Media Batman: Arkham Knight

[batfan08]

My theories:

-Damian. This is a Batman who's about 40-45, by the looks of him. We have no idea how long it's been since "Metropolis," so this could be the Arkhamized Damian. In which case, I'd hazard a guess that we'd get the "tries to kill you until he finds out your his father, then switches sides" ending.

-Hugo Strange. It'd be a neat twist on the classic "taking Batman's place" dimension of the comics, and would serve as comeuppance for a character who a lot of people thought wasn't done justice in AC. He makes his way to the elevator before the explosion, claws his way to a Lazarus Pit with a severe chest wound, and forges himself a new identity out of "the ashes of Arkham."

 

[Darth Zangetsu]

My theories:

-Damian. This is a Batman who's about 40-45, by the looks of him. We have no idea how long it's been since "Metropolis," so this could be the Arkhamized Damian. In which case, I'd hazard a guess that we'd get the "tries to kill you until he finds out your his father, then switches sides" ending.

-Hugo Strange. It'd be a neat twist on the classic "taking Batman's place" dimension of the comics, and would serve as comeuppance for a character who a lot of people thought wasn't done justice in AC. He makes his way to the elevator before the explosion, claws his way to a Lazarus Pit with a severe chest wound, and forges himself a new identity out of "the ashes of Arkham."

Love your Hugo theory. Would def be a new take on the classic story.

 

[DarkMagic]

I still think it's one (or both?) of the Arkham guards introduced as throwaway background characters in AA (yet, came back again as throwaway background characters in AC), who are pissed at Batman for not going all the way to stop the Arkham crazies. Not Aaron Cash though (his origin pre-dates the games), but one of these guys:

https://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Eddie_Burlow

https://batman.wikia.com/wiki/William_North

Both Eddie Burlow and William North are all new characters who first appeared in the Rocksteady Arkhamverse. Both of them are former Arkham Asylum guards who have at least a minimum amount of training as security officers, plus experience dealing with the craziest of the crazies on one of the worst nights of the the Asylum, and Arkham City. And both lived through it all. They're probably more hardened than ever.

 

[ronri]

With all the fears of "insert bad guy turns out to be Joker", I would laugh so hard if Arkham Knight turns out to be Black Mask. Hey, it's not the first time he's run around as Batman to tarnish his name after all.

 

[Silrian]

Thanks for the elaborate background info guys!

I forgot but FSLAR is right, Dr. Strange is probably just dead. He got stabbed and THEN exploded... I'm not sure if the Arkham Knight is doing Dr. Strange justice if that's people's beef.

But, wait, Talia died? iIf so I completely forgot that but I thought we saved her in AC.

The one hint for Arkham Knight's identity is that he has a PERSONAL GRUDGE against Batman.

The only existing character feasibly that I can think of who fits that bill even solely based on the arkham games' events is Damian... It feels thematically logical that Batman is confronted with his fear and trauma and the source of it: his parents dying, and in the process essentially meets his son as the evil mirror of what he could've been...

Just seems logical to me.

 

[FSLAR]

Talia got shot by Joker before the Clayface fight. I replayed the game on New Game + so I know this. She could have been revived in the Lazarus pit, which Ra's likely would be revived in as well. But the two of them usually appear together so we can't have one without the other, and it has been stated that Ra's views the others as scum.

Damian could work in the logic Sirlian presented, alongside how Batman did not save Talia which could be traumatic

 

[alpha826]

my theory as to who the arkham knight is? dr. thomas elliot a.k.a hush. between the "identity thief" side mission in arkham city and the scarecrows appearance in arkham knight, i think that the two doctors are getting together to make bruces life as miserable as possible.

 

[Darth Zangetsu]

my theory as to who the arkham knight is? dr. thomas elliot a.k.a hush. between the "identity thief" side mission in arkham city and the scarecrows appearance in arkham knight, i think that the two doctors are getting together to make bruces life as miserable as possible.

