Batman: Arkham City
The Gotham Knight Glides In Batman: Arkham City!
An evil pall is shadowing over Gotham - but not directly in its midst! Clinging in to the walled sides of the urban foundation resides a new, more terrifying nest of steel insanity and serrated crime. And now, once again, we must call on the Caped Crusader, The Batman, to quell the rising tide of mayhem and side with the forces of justice.
Have you been introduced to Mayor Sharp, Gotham's new self-appointed crusader against crime? The city is now under his authority, with its most recent undertaking a huge, urban lair for the mentally unstable and psychopathic. The asylum is being emptied; a new, greater, maximized security prison has risen.
Arkham City is open, ladies and gentlemen...and ALL ARE WELCOME!
Creeping from the pages of its own, self-fulfilling title, Batman: Arkham City is a highly anticipated video game with the award-winning graphics and play of its predecessor Batman: Arkham Asylum. In this article, you'll get the entire saga; this includes summaries of the prequel and digital comics of Batman: Arkham City, the look back at well-acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum game from 2009, and a plethora of information concerning the city housing all of Gotham's crazed villains!
Batman: Arkham City officially releases
October 18, 2011
(Of course, some of you are probably in line right now.)
The Generalized Arkham City Table of Contents
For easy navigation.
The Batman: Arkham City Reading Order - This follows the DC 5-issue comic book series leading up to the release of the video game.
The Batman: Arkham City (Digital) Reading Order - DC also released a 7-issue digital mini-series which gives a small insight into the various characters that will be included in the video game.
The Joker/Penguin Poll Who should win control of Arkham City, The Joker or Penguin? In this poll, you get to vote your decision.
Trailers: The Hugo Strange Trailer, The Catwoman Trailer, The Riddler Trailer, Overall Gameplay Trailer.
Batman: Arkham City Collector's Edition - This is a listing of the PS3, Xbox360, Wii, and PC versions of the game.
Social Media Connections Basic stuff like Twitter and news to help you find out what's currently going on.
Other Batman: Arkham City Products Here I found some Arkham City things that might be interesting to people who liked the game. This includes just about anything.
Arkham Asylum Products If you liked Arkham Asylum, here's some other products - not the games - that were tied into its release. Some of them are pretty cool.
Found! Batman: Arkham City T-Shirts
After hunting around, I located a good storehouse of Batman: Arkham City shirts. This is only one of many.. You can see their huge catalog here.
Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition - The Predecessor to Batman: Arkham City
Before you join in on the fun for Batman: Arkham City, you (hopefully) got a chance to play Batman: Arkham Asylum, its predecessor. It received countless good reviews and positive comments from players and Batman fans.
The gameplay style from the Arkham Asylum game will be very similar to what you'll see in Arkham City.
Batman: Arkham City, Chapter 1: Ruins
...months later, after the Arkham Riots.
Batman: Arkham City #1: It's been months since the Joker's attack when he took Arkham Asylum, and now he's a shattered version of his crazed self. In the aftermath, a new figure, once head of the macabre institution, Warden Quincy Sharp has risen to the title of Mayor. His first act: to raise a new Gotham City Hall after the Akham Riots. And he's no fan of Batman's, either; even though Commissioner Gordon knows the Dark Knight was instrumental in quelling the violence, it appears to be long-forgotten and overlooked.
Now, though, new trouble is affront starting with twins Tracy and Terry Trask, nicknamed T&T. They've become some key users of the infamous Titan formula and with their new-found strength, need to be brought down by our Caped Crusader. To gain key information, Batman travels to Two-Face's hideout; these twins are typical in his gang. Once there, he finds the suicidal villain in bandages and splits; that's when he learns Tracy and Terry have gone rogue, trashed their former boss, and plan on attacking the Mayor during his City Hall dedication.
Batman quickly rushes to the scene, barely arriving in time as he takes on the buffed duo. Unfortunately, stopping them is not enough; working for another, mysterious figure, they've become suicidal, exploding bombs - and themselves - while killing 300 civilians and destroying the new City Hall. In response, Sharp orders martial law, raises his own private police force, and begins the construction of a new, horrifying foundation: A huge, city-wide mental institution which will be called Arkham City.)
