High profile indie game Cuphead wears most of its inspirations on its sleeve, as developer Studio MDHR borrows from 1930s cartoons made by Disney and Warner Brothers. But these cartoons aren't the only thing that influenced the run-and-gun game as Cuphead also takes inspiration from one of the best-known comic book heroes.

In the Cuphead 'Murine Corps' level, players have to take on a rat in a can called Werner Werman. The third part of the fight against the menacing rodent is that you must take defeat a giant cat. The cat will create ghost mice that spit projectiles and it also deals damage by swiping its paws. It only has two attacks but that doesn't make it any less frustrating to battle.

As highlighted by Game Maker's Toolkit host Mark Brown in the tweet below, the battle against the cat is actually a reference to an old Batman game. Released in 1995 on the Sega Genesis, The Adventures of Batman & Robin was a run-and-gun game that featured its very own boss battle against a giant Cheshire Cat.

If the superhero and his sidekick attack the Cheshire Cat enough, its face will fall off, revealing its mechanical innards. When the Cuphead cat is defeated, it too is revealed to be a robot, and there's no way that this reference is a coincidence. Although it is a fairly obscure reference that few players will have picked up on, for those in the know, it's a wonderful throwback.

Cuphead is full of quirky references like this and it's just one of the reasons why fans love the game so much. The game has sold over one million copies as players appreciate that Studio MDHR tips its hat to so many of the thing that its creators enjoy.

Cuphead even has a secret game mode for players to unlock. This is just another reason for fans to enjoy its characters and its cartoon inspired world and it's likely why so many players stick with it despite its immense difficulty.

The references and secrets in the game are also why it's so easy to spot the Cuphead mobile clones trying to trick players. The description of those knock-off games all promise 1930s-cartoon inspired animation and try to copy the original's gameplay. However, judging by the reviews they all fail to capture the essence of the game and what it's all about, including those Batman references.

Cuphead is out now for PC and Xbox One.

Source: Mark Brown - Twitter