BvS Real World / Historical / Pop Culture References in BvS

So here's a place to post all the real world and historical references you caught in BvS or found out about from somewhere. There are so many fun and interesting references in this movie.



1. Excalibur references - We've heard that the entire third act is a homage to the story of Arthur from Excalibur the movie. As this poster from Reddit rightly puts it:

2. "The red capes are coming, the red capes are coming!" - A reference to Paul Revere's "The Redcoats are coming, the Redcoats are coming!"

It was a warning delivered by Paul Revere on the night of April 18, 1775 as British were marching from Boston, westward towards Lexington.



3. "One if by land, two if by air" - Another reference to Paul Revere explained succinctly here: http://www.paul-revere-heritage.com/one-if-by-land-two-if-by-sea.html

The difference is that Lex says 'two if by air' instead of 'sea', most probably referencing Superman who comes from the skies.



4. "...so the day does not come Madam when your children are waving daisies at a reviewing stand." - A reference to communist East Germany that existed during the Cold War and from 1949 to 1990.



5. If you seek his monument, look around you - A reference to the epitaph of Christopher Wren, one of Britain's most famous architects who helped restore large numbers of churches and buildings in London after the Great Fire of 1666.

His epitaph reads, "Here in its foundations lies the architect of this church and city, Christopher Wren, who lived beyond ninety years, not for his own profit but for the public good. Reader, if you seek his monument – look around you. Died 25 Feb. 1723, age 91."



6. Lex's various references to gods - Zeus, Prometheus, Horus, Apollo, Jehovah, Kal-E....wait, never mind.





7. All the various real life TV show hosts and famous personalities who played themselves - Neil deGrasse Tyson (I love that guy), Anderson Cooper, Nancy Grace, Charlie Rose, Soledad O’Brien, Dana Bash, Andrew Sullivan, Erika R. Erickson, Brooke Baldwin and Vikram Gandhi. Interesting article on this > http://www.thewrap.com/batman-v-superman-8-real-media-stars-who-reported-from-gotham-and-metropolis/

Real life Senator Patrick Leahy also appears as Senator Purrington. He's previously appeared in Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, as well as voicing a character in Batman: The Animated Series.



8. King Kong - When Doomsday reaches the top of LexCorp Tower, he bellows at the helicopters and gets attacked by them just like King Kong does at the top of the Empire State Building.



9. Martha - Among other things, the use of the word Martha is also a homage to the movie Citizen Kane, where the word "Rosebud" is used as a trigger word for the titular Kane.



10. The Wizard of Oz - Referenced twice in the film, once when Lex says, "Emerald City" and next when Perry says, "Clicks his heels three times, goes back to Kansas, I suppose".



11. Alice in Wonderland & Bugs Bunny - All in a few words by Lex, first he references Alice in Wonderland with, "Late, late says the white rabbit" and then references Bugs Bunny with, "right, wabbit?" which is how Elmer Fudd from the cartoon calls Bugs Bunny.



12. "Every time we say goodbye, you die a little" - This is said by Anatoly to Martha in the warehouse and is a reference to a song written by Cole Porter and sung by Tony Bennet called "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye". It can be heard when Lois is coming down the escalator before she is abducted by Anatoly.





13. Jesus references - Superman's trial parallels Jesus' trials by the Romans and then later on we see a Superman effigy being burnt which could possibly be a reference to Jesus' crucifixion.



14. Frankenstein's monster - The sequences of Doomsday's creation and animation parallel the creation of Frankenstein's monster. Both are created from parts of different people (Zod and Lex) and both are animated by lightning, in the case of Doomsday, Metropolis' electrical grid. We see the large arcs of electricity sparking over the scout ship, another visual reference to the original creation of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein's lab.



15. Star Wars reference - Lex's prisoner number is '16 TK-421' which is a direct reference to the Stormtrooper designated 'TK-421' in Episode 4: A new Hope, who is one of the troopers that Han and Luke subdue when they get onto the Death Star.



16. Superman: The Movie reference - Seen among Keefe's newspaper cutouts on the wall are two headlines reading, "Superman shifts tectonic plate, prevents devastating earthquake" and "Superman prevents missile strike" which are direct references to the events of that movie.



That's what I got for now. Share more references if you know of them!

 

Thanks!

 

1. Alfred - "A Phantasm."
Reference to 'Mask of the Phantasm' animated film.

2. Bruce - "I've known a few women like you."
Reference to Catwoman et al.

3. Mercy Graves

4. Superman surrounded by people on Day of the Dead is from here >

http://whatculture.com/film/batman-v-superman-32-easter-eggs-references-you-must-see?page=9



5.

http://whatculture.com/film/batman-v-superman-32-easter-eggs-references-you-must-see?page=9

Also this, which I'm guessing is from Kingdom Come >



6. Perry - "This isn't 1938"
Reference to year Superman debuted in Action Comics 1.

7. Jason Todd (presumably) Robin suit, with Joker's taunts on it. From 'Death in the Family'.

8. Must There Be A Superman?

http://whatculture.com/film/batman-v-superman-32-easter-eggs-references-you-must-see?page=14



9. The Knightmare sequence - A direct reference to 'Injustice: Gods Among Us' where Superman goes rogue after Lois dies and kills the one he blames by punching him through the heart.

10. Bruce's dream - Man-Bat from the comics.

11. Ralli's Diner -

http://whatculture.com/film/batman-v-superman-32-easter-eggs-references-you-must-see?page=19

12. Chris Pine in the Wonder Woman photo - Steve Trevor

13. Doomsday's creation parallels Bizzaro's and Superboy's since he is originally a Zod clone. In another story, Lex clones Superman to create Bizzaro, Lex creates Superboy by mixing his own DNA with Superman's.

14. Superman's coffin with the silver shield - Death of Superman storyline

15. Darkseid

16. Reference to the cover of Action Comics #1, the debut of Superman where he is holding a car above his head, seen among Keefe's newspaper cutouts on the wall.

 

Added two new points to the above posts:

16. Superman: The Movie reference - Seen among Keefe's newspaper cutouts on the wall are two headlines reading, "Superman shifts tectonic plate, prevents devastating earthquake" and "Superman prevents missile strike" which are direct references to the events of that movie.

16. Reference to the cover of Action Comics #1, the debut of Superman where he is holding a car above his head, seen among Keefe's newspaper cutouts on the wall.

 

Thanks man!

 

Haha, yeah I wonder that myself sometimes.