Bruce Wayne<br/>Batman

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For other uses, see Bruce Wayne (disambiguation).

Bruce Wayne Batman
Batman: Arkham character
First appearance	Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)
Last appearance	Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2023)
Based on	Batman by Bob Kane Bill Finger
Adapted by	Paul Dini
Voiced by	Kevin Conroy Roger Craig Smith (Arkham Origins & Blackgate) Giancarlo Esposito (Assault on Arkham; Bruce Wayne/Black Spider) Mark Hamill (Arkham Knight; possessed by Joker) Kimberly Brooks (young)
Information
Full name	Bruce Wayne
Alias	Batman Black Spider
Nicknames	The Dark Knight The Caped Crusader The World's Greatest Detective The Bat Bats
Title	CEO of Wayne Enterprises
Occupation	Business executive vigilante
Affiliation	The Bat-family Justice League Wayne Enterprises
Family	Thomas Wayne (father) Martha Wayne (mother) Kate Kane (cousin) Dick Grayson (surrogate son) Jason Todd (surrogate son) Tim Drake (surrogate son)
Significant others	Talia al Ghul Selina Kyle
Home	Wayne Manor, Gotham City, United States
Nationality	American

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Bruce Wayne, also known by his superhero alias Batman, is a fictional character and the eponymous protagonist of the Batman: Arkham series of action-adventure video games developed by Rocksteady Studios and WB Games Montréal. Based on the original DC Comics character, this version shares a similar origin story, becoming a hard-boiled vigilante after witnessing the murder of his parents at a young age, during a mugging gone wrong. This incident prompts Bruce to dedicate the remainder of his life to training extensively, building mental and physical fortitude to become an experienced crime fighter and detective, all the while he is driven by a strong sense of justice.

Bruce's tenure as the protector of Gotham City brings him into conflict with a gallery of rogues, most notably his archenemy, the Joker, who develops an obsession with Batman. Although initially aided only by his loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth, over time he develops a small circle of trustworthy allies, most of whom become aware of his secret identity. These include Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) Captain and eventual Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon; his daughter Barbara Gordon, who assists Batman as Batgirl and later as the computer hacker Oracle; antiheroic cat burglar Selina Kyle / Catwoman; and his surroagate sons Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake, all of whom operated under the alias Robin before becoming independent vigilantes, with Dick adopting the alias Nightwing and Jason becoming the Red Hood. In his latest chronological appearance in Batman: Arkham Knight (2015), after a long career as a respected hero and having his identity exposed to the world by the villain Scarecrow, Bruce seemingly commits suicide to protect his loved ones and allow the myth of Batman to live on, though his ultimate fate is left ambigous.

The character has featured in almost all relevant media set in the continuity of the Batman: Arkham franchise (commonly referred to as the "Arkhamverse" by fans), including four mainline games, several spin-offs, an animated film, and various tie-in comic books. The character will also return in the upcoming game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2023). In most of these, he has been primarily voiced by veteran Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy, with Roger Craig Smith lending his voice to a younger, inexperienced Batman in Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (both 2013), and Kimberly Brooks voicing a young Bruce Wayne in a flashback in Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009). Batman, as depicted in the Arkham games, has received critical acclaim, with many critics and fans praising the series as one of the most faithful adaptations of the character, as well as Conroy and Smith's performances.

Concept and creation

Background

The character Batman was first created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane for an appearance in Detective Comics #27 (dated March 30, 1939), with Kane seeking to use the character to capitalize off of the popularity of Superman, who had debuted a year prior in Action Comics #1 (cover dated June 1938 and published on April 18, 1938). Although Kane initially claimed sole credit for the creation of Batman, Bill Finger was largely responsible for developing the character's bat-inspired aesthetics and a large portion of his rogues gallery. The character would recieve a solo publication spinning off from his appearances in Detective Comics, titled Batman, in 1940. Following a period in the 1960's involving comic book writers working to retain a synergistic tone between Batman's solo comics and his then-recent television series from 1966, several creators worked throughout the following decade and the 1980s to return the character to his darker, noir-thriller roots. These efforts culminated in the publishing of the 1986 limited series The Dark Knight Returns by comic book writer Frank Miller.

Creation

In spring 2007, game publisher Eidos Interactive acquired the license to create Batman games from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. By this point in time, up and coming developer Rocksteady Studios had pitched a prototype for a rhythm action game, which studio co-founder and creative director Sefton Hill claimed was inspired by his admiration for classic kung-fu action flicks from figures such as Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung. Impressed, Eidos poached them to develop their Batman game project, with Rocksteady discussing their approach to the Batman mythos at their request, before commencing early development by May 2007, and beginning active production later that September. Writer Paul Dini, who had previously served as head writer on Batman: The Animated Series and numerous other shows set in the DC Animated Universe, in addition to later working on Detective Comics and the standalone Batman title, was approached in late 2007 by DC Comics regarding the prospect of creating the game's story, with a desire to detach it from any pre-existing material related to the character, and creating an original narrative set in its own continuity. Dini was enthused by the idea, believing that previous games based on the character were ultimately constrained by having to be adapted from works such as film or television. DC would ask Dini to develop an approach for telling a new Batman story that would correlate with the intended gameplay for the title, prompting him to meet with the Rocksteady team, where it was decided that Dini's ambitions for the narrative aligned with what Rocksteady wanted to achieve in terms of the game's mechanics.

