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| StoryTitle1 = A Serious House on Serious Earth |
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| ⚫ | |||
| + | ===Plot Overview=== |
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| + | The inmates of Arkham Asylum have taken over Gothams detention center for the criminally insane on April Fools Day, demanding Batman in exchange for their hostages.Accepting their demented challenge, Batman is forced to live and endure the personal hells of the Joker, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Two-Face and many other sworn enemies in order to save the innocents and retake the prison.During his run through this absurd gauntlet, the Dark Knights own sanity is placed in jeopardy. |
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| + | ===Story Summary=== |
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| ⚫ | The story opens with a flashback sequence featuring [[Amadeus Arkham (New Earth)|Amadeus Arkham]], the architect and first administrator of [[Arkham Asylum]], detailing Arkham's renovation of the family manor into an asylum following the death of his mother Elizabeth and his subsequent inheritance of the property. |
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On April 1 Commissioner Gordon informs Batman that the patients of Arkham Asylum have taken over the building, and will murder the staff unless Batman agrees to meet with them. Among the hostages are a young woman named Pearl, who works in the kitchens; the current Administrator, Dr. Cavendish; and Dr. Ruth Adams, a therapist. The patients are led by Black Mask and The Joker, who kills a guard to spur Batman to obey his wishes. Two-Face, meanwhile, has degenerated even further into madness as a result of Adams' well-intentioned therapy; she replaced his trademark coin with a 6-sided die, and then with a tarot deck of cards rendering him incapable of making simple decisions such as going to the bathroom. |
On April 1 Commissioner Gordon informs Batman that the patients of Arkham Asylum have taken over the building, and will murder the staff unless Batman agrees to meet with them. Among the hostages are a young woman named Pearl, who works in the kitchens; the current Administrator, Dr. Cavendish; and Dr. Ruth Adams, a therapist. The patients are led by Black Mask and The Joker, who kills a guard to spur Batman to obey his wishes. Two-Face, meanwhile, has degenerated even further into madness as a result of Adams' well-intentioned therapy; she replaced his trademark coin with a 6-sided die, and then with a tarot deck of cards rendering him incapable of making simple decisions such as going to the bathroom. |
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Batman returns Two-Face's coin back from Dr. Adams, stating that it should be up to Two-Face to decide his fate. Two-Face then declares that if the coin lands scratched side up they kill Batman, otherwise they let him go. Two-Face flips the coin and declares Batman free. Two-Face then looks at the moon and it is revealed that the coin landed scratched side up. |
Batman returns Two-Face's coin back from Dr. Adams, stating that it should be up to Two-Face to decide his fate. Two-Face then declares that if the coin lands scratched side up they kill Batman, otherwise they let him go. Two-Face flips the coin and declares Batman free. Two-Face then looks at the moon and it is revealed that the coin landed scratched side up. |
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| + | |||
| + | ===Reception=== |
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| + | IGN Comics have said; "Arkham Asylum is unlike any other Batman book you've ever read and one of the finest superhero books to ever grace a bookshelf." It was ranked #4 on a list of the 25 greatest Batman graphic novels, behind [[The Killing Joke]], [[The Dark Knight Returns]], and [[Year One]]. |
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| Editor1_1 = Karen Berger |
| Editor1_1 = Karen Berger |
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Revision as of 17:50, 14 September 2010
The moon is so beautiful. It's a big silver dollar, flipped by God. And it landed scarred side up, see? So He made the world mad. 
- — Two-Face
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is a one-shot published in 1989.
Synopsis for "A Serious House on Serious Earth"
Plot Overview
The inmates of Arkham Asylum have taken over Gothams detention center for the criminally insane on April Fools Day, demanding Batman in exchange for their hostages.Accepting their demented challenge, Batman is forced to live and endure the personal hells of the Joker, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Two-Face and many other sworn enemies in order to save the innocents and retake the prison.During his run through this absurd gauntlet, the Dark Knights own sanity is placed in jeopardy.
