Batman '89: Echoes #3 Easter Egg: Strange Brew Connection Clarified
Tim Burton's Batman universe continued only with a very "Strange" cameo for fans with eagle eyes. Burton's 1989 Batman film not only changed the superhero film genre but also left lasting thumbprints on The Dark Knight's narrative itself. Hollywood's biggest stars were eager to enter the sequels, and the movie turned Michael Keaton from a comic actor into a leading man. Burton only made one more film before quitting the series, but Batman '89: Echoes imagines the stars he would feature should he make more.
Batman's "Strange Brew" Cameo by Rick Moranis: Echoes #3
Sam Hamm, Joe Quinones, Leonardo Ito, and Carlos M. Mangual's Batman '89: Echoes #3 presents the Burtonverse's take of the Riddler: Edward Nigel Maynard, fashioned after Martin Short (only murders in the building). Originally part of a platoon experimented on by late Dr. Hugo Strange, he curls up to Bruce Wayne, currently posing as Robert Lowery, because they were once friends. A couple of prisoners keep their eyes on Riddler as he tries to lead Bruce through his most recent riddle; they eventually celebrate when Bruce finds the solution. To readers acquainted with Canadian comedy, the two men are obviously Bob and Doug McKenzie from SCTV. Why, though,?
The unusual brew connection isn't that unusual.
Featuring a group of now household names: Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, John Candy, Rick Moranis, and Martin Short, SCTV was a Canadian sketch show from the late 1970s/early 1980s. Episodes had to be two minutes longer and feature only Canadian content when the show moved networks in 1980. Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas invented Bob and Doug McKenzie, the fiercely Canadian hosts of "Great White North," to parplay this. Drinking beer, chatting hockey, and calling each other "hosers," the two were immediately successful not only in Canada but also in the United States.
Why, though, make them an Easter egg? The response makes more sense than one would have guessed. Eventually, the pair produced a film starring the brothers Strange Brew. The story centers on an evil brewmaster using mind control drugs covertly blended into a batch of beer and released onto the city during Oktoberfest in an effort at world dominance. The film's last punchline is that the brothers save the day, but ask if they might bring the spiked beer home for themselves. Given the psychotropic effects one pint of beer could have, it makes sense the men could wind up institutionalized following a truckload.
Brew Is Own Mystery of Dr. Hugo Strange
The death of Dr. Hugo Strange and what exactly was going on with his experiments remain a big riddle of the Batman '89: Echoes series. Giving troops a drug called "Samurai," which provided great strength, he was also undoing their psyche and turning them on their fellow troops. Dr. Jonathan Crane, his protégé, seems to be surreptitiously conducting experiments and might be the killer of Strange. Bruce Wayne's mental strength will determine whether Batman can withstand this "Strange" brew now he shows interest in "Firefly."
Batman '89: The Movie That Transformationalally Affected Everything
Tim Burton's 1989 super hero film Batman stars Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne. Jack Nicholson's terrifying performance as Jack Napier—who transforms into the Joker and wrecks havoc on Gotham—is remarkable. Along with Michael Gough as Bruce's devoted butler, Alfred, Kim Basinger also stars in the movie as Vicki Vale.
