Batman: Arkham series.
Synopsis for "Batman: Arkham Knight"
Commissioner Gordon is heard saying: This is how it happened. THIS is how the Batman died. Following Joker's demise, crime in Gotham dropped; however, everyone was waiting for the spark that would ignite a war for power in the Gotham underworld. Nine months later, on October 30th, everyone at a diner kills each other. Scarecrow broadcasts to Gotham, revealing his new Fear Toxin caused this; he then demands that Gotham be abandoned, or he will unleash it upon the whole city. Come Halloween the next day, Gotham has been abandoned by the normal citizens, leaving behind the GCPD, thugs, super criminals and the Bat Family. Batman rescues an officer from a group of thugs, calling in the Batmobile to chase after an armored car Gordon thinks might lead to Scarecrow. Stopping the driver, Batman learns of Scarecrow's safe house and breaks in, finding Poison Ivy held hostage in a gas chamber. Ivy reveals Scarecrow united the rest of Batamn's foes into an army to kill him. Arresting her, Batman takes out tanks sent in by Scarecrow, taking Ivy to GCPD lock up. Batman is informed of several cases going on by Cash, who updates him, along with Alfred throughout the night.
Batman upgrades to a new Batsuit, before using the radio towers to track where Scarecrow is making his toxin; it turns out to be the main ACE Chemicals factory. Access if blocked by the mysterious Arkham Knight, who seethes with rage towards Batman. Batman breaks in, saving some workers; however, Scarecrow reveals he's kidnapped Oracle, trapping Batman in the factory to die when it explodes. Exposed to the Fear Gas, Batman adds neutralizing agents to the bomb, hoping to stop it. However, he is knocked out by a hallucination of the Joker. In the past, it's revealed four bags of Joker's blood weren't found and were given to Henry Adams, Christina Bell, Albert King and Johnny Charisma. The last three became vicious psychopaths like Joker, even starting to take on his appearance; however, Herny appears immune to the effects of Joker's blood. Batman has quarantined them until he can figure out how Henry is immune; he keeps it secret that he also fears Joker's transfusion back in Arkham City might affect him. In the present Batman is now tormented by a hallucination of Joker, who makes fun of him throughout the night; Batman manages to escape ACE chemicals, informing Gordon of Oracle's kidnapping. After showing Gordon that Oracle works for him, an enraged Gordon ends their alliance.
Batman has Mr. Fox work as tech support in Oracle's absence, discovering the Arkham Knight kidnapped Oracle. His search is put on hold, due to the numerous threats besides Scarecrow, such as Riddler, Two-Face, Penguin, the Mad Hatter and the various impediments in place thanks to the Arkham Knight's militia. Batman also finds new threats, such as a bat creature that used to be a benevolent scientist and a serious of bodies chained to walls with words implying that they were failures in some twisted experiment. Azrael also returns, seeking Batman's approval in succeeding him as Gotham's protector; Batman decides to test the candidate. The militia also try forcing the cooperation of Mr. Freeze by kidnapping Nora. Iron Heights Penitentiary crashes in Gotham, leading Batman to team up with Nightwing to subdue a heavily mutated Croc. Batman also discovers the League of Assassins is fighting among each other over whether or not to completely revive a zombie-like Ra's al Ghul. He also discovers the Identity Thief has broken into Wayne Enterprises.
Batman traces the Arkham Knight's voice over radio chatter and triangulates his location to an underground tunnel. Batman manages to sneak in, but is surprised by the Arkham Knight, who manages to put a bullet in his gut. Thanks to the new Batsuit's ability to compress around wounds, Batman is able to administer some sedative and continue his pursuit. Chasing after an APC the Knight's voice is coming from, Batman knocks it out of commission with the Batmobile. However, it turns out that the Knight had known he would triangulate his broadcast location and gave one of his soldiers a voice modulator to imitate his voice. Threatening to crush the man's head with the Batmobile's tires, Batman learns that the Knight has gone to pay Penguin for his help. Alfred informs Batman that Nightwing had been tracking Penguin's weapon trafficking in Bludhaven. Nightwing arrives and informs Batman that several of Penguin's men are selling guns to the rioters and that following the trucks will lead them back to the weapon caches. Batman breaks into one, where Penguin is instructing his men to keep the peace with the other gangs for now; handing out guns is increasing their wealth. Batman threatens Penguin, learning the Knight has gone after Simon Stagg. Though Penguin manages to escape, Nightwing helps destroy the cache, keeping Batman updated about anymore.