I forgot about Tommy. He does know everything about Bruce. And in the comics, he did manage to sort of unite the villains against Bats. The only thing is that Hush is a character, and their insistence that Arkham Knight is completely new makes me hesitant to think they will just reskin or rename a previous villain. But Tommy would be an interesting choice.

 

[Silrian]

Hush already was in Arkham City, I see absolutely no reason for him to abandon what he was there, which is Hush.

Still can't think of anyone more suited for this than Damian, or another son if he ever had one. It just ties the whole franchise together both plot-wise and thematically.

I'm open to something else obviously, but I've not seen any suggestion yet that fits better imo.

 

[GasparZizou]

Have they ever transformed for offensive manuevers though?

Tumbler became Batpod after it was destroyed.

89 had shields for defense.

Returns changed to slender rocket shape to fit between the walls.

Dark Knight Returns never transformed.

BTAS never transformed.

66 never transformed.

It doesn't transform, it just readjusts itself, doesn't really turn into something else.

Tumbler, TDKReturns, Burton... Those 3 had gizmos and readjustments for offensive maneuvers. Tumbler had cannons and stuff, TDKR was a freaking tank with all sorts of offensive gizmos, Burton had machine guns, which were used offensively, plus the propeller in the back was used to roast people and chicken alive.

Tumbler did transform into the Batpod, and Burton's did transform into a dildo to fit narrow alleys : which is more than you can say for this one, which just draws a couple weapons and widens it's wheels.

Don't get me wrong about the Burton quip though, it's still the bestestest design of them all, along with the BTAS.

 

[jye4ever]

Its all good, i'm ready for Optimus-Wayne.

 

[ronri]

Black Mask - Is not a fighter. At all. He's evil, sadistic, and maybe the most vile and cruel villain this side of the Joker, but he is not a physical threat. He's smart as hell, but not this level of fighter.

A bit off-topic but I definitely disagree with this. As a fan of Black Mask, I'll say right now he's actually been depicted as a pretty decent fighter, even going up against Batman, Catwoman, and doppelgangers of Red Hood. He's not the most tactically smart or well-trained martial artist as others, but he's no pushover either and it's a huge shame that other media have depicted him as being less of a fighter. He's not actually "smart as hell" at all (that goes to Joker), his true strength is that he's a very charismatic leader that can easily get people to join his side, which is part of his "businessman" angle that was played up in his origin by Moench.

Putting that aside, back to the identity of Arkham Knight:

As far as the Arkham Knight: If they hadn't said he is an entirely new character, I would guess Thomas Wayne Jr. either the Earth 2 version or the Lincoln March version from Scott Snyder's Court of Owls. But I am guessing that they are being honest when they say he's brand new, never even been in comics.

Honestly this seems like the most likely candidate. He's a "new" character from the New52, but not someone that everyone has heard of let alone recognizes as an immediate Bat-villain unless you're a recent comic fan. He's the Big-Bad of the entire Court of Owls storyline, which got a lot of praise and essentially served as a successful launch for the Batman New52 comics. He's practically a Batman off-shoot with his most recent design which looks very similar to Arkham Knight anyway. MEGA spoilers in the following if this turns out to be true:

Spoiler

 

[Darth Zangetsu]

A bit off-topic but I definitely disagree with this. As a fan of Black Mask, I'll say right now he's actually been depicted as a pretty decent fighter, even going up against Batman, Catwoman, and doppelgangers of Red Hood. He's not the most tactically smart or well-trained martial artist as others, but he's no pushover either and it's a huge shame that other media have depicted him as being less of a fighter. He's not actually "smart as hell" at all (that goes to Joker), his true strength is that he's a very charismatic leader that can easily get people to join his side, which is part of his "businessman" angle that was played up in his origin by Moench.