Rocksteady and Dini sifted through numerous Batman stories for inspiration, particularly those penned by either Dennis O'Neil & Neal Adams, or Frank Miller. It was eventually decided that Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (1989) by Grant Morrison, would be the primary inspiration for the narrative of the game that would eventually become Batman: Arkham Asylum, as Rocksteady themselves had already been looking into the possibility of setting their game in the titular facility due to its nature as a claustrophobic environment being able to confine the player to a setting with various enemies by themselves, as opposed to an open area such as Gotham City permitting Batman to call for help, distance himself from his opponents, or access resources such as the Batcave. The game and its story would be developed together, with mechanical limitations requiring the story to be built around them. The main design objective was to construct a concise 8–10 hour gameplay experience that would be engaging enough for all players, with special attention given to audiences who were less interested in the Batman mythos and surrounding media.

Characterization

Bruce's personality fluctuates as the series' chronology progresses. He is presented in his formative years as brash, reckless and obsessive, channeling his guilt over the loss of his parents, towards a dedication to rid the streets of evil. Additionally, the trauma he carried from said events also made it increasingly difficult for him to trust anyone who wasn't already a known figure in his private life, such as his butler and surrogate father figure Alfred Pennyworth, or subsequently his proteges Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake, whom he collectively viewed as his own children. In the public eye, Bruce assumed the persona of an arrogant, irresponsible and charismatic playboy in order to avoid drawing suspicion in regards to his alter-ego. However, the facade he assumed outside of his crime fighting tenure did not prevent him from making positive contributions to Gotham City much like his parents before him. He would often spearhead charitable campaigns and renovation projects to better the city's societal outlook and inclusivity, with one of his most notable contributions being the campaign he launched protesting the construction of Arkham City under mayor Quincy Sharp and his accomplice Dr. Hugo Strange, which reflected aspects of his work in philanthropy, as well as his selflessly heroic endeavours as Batman.

Under the Batman persona, Bruce built his reputation as a dark and intimidating figure, believing that the theatricality of his aesthetics would elevate him to a mythic status. Earlier in his career, he had no qualms torturing criminals while interrogating them for information, in pursuit of his ultimate goal for justice in Gotham. As he aged both physically and in experience, Bruce developed a deep love for humanity, further backed by his strict code prohibiting his ability to kill any of his enemies. This moral turn would encourage him towards attempting to treat his foes' instabilities by having them hospitalized within Arkham Asylum. He also expressed a deep hatred towards the utilization of firearms, always wanting to refrain from using them himself, as he considered them to be weapons associated with cowardice, reflecting on the same such person who murdered his parents with a gun.

Fictional character biography

Early life and becoming Batman

Further information: Batman: Arkham Origins

Born in Gotham City to the wealthy and philanthropic Wayne family, Bruce Wayne was helpless as he watched a mugger rob and kill his parents Thomas and Martha Wayne at age ten, leaving him to be cared for by his loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth, who would become his surrogate father figure. Bruce would subsequently be comforted through the tragedy by a kindly police officer named James "Jim" Gordon, but ultimately felt that his childhood and prospects at a peaceful life had been robbed from him, becoming irreparably obsessed with avenging his parents and dedicating the remainder of his life to strengthening himself.

Transitioning into adolescence, Bruce extensively studied and trained in order to achieve peak mental and physical condition, devoting himself to the study of detective work, criminal psychology, disguising, acrobatics, weaponry, escape arts and various other techniques. He would additionally travel to North Korea to be taken under the tutelage of his sensei Kirigi, a martial arts master who commandeered the League of Assassins, who trained him in Tokagure-Ryu and other Shinobi arts. Mastering all of these fighting styles, Bruce eventually managed to best Kirigi's best student, Shiva, earning the respect of his sensei.

Bruce would return to Gotham after several years abroad, assuming the position of CEO of his family's conglomerate, Wayne Enterprises. When devising how to approach the task of eliminating crime in Gotham, Bruce came to realize that he would have to become an incorruptible symbol of justice in order to impose on the corruption of his environment. He would craft his entire vigilante identity around the imagery of a bat, a childhood fear he once endured, with the intent of preying on criminals and taking advantage of their cowardice. Although Alfred was initially reluctant towards Bruce's intentions, he eventually allied himself with him, and assisted in the renovations of the underground cave system beneath Wayne Manor, which would become their base of operations known as the Batcave.

For over two years, Batman's crusade on crime in Gotham City would comprise threats ranging from smaller-scale muggings and theft, to confronting the higher-class syndicates such as the Falcone and Maroni families, spearheaded by rival crime lords Carmine Falcone and Salvatore Maroni, in addition to rising kingpins such as weapons dealer Oswald Cobblepot, operating under the alias of the Penguin, and Roman Sionis, otherwise known as Black Mask. He would also solve several cases beyond the local police force's comprehension, most notably apprehending the holiday-themed killer Julian Day, who operated under the alias Calendar Man. However, one case would remain unsolved for the remainder of Batman's career, namely that of the masked criminal known as the Red Hood. Although Batman nearly caught the Red Hood at one point, the latter manged to escape after falling into a catch basin of chemicals, and would never be seen by Batman or anyone else again, leading most to speculate that he had left Gotham.

