In Batman: Caped Crusader, Barbatos is presented as a fabricated demon-bat legend used by a cult leader to exploit followers, rather than as a real supernatural threat. The episode matters because it frames Batman as an unwilling religious symbol and continues the series’ approach of reinventing familiar Gotham characters and concepts.

The season two episode “The Devil’s Due” sees Batman blamed for a murder staged by cultists dressed as him, who believe sacrifices will awaken Barbatos beneath Gotham. In DC comics, however, Barbatos has often been a genuine and highly dangerous occult force: he has been linked to Gotham’s origins, Darkseid, the Court of Owls and the multiverse-threatening events of Dark Nights: Metal, including the Batman Who Laughs. The character also appeared in 2023’s Gotham Nocturne, where Batman rejects his offers of power.