Batman (Arkhamverse)

"I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!"

- Batman

Batman was the name of the masked vigilante who battled crime and corruption in Gotham City. Behind the mask, he was billionaire playboy philanthropist, Bruce Wayne, the owner of Wayne Enterprises.

Biography
When his parents were gunned down in front of him, Bruce Wayne resolved to rid Gotham City of the criminal element that took their lives. He trained extensively to achieve mental and physical perfection, in addition to mastering martial arts, detective techniques, and criminal psychology. Dressing as a bat to prey on criminals' fears, Batman fought crimes with the aid of specialized gadgets and vehicles, and operated out of his secret Batcave below Wayne Manor.

Batman: Arkham Origins
On Christmas Eve, Batman intervened in a breakout at Blackgate Prison that was led by Black Mask. There, Black Mask executed GCPD Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb and then escaped while Batman confronted Black Mask's hired assassin, Killer Croc. After defeating Croc, Batman learned that some of the world's deadliest assassins were in Gotham to claim the $50 million bounty that was put on Batman's head by Black Mask. Batman made his way to Jezebel Plaza to interrogate an arms dealer named Ricky 'Loose Lips' Leblanc and saw Loose Lips and Penguin's Gang make an arms deal with an unknown criminal gang. Upon beating the thugs at the arms deal and capturing Loose Lips, Batman attempted to interrogate him by stranglehold. However, Batman's attempt unintentionally knocked Loose Lips unconscious instead.

After Loose Lips awakened, Batman started to interrogate him up on the roof of the Gotham Merchants Bank, then Batman got his phone and dropped Loose Lips off the roof and straight into the Christmas Tree. Batman tracks down The Penguin aboard his ship, the Final Offer, and believed that he knew Black Mask's location. After he arrived, Batman was forced to overcome the assassins, Deathstroke and the Electrocutioner, before he learned from Penguin that there was a murder at Black Mask's Safehouse at Lacey Towers. Batman discovered that Anarky had placed bombs all over Gotham, so he decided to deactivate the bombs. Batman traveled to Lacey Towers, investigated the murder scene, pieced together that the victim was not Black Mask, and that the murder may have involved a new criminal known as "The Joker".

After Batman decided that he needed more information to solve the case, he infiltrated the GCPD to access the National Criminal Database. In the midst of his escape, Batman encountered the newly promoted Captain James Gordon, and the corrupt SWAT team who hoped to eradicate him and collect Black Mask's bounty money for themselves. With advice from Gordon's daughter, Barbara, Batman entered the sewers beneath the GCPD to secure permanent access to the database. There, he found Black Mask's men planting explosives. The database helped Batman uncover that Black Mask was kidnapped by the Joker, and whom Batman believed intended to use to access the Gotham Merchants Bank.

After he exited the sewer, Batman encountered The Mad Hatter's mind-controlled henchmen, who sang a nursery rhyme and invited him to a “party” that was hosted by the Mad Hatter. The Mad Hatter then contacted Batman, explained that he had a business proposal, and a girl then cried for help, before the Hatter silenced her. At the bank, Batman encountered Black Mask, who was revealed to be the Joker in disguise: The Joker had replaced Black Mask days earlier, seized his criminal empire, and placed the bounty on Batman. Leaving the bank into Jezebel Plaza, Batman heard a baby crying in a carriage, but it turned out to be a recording. He was then encountered by one of the assassins, Shiva. Batman then pursued the Joker to the Sionis Steel Mill, where he freed Black Mask, and defeated the poisonous assassin, Copperhead. Batman discovered an S.O.S and the helicopter was shot down by Deadshot, who was one of the assassins.

After he tracked the Joker to the Royal Hotel, Batman found that Joker and his men took control of the building, filled it with explosives, murdered the staff, and took the guests hostage. Joker gathered the remaining assassins about their failure to kill Batman, and threw the Electrocutioner out of a window to his death: Batman recovered his Shock Gloves. The assassins departed except for Bane who believed that Batman was coming for the Joker. Batman worked his way through the building, eventually encountered Joker, and fought Bane.

Concerned that Batman was outmatched, Alfred alerted the GCPD for help, who arrived and interrupted the fight. As Bane escaped by helicopter, he fires a rocket at Joker, and the concussive force sent Joker falling from the hotel. Batman leaped after and saved the Joker before he left him with the GCPD. The Joker was left intrigued by the events as he was imprisoned at Blackgate, and placed in the care of Dr. Harleen Quinzel. While he talked to Dr. Quinzel, Joker explained that he had believed that it was fate for he and Batman to have met.

