For the last few years, comic book fans have been spoiled with some pretty stellar video game adaptations. At this point, it’s hard to imagine that comic book video games used to only be disappointing movie tie-ins. Gone are the days ofSuperman 64andX-Men: Destiny, and now comic fans can actually look forward to upcoming games that tackle their favorite heroes. The industry certainly didn’t get like this overnight however, as it took the work of lots of developers to verify superheroes got a fair shake. Fortunately for comic fans, Rocksteady started a superhero game revolution when it began theBatman: Arkhamseries.
TheBatman: Arkhamseries managed to combine excellent gameplay with a compelling story, and it’s served as the benchmark for a successful superhero game ever sinceBatman: Arkham Asylumreleased in 2009. As popular as the series is however, there hasn’t been a newBatman: Arkhamgame in six years at this point. It’s hard to believe that such a lucrative and revolutionary series would just come to an end after so much success, and it begs the question of whether or not theBatman: Arkhamgames are really over.
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Where To Go From Arkham Knight
One pretty substantial piece of evidence against futureBatman: Arkhamgames comes from the very end of the last title in the series.Batman: Arkham Knightended in a way that practically screamed that it would be the lastBatman: Arkhamgame. After getting his secret identity exposed, Bruce Wayne returned to Wayne Manor where he initiated a self-destruct protocol that very publicly destroyed all of Wayne Manor with him inside. Wayne was presumed dead by the time the credits rolled, and there was no reveal that he had secretly escaped and was now living in obscurity. This seemed like a pretty definitive way to end Batman’s story for this series at the time, and it was likely Rocksteady’s way of saying that the game would beBatman: Arkham’s finale.
When considering whether or not there will be moreBatman: Arkhamgames, the upcomingSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguehas the potential to simultaneously prove or disprove that there will be a future installment. The game will be taking place in thesame universe as theBatman: Arkhamgames, which shows that Rocksteady is committed to further building up the world that it has created. It’s possible that Rocksteady could use the game to bring back the Dark Knight with a big twist reveal, but if Rocksteady is really set on giving other DC characters the spotlight then it could use the game to further cement that Batman is really gone.
The Futility Of Death In Comics
If there’s one thing to keep fans of theBatman: Arkhamseries optimistic, it’s the fact that when superheroes die in the comics, they don’t really have a great track record of staying dead. Dramatic hero returns are part of what makes the comic book industry so exciting, and it wouldn’t be much of stretch to think that the same could be done in a video game. TheArkhamgames have even provided a pretty good example of this, aswhen the Joker died inArkham City, he still managed to return as a hallucination inArkham Knight. Doing the same with Batman might require some major narrative legwork by Rocksteady, but it could make for a great return to the series.
WithSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguestill deep in development, it’s hard to say how Rocksteady is going to pick up the Arkhamverse story. The appearance of Harley Quinn shows that the game is still going to have some kind of connection to Batman, but it’s almost impossible to say to what extent. Bringing back theArkhamseries would certainly have a lot of potential now that gaming is in its newest generation, but if Rocksteady wants to do something different then it has every right to focus on other DC characters.
Batman: Arkham Asylum,Batman: Arkham City, andBatman: Arkham Knightare available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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