Story Summary
The story opens with a flashback sequence featuring Amadeus Arkham, the architect and first administrator of Arkham Asylum, detailing Arkham's renovation of the family manor into an asylum following the death of his mother Elizabeth and his subsequent inheritance of the property.
On April 1 Commissioner Gordon informs Batman that the patients of Arkham Asylum have taken over the building, and will murder the staff unless Batman agrees to meet with them. Among the hostages are a young woman named Pearl, who works in the kitchens; the current Administrator, Dr. Cavendish; and Dr. Ruth Adams, a therapist. The patients are led by Black Mask and The Joker, who kills a guard to spur Batman to obey his wishes. Two-Face, meanwhile, has degenerated even further into madness as a result of Adams' well-intentioned therapy; she replaced his trademark coin with a 6-sided die, and then with a tarot deck of cards rendering him incapable of making simple decisions such as going to the bathroom.
Batman is forced into a game of hide and seek, and told he has one hour to make his way through the maze-like corridors and find a way out before his old foes are sent to find him.
Batman fights his way through Arkham and his own subconscious until he reaches a secret room high in the towers of the asylum - a room left unchanged from the days when the property served as Amadeus Arkham's childhood home.
Inside, Dr. Cavendish is dressed in a bridal gown and holding a straight razor to Dr. Adams' throat. He is revealed to have been the one to orchestrate the riots. When questioned by Batman, he prompts him to read a passage marked out in Amadeus Arkham's secret diary.
The hidden room turns out to have been Elizabeth Arkham's bedchamber. For many years she suffered delusions that she was being tormented by a supernatural creature, and would call to her son to protect her. One day, however, he finally sees what his mother saw - a great bat, a spectre of death. Taking a pearl-handled straight razor from his pocket, he cuts his mother's throat to free her from her suffering. He then blocks out the memory, and attributes her death to suicide. Years later, his wife and daughter are murdered by one of his former patients, a serial killer named Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins. The tragedy brings back the memory of killing his mother.
Traumatized, Amadeus puts on his mother's wedding dress and takes out the pearl-handled razor. Kneeling in the blood of his family he vows to bind the evil spirit of "The Bat", which he believes inhabits the house, through ritual and sorcery. He continues his mission even after he is incarcerated in the Asylum himself; he scratches the words of the binding spell into the walls and floor of his cell with his fingernails until the day he dies.
Discovering Amadeus Arkham's journals, the razor and the dress, Cavendish begins to believe himself to be the one destined to continue Arkham's work. On April 1, the date Arkham's family was murdered, he lures Batman to the asylum. Believing Batman to be "The Bat" itself, Cavendish accuses him of feeding the evil of the house by bringing it more insane souls. Grappling with Batman, Cavendish drops the razor, and Adams picks it up. Reacting instinctively, she slashes it across Cavendish's throat, killing him.
Batman returns Two-Face's coin back from Dr. Adams, stating that it should be up to Two-Face to decide his fate. Two-Face then declares that if the coin lands scratched side up they kill Batman, otherwise they let him go. Two-Face flips the coin and declares Batman free. Two-Face then looks at the moon and it is revealed that the coin landed scratched side up.
Reception
IGN Comics have said; "Arkham Asylum is unlike any other Batman book you've ever read and one of the finest superhero books to ever grace a bookshelf." It was ranked #4 on a list of the 25 greatest Batman graphic novels, behind The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight Returns, and Year One.
Appearing in "A Serious House on Serious Earth"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
- Two-Face
- Killer Croc
- Doctor Destiny
- The Mad Hatter
- Clayface
- Maxie Zeus
- Professor Milo
- Black Mask
- Doctor Cavendish (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- None
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
Template:Arkham Asylum
  This event or storyline is specifically related to Batman, or to members of the Batman Family. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the Batman Storylines category. |