The Batman Actor You Didn't Realize Had A Cameo In Young Sheldon

Sheldon Cooper is no stranger to the world of comic book superheroes, and "The Big Bang Theory" often featured cameos from legends in the world of nerd culture. It should come as no surprise, then, that "Young Sheldon" continued the tradition. The spinoff series was a prequel to "The Big Bang Theory," following Sheldon Cooper throughout his childhood — and, later, college years — including his introduction to comic books. The fourth episode of season 1, "A Therapist, a Comic Book, and a Breakfast Sausage," saw Sheldon start reading X-Men comics, beginning a lifelong love of superheroes.

Sheldon's love of superheroes would continue from this point on, becoming a major part of who he was moving forward. In "The Big Bang Theory," Sheldon had often been seen dressed as the Flash, visiting the local comic book store, or wearing comic-inspired t-shirts. "Young Sheldon" also drew upon Sheldon's affinity for comic books in several key moments of character development. One such instance saw him receiving some imagined advice from Batman, as the DC hero spoke to Sheldon from the pages of a comic.

"Young Sheldon," season 3, episode 10, "Teenager Soup and a Little Ball of Fib," saw Sheldon faking illness to get out of a school swim test. While reading a Batman comic in bed, the Caped Crusader scolded Sheldon for lying to his mother and not eating her soup. What's more, this imagined speech was delivered by a genuine Batman voice actor — Diedrich Bader.

Bader's Batman gave Sheldon a stern dressing down in characteristically dramatic terms. As the young Sheldon claimed he had faked illness because he was afraid of getting in the pool, Batman told him, "You are in a pool – a pool of your own deceit." The melodrama of the words was helped by the fact that the voice speaking them was so unmistakably Batman.

Bader's appearances as Batman started with his most notable run in the role, voicing Batman in the 2008 animated series, "Batman: The Brave and the Bold." This series saw Batman teaming up with various superheroes to take on different DC villains. As well as the Caped Crusader himself, Bader voiced Kilowog, Ace of the Royal Flush Gang, Owlman, Solomon Grundy, and Lord Death Man. He later voiced Batman in the DC animated movie "JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time" and in the HBO Max series "Harley Quinn."

Bader's work in the world of Batman has extended beyond the Dark Knight himself. In "Batman Beyond" and the spinoff series "The Zeta Project," he voiced the robot Zeta. He voiced numerous characters in the animated series "The Batman," including the villains Captain Slash and Shadow Thief. More recently, Bader appeared as Two-Face in "Batman: Caped Crusader." Bader has also parodied Batman, appearing as Batmongoose in the "DC Nation's Farm League" shorts, Bat Dad in "South Park," and a comedic take on Batman in "Mad."