There’s lots of story packed into the 4 video games in the Batman Arkham collection, and with the subsequent chapter of it set to unfold in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, we thought it was time for a catch-up. With an enormous solid of iconic characters and loads of twists and turns alongside the method, it may be pretty straightforward to overlook the whole lot that occurred in Gotham to date, nevermind what it could all imply for Metropolis. Don’t fear although, we’re right here to let you know about all the necessary stuff in as succinct a method as we will.
Arkham Origins
The one sport in the collection not made by Rocksteady, however as an alternative WB Montreal, is chronologically the first: Arkham Origins. Set two years into his profession, Origins sees Batman survive one snowy night time in Gotham. On Christmas Eve, organised crime lord Black Masks locations a $50million bounty on the Darkish Knight, and eight of the world’s deadliest assassins compete for the prize.
After warding off assaults from Killer Croc, Electrocutioner, and Deathstroke, Batman learns from the Penguin that Black Masks has apparently been murdered. After investigating the scene of the crime and raiding the Gotham Metropolis Police’s databases, Batman concludes that Black Masks was not murdered, however in truth kidnapped by a theatrical new villain who goes by the identify of the Joker. Posing as Black Masks and taking management of his legal empire, it was truly the Joker who put out the contract on Batman’s life.
The Caped Crusader tracks down and apprehends the Joker. He’s incarcerated at Blackgate, however his imprisonment doesn’t final lengthy. After inciting a riot, the Joker takes over the jail and forces Batman and the GCPD to intervene.
In a last confrontation, Batman finds Joker in an electrical chair wired up to Bane’s heartbeat. Joker affords a selection: both kill Bane, or permit him to reside and use his heartbeat to cost up the chair and electrocute the Joker. By utilizing electrical gauntlets, Batman manages to cease Bane’s coronary heart and trick the Joker into believing Batman has killed him. After reviving and capturing Bane, Batman lastly subdues Joker and has him arrested.
Arkham Asylum
Arkham Asylum opens with a captured Joker being escorted to the titular institute by an older, extra skilled Batman. The caped crusader is suspicious of his arch-enemy, who claims that he’s allowed himself to be caught as a part of some grand scheme. Nicely, as fast as you may say “holy vindication, Batman!”, Harley Quinn hijacks safety and units the Clown Prince’s plan in movement.
As Batman offers with escaped supervillains and Scarecrow’s worry toxin, it’s revealed that Arkham’s physician, Penelope Younger, has been experimenting on Bane. After burying the burly mumbler underneath half a ceiling, Batman learns that Dr Younger is creating Titan, a stronger model of the Venom steroid coursing by Bane’s veins. Joker needs to make use of this drug to construct his personal military of tremendous troopers, so naturally Batman has to place a cease to this. He rescues Dr Younger from the clutches of Victor Zsasz earlier than he can strike one other notch, however… she is killed seconds later in an explosion.
Batman discovers that the Joker is producing Titan from genetically engineered crops in the Arkham Botanical Gardens. He consults generally foe, presently good friend, Poison Ivy for assist in creating an antidote. Shockingly, the spores wanted for one are in a lower than supreme place, the sewer lair of Killer Croc. Whereas Batman is on the hunt for them, Joker injects Ivy with Titan, inflicting big mutated crops to swarm the island. After socking Croc, Batman manages to create a single dose of antidote simply earlier than Ivy’s crops destroy his gear. That is already turning into fairly a busy night time for The Bat, however it isn’t over but.
After defeating his generally good friend, presently foe, Poison Ivy and her big crops, Batman is lured by the Joker to the customer centre the place a celebration is ready for him, together with a captured Commissioner Gordon. Diving in entrance of a shot of Titan meant for Gordon, Batman takes the dose himself. This angers the Joker, prompting him to take an enormous serving to of Titan and remodel into an precise monster. A roof-top battle takes place and Batman ends his rival’s plan with an explosive punch. These injected with Titan start to return to regular as Batman heads again to Gotham Metropolis. In the meantime, a single crate of Titan is seen floating in the ocean.
Arkham Metropolis
One yr later the panorama is drastically totally different in Gotham. Blackgate Jail is overflowing, so Mayor Quincy Sharp turns Gotham’s slums into an enormous facility referred to as Arkham Metropolis to accommodate criminals. However Sharp is merely a puppet for Hugo Unusual, who permits for the legal inhabitants to run amok on this new district. Bruce Wayne isn’t the largest fan of this new association, so holds a press convention to specific his considerations, however he’s arrested by Unusual and his TYGER mercenaries. Wayne is then imprisoned in Arkham Metropolis, and all the inmates are advised that he’s truly Batman, simply to make his day further particular. Unusual then continues his preparations for the mysterious “Protocol 10”.
It’s not wanting nice for Bruce, however after a useful care bundle from Alfred he resumes his position as the world’s biggest detective. After bumping into Two-Face and Catwoman, Batman visits Joker in the hope that he’ll know what Protocol 10 is all about. Joker is critically ailing after pumping his physique stuffed with Titan one yr earlier. Slightly than inform him about Protocol 10, Joker as an alternative performs a transfusion and infects Batman with the Titan illness, and tells him that every one of Gotham’s hospitals have additionally been contaminated. As if Batman didn’t have sufficient issues already he now should seek for a remedy for each himself and the inhabitants of Gotham.
This leads the Darkish Knight to Mr Freeze, who had been engaged on a remedy earlier than being kidnapped by The Penguin. After defeating Cobblepot, Batman releases Freeze so he can get again to work. Yet another ingredient is required for the remedy although: the Lazarus Pit-infused blood of Ra’s Al Ghul. After monitoring down and defeating the Al Ghul household, Batman returns to Freeze with the last ingredient. A remedy is developed, and promptly stolen by Harley Quinn who seems to make use of it to carry the Joker again to well being.
