10 Hidden Easter Eggs In Batman The Animated Series
8. The Shadow
In the episode Beware The Gray Ghost, Bruce Wayne remembers watching an old serial that he used to enjoy, starring the eponymous Gray Ghost - a noir style, crime-fighting costumed vigilante. More than a small amount of inspiration for what Bruce would grow up to become originated here.
Bob Kane, co-creator of Batman along with Bill Finger, took inspiration from old serials about The Shadow. According to The Steranko History of Comics, Vol. 2, he said in the early seventies that the very first Batman story was inspired heavily by a Shadow. The Joker's laughing gas was also inspired by a Shadow radio serial, The Laughing Corpse.
The Gray Ghost is the animated series homage to The Shadow, with the design heavily based on the appearance of the Shadow, while almost emulating those early serials. However, this easter egg is mashed together with a nod to Batman lore itself.
The Gray Ghost is voiced by none other than Adam West, the Batman of the sixties. He plays both an actor who is down on his luck and hoping for another shot, with a hope for a simpler time mixed in as well. The entire episode is a loving nod back to the early days of comic and comic related storytelling.