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Reading through an old issue of Black Panther, I came across this panel:

enter image description here (from Black Panther (1998) #56).

This is a pretty obvious reference to Batman villains Penguin and Riddler; it's not even a bit subtle.

Is this just a one-off gag written into this issue, or have other Marvel characters made references to fictional (within the universe) characters that are obviously meant to be Batman, or other DC heroes/villains?

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    I don't have a reference right now, but I remember in one episode of the 90s Spider-Man Saturday morning cartoon, Spider-Man is being interviewed by a little girl who's a huge fan of his. At one point, she asks where he came from, and says that she's heard he's the last survivor of a dying planet. He says no, that's a different superhero.
    – Mason Wheeler
    Jun 19, 2015 at 17:37
  • I recall Peter Parker getting fed up with the Daily Bugle (or more specifically, it's editor) and selling photos to the Daily Planet. He went back to the Bugle because the Planet was too nosy about how he got such great Spider-Man pictures.
    – Mary ML
    Jun 23, 2015 at 23:42
  • I've heard some people refer to Daredevil as "Marvel's Batman". Not official of course (hence comment instead of answer), but he is kind of the same sort of dark-hero. No actual superpowers (just heightened awareness and fighting skills), fights best at night (because of blindness in his case), has Gothic inclinations (hangs out on the roofs of cathedrals), very public alter-ego (high-stakes lawyer), usually a low gravelly voice.
    – Darrel Hoffman
    Dec 17, 2015 at 14:24

3 Answers 3

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Why yes, yes they do:

enter image description here

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The occasional inter-universe joke or reference is common. Same happens DC to Marvel.

Of note, both Marvel and DC main universes, exist inside the other's multiverse (I'm not sure about New 52). Marvel Comics and DC Comics exist in the Marvel Universe as real companies, the former being legal, licensed retellings of Marvel events (Like Inception), and the latter a normal comic company. Aside from in-universe crossovers, Clark Kent and Lois seem to be an actual (probably normal human) reporters.

enter image description here

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    What issue is the Iron Man/Kitty Pryde bit from?
    – cjm
    Jun 19, 2015 at 3:31
  • @cjm A+X #2. And as a counterpoint, Xmen Legacy #267.
    – user16696
    Jun 19, 2015 at 3:40
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    Another example: in Avengers #93 (from the Kree-Skrull War), Ant-Man enters a malfunctioning Vision and comments: "What it looks like is a leftover movie set from Metropolis. Fritz Lang’s, not Clark Kent’s! Just the place for an old E.C. fan-addict like me!"
    – Caleb Hines
    Jun 19, 2015 at 22:06
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In the past, I remember reading a cross-over with Batman and Spiderman.

So after some searching I found the comic:

http://marvel.wikia.com/Spider-Man_and_Batman_Vol_1_1

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  • This story does not occur in any of the main universes (616 or ultimate).
    – phantom42
    Jun 19, 2015 at 19:55
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    @phantom42: true, but that was not a restriction in the question. So I think this is a good answer.
    – Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
    Jun 19, 2015 at 20:30
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While not exactly what you're asking about, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Squadron Supreme. They're essentially a Marvel version of DC's Justice League:

  • Hyperion - Superman
  • Nighthawk - Batman
  • Power Princess - Wonder Woman

and so on. Many of their villains are similarly mimicking Justice League villains. They're not native to the mainline Earth-616 continuity, they're from Earth-712 (or at least the most common version of them is, comic books are whacky), but they're often interacting with other universes in the Marvel multiverse. For exmaple, there's a Hyperion in the Avengers book that just ended recently when Secret Wars started.

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    I highly recommend the 1980's Squadron Supreme 12 issue miniseries. It explores some of the 'what if superheroes were real' ground that stuff like Watchmen and Justice League Unlimited explored.
    – user1027
    Jun 19, 2015 at 2:05
  • Yeah I knew about Hyperion being basically Marvel Superman, didn't know about the others yet.
    – KutuluMike
    Jun 19, 2015 at 2:12
  • Yes! I was very much reminded of the parallelism especially when I saw this in the Avengers Assemble series...
    – Stark07
    Jun 19, 2015 at 6:18

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