Putting that aside, back to the identity of Arkham Knight:


Honestly this seems like the most likely candidate. He's a "new" character from the New52, but not someone that everyone has heard of let alone recognizes as an immediate Bat-villain unless you're a recent comic fan. He's the Big-Bad of the entire Court of Owls storyline, which got a lot of praise and essentially served as a successful launch for the Batman New52 comics. He's practically a Batman off-shoot with his most recent design which looks very similar to Arkham Knight anyway. MEGA spoilers in the following if this turns out to be true:

Spoiler

Don't get me wrong, I think Roman is an ok fighter. But Bruce is out of his league, or at least should be. But Roman is a vicious bastard who should not be crossed. I will concede that his business acumen is tops probably second only to Penguin. And Penguin's real advantage is that he does not have Roman's temper or blood thirsty nature. IMO Roman is one of those guys who really isn't number 1 in any category, but he's top 5 in most. And as proof of his tactical acumen I would present War Games. He played everybody in that one.

I think Lincoln March would actually work well in the Arkham Knight role. I am hoping Snyder brings him and the Court back. But I have a feeling DC might shelve them for a bit, as they would make a great end to a new Batman film trilogy. Start with Hush, Which leads you into Under the Red Hood, and it it all with Jason rejoining the family to take on the Court of Owls.

 

[ronri]

Don't get me wrong, I think Roman is an ok fighter. But Bruce is out of his league, or at least should be. But Roman is a vicious bastard who should not be crossed. I will concede that his business acumen is tops probably second only to Penguin. And Penguin's real advantage is that he does not have Roman's temper or blood thirsty nature. IMO Roman is one of those guys who really isn't number 1 in any category, but he's top 5 in most. And as proof of his tactical acumen I would present War Games. He played everybody in that one.

No qualms against this, and I pretty much agree with everything you said here.

I think Lincoln March would actually work well in the Arkham Knight role. I am hoping Snyder brings him and the Court back. But I have a feeling DC might shelve them for a bit, as they would make a great end to a new Batman film trilogy. Start with Hush, Which leads you into Under the Red Hood, and it it all with Jason rejoining the family to take on the Court of Owls.

I think Lincoln March would be the least rage-inducing character they could pick out of the existing Batman rogues gallery for me. They could easily reimagine his character to fit the Arkhamverse since he's not so much an actual character and more of a conceptual enemy made physical just so Batman has someone to beat up. Thinking about it more, I can definitely get behind Arkham Knight being Lincoln March.

Better than having Damian or using Strange again (I certainly wouldn't want the latter to turn into Joker 2.0) If Arkham Knight's identity is truly meant to be significant, AT LEAST let him be someone who's actually a new character from the comics (not to mention from a storyline that's fairly well-received). In this regard, Lincoln March fits the bill.

 

[batfan08]

Did anyone watch the Twitch livestream today? Anything new?

 

[DarkMagic]

Didn't Rocksteady say the Arkham Knight is a completely new character that DC gave them free reign to create from scratch? So, when he is unmasked/revealed, it's not going to be anyone that previously appeared in comic books/movies/cartoons/any other Bat-verse.

 

[GasparZizou]

That's what I don't get into theories about TAK's identity, it seems to me that he's really a new character, it would be very odd if they said it's a new character build from scratch, for having him being just an old character with a new persona.

 

[Roc74]

I think he will be new character from scratch, but as to who the main villain is, for example who is pulling the Arkham Knights strings, is yet to be known. Ah, who am I kidding, its Joker! JK.... or am I?

 

[GasparZizou]

I'm starting to hate the Joker....



I'm super cereal.

 

[Buttmunch]

Didn't Rocksteady say the Arkham Knight is a completely new character that DC gave them free reign to create from scratch? So, when he is unmasked/revealed, it's not going to be anyone that previously appeared in comic books/movies/cartoons/any other Bat-verse.

After IM3 and AO I don't trust that the villain is what we are lead to believe anymore.