Batman calls Alfred, learning that the airships above Founder's Island belong to Stagg. He boards them, discovering Scarecrow is after a device called the Cloudburst originally intended to spread airborne medicine to diseased areas. Scarecrow douses Batman with Fear Gas, allowing the consciousness of the Joker to take over briefly. Scarecrow has the Cloudburst torn off the blimp, needing to to fuel it before he can infect Gotham with his Fear Gas. Batman is lured by to the safe house, where he sees Oracle gassed with Fear Toxin and commit suicide in fear; he decides to fight on to honor her memory. Remembering Ivy was immune to the gas, Batman coerces her into helping him produce enough antidote for Gotham; to this end, he helps her awaken centuries-dead tree for pollen to clear the toxin. An alarm goes off as the quarantine zone; Harley Quinn broke in to free the infected. Batman stops her and the infected, but finds Henry has succumbed to the infection and kills himself and the other infected. Robin attempts to lock Batman up to keep him from becoming a threat; however, Batman locks Robin up instead, fearing for his safety.
Scarecrow finishes powering up the Cloudburst and sends the Arkham Knight to detonate the payload. Gotham is covered in Fear Gas, causing the criminals to attack each other. Because the Cloudburst is enhancing and sustaining the cloud of toxin, the trees are dying; Ivy sends Batman to release a third tree to help clear the gas. After Batman destroys the drones sent to kill the tree, the Knight challenges Batman to face him on Bleake Island; Batman accepts the challenge, outwitting the Knight by destroying the cooling system for the Cloudburst, angering Scarecrow. The tank begins exploding, forcing Batman to brave the gas to pull the Knight to safety. However, while fighting him off, Batman suffers a Joker hallucination that makes him lose sight of the Knight; the Knight runs off. Batman checks on Ivy, finding her in ill health from the strain of keeping the trees alive. With one last burst of strength, Ivy revives the trees as the cost of her life. However, Scarecrow is not deterred by this; it's then revealed Deathstroke was hired to command the militia if the Knight was ever defeated. Batman goes to GCPD, where a message from Gordon reveals he's found the Knight's HQ. Batman breaks in, learning the Knight is actually Jason Todd, who had been manipulated by the Joker into seeking revenge on him. Jason flees after Batman offers to help heal his trauma, and Scarecrow reveals Oracle is still alive; Batman had been gassed, in truth. Scarecrow tosses Oracle off a roof, but Batman saves her and takes her to GCPD. Scarecrow takes Gordon hostage, and sends the militia to destroy GCPD. Batman fights off the tanks in the Batmobile, while Oracle hacks into the drones to make them attack each other.
Batman is alerted to Gordon accessing the quarantine zone, prompting him to investigate. He finds Scarecrow has taken Robin hostage as well. A broadcast from Scarecrow demands Batman surrender himself or his friends die. Batman complies, being taken to Arkham Asylum in a vain; en route, Batman grapples with the Joker in his mind, breaking his only rule. At Arkham, Batman is unmasked as Bruce Wayne and injected with Fear Toxin, allowing the Joker to takeover his body. However, Scarecrow thinks Bruce is defying the effects of the toxin, rather than him being possessed. Injected again, Batman uses his iron will to place the fear in Joker that he never could before, sealing him away in a dark corner of his mind. Free of the toxin's effects, Bruce states he is not afraid; Scarecrow prepares to shoot him, but his gun is shot out of his hand by Red Hood. Bruce forces Scarecrow to take his own "medicine" finally breaking the master of terror's mind. Batman takes him to GCPD, where he calls Alfred, telling him it's time to initiate the Knightfall Protocol.
After ending all remaining super criminal threats in Gotham, Batman discards his mask at the Bat Signal and calls the Batwing to take him back to Wayne Manor. At the manor, numerous reporters are waiting to get his commit on being the vigilante that has kept Gotham safe for the last decade. However, Bruce enters his home without acknowledging them; he tells Alfred that this is the only way to protect Nightwing, Robin and Oracle. Soon after, the mansion explodes and collapses in on itself. An above view of the wreckage turns into the burning bat symbol again, with Gordon repeating this is how Batman died.
Months later, Gordon has become mayor of Gotham and is late for Robin and Oracle's wedding. He ponders if the loss of Batman will cause crime in Gotham to return to how it was before the Dark Knight. Two thugs attempt robbing a rich couple and their son. They see someone who looks like Batman on a roof, and remind him that Batman is dead. However, something is off about the figure; it lunges at them, turning into a nightmarish Batman as they scream.