Batman: Arkham City, Chapter 2: Breaking Ground - The walls of Akrham City rise, and with it, comes a new foundation of horror.
Batman: Arkham City #2: Sturdy high walls have been erected around a condemned zone; the new project elicited by Mayor Sharp is being called Akrham City. It's task is to house all of Gotham's mentally deranged and dangerous. The public responses are divided; more and more are calling the place a fascist state while others applaud the containment.
As the city is being built, though, Bruce Wayne concerns himself with subtle nuances and implications: the Mayor can't be behind all this. Donning his guise as Batman, he heads into Sharp's mansion and searches through his files. Suddenly, a mysterious figure appears on a computer screen; it's the real genius behind this diabolical scheme! Batman is then harassed with a series of traps and bodyguards, but finally escape.
Meanwhile, back in the Asylum, it's time to move the Joker to his new residence; as bad luck would have, though, these guards want some revenge on him from the past murders during the Arkham Riots. They prepare to skewer him until Harley Quinzel reveals herself, having disguised herself as one of them. She takes out the Joker's escorts and gets him to a boat transport. Batman, with alarms all over the Asylum grounds, catches the escape and heads to route his nemesis. The battle is short, and after an explosion, Joker and his lady get away. Harley's plan was simple: she takes him underwater into a drainage until they arrive within the Arkham City walls. Joker and Harley become the lair's first occupants...or rulers.
Arkham City is up for grabs.
Batman: Arkham City, Chapter 3: Choosing Sides
The Joker and The Penguin are now in control...or are they?
Batman: Arkham City #3: As the criminals populate Arkham City, it begins to become a furious, psychopathic war zone; The Penguin has managed to control one side and The Joker with Harley have taken over the other. Batman decides to to plot his strategy by disguising himself as a thug named Lester Kurtz.
First, he treads his way to The Joker, surviving a series of deadly tests, and becomes one of his henchmen. The Dark Knight, after sizing up Joker's forces and plans, quickly decides that it's better to leave now, while he's still alive, and check out The Penguin. After managing to get into that gang, he goes on a job to capture a shipment of arms heading into the city, knowing that Joker's men plan on ambushing them. The gang decides to hit the shipment early and prepare for a fight.
Once the plan commences, the disguised Batman and gang subvert the weapons, immediately get side-swiped, and hunker down for a battle; the Joker's men now want him dead after he fled their boss. But Batman has other plans; grabbing some grenades, he blows up the entire arms shipment - meaning nothing for either gang - and makes with his team's escape.
Back at Penguin's HQ, Cobblepot is extremely mad, ready to kill our hidden hero, but decides he'll push him either further. In the end, Batman has no plans to stay around. Once separated, he takes out the rest of his team and heads out of Arkham City. And during all this, unknown to the Caped Crusader, he's being watched by the true villain behind this entire plot:
Hugo Strange.
Choose a Side.
As Batman: Arkham City takes shape, it's clear that The Joker and The Penguin have taken major territories among the inmate population. While both are legendary criminals in the Batman genre, each carries characteristics that push the envelope. And so now it's up to you to make a choice.
Which villain should win in the Arkham City power struggle?
Batman: Arkham City, Chapter 4: A Night on the Town - The Bat, The Cat, and Something Strange
Batman: Arkham City #4: Hounded through every move, Batman is now finding it more and more difficult to enact a counter-strategy to the villain mastermind behind the evil of Arkham City. Even though we know it is Hugo Strange, the Caped Crusader is just learning. Having set up a tugboat shell so he can move his bat-boat in and out of the place, the brilliant villain shows he is Batman's equal, having caught the ruse and planted Tyger security there to stop him. Then, to make things worse, he cuts in on his communication frequency and tells him he's been monitoring his conversations with Alfred and others.
All looks bad for Batman until - as luck would have it - Catwoman slams in with a truck to save the day; she tells him that she and Poison Ivy have been capitalizing on the chaos and making cash.
At the end, the story turns back to the Joker, being medically checked out. The diagnosis is grim and uncertain: the Titan formula is still mutating his cells.
