12 Fiendishly Clever Comic Book Movie In-Jokes You Probably Missed

5. Spawn - The Dark Knight

Not too many comic book movie fans will ever freely admit that 1997's under-appreciated Spawn big screen adaptation is among their favourites of the genre, despite the fact that the film features some impressive stand-out moments. It might not fit with the new high-gloss agenda of the genre, but both Michael Jai White and John Leguizamo are excellent as the titular tormented soul and the nefarious villain the Clown/Violator.

And it seems the film has an unlikely fan in the shape of Christopher Nolan, who clearly carries his penchant for reviving dead careers by paying a brief but unmistakable homage to the Spawn film in The Dark Knight.

In The Joker's anti-hero making scene that sees the unveiling of the now infamous pencil trick, Spawn star Michael Jai White plays a key role as Gambol, the criminal boss who the Joker accuses of no being man enough to kill Batman. And in a pleasant and surprising reference to Spawn, Jai White responds to the accusation with a line ripped directly out of the Spawn movie, shouting "ENOUGH from the clown!" as he did in outrage at Leguizamo's antics in Spawn.