As Batman would gain more confidence and develop his increasing skill set and arsenal, he would gain public notoriety, becoming a figure of mythic status to criminals and of controversy to common civilians for his methods of approaching crime, which further gave Batman a psychological edge in regards to exploiting the notion that he was a looming threat towards the city's corruption and power imbalance. Batman would further avoid media coverage and attention, which would add to his status as merely a symbol for justice for years to come.

Hired assassins on Christmas Eve

Main article: Batman: Arkham Origins

Two years into Bruce's career as Batman, on Christmas Eve, a jailbreak is staged by Black Mask and his henchmen at the Blackgate Penetentiary. While investigating the riot, Batman witnesses Black Mask executing the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD)'s corrupt commissioner Gillian Loeb, and apprehends Black Mask's new hired muscle, Killer Croc. He subsequently learns that Black Mask put a $50 million bounty on his head, and hired eight assassins to kill him that night, with Croc being one of them. Deciding to track down Black Mask, Batman interrogates the Penguin for information, successfully besting two of Black Mask's assassins en route, the Electrocutioner and Deathstroke. After learning from the Penguin that Black Mask was supposedly murdered at his apartment complex days ago, Batman investigates the crime scene and determines the killer was someone operating under the alias, "the Joker".

While attempting to access the GCPD's national criminal database at their headquarters discretely, Batman runs into Police Captain James Gordon and his corrupt squad, all of whom hope to secure the bounty placed on Batman themselves. Subsequently entering the sewers beneath the facility as per advice received from Gordon's daughter Barbara, Batman uses the database there to determine that Black Mask was not killed, but instead abducted and impersonated by the Joker in order to take control of his gang and peruse his access to the Gotham Merchants Bank. At the bank, Batman confronts "Black Mask", who unmasks himself at the Joker before fleeing. Batman pursues the Joker to the Sionis Steel Mill, where he frees the real Black Mask and defeats another assassin, the poisonous Copperhead.

Tracking the Joker to the Gotham Royal Hotel, Batman discovers his men have rigged the entire residence with explosives upon murdering the staff and taking the guests hostage. He soon recovers and equips the shock gloves belonging to Electrocutioner, who has just been thrown out a window to his death by the Joker for his incompetence. The remaining assassins leave sans Bane, who eventually confronts Batman on the hotel's rooftop, only for the former to escape via helicopter after Alfred calls the GCPD for backup. As Bane boards the helicopter, he fires a rocket at the Joker, launching him off the rooftop, but Batman saves his life and leaves him in police custody. The Joker is subsequently confined to Blackgate under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel, to whom he explains his past as the Red Hood and his obsession with Batman, which he developed after their fateful encounter.

In the Batcave, Alfred pleas with Bruce to forfeit his vigilantism out of fear for his safety. Bruce refuses and sets out to find Bane, only to discover that the latter had successfully deduced his secret identity. En route back to the Batcave, Batman is forced to stop the assassin Firefly from bombing the Gotham Pioneers Bridge, reluctantly working with Gordon to do so. Inside the Batcave, which has been attacked by Bane, Bruce finds a dying Alfred, but manages to resuscitate him using the Electrocutioner's shock gloves. In need of accomplices, Batman allies himself with Gordon to retake Blackgate Prison, which has been seiged by the Joker with Bane's help. When confronting the Joker, he offers Batman a choice: murder Bane and thus break his no-killing vow, or allow his heartbeat to charge the electric chair the Joker is sitting in, killing him instead. Batman uses the shock gloves to temporarily stop Bane's heart, and then defeats him after the latter injects himself with an overdose of his Venom steroid; as a side effect of the steroid, Bane suffers amnesia and forgets Batman's identity. Subsequently confronting the Joker in the prison's chapel, Batman refuses to kill him, and instead leaves him for the police. Gordon then calls off the effort to apprehend Batman, choosing to uphold the GCPD's collaboration with him to help the city in the future.

Throughout the rest of the night, Batman faces other individuals taking advantage of the chaos in Gotham, including Edward Nigma, a skilled engineer and computer hacker who maintains extortion files on various influential people; Anarky, a self-proclaimed political activist that seeks to punish corrupt government officials and corporations; Jervis Tetch, a master hypnotist and criminal who created a persona for himself based on the character of the Mad Hatter; and the last two of Black Mask's assassins, Deadshot and Shiva.

