Batman: Arkham City

Batman owes his enemies a debt of gratitude. His criminal counterparts are often so outlandishly ridiculous that a grown man who wears a cap and cowl seems almost normal in comparison. Aside from obvious offenders like Two-Face, The Joker, and Catwoman, Batman’s rogues gallery is filled with some of the weirdest, craziest, and just plain strange folks this side of Dick Tracy.

 

Here are some of Batman’s most bizarre enemies.

Before being committed at Arkham Asylum, Warren White was a shady investor. While at the asylum, White was beaten up and thrown into a freezer, where frostbite destroyed his face and turned his skin white. The Great White Shark was born.

He looks nothing like a shark, great, white, or otherwise.

 

Rocksteady has their own interpretation of the character. Here's their version from Batman: Arkham Asylum's character-bio section, along with the asylum's psychological profile:

A crooked financier who stole millions of dollars, Warren White thought he'd scored a legal victory when his insanity plea went through. But when he got to Arkham Asylum, he realized his mistake; driven insane by the other inmates, he was also disfigured by an encounter with Mr. Freeze that left him without hair, a nose, ears, or lips. Calling himself the Great White Shark, he filed his teeth into fangs to more perfectly resemble his new namesake. Putting his financial skills to use, he has become a major player in Gotham's underground crime scene, in running a number of rackets from his cell in Arkham.

 

From the files of Dr. Penelope Young

P.26-27

The Great White Shark

Real Name: Warren White

BIT A GUARD LAST WEEK!

 

Psychological Profile

At best a mild psychopath upon admittance to the asylum, White has graduated into a full-blown case of antisocial personality disorder, partly due to maltreatment at the hands of his fellow inmates. After severe facial disfigurements by Mr. Freeze left him without lips, nose, ears, or hair,* White filed down his teeth in an attempt to further differentiate himself from others. His sense of self is now completely dependent upon his identity as a dangerous criminal.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Some of the guards are convinced that he is running criminal rackets out of the asylum. This has no bearing on his treatment and could provide valuable data regarding his condition.

Karl Courtney was shunned by his family, so he wore a pirate outfit and caused trouble with a cutlass. He didn’t have any powers, and the most interesting things about him could fit on a coathanger. He died.

Jervis Tetch was obsessed with Lewis Carroll, dressing like the Mad Hatter and creating a variety of hat-based mind-control devices. In his first appearance, he tried to steal a trophy from a yacht club. That’s probably the most dignified thing that he has ever done.

 

Rocksteady has their own interpretation of the character. Here's their version from Batman: Arkham Asylum's character-bio section, along with the asylum's psychological profile:

Obsessed from a young age with Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Jervis Tetch, an expert hypnotist, embraced a delusion that he was in the incarnation of a character in the story, the Mad Hatter. Using his skills for mesmerism, the Mad Hatter has committed many crimes, often themed around the book that inspired him and his love of hats and headgear, going so far as to implant his hats with mind-control chips to amplify his hypnosis skills. Above all other headwear, however, he covets Batman's distinctive cowl, and will stop at nothing to acquire it.

 

From the files of Dr. Penelope Young

P.24-25

The Mad Hatter

Real Name: Jervis Tetch

DOSAGE SHOULD BE HEAVILY INCREASED.

 

Psychological Profile

Tetch is a classic delusional who also displays an obsessive ideation based on hats. He believes that he is the true-life incarnation of the Mad Hatter from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Tetch's skills as a hypnotist and his frankly inexplicable talent for inventions involving mind control make him at times a dangerous patient to treat, or they would for a less stable and insightful doctor than myself.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Tetch is completely unmanageable when forced to bare his head, so the regulation of Arkham patient uniform rules have been relaxed in this area to facilitate his treatment.

Superman has Bizarro, so it only makes sense that Batman has Batzarro. Wayne Bruce, the world’s worst detective, is first seen shooting couples walking down Crime Alley. Later, it’s revealed that Batzarro was created by the Joker. It figures.

Arnold Wesker’s parents were killed by a truck carrying department-store dummies in front of young Wesker’s eyes. After being incarcerate for killing a man in a bar fight, the meek Wesker created a dummy named Scarface. The pair became powerful Gotham drug bosses who ran their operation from a nightclub called…The Ventriloquist Club. Eventually someone shot Wesker in the head and killed him, though he’s since been resurrected. Comics.