As the last few pages of the story come to a close, we see that Batman, now more wary of his enemy, decides to attack a Tyger force unit. After a quick fight, he singles out a leader to a rooftop and begins his interrogation. That's when the Dark Knight finally learns that Hugo Strange is manipulating Arkham City.
Batman: Arkham City - Catwoman
Batman: Arkham City, Chapter 5: Exposure - Batman's Secret...Revealed
Batman: Arkham City #5: The final piece of the Arkham City story, this leads directly into the video game Batman: Arkham City.
Batman has now learned who is running the show and it's Hugo Strange. He signals and makes Robin and Alfred aware. But as they start planning a counter against the psychological mastermind, the news flashes on with reports that Mayor Sharp has now revealed Strange as his secret collaborator, planning on having him run the deviant city. Clearly the move attempts to undermine Batman's knowledge; now his only recourse is to act as Bruce Wayne.
Reverting to his secret identity, Bruce then moves, revealing past reports of abuse and damaging files against Hugo. Somehow, though, the villain is ready with comments to counter each accusation.
At the end of the story, Hugo Strange profiles every character that will play a part in the upcoming challenge; from Joker, to Penguin, to Poison Ivy, to Batman himself, each stands as a part of the greater obstacle of Arkham City. And finally, the brilliant, diabolical doctor reveals his ace in the hole, that he knows Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person!
Batman: Arkham City - The Hugo Strange Trailer
Batman: Arkham City, Digital, Chapter 1: Hugo Strange - Meet the Doctor.
Batman, Arkham City (Digital) #1: Now that Hugo Strange has been revealed, it's also appropriate to introduce the digital mini-series that coincided. In this short comic book, we see Hugo during a recruitment interview for his Tyger Security Force. These are the men Batman will be encountering (and fighting) often. Through the process, Strange chooses proper candidates, both mentally and physically, and then conditions them with pharmaceutical treatments. In the end, he has creating superior guards willing to obey his every whim.
Batman: Arkham City, Digital, Chapter 2: Cut And Run - Tyger forces begin to clean up Gotham.
Batman: Arkham City (Digital) #2: This short comic book story centers on Jenna Duffy, formerly a member of the Wonderland Gang who has worked with many villains in the Caped Crusader's career. She's more on the up and up, but recognizes what every other criminal - former or current - sees: Mayor Sharp and Hugo Strange's Tyger forces are running rampant through Gotham City, and dragging anyone they can into Arkham CIty's walls.
For Jenna, there's nothing more that she wants then to be left alone. She gets her wish; Batman manages to corner her and gets her a ticket out of the city.
Batman: Arkham CIty, Digital, Chapter 3: Riddle Me
The Riddler Escapes
Batman: Arkham City (Digital) #3: A short comic book on Edward Nigma, The Riddler, as he prepares to make his debut into Arkham City. While still at the Asylum, he is allowed a meeting with.S. Crow, a financier of some sort or lawyer who has followed cryptic plans to build a perfect base for The Riddler's machinations. That's when we learn Edward's perspective, that the quarantine city will be a great battleground against Batman.
Once Riddler gets transported to Arkham City, he makes his break, using some help from Poison Ivy and his own cleverness. He then heads to his new lair where he begins to salivate over the coming days.
Riddler's Revenge
Batman: Arkham City, Digital, Chapter 4: Guardian Angel
Robin Goes on Patrol
Batman: Arkham City (Digital) #4: Robin now appears on the scene. In this short comic book, he's made his own headway and established a route from the Batcave to Arkham City after studying and setting up some conduits. On his own, he decides to patrol Arkham City and observe some of the denizens as they go about staking their claims.
That's when he spots Harley Quinzel and some of the Joker's Gang in the middle of a fight over drugs being pushed within the walls. While she's battling and taking their meds, Robing swoops in and begins whittling out most of the competition. She attempts to run off, but he stops her and the two scuffle until he manages to knock her back. He then leaves her with a message to take to the Joker.
Once Robin gets back to Wayne Manor, that's when he learns Bruce has been aware of his endeavors - even following him through the night.