Encountering Mister Freeze

Further information: Batman: Arkham Origins § Additional content

One week later, while hosting a New Year's Eve party at Wayne Manor, Bruce witnesses an attack by a new villain calling himself Mr. Freeze, who abducts Ferris Boyle, the CEO of company GothCorp. After recovering the Batsuit from the Batcave, he rescues the hostages taken by the Penguin's men, who are aiding Freeze, and prevents them from burning down the manor. While tracking down Freeze, Batman learns that he made a deal with the Penguin to help him steal cryogenic weapons from GothCorp. Inside the GothCorp building, Batman witnesses Freeze reneging on his deal with the Penguin and freezing him in a wall of ice before fleeing with Boyle. Learning from the Penguin that the only way to get past the ice wall is to use a special drill his men have stored at a nightclub, Batman goes there and gains access using his recently finished Extreme Environment Batsuit (or XE Suit). After recovering the drill, Batman returns to GothCorp to retrieve a supercooled fluid required for the drill from the lab of scientist Victor Fries. While investigating Fries' frozen lab, he learns that Fries is Freeze, and that he was coerced by Boyle into creating cryogenic weapons for him in exchange for his terminally ill wife's, Nora, medical treatment. When Fries learned that Boyle never intended to uphold his end of the deal, he began to work on a cure himself, until Boyle caused a lab accident that altered Fries' metabolism and forced him to permanently wear a specially made suit intended to keep his body temperature at sub-zero levels.

Despite sympathizing with Freeze, Batman decides that he must stopped, and confronts him, just as Freeze is attempting to release Nora, who was cryogenically frozen to prolong her life. Batman ultimately defeats Freeze, but in the process is frozen in ice and temporarily incapacitated. Boyle manages to break free and begins to violently beat the downed Freeze, intending to kill both him and Nora. However, Batman breaks free of the ice and subdues Boyle, before saving Nora's life. In the aftermath, Boyle is arrested after Batman notifies the authorities of his crimes, and Freeze comes to respect the Dark Knight for giving him a second chance at saving his wife, despite being on opposite sides of the law.

Riot at Blackgate Penetentiary

Main article: Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate

Three months later, Batman has his first encounter with master thief Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, after the latter steals some encrypted files from a governmental building on behalf of her mysterious employers. Batman pursues and eventually subdues Catwoman, leaving her for the police. Two weeks later, James Gordon contacts Batman to request his help in containing a prison riot at Blackgate, which was made possible due to a sudden explosion. The inmates have overrun the prison, which has been taken over by the Joker, Black Mask, and the Penguin, each controlling a different section of the facility and seeking to eliminate the other two. During his investigation, Batman runs into Catwoman, who offers to assist him in exchange for a reduced sentence, and tells him that the inmates have taken hostages, who are being held in the prison's maximum security area: the Arkham Wing.

Eventually, Batman is able to subdue the Joker, Black Mask, and the Penguin, having altercations with several other inmates along the way, including Deadshot, who was hired separetely by the three to kill Batman; the monstrous revenant Solomon Grundy; and Bronze Tiger, the champion of a fighting tournament hosted by the Penguin. He also finds and rescues Warden Martin Joseph, and obtains the security codes needed to access the Arkham Wing. Upon entering however, he learns that Catwoman lied to him about the hostages and used him to reach her true target: a depowered Bane, whom she was hired to retrieve for unknown reasons. Batman is able to prevent the two's escape and defeats Catwoman, who is then taken into custody by Captain Rick Flag before she can reveal her employers' identity to Batman. Suspicious of Flag's motives, Batman places a tracker on the underbelly of his helicopter and proceeds to follow it, unaware that Flag and A.R.G.U.S. director Amanda Waller were behind the Blackgate explosion and the attempt to retrieve Bane, and that they have managed to pick up Deadshot and Bronze Tiger during the riot.

Continued activity

Over the following years, Batman continues to build his reputation as Gotham's protector and expand his inner circle of allies, working more closely with the GCPD and James Gordon (who eventually becomes Police Commissioner), recruiting and training Barbara Gordon to assist him as the superheroine Batgirl, and adopting Dick Grayson, a young circus performer whose parents were killed by a mob boss and who becomes Batman's first sidekick to operate under the alias Robin. However, Dick eventually abandons Batman and the mantle of Robin, opting to become the independent superhero Nightwing in the city of Blüdhaven, though he remains an important ally of the Bat-family.

During this time, Batman also faces new and more dangerous foes, including Pamela Isley, a former botanist who became the plant-controlling supervillain Poison Ivy; Dr. Jonathan Crane, a former psychiatrist operating under the alias "Scarecrow" who developed an hallucinogenic drug–dubbed "fear toxin"–to exploit people's phobias; Harvey Dent, Gotham's district attorney and Bruce's best friend who went insane after having half of his face hideously disfigured and developed a second, more violent personality dubbed "Two-Face"; Harleen Quinzel, who eventually fell for the Joker and was manipulated into becoming his sidekick Harley Quinn; and Ra's al Ghul, leader of the League of Assassins and father of Talia al Ghul, with whom Bruce has a brief romantic relationship. Additionally, some of Batman's past enemies reinvent themselves, such as Edward Nigma, who becomes the supervillain the Riddler as he continually attempts to prove his intellectual superiority by challenging Batman with various riddles and puzzles, and Catwoman, who slowly redeems herself as she enters an on-again, off-again relationship with Batman. Most of these rogues would be inarcerated at the old Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, which was reinstated in response to the increasing number of insane criminals in Gotham.

