Rocksteady Studios debuted the first trailer for its new game Batman: Arkham Knight last Tuesday. By Internet standards, the video is old news. Since fans have had over a week to digest the next-gen-fueled spectacle, I think it’s time we attempt a more in-depth analysis of it. Rather than speculate on the game’s plot or our collective geek-out over the trailer, let’s investigate the deeper issue of Batman’s characterization in the Arkham video game series.
The nature of any cross-media adaptation is that the end product is an accumulation of traits defined over time. For a property like Batman that has been (re)adapted numerous times since the early 1940s, this basic truth is all but hitting us over the head with an onomatopoeic “BOP!” While similar in some ways, each iteration has been slightly varied, a necessary byproduct to a character that has evolved along with the culture that spawned it.
The Batman featured in the trailer for Arkham Knight is a collection of representations dating back to Tim Burton’s 1989 film version. A voiceover from Bruce Wayne’s late father plays through the majority of the video. I’m intrigued at how many portrayals of Batman still find creative ways to display his eternal struggle with that one, fateful night on which he was robbed of his parents. But his more noticeable traits are the physical ones, and for this, Rocksteady depicts a fully black-armored Batman for the first time in its proposed trilogy of games.
It’s a notable departure from the lightweight, Nolan-esque Batman outfit featured in Warner Bros. Montreal’s Arkham Origins this past year. Though the modified costume lacks the eye-catching yellow emblem (meant to distract thugs with firearms) of its comic book counterpart, it puts our hero in a position to do battle with some of his tougher adversaries. Two-Face and Penguin’s thugs are effortlessly handled in the trailer, and I am anxious to see what other challenges are thrown at this darkly clad Dark Knight.
It looks like transportation won’t be a problem for Batman either. If rumors are true, players will have access to the Batmobile for the first time in the franchise’s history. Most references to Batman’s signature vehicle still lean toward the version driven in the campy 1960s television series starring Adam West. As the Christopher Nolan film series has become an endless source of reference for recent iterations of Batman, the vehicle we see in Arkham Knight is very close to the tank-like “Tumbler” we saw in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Apparently, the Batmobile will be the only drivable vehicle in the game. If its usefulness is anything close to what is featured in the trailer, players will have a huge asset at their disposal.
Another mystery of this latest outing is an exact setting. Beginning with Arkham Asylum in 2009, Rocksteady has done a fine job framing the story in a manageable space. The sequel allowed players to explore a limited, walled-in section of Gotham City functioning as a prison. Arkham Knight looks like it may be set in a similar environment, but the aftermath of Arkham City’s conclusion may force the story line to another location. Recent reports state that Gotham has been separated into three islands and will include a space five times larger than Arkham City.
What has most fans talking is the possible identity of Arkham Knight’s main antagonist. Contrary to many fans’ first impressions, the game’s title is not a reference to Batman. Early reports suggested that we may finally see Hush take center stage. After three games of The Joker as a primary villain, Hush would be a welcome change.
I’m surprised at how underused he has become since his 2003 debut in the pages of Batman. In this hugely popular story line, Hush allies himself with just about every rogue in the Batman mythos to give the hero his ultimate physical and mental challenge. His identity is revealed to be Thomas Elliot, a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne who had recently returned to Gotham after a lengthy absence. To make matters worse, Elliot is fully aware of his former friend’s alter ego and uses this knowledge to his advantage.
Though the true mastermind of the overall story line shockingly turns out to be The Riddler, Hush easily steals the show. Future story lines in the Gotham Knights series fleshed out his backstory, and many fans appreciated his role as a sort of anti-Batman, a twisted reflection who actually orchestrated his own parents’ murder. Despite Hush’s positive reception, he was scrapped from appearing in The Batman animated series that ran from 2004 to 2008 on Kids’ WB, instead replaced by Rumor, voiced by Ron Perlman.
It was not until the game Arkham City that Hush made his first real appearance outside of comics. As an added bonus, his voice work was done by Kevin Conroy. It is without a doubt that Conroy’s long tenure voicing Batman allowed him to emphasize the characters’ antithetical relationship. In the game, their shared history is alluded to, but this version of Hush remains unaware that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person. It would be phenomenal to see Hush take the spotlight and lead a similar “villains united” campaign against Batman in the upcoming game. Perhaps it is Hush’s voice we hear issuing an ominous warning to Gotham in the trailer’s opening frames?
All of this is, of course, speculation. And though the footage we have so far is quite impressive, I urge viewers to keep in mind that none of it features anything from the actual game, as developers prefer to save that footage for later previews. It’s been intriguing to see the video game trailer evolve into something so theatrical. With visuals this impressive, it’s no wonder Batman’s latest adventure will be released solely for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. (Sorry, 360 and PS3 owners: it’s time to upgrade.) Hopefully, Rocksteady’s direct involvement with this sequel will help fans get rid of the sour taste Arkham Origins left in its wake.
Batman: Arkham Knight is slated for an October 2014 release.