.

Two-Face is constantly attended by two women credited as Sugar (Drew Barrymore) and Spice (Debi Mazar). Their names are pretty self-explanatory. Sugar represents finer, gentler sensibilities and Two-Face's merciful side, while Spice represents deviance, debauchery, and darkness. Sugar and Spice also prepare their employer's food in the film. Sugar's offering of "sparkling champagne, yummy poached salmon with little, itty-bitty quail eggs and a creamy, dreamy lemon soufflé" is much lighter and more sophisticated than Spice's "charred heart of black boar, a side of raw donkey meat, and a Sterno and grain alcohol straight-up."

Sure, kids would know that donkey meat must be a delicacy from the dark side, but they wouldn't know that the "drink" Spice describes is not fit for consumption at all. Sterno alcohol is used for heating and meant only to be burned in its can. These double-sided details carry over into the bad guy's firearms. Two-Face can be seen wielding a stainless steel revolver in one hand (on his unmarred side) and a blued gun in the other. Stainless steel is pure, but blued guns sport a protective coating ... like scar tissue.

Throughout Batman Forever, the Riddler keeps Batman on his toes with a series of complicated, well, riddles. And if the style of those brain-teasers sounds familiar, it's probably because you're an adult who makes a habit of attempting the New York Times crossword. As it turns out, Will Shortz, the "Puzzlemaster" himself and the Times crossword editor, is the one who wrote out the Riddler's mysterious little clues.

There's also a classic comics callback to the Riddler's first puzzle in the form of a billboard advertisement. This sign advertises "Criss Cross Laundry," lettered in the style of a crossword puzzle, which is directly reminiscent of the Riddler's first comic book appearance where a similar company called Cross Cleaning Co. used a puzzle billboard as promotional material. Hijacking this sign was how the Riddler's riddles were transmitted when he debuted in Detective Comics #140.

Of course, all this poses a question — how did the Riddler get to be such a genius? Well, one possibility is that he never misses his daily dose of Vitamin B12. Though it's delivered as merely one of many zany comments, the devious villain does say during a game of Battleship (when the coordinates "B12" are called) that it's his favorite vitamin. Adults are much more likely to be familiar with the different types of vitamins (kids would probably avoid that knowledge at all costs), especially the fact that B12 is hypothesized to have a role in improving and preserving brain function, which would certainly serve the Riddler's original stated goal of becoming the cleverest man in Gotham.

Batman Forever is a movie that loves its nostalgia. Don't believe us? Well, throughout the film, both Batman and Robin make allusions to different versions of their characters from days gone by.

After Dick Grayson becomes determined to join Batman in fighting crime and bringing justice to the corrupt Gotham that took the lives of his parents, he begins brainstorming names for his masked alter ego. At one point, he suggests "Nightwing." This name is actually adopted by Dick Grayson in the comics when he seeks an independent superhero identity separate from Batman.

Then, when Batman and Robin arrive at Two-Face's hideout and find, to their surprise, that the island fortress is made of metal, Robin exclaims, "Holy rusted metal, Batman!" This is an homage to the TV Robin of the '60s who would campily shout things like, "Holy (insert remarkable thing here), Batman!" But it's something of a spoof in Batman Forever, rather than a serious line, because when Batman voices confusion at the interjection, Robin explains that the metal is rusted and full of holes (hole-y, not holy). Still, adults who grew up with '60s Batman would certainly enjoy the moment of nostalgia.