Appearing in "Batman: Arkham Knight"
Featured Characters:
- Batman (Bruce Wayne) (Flashback and main story) (Apparent Death)
Supporting Characters:
- Alfred Pennyworth (Apparent Death)
- Azrael (Michael Lane)
- Catwoman (Selina Kyle)
- Gotham City Police Department
- Aaron Cash
- James Gordon (Flashback and main story)
- Lucius Fox
- Mister Freeze (Victor Fries) (DLC Only)
- Nightwing (Dick Grayson)
- Oracle (Barbara Gordon)
- Poison Ivy (Pamela Isley) (Dies)
- Robin (Tim Drake)
Antagonists:
- Albert "Gotham Goliath" King (Flashback and main story) (Single appearance; dies)
- Black Mask (Roman Sionis) (DLC Only) (Apparent Death)
- Calendar Man (Julian Day) (Cameo)
- Christina Bell (Flashback and main story) (Single appearance; dies)
- Deacon Joseph Blackfire (First appearance)
- Firefly (Garfield Lynns)
- Harley Quinn (Harleen Quinzel)
- Henry Adams (Flashback and main story) (Single appearance; dies)
- Hush (Thomas Elliot)
- Johnny "Charisma" Browne (Flashback and main story) (Single appearance; dies)
- Joker (Hallucination) (Appears only as a corpse) (Destroyed)
- Officer JT Wicker (First appearance)
- Killer Croc (Waylon Jones) (Hallucination) (DLC Only)
- League of Assassins (DLC Only)
- Ra's al Ghul (DLC Only)
- Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch) (DLC Only)
- Man-Bat (Kirk Langstrom) (First appearance) (Origin)
- Militia (Single appearance) (Origin)
- Arkham Knight/Red Hood (Jason Todd) (First full appearance) (Origin)
- Deathstroke (Slade Wilson)
- Scarecrow (Jonathan Crane)
- Order of St. Dumas
- Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot)
- Street Demonz (First appearance)
- Professor Pyg (Lazlo Valentin) (First appearance)
- Dollotrons (First appearance)
- Raymond Underhill (First appearance)
- The Riddler (Edward Nashton)
- Simon Stagg
- Two-Face (Harvey Dent)
- Victor Zsasz (Cameo)
- Warden Ranken (First appearance) (DLC Only)
Other Characters:
- Adam Brewer (First appearance)
- Alison Wears (Single appearance; dies)
- Anthony Lund (Single appearance; dies)
- Bludhaven Police Department
- Christina Robinson (Single appearance; dies)
- Clara Saberton (First appearance)
- Ella Montgomery (Single appearance; dies)
- Francine Langstrom (First appearance) (Apparent Death)
- Franklin Accardo (Single appearance; dies)
- Gerald Wicker (Single appearance; dies)
- Gotham City Police Department
- Detective Cottell (First appearance)
- Detective Hobbs (First appearance)
- Detective Westcott (First appearance)
- Medic Bailie (First appearance)
- Medic Smith (First appearance)
- Officer Anderson (First appearance)
- Officer Askew (First appearance)
- Officer Blackmore (First appearance)
- Officer Boulden (First appearance)
- Officer Clarysse (First appearance)
- Officer Deaves (First appearance)
- Officer Denheen (First appearance)
- Officer DeRogatis (First appearance)
- Officer Doyle (First appearance)
- Officer Fitzgerald (First appearance)
- Officer Gay (First appearance)
- Officer Hargrave (First appearance)
- Officer Hussein (First appearance)
- Officer Jacobson (First appearance)
- Officer John Beauchamp (First appearance)
- Officer Katz (First appearance) (DLC Only)
- Officer Kevern (First appearance)
- Officer Lancaster (First appearance)
- Officer Lory (First appearance) (DLC Only)
- Officer Loveridge (First appearance)
- Officer Lynch (First appearance)
- Officer Mahon (First appearance)
- Officer McQueen (First appearance) (DLC Only)
- Officer Murdoch (First appearance) (DLC Only)
- Officer Owens (First appearance)
- Officer Richards (First appearance)
- Officer Sadeghian (First appearance) (DLC Only)
- Officer Seaman (First appearance)
- Officer Styles (First appearance)
- Officer Thraves (First appearance)
- Officer Voghel (First appearance)
