Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Batman: The Long Halloween Part One.
What DC Comics Easter eggs are hidden within Batman: The Long Halloween Part One? Based on the 13-part miniseries by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale, The Long Halloween is set in the early days of Batman's career. It acted as an unofficial follow-up to Batman: Year One, further exploring the life of District Attorney Harvey Dent in the days before he became the gangster Two-Face, and how Gotham City's underworld came to be dominated by costumed criminals.
The main plot of The Long Halloween centers around a series of murders committed by a serial killer who is dubbed Holiday by the Gotham City press. Each of Holiday's murders took place on a major American holiday, with Holiday leaving an object relating to the day in question (such as a Jack-o-lantern on Halloween) behind at the crime scene, along with the murder weapon. All of Holiday's victims were associates of Gotham City's Godfather, Carmine "The Roman" Falcone, but there was little logic or motive behind the specific people targeted otherwise.
While The Long Halloween has never been directly adapted until now, it is considered one of the greatest Batman stories of all time and was a major stylistic influence on Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. The animated film goes beyond replicating the original graphic novel shot for shot, however, offering a few nods to the larger DC Comics universe and the Batman mythology. Here's a rundown of every Easter egg in Batman: The Long Halloween Part One.
Salvatore "Sal" Maroni
The prologue before the opening credits ends with a car full of Tommy-gun-totting gangsters shooting up an Italian restaurant called Maroni's. This introduces the character of Salvatore "Sal" Maroni, who is later revealed to be Carmine Falcone's main rival in the Gotham City underworld. He is best known to comic readers, however, as the gangster responsible for throwing acid in the face of Harvey Dent, triggering his transformation into Two-Face.
Tim Sale's Artwork In The Credits
While the animation style of Batman: The Long Halloween Part One is not directly modeled on the artwork of the original graphic novel, the movie still found a way to honor artist Tim Sale. The opening credits show stills of various scenes from the original Long Halloween graphic novel, as a white line winds across a black background, with the credits scrolling past. In the final shot, the white line is revealed to have traced out a Bat-Symbol.
Barbara Gordon
At the time The Long Halloween was written, Barbara Gordon had been retconned into being Commissioner Gordon's niece rather than his daughter and was not a part of the story beyond a passing mention of her being old enough to babysit now. The New 52 reboot of the DC Universe in 2011 changed the history back so that Barbara Gordon was once again Jim Gordon's daughter. The future Batgirl has a cameo appearance in Batman: The Long Halloween Part One, with a tween Babs preparing to go trick-or-treating dressed as a police officer and her father loaning her his badge to complete the costume.
A New Origin For Two-Face's Coin
Two-Face's iconic coin has had many origins over the years, in both the comics and adaptations. Batman:: The Long Halloween Part One introduces a new backstory for the coin, revealing it to be a gift from Batman. Having discovered a warehouse full of Carmine Falcone's cash waiting to be laundered but having no way to legally confiscate the filthy lucre, Batman and Harvey Dent eventually decided to burn the warehouse down and the money with it. When Dent expressed reluctance to commit an act of arson, even in the name of a greater good, Batman handed him a coin and suggested they flip for it; heads they set the fire, tails they leave it alone. It was not until Dent got home and looked at the coin that he realized, to his amusement, that it was a two-headed silver dollar.
Detective Rene Montoya
Created as a character for Batman: The Animated Series, Rene Montoya was later introduced into the comics and quickly became one of the most popular supporting characters in the Batman books. A beat cop who rose to the rank of Detective, Montoya was also a closeted lesbian who was forcibly outed and disowned by her conservative parents. She later adopted the identity of The Question and became a vigilante, following the death of the original Question, Vic Sage. While she does not have a speaking role in Batman: The Long Halloween Part One, Detective Montoya is visible in several scenes, most notably escorting bomber Mickey Chen back to the holding cells after Batman and Commissioner Gordon questioned him.
A Terrible Trio Of Bat-Foes
After the second Holiday killing, Batman and Commissioner Gordon sought out some expert help in Arkham Asylum from Julian Day, aka Calendar Man, who also based his crimes around holidays. As they walked to Day's cell, several other notable Batman foes could be seen in the background, including Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot, Jonathan "Scarecrow" Crane and the Mad Hatter, Jervis Tetch. While Penguin didn't play a part in the original The Long Halloween graphic novel beyond a quick cameo in the final chapter, both the Mad Hatter and Scarecrow had a major role in the action of the story's second half and will be appearing in Batman: The Long Halloween Part Two.
Kord Omniversal
Carmine Falcone celebrated New Year's Eve with a gala fundraiser to benefit the Gotham Children's Clinic on his private yacht. After making a speech about the importance of family and caring for those in need, Falcone thanked the corporate sponsors of the event, with the first one named being Kord Omniversal. This is the company owned by Ted Kord, who, like Bruce Wayne, uses his fortune and the technology developed by his company to fight crime as the Blue Beetle.
Soder Cola
Another of the corporate sponsors Carmine Falcone thanks is Soder Coda. In the DC Comics universe, Soder Cola is the most popular soft drink in America and the chief competitor of Zesti Cola. The rivalry between the two companies is comparable to the real world "cola wars" between Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Gotham Broadcasting Company
The final corporate sponsor Carmine Falcone thanked in his speech was the Gotham Broadcasting Company, which he noted had been sponsoring his gala for ten years straight. In the classic comics, Gotham Broadcasting Company was a radio and television news network based in Gotham City. The original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, was employed as an executive at GBC following World War II, and he rose through the ranks to eventually become the CEO.
The Shadow
In the original The Long Halloween graphic novel, Holiday's identity was always obscured, making it possible for anyone to have been the mystery killer. Batman: The Long Halloween Part One changes this up, allowing enough of a glimpse of Holiday in action to suggest that they are a tall, thin man. The movie's design for Holiday, featuring a dark scarf wrapped around his lower face with a matching trench coat and fedora, seems to be a tribute to the character of The Shadow, who was one of the inspirations for Batman.