Batman: Arkham City, Digital, Chapter 5: Fall of the Titan
Bane's Story
Batman: Arkham City (Digital) #5: With Arkham City growing in population and intensity, Bane reflects on his former rivalry with Batman. In particular, he addresses his Venom addiction and the rise of it's heir, the Titan Formula that's been plaguing many of the criminals in the underworld.
He reminiscences on his origin, how the Dark Knight last defeated him, and how he was returned to the Arkham Asylum to rot within his cell. Once he is transferred to Arkham City, though, he is luckily contained in an area where he used to have a safehouse. Bane uses the opportunity to reacquaint himself with Venom and reemerge to his former self; he then starts an underground fighting ring where he can condition and take on rivals.
In the last few pages, Bane prepares to destroy one of the tournament champions, but then has to adjust as his opponent becomes enhanced by the Titan drug. He's almost completely beaten as the man is stronger, more agile, and easily ignorant of pain. Fortunately, the drug burns through too quickly and the thug collapses. Asking Bane for mercy, the venom-villain caves in and destroys the husk of a man.
Batman: Arkham City, Digital, Chapter 6: Three's A Crowd
The Joker has a new friend...er...puppet.
Batman: Arkham City (Digital) #6: In this digital comic book, we' are introduced to another legendary Batman-villain of the past, one that originated in the form of the puppet, Scarface. This little guy is actually one of the more seriously undermined villains because you're never really sure of his capabilities. After all, he's a puppet, which means the person speaking through him is the actual mastermind...or is he? Well, in this case...somehow...The Joker starts pulling the strings as you'll see.
It opens with Harley musing about the good ole days. That's when she was his main attention and team, like long-lost lovers out on a midnight stroll. But now, things have taken a turn for the worse. Rummaging through remnants of the past, Joker finds Scarface and the two hit it off really well. This puts Harley in a sour mood since the puppet attempts to push her to the side and collaborate with Joker.
As the last of the story is told, Harley decides to stumble in a dangerous area and accidentally drops Scarface into a burning vat, incinerating him. She cries to her puddin' and apologizes. The Joker, of course unexpectedly, completely forgives her; that's when he pulls out another rendition of the Scarface doll and begins the conversation anew. This Scarface tells the Joker that Harley is trying to get rid of him, but is quickly dissuaded as the Joker vouches for her. In the end, though, Harley and Scarface meet eye to eye, and the puppet signals that he's going to kill her!
Batman: Arkham City, Digital, Chapter 7: Moving At A Glacial Pace
A Solution for Mr. Freeze
Batman: Arkham City (Digital) #7: The final mini-chapter of the Batman: Arkham City Saga brings Bruce Wayne's last, truly deadly villain to the front lines in the form of Victor Fries, better known as Mr. Freeze.
After plotting to bring many of the worst villains Gotham has to offer into the Arkham City walls, Dr. Hugo Strange lures Freeze to a lab facility by leaving clues that Nora Fries would be moved into the domain. Victor assaults the transport location, but finds his wife missing. Only Hugo appears, enticing him to research serums and substances; in return he will be able to work on a cure for his wife.
At the conclusion, Mr. Freeze takes his place as part of the horror waiting for Batman.
Got Insanity?
Batman: Arkham City Collector's Edition
The really big fans of the Batman: Arkham City game are picking up the Collector's Edition.
This is typical in the industry because it comes with a vast array of bonuses which usually include extra content and bonus materials such as statutes, comic books, and music.
You should purchase the Collector's Edition here. This is the PS3 Version.
Also for the Batman Arkham City Releases
Wii and PC are only shipping regular versions.
Check here in the Amazon Catalog.
Batman: Arkham Asylum - Games, Guides and Skins
Batman Arkham Asylum Action Figures. - Highly Collectible
There were two series of releases for Batman: Arkham Asylum: Series 1 and 2. If you follow any of the links, you'll be able to see the whole lot of the characters being sold.
Greetings,
Thanks for dropping by. I created this little web page to consolidate the Batman: Arkham City experience. Basically, there's the video game, the comic book series, and the mini digital comic books. What more could you ask?
Well to add to the event, I through in some summaries, polling, and media. Who knows, maybe you saw something you like. ...and if you did, please let me know. I'm always interested in opinions and criticism. Let me know what you've seen or if you're heard anything new.