The Flashtrailer has taken the internet by storm since it was released during the Super Bowl this past weekend. It was filled to the brim with exciting action and character returns, but none as epic asMichael Keaton’s Batman. He stole every scene he was in, said his most iconic line “I’m Batman”, and still looks amazing in the Batsuit after all these years. However, even though this epic multiverse film will feature Keaton andBen Affleck’s version of The Dark Knight, there’s a well hidden Easter Egg to another famous live-action Batman that even eagle-eyed viewers may have missed. That Batman would beAdam Westfrom the classic 1966 TV series.
The Easter egg in question was revealed byChris Westonwho worked in the costume department onThe Flashand pertains to the shot of all Keaton’s Batsuits found in the film’sBig Game TV Spot. In the Batsuit Armory we can see theBatman 89andBatman Returnssuits with Keaton’s current suit fromThe Flashfront and center. They’re alongside a handful of suits we’ve never seen before like a desert looking and an underwater style suits. However, the suit in question here is a gray comic style one that feature grapnel gun holsters. Your Bat-eyes immediately lock onto the holsters for obvious reasons, but that distracts you from the Bat-symbol on the suit itself. Like Weston points out in his post, the suit features the same Bat-Symbol fromBatman 66worn by West. The gray suit and66Easter egg was his idea. Not only does this image serve as a reference to a similar armory shot found inBatman Returns, this is a cool Easter egg to a more colorful era for The Caped Crusader.
The Legacy of ‘Batman 66’
While the modern darker Batman is the preferred version for many fans, you would not have that without West’s campy Batman.Batman 66single-handedly brought the iconic character into the mainstream. The series ran for three seasons, 120 episodes, and had a feature film as well that saw The Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, and The Riddler unsuccessfully team up. There were so many iconic goofy moments from that film alone like Batman using Shark Repellent to stop a shark from biting off his leg or the famous line “Sometimes you just can’t get rid of a bomb”. The series was so successful that Batman was seen on every lunch box, received his own line of toys, and shaped the way fans saw the character for the next 20 plus years. That all changed with the release of the graphic novelThe Dark Knight ReturnsandTim Burton’s Batman in the 80s.
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West may not be as popular as Keaton, Affleck, orChristian Baletoday, but his Batman is what many fans grew up with. His charming good looks and demanding voice holds so much nostalgic weight in today’s pop culture. Especially West’s skin tight blue, gray, and yellow Batsuit that featured penciled on eyebrows on the Batcowl. It feels like ever since West passed away in 2017,Batman 66has been getting a much deserved reappraisal. Due to this, this particular Easter egg inThe Flashis sure to make a lot of comic book fans very happy.
Batman in ‘The Flash’
As far asThe Flashis concerned, the film will feature Keaton’s version of Batman as the main Dark Knight because Barry destroyed the timeline after trying to save his mother’s life in the past. Keaton’s Batman agrees to help him fix it and what his Bruce Wayne has been up to in the last 30 years seems to be a big focus in the film. All the Batsuits, including the66inspired one, tease there’s still a lot of Keaton Batman history fans don’t know about. Hopefully that will change in this upcoming film.
The Flashreleases on July 17, 2025. While we wait to see Keaton’s return to the Batcave, you can view Weston’sBatman 66Easter egg posts down below along with The Big Game TV Spot the Batsuit armory is featured in.