The Suicide Squad's assault on Arkham

Main article: Batman: Assault on Arkham

One night, Batman rescues the Riddler from an attempted assasination ordered by Amanda Waller before returning him to Arkham Asylum. Waller thereby assembles a strike team comprised of numerous wanted criminals—Harley Quinn, Black Spider, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, KGBeast, Killer Frost, and King Shark—to infiltrate the asylum and recover a thumbdrive in Riddler's cane, containing sensitive details on the history of the Task Force X program, otherwise known as the Suicide Squad. Harley commits a crime in order to lure Batman away from their activities, getting herself captured and imprisoned in Arkham. Batman is initially made unaware of this mission due to being diverted by security footage tampered with by the Squad, and focuses on fiding a dirty bomb hidden by the Joker somewhere in Gotham. However, he eventually discovers the ruse and confronts the Squad as they attempt to retrieve Riddler's cane and Harley. Batman defeats the Squad members one by one before seemingly being killed by Black Spider. Later on, Riddler hooks the Squad members (sans Black Spider) up to a machine capable of producing an electric shock that would fry the explosive devices embedded in their skins (placed there by Waller to ensure their obedience). Seeing the signals for the bombs fading away, Waller quickly activates them. Despite Harley, Deadshot and Killer Frost surviving, King Shark is killed due to his thick skin blocking the machine's electric current. When the team question why Black Spider didn't similarly die, he reveals himself to be Batman in disguise, with the real Black Spider having been killed by Waller moments earlier.

Batman demands answers from the Squad as to their intentions for being in Arkham, but is quickly attacked by the Joker, allowing the Squad to escape. As they flee, Batman deduces from Deadshot that Joker had the dirty bomb hidden within Harley's mallet. The Joker activates the bomb while subsequently releasing more inmates from their holding cells. During the breakout, Deadshot boards a helicopter to escape Arkham, with Batman sensing the heartbeats of the Joker and Harley from the same location, implicating them as stowaways. He pursues the three of them in the Batwing as Deadshot and Joker fight. As the helicopter crashes into a nearby building, Batman knocks out Harley and disarms the dirty bomb, whiile Deadshot pins Joker inside the helicopter as it falls into the ground and explodes.

In the aftermath, Batman confronts Waller over the incident. He clarifies that her actions allowed the Riddler to escape from Arkham, and warns her to discontinue the Task Force X program. Waller dismisses his warning and taunts that the Joker's body was not found in the helicopter crash, hinting at his survival.

New partners

During a confrontation between Batman and the Joker, a fifteen year old boy named Jason Todd intervenes, saving Batman's life and almost killing the Joker with his own gun before being stopped by the former. The incident causes Batman to develop an interest in Jason, and after a few months of observing him, he decides to adopt the young orphan and make him the second Robin. Jason presents a clear enjoyment and aptitude towards pursuing heroism much like his mentor, but also much of his aggressiveness. At one point during his tenure as Robin, Jason is alerted towards Joker's successful attempt to blow up a school filled with children, prompting him to disable his communication link and location tracer in an attempt to apprehend the Joker and die in an act of self-sacrifice. Upon tracking the villain to an abandoned wing of Arkham Asylum, Jason is captured and subsequently tortured for almost a year in an attempt to break his will and make him turn on Batman. This works, as Jason comes to hate his mentor, blaming him for what happened, but before he can reveal his true identity to the Joker, the latter shoots him. The Joker later sends video footage of his torture and shooting of Jason to Batman to torment him, who takes it as evidence that Jason died and stops searching for him.

Following Jason's presumed death, Batman finds another ward named Tim Drake, who was inspired by his heroics and was able to deduce his true identity. Tim subsequently becomes the third Robin and works closely with Barbara Gordon, with whom he enters a romantic relationship. However, Barbara's career as Batgirl would soon come to a tragic end after the Joker, in an attempt to torment her father, breaks into Barbara's apartment and shoots her in the spine, paralyzing her from the waist down. Despite this, Barbara retains her resolve to fight crime, and continues to assist the Bat-family remotely as the computer hacker Oracle.

Uprising on Arkham Island

Main article: Batman: Arkham Asylum

A decade into his crime fighting career, Batman apprehends the Joker following his latest attack on Gotham, returning him to Arkham Asylum. The Asylum houses multiple members of Joker's gang who were transferred from Blackgate Prison following a recent fire there. Batman accompanies him into the facility, as he believes the Joker allowed himself to be captured and has ulterior motives. Soon after, Harley Quinn takes control of the asylum's security, releasing most of the inmates, and a corrupted guard helps Joker break free from captivity, while also capturing Commissioner Gordon. The Joker threatens to detonate bombs he hid around Gotham City should anyone else enter Arkham, forcing Batman to work completely alone. While tracking Harley to rescue Gordon, Batman is exposed to Scarecrow's fear toxin, but is able to defeats his hallucinations before subduing Harley and freeing Gordon. The Joker then directs Batman to a captured Bane, being experimented on by asylum doctor Penelope Young, whom Batman previously rescued from the Joker's thugs. Batman defeats Bane after the Joker frees him, and retreats to a secret installation on the island, leading to a smaller Batcave where he restocks his gadgetry.

