Alan Brennert stated in an interview with Starlog magazine that the character of Barney was based on a Space Pirate character named Black Barney from the original comic strip.
Within the early scene in the spaceport, announcements are made for arrivals from "Thanagar." In DC Comics, Thanagar is the home planet of "Hawkman" and the character has space adventures similar to Buck Rogers & Adam Strange.
Frank Gorshin (who played The Riddler in the Batman (1966) series), is the third of four Batman villain actors to appear in the show. The first being Roddy McDowall (The Bookworm), followed by Cesar Romero, (The Joker), and the last being Julie Newmar (Catwoman).
In an earlier scene, you can hear the PA system making an announcement for "Doctor Adam Strange." Doctor Adam Strange is a DC comic character since 1958, an American suddenly transported from Peru to the planet Rann. As Rann's "champion," his sci-fi/futuristic/space adventures were similar to Buck Rogers.