 

Rocksteady has their own interpretation of the character. Here's their version from Batman: Arkham Asylum's character-bio section, along with the asylum's psychological profile:

Arnold Wesker was a timid orphan whose deep repression erupted in a barroom brawl, resulting in him being sent to Blackgate Prison. There he encountered the puppet Scarface, and promptly murdered the man who'd carved the puppet. The two are now inseparable, with Scarface directing a series of criminal activities. While most believe that Wesker is simply acting out a second personality through the puppet, Wesker sees himself as a reluctant lackey who merely does his puppet's bidding.

 

From the files of Dr. Penelope Young

P.16-17

The Ventriloquist

Real Name: Arnold Wesker

HOW DOES HE MAKE THE BILABIAL SOUNDS? IT’S UNCANNY.

 

Psychological Profile

Wesker is a very special case; previously he was a classic example of avoidant personality disorder, which intensified into a violent outbreak that led to his incarceration at Blackgate Prison. While there, he graduated into a fully realized delusion that his ventriloquist dummy, "Scarface", is an independent personality exerting control over him. It is possible that Wesker is a legitimate example of multiple personality disorder. To probe this further, I've requested that he no longer be separated from his dummy during the treatment sessions.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

It can be very difficult to question Wesker due to constant interruptions from "Scarface".

 

Weskers delusion has led him to create a complicated backstory for "Scarface", whose personality Wesker seems to have created from poorly written, old-fashioned gangster films.

Roscoe Chiara was an artist commissioned to paint a portrait of a chemical-plant owner. The newly developed paints used rendered Chiara colorblind. As revenge, Chiara stole art from his patron. Batman caught him.

Accidents happen in Gotham City, particularly those that leave their victims able to take on the form of others. Several people have suffered from various maladies that left their features malleable and taken on the name of Clayface.

 

Rocksteady has their own interpretation of the character. Here's their version from Batman: Arkham Asylum's character-bio section, along with the asylum's psychological profile:

Initially an actor in horror films, Karlo went mad when he learned a classic film of his was to be remade with a different actor in the lead role. He took on the mask of the film's villain, Clayface, and killed several of the remake's cast and crew before being stopped by Batman and Robin. Later, Karlo joined the Mud Pack, an alliance of shape-changing, mutated villains who had subsequently used the name Clayface. While that group was defeated, Karlo tricked his allies and injected himself with the essences of several of them, becoming a superhuman imbued with the abilities to change shape, melt others into protoplasm with a touch, and mimic the powers of heroes or villains he copies.

 

From the files of Dr. Penelope Young

P.20-21

Clayface

Real Name: Basil Karlo

STRONG ESCAPE RISK!

 

Psychological Profile

While his bizarre ability to shape-change opens him up to the obvious-if controversial-diagnosis of multiple personality disorder, Karlo seems instead to be suffering from borderline personality disorder, with a special emphasis on identity disturbance. He is difficult to pin down on any subject, and defends his wild changes in affect as evidence of his dramatic abilities, which he considers to be wildly underrated. Rarely does he take his own shape, but frequently mimics me when I attempt to interview him.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

His identity is at risk of splintering, due to the growing frequency of his adopting the identities of others to the exclusion of taking on his own.

 

I find his imitation of me to be especially unflattering; I am most certainly not the bitter, calculating academic he attempts to portray me as.

As a kid, Charles Brown was obsessed with kites, and he took that obsession with him in his criminal career. He dazzled his enemies with swarms of tiny kites. Yeah.

With a name like Humphry Dumpler, it’s easy to say that this guy’s fate was sealed. Dumpler was obsessed with figuring out how things worked, though his attempts at repairs usually left things worse off than before. He was sentenced to Arkham Asylum after police discovered that he had torn his abusive grandmother to pieces and was trying to put her back together.