While there, he learns that the Joker has been working with Young to develop a serum called Titan—based on Bane's strength-augmenting Venom. Young intended to use it to help Arkham's patients survive more strenuous therapies, with the Joker himself funding her research in exchange for her producing an army of superhuman henchmen at his command; her refusal to hand over the formula necessitated the Joker to have himself brought back to the asylum to retrieve it. Batman is able to locate and destroy the Titan formula before rescuing Young from Victor Zsasz. However, an explosion untimely kills Young, and the Joker successfully retrieves the completed batches of the Titan serum.

Meanwhile, Harley releases Poison Ivy from her cell before she herself is imprisoned by Batman. Harley accidentally reveals to him that the Joker subplanted a discrete facility in the Arkham Botanical Gardens, dedicated to mass-producing the Titan serum, so Batman heads there, discovering that Titan was engineered through genetically modified plants. He further learns from Ivy that the spores required to create an antidote are found exclusively in Killer Croc's lair set up within the sewers. Afterwards, the Joker injects Ivy with Titan, augmenting her powers and causing her to ravage Arkham Island with giant mutant plants. En route to Croc, Batman encounters Scarecrow again, promptly pursuing him into the sewers before Croc attacks the latter, dragging him underwater. Batman subsequently subdues Croc while retrieving the spores required to synthesize the antidote, before returning to the Batcave. However, he is only able to create one dose of the cure before Ivy's plants breach the cave and destroy his equipment. Thus, Batman returns to Ivy and defeats her to halt the plants.

As the Joker completes the preparations for his "party", he invites Batman to the asylum visitor centre to confront him. There, the Joker reveals that he captured Gordon before attempting to shoot him with a dart containing the finished Titan serum. Batman intervenes, taking the hit for Gordon and successfully resisting its after effects. Upset, the Joker overdoses on Titan, mutating him into a hulking monster, and challenges Batman to a fight in a makeshift arena on the asylum's roof, inciting him to also induce himself with Titan. Batman takes the serum, refusing its transformation, and ultimately defeats the Titan-infused Joker. In the aftermath, those affected with Titan begin reverting to normal, including a recaptured Joker, who is thus re-confined within the asylum as the GCPD re-assume control of Arkham Island. As Gordon attempts to thank Batman, the latter overhears a call regarding an in-progress crime spearheaded by Two-Face and heads back to Gotham to stop it.

Arkham City incident

Main article: Batman: Arkham City

18 months after the Arkham Island uprising, Arkham Asylum's former warden Quincy Sharp becomes the Mayor of Gotham, taking sole credit for preventing the Joker's takeover of the facility. He publicly unveils plans to covert a sizable portion of the Gotham slums into a fortified, maximum security prison called Arkham City, under the supervision of psychiatrist Hugo Strange, who similarly expresses that facilities like Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Penetentiary are no longer suitable for housing the city's offenders. In protest, Bruce holds a press conference announcing his opposition to Arkham City's construction, only to be arrested and imprisoned within the city by TYGER mercenaries working for Strange. Strange confronts Bruce, revealing his knowledge of his identity as Batman, which he threatens to expose should Bruce attempt to stop his plan, code-named "Protocol 10". Bruce is then released into Arkham City's criminal populace, where he is quickly captured by the Penguin, though he manages to break free after beating him and his henchmen. He then contacts Alfred to airdrop his equipment to him, allowing Bruce to suit up as Batman.

Learning Catwoman has been taken captive by Two-Face, who hopes to gain respect among the prison ranks by murdering her, Batman saves her and subdues Two-Face. The Joker intervines, attempting to assassinate Catwoman himself before retreating, with Batman tracking him to his hideout in the Sionis Steelmill, suspecting the Joker may know of the truth behind Protocol 10. Upon reaching the hideout, the Joker ambushes and performs a blood transfusion on Batman, revealing that the unstable properties of the Titan formula he overdosed on 18 months prior, are gradually poisoning his body and will eventually kill him. Batman, now infected with the same disease, is also told that hospital staff in Gotham have similarly been poisoned with the Joker's infected blood, prompting him to seek out Mr. Freeze, desperate to save himself and innocent civilians. Freeze has been developing a cure, but was captured by the Penguin. Batman tracks the latter to his guarded museum, defeating him as well as a captive Solomon Grundy, before liberating Freeze.

Freeze reveals that his cure is rendered useless due to instability, with Batman deducing that the restorative properties of Ra's al Ghul's blood would be able to complete the formula. He tracks one of his disciples to his underground lair in the abandoned Wonder City, confronting Ra's, as well as Talia. After defeating Ra's, Batman obtains a blood sample and delivers it to Freeze, who completes the cure, but demands that Batman find his wife Nora, who has been taken by the Joker's men, in exchange for it. Batman refuses and while fighting Freeze for the cure, Harley Quinn steals it. Batman returns to the Joker, where he finds his health has been seemingly restored. While the two fight, Strange initiates Protocol 10, revealed to be a scheme to wipe out the entire population of Arkham City, thus destroying Gotham's criminal element. TYGER troops are ordered to execute inmates as Strange launches a missile strike from his base in Wonder Tower. A missile hits the steel mill, burying Batman in rubble. Before the Joker can take advantage of the situation, Talia arrives and offers him immortality in exchange for sparing Batman's life. After escaping with the help of Catwoman, Batman is convinced by Alfred to end Protocol 10 before pursuing Talia and the Joker.

