The Batman is quickly becoming regarded as the dark and gritty version of the character, and it makes the tone of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy look like Batman & Robin by comparison. In defense of The Batman, while it is the darkest depiction of the character yet, there are still several funny moments in the 2022 movie.

And while not all of them are laugh out loud, they offer a brief moment of levity in a movie that's so somber. Between the Penguin berating Batman for his poor Spanish skills, Jim Gordan's informal vocabulary, Selina's many cats, and some hidden, self-aware gags, the movie isn't quite as serious as its reputation makes it out to be.

The Thumb Drive

The Batman and Commissioner Gordon working together so closely for the bulk of the three-hour runtime was one of the biggest surprises in The Batman. It made for a great buddy-cop movie for the first two hours, and Gordon's presence kept Batman from being so unbearably glum.

But one of their funniest scenes together is when they find a USB stick in the Mayor's car, but that USB stick is attached to the Mayor's severed thumb. That led to Batman staring intently at Gordon while holding the stick and saying, "thumb... drive." What makes it even funnier is Gordon's reaction, as he's so grossed out by the thumb and comes off as pretty squeamish.

Gordon's Use Of The Word "Man"

Along with being so squeamish, this version of Jim Gordon is unique in a few other ways too. He's way more sarcastic than any other portrayal of the character, and he has a pretty streetwise vocabulary too. At the end of so many sentences, Gordon feels the need to say "man."

The funniest time comes in the same scene when they find the USB stick, when he tells Batman, "I've been working with you for two years and I don't even know who you are, man." This might be the first time anybody has ever called the caped crusader something as informal as "man" directly to him. And it's aided by Jeffrey Wright's portrayal of the police detective, as it's one of the best performances in The Batman.

"You Have A Lot Of Cats"

The scene when Batman and Catwoman return to Catwoman's apartment to find Annika missing is one of the most important and telling scenes in the film. It helps audiences understand the real Selina Kyle, showing how persistent and protective she is. But it tells audiences something else too... that she has a lot of cats.

It's hilarious hearing a very stoic Batman mumble the above line, and what makes the moment funnier is that Selina is drinking a glass of milk. It's as on the nose as the movie gets, and it's the closest it comes to the quirky and theatrical Batman Returns, which also featured Catwoman. And though some think The Batman's romance was unnecessary, one line in this scene perfectly explains their chemistry and attraction, she has "a thing for strays."

The Rough Landing

As The Batman sees the caped crusader in his second year fighting crime, he isn't the best fighter and he isn't all that great with his weapons quite yet. And that means that, while he's clearly perfected the grappling hook, there are some other gadgets of his that he still needs to practice with. When Batman escapes the cops from the Gotham City Police Department, he literally sports a wingsuit and glides through the narrow streets.

The way he opens the parachute at the completely wrong time under a bridge, and then slams into everything that gets in his way until a mountain of trash breaks his fall, is great physical comedy. And in what is the most awkward shot in the movie, Batman simply awkwardly limps away.

The Penguin's Spanish Lesson

Though the movie is full of evil geniuses and detectives, The Penguin is lowkey the most intelligent character in The Batman. The character showed that he knows exactly what to say in any given situation, but he also solved one of the Riddler's puzzles that Batman couldn't.

The riddle required a basic knowledge of Spanish, and if Oswald didn't have that, who knows how far Batman would have gotten. However, that also led to Cobblepot totally berating Batman and Gordon for their low-level comprehension. The best of it comes when the character yells, "What's the matter, no hablas Espanol?!" in his thick New York accent.

The Riddler Talking To His Fans

Throughout the whole movie, the Riddler speaks so menacingly, with a deep, distorted, baritone delivery. When he's first seen attacking the Mayor, he's literally screaming, and it's terrifying. However, two-thirds of the way into the movie when a video sent directly to his online fans is unlocked, audiences hear him speaking not normally.

It isn't just normal, but he's rather soft-spoken too, and he talks so eloquently despite speaking to a bunch of online wannabe terrorists. It's both jarring and comical, especially as he's thanking his fans just the same way as influential YouTubers would. It almost leaves viewers expecting him to finish by asking people to like the video and subscribe.

The Penguin's Waddle

The Penguin's rise to becoming a merciless gangster is a big prediction for The Batman 2, as that isn't exactly how he was depicted in the new movie. While he did come across as intelligent, he was in no way menacing, and after the epic car chase, he was clearly terrified as Batman walked toward him.

And after getting his hands and legs tied up when he was being interrogated by Batman and Gordon, he literally waddled like a penguin as he was begging to be untied. It's going to be hard for anybody to take him seriously after that, but it was a brilliant reference nonetheless.

The Hidden Weather Forecast Gag

Very few people will have noticed this hidden gag, as it runs along the bottom of a TV screen when some very important information is being fed to the audience. When Gotham News Network is broadcasting the Riddler's latest video, which is about the Waynes and Arkhams' dirty laundry, the weather forecast for each district of Gotham is scrolling by.

10 or 12 districts are mentioned, such as the Financial District and Bristol, and next to every one of them it says "rainy" or "light drizzle." It's a brilliant way for the movie to make fun of itself and its very rainy and gothic aesthetic, and it's so hidden that audiences will only catch it on repeat viewings.

NEXT: The Batman - 7 More Comic Books To Read After Watching The Movie

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About The Author

Stephen Barker (1331 Articles Published)

Currently residing in Madrid, Stephen Barker has been a staff writer at Screen Rant since 2020. Since graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University with a bachelor's degree in Film, Television, and Cultural Studies in 2014, he has written for numerous movie and music websites. Stephen has been obsessed with movies since he first watched Jurassic Park on VHS, and with a deep interest in screenwriting, he loves 70s character-driven movies. But he's just as much of a defender of Batman & Robin, The Fast and the Furious, and Small Soldiers. Visit Stephen's personal blog, Quaranste, where he writes about guilty pleasure movies, his latest musical discoveries, and how he stays creative during global pandemics, or contact him directly: Quaranstine@gmail.com.

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