A Wishlist for Batman: Arkham Knight

written by Justin Prince (@prince_justin)

So, with the recent announcement of the forthcoming Batman: Arkham Knight, it looks like once again we'll get to don the cape and cowl of one of comics most iconic heroes. From the description this looks like it will be the final chapter in the "Arkham" story. This  is such a huge franchise so I doubt it will be the last Batman game with this engine, but as far as the stories that started with Batman: Arkham Asylum, it looks like the end. A lot has happened in the Arkham-verse, primarily with the surprising death of the Joker in Batman: Arkham City. This full circle tale of the bat looks to be the big climax with Gotham as the battleground. If you've meticulously scoured the world of Arkham City, you'd find little clues that hint to what was proven with this new game, Scarecrow will be the main villain. He'll unite the baddies of Gotham in a war to take down Batman and spread fear all over Gotham.

This looks to be the biggest game in the Arkham-verse so far, with being it being released on nextgen consoles, it's safe to expect something huge. So I've decided to make a little list, this list will be my wish list for what I hope to see when the game finally launches later this year (please no delays).

The Bat-Family

In Arkham City we got a chance to play as both Nightwing and Robin (Tim Drake) in challenge maps, Robin was even playable as the primary character in the spectacular Harley Quinn's  Revenge story based DLC. With this story looking like an all-out war, I'd love to see some of the extended Bat-Family get some screen time. More Nightwing and Robin would be awesome, and I'd definitely love to see more Catwoman, but one of my favorite characters (and personally my favorite Robin) is Jason Todd. I'd love to see Red Hood make an appearance and perhaps reconcile with Bruce in this story. The root of his disdain for Batman was that even though the Joker was the man who murdered him, Bruce could never bring himself to kill him... Sure, he didn't kill Joker in Arkham City, but with the clown prince of crime out of the picture, it isn't inconceivable that with the fate of Gotham hanging in the balance, Jason Todd would just sit this one out. Huntress is another character I love and isn't fleshed out in the Arkham-verse, aside from being so freaking hot, Huntress would add a fun variation in combat style if you got the chance to control her.

Red Hood/Jason Todd as he appears in the New 52

More Rogues

Batman has arguably one of the best rogues galleries in all of comic books. I'd like to see some of his other villains make an appearance. Batman: Arkham Origins brought us some obscure villains like Copperhead (though reimagined) and Electrocutioner, and even baddies like Hush played a strong role in a side quest during the Arkham City events, but it'd be great to see characters like Calendar Man show how ferocious he really can be or with the death of Talia al Ghul at the climax of Arkham City have her half sister Nyssa Raatko take her place at Ra's al Ghul's side. With the absence of Joker, a villain like The Ventriloquist could fill the "murderous insanity" quotient. While I like the Bane character, and by no means do I wish that he isn't included in the story, I'm a bit burned out on Bane battles. To fill that "big ass super powered baddie" quotient, someone like Blockbuster would be a welcome addition to the Arkham-rogues. I'm sure many other villains will be represented in the side quests so in the interests of brevity... Allow me to just list some of my villain wishes: Professor Pyg, Black Spider, Maxie Zeus, Jackanapes, Man Bat, and Cat Man.

a healthy heaping of villainy

The Court of Owls

One of my favorite Batman arcs in recent years was the Court of Owls stories included in the New 52. What a twist it could be if when the layers of Scarecrow's plan are peeled back, we see that the court was behind it all. While this is the end of the Arkham series of games, it could be the beginning of something bigger, especially with an illuminati-esque organization like the Court of Owls. This could serve as a launching point of a new series of stories for Batman video games plus I would revel in a battle with the Talons. The Arkham games stayed pretty true to the theme of madness, whether you were battling The Joker or Two-Face... Madness was the common denominator. Including the Court of Owls could add a whole new facet to Batman’s video game mythos and ensure the series to continue on beyond the tales of Arkham inmates.

a secret society of Gotham's most powerful and influential...

I still remember what it felt like the first time I played Batman: Arkham Asylum. Before this, I was forced to just get used to shitty games if I wanted to be the Batman. The opening sequence with Batman delivering Joker to Arkham coupled with the incomparable Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill behind their respective characters had me sold from the first scene. Never before has a game come along that really made you feel like Batman, and when I beat down my first enemy in Batman: Arkham Asylum, I smiled to myself and said "I'm the goddamn Batman," every boy's dream... Am I right

check the trailer and get ready!