Batman infiltrates Wonder Tower, apprehending Strange and disabling Protocol 10. Ra's al Ghul soon emerges, outing himself as the true mastermind behind Arkham City, and mortally wounds Strange for his failure to defeat Batman. As he dies, Strange activates "Protocol 11", causing Wonder Tower to self-destruct. After Ra's commits suicide to avoid capture, the Joker contacts Batman, threatening to kill Talia unless Batman meets him at the Monarch Theater. When Batman arrives, the Joker demands the cure from Batman but is impaled and seemingly killed by Talia while distracted. Talia admits to stealing the antidote from Harely, before a second Joker kills her, still stricken with the disease.

The healthy Joker that Talia impaled then reanimates into the shapeshifting Clayface, who is revealed to have been masquerading as a healthy Joker all along at the ailing villain's request. During Batman's battle with Clayface, Joker blows up the theatre floor, revealing that it is above Ra's' rejuvenating Lazarus Pit. After defeating Clayface, Batman drinks a portion of the antidote and destroys the Lazarus Pit before the Joker can use it. As Batman debates curing his foe, the Joker attacks him, inadvertently causing the antidote vial to smash. Batman admits that he would have saved him despite everything the Joker had done.The Joker finally succumbs to his illness and dies. Batman carries and places the Joker's body on the hood of a police car before leaving Arkham City in silence.

Batman later returns to Arkham City to deal with several loose ends, including saving Aaron Cash and his medical team from the Riddler; tracking down and subduing Victor Zsasz, who has taken hostages; finding Nora for Mr. Freeze; destroying the remaining canisters of the Titan formula on Arkham City's streets with the unexpected aid of Bane; confronting a mysterious stalker, who identifies himself as Azrael and warns Batman of a prophecy pertaining to his inevitable end; apprehending Deadshot, who was hired by Strange to assassinate political prisoners with sensitive information regarding Arkham City; subduing the Mad Hatter; and tracking down a serial killer, revealed to be Bruce's childhood friend Thomas "Tommy" Elliot, who has surgically reconstructed his face to resemble Bruce.

Harley Quinn's revenge

Further information: Batman: Arkham City § Downloadable content

Two weeks after the Joker's death, a devastated Harley Quinn plans to exact revenge on Batman, whom she holds responsible, and takes several GCPD officers hostage within the evacuated Arkham City to lure him into a trap. Batman, who has been acting differently since his nemesis' death, concerning his allies, responds to James Gordon's call for help and rescues some of the officers, but is taken captive by Harley. Robin later investigates Batman's disappearance and manages to free him and the remaining officers, after which Batman subdues Harley while Robin goes to disarm explosives the latter has planted throughout her hideout, but is unable to get to the last one in time. Believing Robin has been killed in the explosion, Batman lets his guard down and is almost killed by Harley with a concealed knife, but is saved by Robin. Choosing to hide his emotions, Batman coldly tells Robin that he is done there and leaves, leaving both Robin and Gordon to question whether Batman is fine.

Gotham City takeover

Main article: Batman: Arkham Knight

Nine months after the closure of Arkham City, on Halloween night, Scarecrow makes his return known by forcing a civilian evacuation of Gotham after threatening to unleash his potent new fear toxin, which allows the city's criminal populace to quickly take over. Hoping to stop the chaos, Batman tracks Scarecrow to a hideout where he rescues an imprisoned Poison Ivy, who refused to join Batman's other rogues in Scarecrow's plot. After Oracle identifies Ace Chemicals as the source of Scarecrow's toxin, Batman investigates the facility and discovers a large militia force being dispatched to occupy Gotham, led by the mysterious "Arkham Knight". Batman locates Scarecrow, who has transformed the entire building into a toxin bomb and reveals that he has kidnapped Oracle before escaping. Batman inhibits the bomb's blast radius before being confronted by a hallucination of the Joker, caused by Scarecrow's fear toxin and a disease Batman and four others were infected with after being given the Joker's contaminated blood via transfusion, which physically and mentally transforms the host into the Joker. Concealing his infection from his allies, Batman imprisoned the four other patients and tasked Robin with searching for a cure.

Now tormented by the Joker hallucination, frequently appears to taunt him and twist his perception of reality, Batman escapes from Ace Chemicals and informs James Gordon of his daughter's kidnapping, revealing that she has been secretly aiding his vigilantism for years. Gordon, feeling betrayed, leaves to find Scarecrow on his own. Batman then learns that Scarecrow recruited businessman Simon Stagg to build the "Cloudburst", a mass dispersal device for the fear toxin. Aboard Stagg's airship, Batman finds Scarecrow, but a dose of fear toxin allows the Joker's persona to temporarily assume control of Batman while the Arkham Knight extracts the Cloudburst. Recovering, Batman locates Oracle in Scarecrow's hideout, but she is exposed to the fear toxin and seemingly commits suicide in terror.