- Officer Walker (First appearance)
- Officer Welch (First appearance)
- Officer Williams (First appearance)
- Sergeant Armstrong (First appearance)
- Sergeant Badowsky (First appearance)
- Sergeant Denning (First appearance)
- Sergeant Ginn (First appearance)
- Sergeant Groszek (First appearance)
- Sergeant Hanrahan (First appearance)
- Sergeant Leal-Bolea (First appearance)
- Sergeant McAllister (First appearance)
- Guy Perkins (Single appearance; dies)
- Iron Heights (DLC Only)
- Prisoner Officer Blackburn (First appearance) (DLC Only)
- Prisoner Officer Burlift (First appearance) (DLC Only)
- Prisoner Officer Griscelli (First appearance) (DLC Only)
- Prisoner Officer Riley (First appearance) (DLC Only)
- Jack Ryder
- James Catterson (Single appearance; dies)
- Jessica Houston (First appearance)
- John Goodman (Single appearance; dies)
- Kate Kane (Phone call only)
- League of Assassins
- Nyssa Raatko (First appearance) (DLC Only) (Player Decided Death)
- Lex Luthor (Phone call only)
- Lisa Mendes (Single appearance; dies)
- Mark Cheung (First appearance)
- Martin Drescher (Single appearance; dies)
- Mick Phillips (First appearance)
- Nora Fries (DLC Only)
- Osito
- PJ Hughes (First appearance)
- Robert Kincaid (Single appearance; dies)
- Sharon Jones (Single appearance; dies)
- Station 17 Fire Department (First appearance)
- Firefighter Adamson (First appearance)
- Firefighter Ashley (First appearance)
- Firefighter Bliss (First appearance)
- Firefighter Cannon (First appearance)
- Firefighter Daniell (First appearance)
- Firefighter Green (First appearance)
- Firefighter Hill (First appearance)
- Firefighter Leary Wood (First appearance)
- Firefighter Lozar (First appearance)
- Firefighter Norman (First appearance)
- Firefighter Richardson (First appearance)
- Firefighter Scott (First appearance)
- Firefighter Taylor (First appearance)
- Firefighter Wilson (First appearance)
- Firefighter Wyatt (First appearance)
- Steven Reilly (Single appearance; dies)
- Vicki Vale
- Tiny (DLC only)
- The Starfish Freak (First appearance) (Cameo)
- Wayne Family
- Martha Wayne (Hallucination) (Appears only as a corpse)
- Thomas Wayne (Hallucination) (Appears only as a corpse)
- Will Hurst (Single appearance; dies)
- Chimpanzees test subjects
- Quorum (DLC Only)
- Warden Ranken (First appearance) (DLC Only)
Mentioned/Referenced:
- Dr. Alexander Sartorius (Phone call only)
- Basil Karlo (In a photograph only)
- Booster Gold (In a photograph only)
- Flying Graysons (In a photograph only)
- Mary Grayson (In a photograph only)
- John Grayson (In a photograph only)
- Quincy Sharp (In a photograph only)
- Skeets (In a photograph only)
- Solomon Grundy (In a photograph only)
- Ted "The Wildcat" Grant (In a photograph only)
- The Ghost in Grey (In a photograph only)
- Ace (Mentioned only)
- Anarky (Mentioned only)
- Bane (Mentioned only)
- Birds of Prey (Mentioned only)
- Black Canary (Mentioned only)
- Huntress (Mentioned only)
- Bookworm (Mentioned only)
- Burt Weston (Mentioned only)
- Cluemaster (Mentioned only)
- Crazy Quilt (Mentioned only)
- Deadshot (Mentioned only)
- Dr. Alec Holland (Mentioned only)
- Dr. Bradford Thorne (Mentioned only)
- Dr. Penelope Young (Mentioned only)
- Earl Cooper (Mentioned only)
- Electrocutioner (Mentioned only)
- Firebug (Mentioned only)
- Flash (Mentioned only)
- Frank Boles (Mentioned only)
- Guillermo Barrera (Mentioned only)
- Jiro Osamu (Mentioned only)
- John Constantine (Mentioned only)
- Gotham City Police Department (Mentioned only)
- Commissioner Loeb (Mentioned only)
- Det. Harvey Bullock (Mentioned only)
- Det. John Jones (Mentioned only)
- Det. Renee Montoya (Mentioned only)
- Kairi Tanaga (Mentioned only)
- Killer Moth (Mentioned only)
