Batman’s Arkham Games: 10 Things Only Die-Hard Fans Know About The Series

The Batman Arkham franchise has been winning over fans since 2009 with each game filled with several Easter Eggs and behind-the-scenes buzz.

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Starting with 2009’s Arkham Asylum, the Batman Arkham games have revitalized not only Batman’s representation in video games but the genre of superhero games in general. With high-end graphics and cinematic storylines, the games have impressed both loyal fans of the Dark Knight as well as newly-converted ones. The success of the Arkham games led to Injustice: Gods Among Us and Marvel’s Spider-Man.

Given the attention to detail that the games’ creators put in the world-building, it is not surprising to find particular references and Easter Eggs that only dedicated fans would be able to find. Along with in-game details, some behind-the-scenes facts again might not be common knowledge for all.

Arkham Knight’s Director Makes A Secret Cameo

In the prologue of Arkham Knight, Officer Owens is spotted entering a diner while a man passes him after turning away from the bar. The latter is created in the likeness of the game’s director Sefton Hill. He has been involved as director in the main Batman Arkham games except for Origins.

If the blink-and-miss cameo wasn’t enough, modder Tchi6 created a mesh-swap that replaces Batman with Hill and even allows players to play as him.

References To Other Heroes In Arkham Knight

The Batman Arkham games rely on Easter Eggs to reference heroes and villains from the Batman mythos but Arkham Knight, in particular, is filled with plenty of mentions of Batman’s Justice League peers.

A locker in the ACE Chemicals includes a locker with the name Ray Palmer written on it along with Atom’s symbol spray-painted. Then, an abandoned building in Founder’s Island seems to belong to the “paranormal investigator” known as John Constantine. In the same location, a building across Wayne Towers seems to represent the Gotham Branch of Queen Industries, the company owned by Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow.

Troy Baker’s Multiple Voice Roles In The Franchise

Following Mark Hamill’s departure, noted voice actor Troy Baker was hired to voice the Joker in Arkham Origins. He returned in Arkham Knight voicing the titular antagonist. However, this franchise wasn’t his first tryst with Batman as he even voiced the Dark Knight in the graphic adventure video games The Telltale Series and The Enemy Within along with several LEGO Batman video games.

Other Batman-related roles in the Arkham franchise include voicing Tim Drake, Two-Face, and Nightwing in Arkham City.

The Release Dates Coincided With Both Old And New Batman Movies

Even though the Arkham games follow their continuity, they still share connections to the live-action and the animated Batman films through Easter Eggs and even release dates.

In the case of 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight, the game was released on June 23rd, the same release date as that of Tim Burton’s first Batman film. As for its predecessor Arkham City, the game’s release was planned on October 18th, the same day when the 2011 movie Batman: Year One was also released on Blu-ray and DVD.

Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin Could Crash The Screen

The biggest fear that a gamer can have is the game freezing or crashing without any progress being saved. Rocksteady tests this particular fear in Arkham Asylum.

Scarecrow’s fear toxin can lead to three Nightmare scenarios, the first being Batman being alone and unable to save the ones he loves. The second Nightmare finds him reliving the deaths of his parents. However, the third one is centered upon the player’s worst fear. So, when players come under the influence of the toxin for the third time, the game screen pretends to crash all of a sudden. This is, however, just a trick, and the progress is thankfully saved.

Similarities Between Arkham Knight And A Cancelled Batman Movie

Instead of the usual choice being the Joker, the main villain in Batman: Arkham Knight is the titular character along with Scarecrow and Harley Quinn. Even though the Joker doesn’t explicitly appear in the game, Scarecrow’s fear toxin allows Batman to hallucinate him (the reason being the presence of Joker’s blood in his system).

This detail is strangely similar to the canceled project Batman: Unchained was to be Joel Schumacher’s third Batman movie, intended as a darker sequel to Batman & Robin. Not much is known about this production barring the fact that Scarecrow and Harley were to serve as the primary antagonists. According to CBR, the movie was also to have a major hallucination scene that would involve Jack Nicholson’s Joker returning.

Arkham Asylum Won A Guinness Record

Even though the main installments have drawn overwhelmingly positive reviews upon release, Arkham Asylum drew such a positive consensus on a universal level that it found its place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

As the 2009 press release from Rocksteady stated, the game was awarded the record for “Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever” with an average score of 91.67 from all over the world. Interestingly, the official Guinness site now finds the 2015 release Arkham City to be the most acclaimed superhero game with an average score of 95.94.

Several DC Animated Universe Voice Actors Reprised Their Roles

When it comes to the voice talents, the games celebrate the legacy of the DC Animated Universe, particularly Batman: The Animated Series. While it is common knowledge that Kevin Conroy reprised his role as Batman and Mark Hamill returned as the Joker, the two are joined by several other alumni from the show.

For instance, Harley Quinn was voiced by Arleen Sorkin in Arkham Asylum. Robert Costanzo reprised his role as Detective Harvey Bullock in Arkham Origins after playing the character in Batman, Superman, Static Shock, and The New Adventures of Batman. Similarly, Origins saw CCH Pounder returning as Amanda Waller after having voiced the character in Justice League Unlimited.

Veteran Batman Writer Paul Dini Wrote The First Two Installments

Screenwriter and comic book writer Paul Dini has been involved with several DC titles such as Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Beyond. Such was Dini’s influence on the character that he collaborated with Rocksteady Studios to pen the storyline for Arkham Asylum as well as Arkham Knight.

For the latter, he even wrote a five-issue comic miniseries set in the same timeline as the game. If players pay closer attention to Arkham City, they will hear Viki Vale mentioning a building called “Dini Towers”, a clear reference to the writer.

The Franchise Spawned One Movie And Several Book Tie-Ins

Although the games never received a film adaptation, the animated DC movie Batman: Assault on Arkham was set in the Arkhamverse. Despite mentioning the caped crusader in the title, Batman is reduced to a supporting role as the main plot involves the Suicide Squad recovering a secret file from Arkham Asylum.

The movie aside, each of the four main games received comic tie-ins while Arkham Knight even spawned two novels. The Riddler’s Gambit served as a prequel to the game while Teen Titans stalwart Marv Wolfman also authored an official novelization.

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