 

Rocksteady has their own interpretation of the character. Here's their version from Batman: Arkham Asylum's character-bio section, along with the asylum's psychological profile:

An obese, bald man, nicknamed "Humpty Dumpty" for his egg-like form, Humphry Dumpler is obsessed with taking things apart and putting them back together. His crimes at first were minor break-ins, leading to small mechanical items to no longer functioning due to Dumpler's inability to adequately reassemble them after taking them apart. But soon his obsession grew to the point that major disasters occurred in Gotham, and Dumpler's crimes also extended to a gruesome attempt to "fix" his abusive grandmother by dismembering her and then attempting a Frankenstein-like reassembly. At Arkham he is a model inmate, his quiet nature and imposing physique inuring him to the madness surrounding him.

 

From the files of Dr. Penelope Young

P.32-33

Humpty Dumpty

Real Name: Humphry Dumpler

ALL CELL FURNITURE NEEDS EXTRA REINFORCEMENT

 

Psychological Profile

Developmentally disabled, with an IQ of just under 70 and symptoms of emotional retardation and regression, Dumpler is also extremely obese. Dumpler's most intriguing mental disorder is his obsessive-compulsive fixation on fixing broken items. This manifested itself most notably in a fascinating (albeit horrific) attempt to "fix" an abusive relative through dismemberment and reassembly.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

His imposing physique intimidates many orderlies, guards, and inmates, but his simple mental state makes him easy to manipulate and control, so I find no reason to be afraid of him.

Peter Merkel wasn’t just double jointed, he was triple jointed. This allowed him to sneak into small spaces and rob stores and banks while they were closed. Eventually he disguised himself as a large doll and pushed the Flash into an aquarium with an octopus. This really happened.

Arkham Asylum may have blown gamers away last year, but to call the Caped Crusader’s video game history spotty would be generous. While we’re all eagerly awaiting Arkham City, let’s take a look at the road Batman has traveled in an effort to get his video game justice.

 

Batman: The Video Game

Publisher: SunSoft

Developer: SunSoft

Platform: NES

Year of Release: 1990

 

This early Batman game shows off a side of the character we’re not accustomed to. Batman hopped across platforms with the grace and ease of a ninja, wall jumping his way through a loose interpretation of Tim Burton’s film. Batman punches his arm silly as he battles guys on jetpacks, guys with flamethrowers, and robots. Also, Batman is purple.

 

Batman

Publisher: Atari

Developer: Numega

Platform: Arcade

Year of Release: 1990

 

The arcade version of Tim Burton’s first Batman game is probably the most faithful way to play through the story. The plot follows that of the film (though with considerably more punching), and digitized stills tell the story. It’s primitive by today’s standards, but it’s effective in its own old-school way. The gameplay is pretty stiff, and the platforming sections only serve to highlight just how rigid Batman moves. Still, at the time of its release it made console players envious for its impossibly large and detailed sprites and scratchy voice samples.

 

Batman: Revenge of the Joker

Publisher: Sunsoft

Developer: Sunsoft

Platform: Genesis

Year of Release: 1992

 

Batman put on his concrete boots when he suited up for this Genesis game. If Sunsoft erred by making Batman a tad too nimble in his NES outing, this Genesis follow up is a plodding attempt at course correction. The Dark Knight battles generic goons with the help of an arm-mounted weapon, which shoots a variety of odd-trajectoried beams and other energy attacks. This is one of the reasons players voiced skepticism when Rocksteady announced their intentions to make a new Batman game. We’ve been burned before, you see…

 

Batman Returns

Publisher: Konami

Developer: Konami

Platform: SNES

Year of Release: 1993

 

Fans of Final Fight style brawlers found plenty to like with the Super Nintendo version of Batman Returns. Loosely telling the story of the film, players controlled Batman as he punched, kicked and Bataranged his way toward his final battle against the fiendish Penguin. Highlights included jump-kicking clowns off of motorcycles, throwing enemies into background elements like shop windows, and grabbing two enemies simultaneously and smacking their heads together. (Interestingly enough, that last move makes a return in Batman: Arkham City. Hmmm…) Sega published Genesis and Sega CD versions of the game, though they were more platform oriented. This was an era in which license holders would sell rights on a platform by platform basis, so it wasn’t uncommon for Nintendo fans to play completely different versions of games with the same title as their Sega counterparts.

