Who Washes the Washmen's Infinite Secrets of Legendary Crossover Knight Wars?/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Credits

Quotes

Cultural references

• The story's title is a reference to various things:
  • "Who watches the watchmen?", a historical phrase and namesake for the DC Comics series, Watchmen.
  • The Dark Knight Returns, a DC Comics series featuring Batman and Superman.
  • Crisis on Infinite Earths, a DC Comics crossover series.
    • The plot involving universes being destroyed also resembles this series.
• The President of the United States resembles former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
• The opening sequence is a parody of the opening investigation of the Comedian's death in the first chapter of Watchmen.
• When Radioactive Man jumps through the sky and connects with a lightning bolt, the scene directly parallels an infamous scene in The Dark Knight Returns in which the protagonist Batman strikes an identical pose. The lead-up to it in which Radioactive Man is traumatized by an embarrassing memory is a parody of Bruce Wayne's trauma when recalling his parents' death, also in Dark Knight Returns.
• Heart of Darkness' name is a reference to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which was later loosely adapted by Francis Ford Coppola as Apocalypse Now.
• Heart of Darkness' black and grey color scheme is a reference to Frank Miller's Batman in Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One wearing black-and-grey instead of the traditional blue-and-grey at the time.
• Plasmo mentions the "plentiful panels of Perez", referencing George Pérez, the penciller for the DC Comics Crisis on Infinite Earths event in which various universes were merged.
• G. Gordon Gadfly is a parody of G. Gordon Godfrey from DC Comics' Legends miniseries. G. Gordon Godfrey was the disguise of the villainous Glorious Godfrey.
• Gadfly's insistence on repealing the 22nd Amendment is a reference to the world of Watchmen repealing the 22nd Amendment so that Nixon could stay in office.
• After Glowy's death, Radioactive Man consoles Radioactive Boy by telling him that "some power even greater than you or me" will bring him back to life. This is a reference to the frequent resurrections of characters in comic books, particularly those published by DC and Marvel Comics.