- Linda Friitawa (Mentioned only)
- Maggie Sawyer (Mentioned only)
- Matthew Hagen (Mentioned only)
- Music Meister (Mentioned only)
- Miagani (Mentioned only)
- Oliver Queen (Mentioned only)
- Paul Sloane (Mentioned only)
- Phosphorus Rex (Mentioned only)
- Ray Palmer (Mentioned only)
- Superman (Mentioned only)
- Sweet Tooth (Mentioned only)
- Talia al Ghul (Mentioned only)
- Tally Man (Mentioned only)
- Team 7 (Mentioned only)
- Ventriloquist (Peyton Riley) (Mentioned only)
- Warren White (Mentioned only)
- William Tockman (Mentioned only)
- Zatanna (Mentioned only)
Concepts:
- Knightfall Protocol (First appearance)
Locations:
- Arkhamverse
- United States of America
- Gotham City
- Ace Chemical Processing Plant
- Arkham Asylum
- Arkham City (Hallucination) (DLC Only)
- Bristol
- Chinatown
- GCPD Headquarters
- Gotham Clock Tower
- Gotham Globe
- Gotham Herald
- Janus Cosmetics
- Lady Gotham
- LexCorp building
- Oblivion Bar (Cameo)
- Otisburg
- Queen Industries building
- Wayne Manor (Destroyed)
- Wayne Tower
- Bludhaven (First appearance)
- Metropolis (In a photograph only)
- Daily Planet (In a photograph only)
- Keystone City (In a photograph only)
- Smallville (In a photograph only)
- Gotham City
- Markovia (Mentioned only)
- Qurac (Mentioned only)
- Santa Prisca (Mentioned only)
- United States of America
- Venezuela (Mentioned only)
- Vlatava (Mentioned only)
Items:
- Animatronic Joker Fish (DLC Only)
- Bat-Signal (Destroyed)
- Batsuit (Destroyed)
- Batman's Utilities (Destroyed)
- Catwoman's Whip
- Deathstroke's Energy Lance (Cameo)
- Fear Toxin
- Harley's Mallet
- Joker Teeth
- Joker Venom (DLC only)
- Man-Bat Serum
- Mister Freeze's Cold Gun (Cameo)
- Penguin's Umbrella
- Riddler's Staff (Cameo)
- Robin's Battle Staff
- Scarface (Cameo)
- Shakespeare Bust
- Suit of Sorrows
- Sword of Sin
- Titan (Cameo)
- Two-Face's Coin
- Venom (Cameo)
Vehicles:
- Amertek Tanks
- Bat-Copter (DLC Only) (Cameo)
- Batmobiles
- Batplane
- Iron Heights Airship (DLC Only)
- Jokermobile (Hallucination)
- Stagg Enterprises Airship
Concepts
Cast
- Kevin Conroy - Batman, Hush
- Martin Jarvis - Alfred Pennyworth
- Dave Fennoy - Lucius Fox
- John Noble - Scarecrow
- Tara Strong - Harley Quinn
- Mark Hamill - Joker
- Grey Griffin - Catwoman, Vicki Vale
- Matthew Mercer - Robin
- Scott Porter - Nightwing
- Jonathan Banks - Jim Gordon
- Ashley Greene - Oracle/Batgirl
- Troy Baker - Red Hood/Arkham Knight, Two-Face
- Nolan North - Penguin
- Wally Wingert - Riddler
- Tasia Valenza - Poison Ivy
- Mark Rolston - Deathstroke
- Crispin Freeman - Firefly
- Loren Lester - Man-Bat
- Brian Bloom - Black Mask (Red Hood and Infamy DLC)
- Marc Worden - Deacon Blackfire
- Dwight Schultz - Professor Pyg
- Khary Payton - Azrael
- Michael Rosenbaum - Jonathan Browne/Johnny Charisma
- Isaac Singleton, Jr. - Albert King
- Garrick Hagon - Henry Adams
- Phil Proctor - Simon Stagg
- James Horan - Jack Ryder
Notes
- The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh skin was revealed to be canon in Batman (Volume 3) #135.
Trivia
- Inside the GCPD building there are posters of Gotham's most wanted, with some of them including Rocksteady employees. These include Roberto Fera, who was the lead cinematic artist, Alick Goldenberg, who was a senior gameplay programmer, and Sarah York, who was an environment artist. The posters are also comedic in nature, as Fera is claimed to listen to the game music track in loop for up to a week, Goldenberg is claimed to use terrible puns, and York is also known as the Marshmallow Thief.
See Also
- Images from Batman: Arkham Knight
- Characters from Batman: Arkham Knight
- Other things related to Batman: Arkham Knight
- Video Game Gallery: Batman: Arkham Knight
Links and References