Justice League: 29 Easter Eggs & References You Need To See

18. "Exploding Wind-Up Penguins"

When Bruce and Alfred are discussing the imminent threat of Steppenwolf, Alfred wryly says to his charge, "One misses the days when one's biggest concerns were exploding, wind-up penguins."

It doesn't take a Batman lore expert to realise that this is referring to Batman's 1992 cinematic tussle with The Penguin in Tim Burton's divisive Batman Returns.

It's interesting to see the DCEU openly acknowledging that Batman has battled Oswald Cobblepot in the past, especially incorporating the rather daft penguin minions of the Burton movie, though it also makes it decidedly less likely that the villain will ever actually show up in the DCEU.

It was always an outside possibility, but still...