Mercey Island is located off the coast of Gotham County north of Gotham City. It is known as the second site of Arkham Asylum after the original facility in Sommerset was demolished by Bane.
History
Located in the northern part of Gotham City, Mercey Island is surrounded by the Gotham River to the west and its tributary Sprang River to the east. The island is connected to Gotham Midtown and Uptown via the three-way Trigate Bridge and the Schwartz Bypass.[1][2]
Cement tycoon Eric Mercey built a giant gothic mansion in the wooded hills of the island for his family and he. Here Mercey would entertain the creme de la creme of Gotham society. Little is known about the Mercey family or what may have caused them to leave the family manor, but the once decadent halls of Mercey Mansion had laid empty for more than a decade. Some years ago, the Joker took an interest in the mansion, perhaps because the twisted corridors echoed the "strange convolutions of his own mind". Discovering that the manor had its own theater, the Joker used it as a place to re-enact the days when he was a down on his luck comedian. His quite literally captive audience was comprised of people from his past who failed to laugh at his jokes. He executed several of his prisoners before Batman tracked him down and attacked him in the theater. Another vigilante, the revenge-driven Wilde Norton burst into the theater in the hopes of killing the Joker, but instead received a blast of concentrated Joker Venom.[3]
Second location of Arkham Asylum
Shortly after this incident, Jeremiah Arkham visited the island and believed that Mercey Mansion would make an excellent substitute for the recently destroyed Arkham Asylum.[3] The original Arkham Asylum in Sommerset Township had been left in ruins after Bane and his crew launched numerous explosives at the building in their plan to release its patients.[4][5] Before long, the mansion on Mercey Island was converted into a hospital, and Jeremiah remained on as the lead administrator of the brand new mental health facility.[5] Following Arkham Asylum's relocation, Gotham's public began referring to the facility's new home as Arkham Island.[2]
Points of Interest
- Arkham Asylum
- D'Angelo Sewage Treatment Plant
- Old Steam Tunnel
- Schwartz Bypass
- Trigate Bridge
Residents
- Arkham Asylum Inmates
- Eric Mercey (Formerly)
Notes
- In New Earth continuity, Arkham Asylum was originally located in Sommerset Township, a suburban area on the mainland northwest of Gotham City. However, the asylum was later destroyed by Bane in the prelude to Batman: Knightfall, following which the sanitarium was moved to its current location on Mercey Island.
- The island was later included on the official map of Gotham City by Eliot R. Brown that was first used during the storyline Batman: No Man's Land.
- In the continuity of the DCAU, Arkham Asylum is still located on a hill in the Somerset District,[6] since Batman: The Animated Series premiered before Arkham Asylum was relocated to Mercey Island in the comics.
- The Nolanverse places Arkham Asylum on the Narrows island instead.
- Mercey Island was adapted as Arkham Island for the Arkhamverse video games. Prior to that, Arkham Island was also used as an alternate name for Mercey Island in New Earth continuity.[2]
- The island appears as home to Arkham Asylum in the television series Gotham and was regularly shown on maps of Gotham City that were used throughout the seasons.[7][8][9] Like in the comics, the island is also the place where the D'Angelo Sewage Treatment Plant is located.[10]
- The Gotham episode "Arkham" established that one of the island's neighborhoods is named Arkham City in reference to the video game Batman: Arkham City.
- The Gotham episode "Arkham" established that one of the island's neighborhoods is named Arkham City in reference to the video game Batman: Arkham City.
Trivia
- In some modern continuities like the prequel series Gotham, Mercey Island is portrayed as having been the location of Arkham Asylum all along, without any mention of an earlier asylum on the mainland.
See Also
- Appearances of Mercey Island
- Location Gallery: Mercey Island
- Catalogued images related to Mercey Island
- ↑ Batman: No Man's Land #1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Daily Planet Guide to Gotham City
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Batman: Shadow of the Bat #38
- ↑ Batman #491
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Batman Villains Secret Files and Origins #1
- ↑ Batman: "Trial"
- ↑ Gotham: "Selina Kyle"
- ↑ Gotham: "A Dark Knight: The Demon's Head"
- ↑ Gotham: "Year Zero"
- ↑ Gotham: "A Dark Knight: No Man's Land"