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While Eternals is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film to namedrop Batman and Superman, another MCU film’s soundtrack made DC references.
Much has already been written about the references to DC superheroes in Marvel Studios’ Eternals. In the film, Phastos’ son misidentifies Ikaris as “Superman,” while Gilgamesh compares Kingo’s valet to Alfred from Batman. Director Chloé Zhao has said that these references to the Distinguished Competition are of a piece with Eternals‘ general connections to mythology throughout history, saying, “Everything that’s referenced in this film, whether it’s in words or visually, is a tribute. It’s out of love and our admiration for these characters.”
While Eternals is the first film to confirm onscreen that DC comics exist as part of pop culture within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is not actually the first time the MCU has referenced DC characters, specifically Batman. The soundtrack to Black Panther has already confirmed that Batman exists as a pop culture frame of reference within the MCU.
The Batman reference is in Yugen Blackrock’s verse of the song “Opps,” performed with Vince Staples and Kendrick Lamar. Unlike most of the songs on Lamar’s official Black Panther soundtrack album, “Opps” is actually heard in the movie itself — it’s the song Ulysses Claue plays in the car during the chase scene in South Korea. While the movie doesn’t include the full song, its inclusion makes it safe to assume that the full song is supposed to exist within the MCU.
At one point, Blackrock raps the lines, “Gotham City streets, I’ll play the [censored].” Based on the rhyme scheme and what can be heard of her vocals beneath the bleep, it seems fair to assume the censored word is “Riddler,” referencing the famous Batman villain Edward Nigma, soon to be played by Paul Dano in The Batman.
While the Riddler reference got censored out of either legal or continuity concerns, the reference to Gotham City was not. While technically “Gotham” is a nickname for New York City, it’s a name so heavily associated with Batman that no listener could miss the intended reference. If anything has really changed between the release of the Black Panther soundtrack in 2018 and the release of Eternals this year, is that no one feels the need to obscure or censor the latter’s references to Batman and Superman.
It will be interesting to find out whether future MCU productions elaborate on just what the state of the comic book industry looks like in a world where actual superheroes exist. Are Batman and Superman old-hat references and there’s a new big thing in comics, like how pirate comics overtook superhero comics in Watchmen? Does New York Comic Con still happen in Daredevil’s Hell’s Kitchen? Perhaps Ms. Marvel, with its nerdy heroine, will shed some light on this topic.
To witness the Batman reference for yourself, Marvel Studios’ Eternals is now in theaters.
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