Unusual lastly reveals the objective of Protocol 10: to wipe out all of Arkham’s legal populace. As TYGER troops start executing inmates, Batman makes his method to Unusual and shuts down Protocol 10. Ra’s Al Ghul seems and divulges himself as the true villain behind the Arkham Metropolis initiative. Unusual units his lair to self-destruct along with his dying breaths, and Ra’s then kills himself to keep away from seize by Batman.
Earlier than Bruce has a second to relaxation, Joker threatens to kill Talia Al Ghul except he arms over Mr Freeze’s remedy. However Joker is stabbed by Talia, who reveals she stole the antidote from Harley. Talia is then all of the sudden killed by a second Joker, who seems nonetheless affected by the Titan sickness.
The primary, presumed useless, Joker then shapeshifts into Clayface, who has been serving to out the Joker all alongside. Batman defeats Clayface, drinks the antidote, and destroys Al Ghul’s Lazarus Pit, all earlier than Joker has an opportunity to make use of it to safe eternal life. Batman considers curing Joker with the final antidote, however the clown strikes and the vial smashes, leaving Joker and not using a remedy. Joker ultimately dies from his sickness as Batman locations his physique on high of a police automotive, leaving the scene in silence.
Arkham Knight
Gotham is a safer place 9 months after the loss of life of the Joker, however Scarecrow is again to wreak havoc by unleashing his worry toxin. A full evacuation of the metropolis as soon as once more leaves simply criminals on the streets.
With the assist of Oracle, Batman tracks Scarecrow to Ace Chemical compounds however is interrupted by a mysterious new villain, the Arkham Knight. After overcoming them, Batman confronts Scarecrow, who reveals he’s kidnapped Oracle. Bats succumbs to worry toxin earlier than he can catch Scarecrow, and experiences vivid hallucinations of the Joker, whom Batman has been having visions of as a result of the blood transfusion carried out 9 months earlier.
After recovering, Batman tracks down the Cloudburst – a machine designed to distribute the toxin on a mass scale – however the Arkham Knight takes it for himself. Batman finds Oracle however as he makes an attempt to rescue her she’s uncovered to the toxin and commits suicide out of worry.
Again at Batman’s base, Robin, fearing that Batman is slowly reworking into the Joker, tries to imprison him. However the tables are turned as Robin is locked away as an alternative by a cussed Batman.
The Cloudburst is utilized by the Arkham Knight and the metropolis is swamped in worry toxin. Batman as soon as once more goes to Poison Ivy for help, who agrees to assist and clears the skies with the help of an historic tree. It’s profitable however comes at the expense of Ivy’s life and the Joker’s rising presence inside Batman as a result of prolonged publicity to the toxin.
The Darkish Knight presses on, discovering that the Arkham Knight is Jason Todd, the earlier Robin who was supposedly killed at the arms of the Joker. As a substitute, he was tortured and reworked right into a villain. Batman affords to assist him however Todd seems to have misplaced all religion in him after he was left to die. Todd escapes and Batman confronts Scarecrow as soon as once more, the place he discovers that Oracle’s loss of life was merely a toxin imaginative and prescient. Batman rescues her, however Scarecrow kidnaps her father, Commissioner Gordon, in response.
Scarecrow then launches an onslaught on the Gotham Metropolis Police Division in an try to depart Batman with out allies. This distraction permits Scarecrow to take Robin hostage whereas the battle rages. In no place to barter, Batman surrenders to Scarecrow with the intention to save each Gordon and Robin and is taken to what stays of Arkham Asylum. Right here, Scarecrow reveals Batman’s true identification to the world whereas frequently exposing him to the toxin. A battle then takes place inside Wayne’s thoughts between Batman and the Joker. Batman ultimately wins and banishes the Joker for good. Todd then arrives to avoid wasting Batman, who makes use of the worry toxin on Scarecrow to defeat him.
After Gotham seems to revive itself to a stage of normality, Bruce goes residence to Wayne Manor and prompts the Knightfall Protocol. His residence all of the sudden explodes, presumably killing each him and Alfred. Later, a pair are ambushed in an alleyway however are saved by a mysterious determine who bears a resemblance to Batman.
The Setup for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
5 years later, by some means Batman has returned. We don’t know precisely why or how, however he simply has (that’s comedian heroes for you). This time he’s working as a part of the superhero group the Justice League, however issues aren’t fairly going to plan. Town of Metropolis has been invaded by intergalactic menace Brainiac, and its streets have subsequently became a warzone. To make issues worse, the Justice League aren’t doing something to defend the metropolis as a result of, sadly, they’re underneath the affect of Brainiac’s thoughts management powers.
Which means Superman, Inexperienced Lantern, the Flash, and the remainder of the gang must be stopped, and who higher to ship in to do the job than Amanda Waller’s ragtag bunch of questionables in Activity Drive X – higher often known as the Suicide Squad. Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang have gotten to kill all of them, together with Batman. Will they really die? Will he faux his loss of life once more? We’ll solely know if we play.
We already know that the post-game will contain DC’s Elseworlds, permitting for characters from different multiverses to hitch in the enjoyable. That features the Joker, regardless of the earlier Arkham video games’ model of the clown prince already being useless. Different acquainted faces from Gotham are set to return, too, together with Penguin, who features as Metropolis’ arms vendor, and Poison Ivy, who has seemingly been born once more because of a conspicuous flower bud she left behind in Arkham Knight.
As for what occurs subsequent, properly, we’ll discover out quickly when Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League launches on February 2nd and for early entry gamers on January thirtieth.