Summary
Rocksteady and WB Games Montreal’sArkhamtetralogy is a wonderful celebration of the Batman mythology, especially in how it represents Batman’s rogues’ gallery. Each entry is fairly different from the one prior, leading to fans having their favorites for different reasons.Asylumis foundational as it steeps the character in a rich, gothic tone, for example, whileCitymassively improved freeflow combat and traversal. Gameplay arguably peaks in the final entry,Knight, though it could be said that its story was undercut with a twist it didn’t earn.
Batman: Arkham Originsis the black sheep of the tetralogy since it was the only installment of the four not developed by Rocksteady, but its narrative and character representation are fantastic.Originsdepicts the first time that Batman meets the Joker, as well as multiple other villains that would go on to appear in each subsequent game when considering it chronologically in a timeline. However, withOriginsbeing a prequel, the Arkhamverse missed what was its most ideal opportunity to better establish a sensible connection to the events ofKnightwhen it had the chance.
RELATED:Gotham Knights’ Batman Beats Arkham’s in One Key Way
Batman: Arkham Knight Set Up Its Jason Todd Twist Poorly
Rocksteady landed on its decision to makeJason Todd the Arkham Knightseemingly through two choices: either Jason was intentionally hidden from any dialogue or lore in order for his identity to be completely obscured and less predictable, or his involvement in the threequel was written in during the development ofKnightwhen he didn’t previously have any connection to the Arkhamverse franchise—aside from a referential line where Joker asks if he had killed Tim Drake’s Robin already. Regardless, because of how the Arkham Knight loathes Batman, knows everything about him, and has no other obvious tethers to Gotham or Arkham, fans of the Batman mythology were able to quickly and inevitably surmise who he was.
There’s maybe a brief moment when he first appears where fans think back toAsylum,City, andOriginsto see if there is anyone the Arkham Knight could logically be, but almost all the characters players encountered throughout the series have been bookended with no loose threads. Moreover, because Jason was being tortured in Arkham Asylum by the Joker, an opportunity presented itself for a prequel to establish that connection. Sadly, it was left as a loose thread fans have to suspend disbelief for instead.
An Arkham Asylum Prequel Needed to Lay Hints at Jason’s Existence
IfKnight’s twist had been brainstormed beforeOrigins, it would have been fantastic forWB Games Montreal’sBatmanprequelto make even a fleeting mention of Jason. This way, a phenomenal introduction and reference to the character could have been given in a side activity in Gotham’s snow-blanketed streets where Batman comes across Jason attempting to steal the wheels off the Batmobile. Jason might not have even needed to be there, but seeing a tire iron and a wheel missing from the Batmobile as it is parked in an alleyway could have led to a crime scene investigation sequence explaining what had occurred.
Something as small as this would have been an explicit way of revealing that Jason was established in this continuity, and therefore his reveal as the Arkham Knight would have made more sense before the hallucinations of Jason’s torture were shown inKnight. It could be argued that this would take away from any kind of surprise the reveal had, but it was not difficult to guess who he could be anyhow. Otherwise, Jason feels shoehorned into the Arkhamverse and reminds fans that the recruitment ofeach Bat Family memberis a blind spot in the franchise between each entry.
Batman: Arkham Trilogywill launch on Nintendo Switch in fall 2023.
MORE:Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Could Strike Fear in Enemies with One Horrifying Villain Ability