 

The Adventures of Batman & Robin

Publisher: Konami

Developer: Konami

Platform: SNES

Year of Release: 1994

 

Based on Batman: The Animated Series, The Adventures of Batman & Robin did a fantastic job of bringing the television show’s interpretation of the character to gaming. While it followed a side-scrolling format, the game added some clever puzzles and plenty of opportunities for the Caped Crusader to draw from his impressive arsenal of gadgets. Just about everyone from Batman’s rogues gallery showed up in the game, including Clayface, Man-Bat, and the Riddler. The Joker is one of the first enemies Batman battles, in a Mode 7-filled roller coaster clash. Genesis and Sega CD versions of the game were developed by Clockwork Tortoise and released a year later. Those versions added co-op, with the second player taking control of Robin. There were also side-scrolling Batwing sections, which are basically straight-up shooters.

 

Batman Forever: The Arcade Game

Developer: Iguana

Publisher: Acclaim

Platforms: Playstation, Saturn, Arcade

Year of release: 1996

 

Acclaim was never known for putting out AAA titles, and Batman Forever: The Arcade Game definitely didn’t change their reputation. It was a sidescrolling brawler in the vein of Final Fight, only way more incomprehensible. Everything moved way too fast, attack animations typically consisted of two or three frames, Batman would occasionally shrink or gain lightning powers, and the announcer sounded like the Mortal Kombat guy with a mouthful of marbles. Arcade beat-em-ups are usually a blast, but this one just had way too much going on at once.

 

Batman & Robin

Developer: Probe

Publisher: Acclaim

Platform: Playstation

Year of release: 1998

 

This game is based on the second of two neon-soaked Joel Schumacher Batman films, which is widely regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. Based on how it turned out, it seems that the game was trying to be the video game version of its source material. If Resident Evil controlled like a tank on the PSone, Batman & Robin controls like a tugboat in molasses. It featured an incredibly cumbersome control scheme that required the player to switch between an exploration and fighting modes, as well as laughably bad vehicle sections. There have been many bad Batman games, but this one is a definite contender for the absolute worst. At least it does its namesake proud.

 

Batman: Vengeance

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Publisher: Ubisoft

Platforms: Playstation 2, Gamecube, Xbox

Year of release: 2001

 

Released in 2001, this PS2 title was based on the animated series The New Batman Adventures. While it wasn’t as abysmal as the Dark Knight’s PSone titles, it was nothing to write home about either. Blending third-person exploration and combat with a first-person aiming mode, Vengeance was at least trying to do something new with the license. Despite having access to the grappling hook, you could only connect to the occasional point marked by a specific insignia, denying gamers any feeling of real freedom. It’s far from the worst Batman game, but it certainly isn’t the best.

 

Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Publisher: Ubisoft

Platforms: Playstation 2, Gamecube, Xbox

Year of release: 2003

 

Two years after Vengeance, this title extended the roster and omitted the awkward first-person feature from its predecessor. Not only limited to Batman this time around, players were given access to Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing as well. Rise of Sin Tzu operated as a standard beat-em-up, resembling titles like Fighting Force and Final Fight more than Batman: Vengeance. While the character options were expanded, they all felt very similar, with speed and strength being the only differing stats. Co-op play and upgradable movesets did little to remedy the monotony of this cookie cutter beat-em-up.

 

Batman: Dark Tomorrow

Developer: HotGen

Publisher: Kemco

Platforms: Gamecube, Xbox

Year released: 2005

 

Batman Begins

Developer: Eurocom

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Systems: Playstation 2, Gamecube, Xbox

Year released: 2005

 

Based on Christopher Nolan’s 2005 reboot of the film franchise, Batman Begins managed to rise above the quality of the previous Playstation titles, but that doesn’t say a whole lot. It's an average game, with much of the gameplay resembling the Splinter Cell series. At the outset, you’re navigating through a burning building and learning how to stealthily take out guards, just like Sam Fisher’s first outing. Batman is even equipped with optic cables that can be used to peer under doorways. It tries to emulate the feel of being the Caped Crusader by encouraging the use of fear and the environment to defeat your enemies, but this attempt falls flat. By blatantly showing the player what environmental elements can be utilized, any feeling of discovery is stripped from this game. The ideas presented in Batman Begins sound fun on paper, but the end product doesn’t live up to what it could have been.