The Bizarre Batman Video Game You Probably Don't Remember
Batman has popped up all over the DC Universe — and even outside of it.
When he's not throwing hands with nameless thugs and bringing his most infamous villains back to Arkham Asylum, the Dark Knight can be seen either partnering up with non-DC Comics entities or fighting against them. In the comic book sphere, Batman has indulged in crossovers with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Spawn, and even The Predator of movie fame.
In the world of gaming, Batman has popped up in a slew of enjoyable titles. He saved the world in blocky form in Lego Dimensions, engaged in some intense MOBA battles as a part of Arena of Valor, and even did battle with Earthrealm & Netherrealm's strongest in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
Back in 1989 (the same year as Tim Burton's game-changing Batman film), Gotham City's savior made one of his more shocking crossover appearances. And it just so happened to take place in a classic Sega Genesis title that stars one of the most famous ninjas in the history of gaming.
DC's Dark Knight made a shocking apperance in Sega's The Revenge of Shinobi
The Revenge of Shinobi's main protagonist is Joe Musashi, who does battle with several bosses based on pop culture icons.
During the sixth level of the game, Musashi finds himself locked in battle with a shape shifting ninja. The mind-blowing aspect of this boss fight occurs when you encounter his first form, which looks just like Marvel Comics' Spider-Man. Once players have gotten past that portion of the battle, the shape shifting ninja switches it up by transforming into a character that's eerily similar to Batman. Watching footage of this boss fight in action is a definite mind trip.
Earlier versions of the game included this boss fight encounter that was pretty much an unauthorized Marvel/DC crossover. Later versions of The Revenge of Shinobi were forced to change the Batman-like form of the boss into a demonic creature, due to Sega not having the rights to use Batman's likeness in the game. Likewise, the "Spider-Man" design has changed in different releases of the game.
It's pretty wild to see that The Revenge of Shinobi's other boss fights pitted players against additional characters seemingly modeled after big name icons, such as The Terminator, Godzilla, and even Rambo himself.