Meanwhile, Harley Quinn seizes Batman's makeshift base inside the Panessa film studio to rescue the "Joker-ized" patients. Batman and Robin capture Harley and the infected, but one of the patients, Henry Adams, kills the others before committing suicide, believing that Batman will become the perfect "Joker". Realizing that Batman is infected, Robin attempts to imprison him, but is instead imprisoned by Batman, who refuses to stop until Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight are brought to justice.

The Arkham Knight activates the Cloudburst, flooding the city with fear toxin. Batman destroys the drone carrying the Cloudburst and convinces Ivy to empower an ancient tree that can neutralize the toxin; she succeeds and saves Gotham, but the exertion kills her, while Batman's exposure to the toxin strengthens Joker's control over him. Batman pursues the Arkham Knight to a construction site to rescue a captured Gordon. The Knight reveals himself as Jason Todd, who survived his apparent death at the Joker's hands and seeks revenge on Batman for abandoning and replacing him. Batman defeats Jason, who escapes after refusing Batman's offer to help him recover. Batman and Gordon then confront Scarecrow on the building's roof, where Oracle is revealed to be alive, her suicide having been a hallucination. Batman rescues Oracle and returns her to the GCPD headquarters, but Scarecrow escapes with Gordon as a hostage. Using the remaining militia, Scarecrow assaults the GCPD to eliminate Batman's allies. Batman and Oracle neutralize the militia, but Scarecrow uses the distraction to kidnap Robin.

To save Robin and Gordon, Batman surrenders to Scarecrow and is taken to the ruins of Arkham Asylum. Scarecrow reveals Batman's true identity to the world on television, before repeatedly injecting Batman with the fear toxin to break him before the public. Batman and the Joker battle for control inside Batman's mind; Joker attempts to weaken Batman by recounting the people who have suffered and died because of Batman's crusade, but Batman triumphs and locks the pleading Joker away in his mind forever to be forgotten—the Joker's only fear. Jason returns to save Batman, who subdues Scarecrow with his own fear toxin.

For the rest of the night, Batman neutralizes other major threats around Gotham, which include stopping the Penguin's gunrunning operation with Nightwing's help; thwarting Two-Face's string of bank robberies; rescuing Catwoman from the Riddler; subduing Thomas Elliot, who attempted to impersonate Bruce to steal his wealth; capturing and curing scientist Kirk Langstrom, who accidentally turned himself into a monstrous bat-human hybrid; saving journalist Jack Ryder from the religious fanatic Deacon Blackfire; apprehending the serial killer Professor Pyg; capturing Firefly, who burned down several fire stations; uncovering Azrael's true identity and brainwashing by the Order of St. Dumas; rescuing three police officers kidnapped by the Mad Hatter; re-capturing Killer Croc following his escape from the Iron Heights Penitentiary; helping Mr. Freeze be reunited with Nora for the final time; stopping a civil war between two factions within the League of Assassins (one loyal to the resurrected Ra's al Ghul and the other to his daughter Nyssa); and dismantling the remaining militia operations in Gotham, overseen by Deathstroke, who was hired as a replacement for the Arkham Knight.

Once Gotham is safe, Gordon dispatches the police to reclaim the streets, while Batman activates the "Knightfall Protocol" to protect his loved ones; he destroys the Bat-Signal and returns to Wayne Manor, which is surrounded by journalist, eager to interview him now that they are aware of his true identity. As Batman and Alfred enter the manor, it suddenly explodes, seemingly killing them both.

A new myth

A year following the Scarecrow's staged coup and Bruce's disappearance, Gordon is elected the new Mayor of Gotham City, while his daughter Barbara becomes engaged to Tim Drake. While Gordon prepares to depart for their wedding reception, a mysterious figure resembling Batman emerges to apprehend two criminals attempting to mug a young boy's family in an alleyway. As the criminals condescend towards the cloaked figure, remarking that Batman is dead and they are not afraid, the figure suddenly transforms into a menacing, flaming bat-monster, who lunges towards the criminals as they scream in fear.

Corruption of the Justice League

Main article: Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

In other media

Film

• While still in pre-production, it was suggested that despite Ben Affleck's iteration of The Batman (2022) being centered on an original narrative, its plot would derive loosely from events in Batman: Arkham Asylum in addition to the comic book story Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth by Grant Morrison, which formed the basis of Arkham Asylum's story. Joe Manganiello, who was slated to portray Slade Wilson/Deathstroke in the film after making a cameo appearance in Justice League (2017) and its director's cut (2021), stated that the foundation for his character's story, relationship to Batman, and fight choreography was heavily inspired by the character's appearance in the Arkham series, namely Arkham Origins. However, upon Affleck's departure from the film as its star, director & screenwriter, Matt Reeves was hired to replace him, and discarded the script written by him and Geoff Johns in favor of starting from scratch, eliminating the film's original ties to the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and Deathstroke's role in the story entirely.

Video games

• In Injustice: Gods Among Us, alternate costumes for Batman, Catwoman, and the Joker, based on their appearances in Arkham City, are included in the Arkham City Skin Pack.

External links

• Bruce Wayne (Arkhamverse) on DC Database, an external wiki, a DC Comics wiki
• Bruce Wayne at Arkham Wiki
• Batman at Arkham Wiki

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