In the Batcave, Alfred implored Batman to abandon his crusade, and feared that he would die, but Batman refused to listen. Batman entered the GCPD Morgue and scanned the body of a Venom Henchman. After he located Bane's hideout, Batman heard the GCPD Dispatcher that the Venom shipment was behind by Bird, Bane's lieutenant. Batman located Bane's headquarters and discovered that Bane knew that Batman was Bruce Wayne. Firefly launched an assault on the Gotham Pioneers Bridge, which forced both Batman and Gordon to work together to overcome the assassin and his bombs. Meanwhile, Bane broke into the Batcave and beat Alfred nearly to death. Batman returned to find the Batcave in ruins: Alfred died after requesting that Batman not feel guilty over him. Batman managed to resuscitate Alfred by using the Electrocutioner's Shock Gloves. Elsewhere, the Joker took over Blackgate after he launched another riot.

After he finally accepted that he needed allies, Batman worked with Gordon and the GCPD to retake Blackgate. Batman was forced to fight Bane to the death when Joker placed himself in an electric chair that would automatically kill him unless Bane died: Batman used the Shock Gloves to shock Bane to death. Satisfied, the Joker left, and intended to detonate the bombs that were placed all around Gotham. Batman resuscitated Bane, but Bane became enraged and injected himself with a prototype of Titan, that was known as TN-1, which transformed him into a hulking beast: Batman managed to defeat him, and the steroid's side effects damaged Bane's memory.

With Gordon's help, Batman fought his way to the Joker in the Prison Chapel. Dismayed to learn that Batman saved Bane, Joker tried to goad Batman into killing him, but Batman subdued him. Gordon decided to let Batman go, and believed that he could help Gotham. Batman then spent the rest of his time solving various murders throughout the city and cleaning up. Eventually, after he solved some murders that hit too close to home, as well as barely restraining himself from killing the murderer in anger over the deaths, Batman was contacted by Gordon with the request to bring in 20 escaped Blackgate Prisoners who escaped from Blackgate earlier due to the Joker's riot. After he successfully subdued all twenty of the Blackgate Prisoners, Batman requested to Gordon in exchange, that he tell the GCPD to back off so that he could do things his way, and also told him not to wait for too long, as he suspected that a similar event to what they quelled would occur in the near future.

Cold, Cold Heart
A week later, on New Years Eve, Bruce Wayne hosted a cocktail party that honored Ferris Boyle, the CEO of GothCorp for winning the Humanitarian of the Year Award. Bruce, when told by Alfred that Boyle was likely to be competition for Gotham's most philanthropic industrialist, simply stated that Gotham needed more people like Boyle. They then greeted each other, with Bruce telling Boyle that he'd change the world before Boyle was escorted out by Alfred to meet with the news reporters.

Shortly afterwards, just as they were about to count down to the New Year, an cryogenic-based explosive occurred in the Ballroom, which froze several of the guests, and several members of the Penguin's Gang did an armed takeover of the Ballroom. Shortly afterwards, an enigmatic, blue-skinned, armored individual entered the Ballroom, and, after he ruthlessly threw a trapped guest and froze him, demanded Boyle. Bruce then tried to contact Alfred with this development.

However, Bruce left the Ballroom due to Alfred not responding, only to be ambushed by one of Penguin's Henchmen with an assault rifle butt to the face. Meanwhile, Alfred tried to fend off against several members of Penguin's Gang, although he ended up knocked out by one of the thugs who smashed a vase into him. Seizing the opportunity, Bruce managed to knock out his assailants before he attended to Alfred, who merely stated that he's "been through worse." Bruce then told Alfred that, although he didn't know why Penguin's Gang wanted Boyle, he did know that there was an enigmatic armored man who lead them.

Deciding that Batman was needed once more, Alfred discreetly informed Bruce that he should access the Batcave to don the Batsuit. Bruce originally planned to go directly to the Batcave through the clock via the Study. However, because the reporters were in the Study, Bruce and Alfred decided that the former should access the Batcave via the Wine Cellar. While he talked to Vicki Vale, Bruce learned that Boyle never made it to the interview.

While following the path to the Batcave, Bruce passed through the Library, where he had to dispatch several of the Penguin's Henchmen as the entire mansion was overrun by the gang. Bruce also did this stealthily as they were armed and he was ill-equipped to do direct confrontation with them. Bruce then accessed the Wine Cellar, beat up more thugs, before he accessed the Batcave entrance in the Wine Cellar's Tasting Room by pulling down the barrel portion of a statue and then used hand-scanning equipment to access it.

Bruce also had to be very careful while accessing the underground path to the Batcave, as the path still suffered extensive damage from Bane's earlier attack on Wayne Manor. Upon accessing the elevator, Bruce was contacted by Alfred, was informed that the mechanized man's identity was "Mister Freeze," and suggested that he don the Extreme Environment (XE) Batsuit.

However, because the XE Suit wasn't fully tested, as well as learning that helicopters were arriving and delivering more of the Penguin's Gang, Bruce instead donned his regular Batsuit for the time being, while he decided to have Alfred put the finishing touches on the XE Suit. In addition, Batman's Glue Grenade was unavailable because the formula that was used a week earlier was unstable, and the remaining doses were decomposed by that time. While making his way back, the power unexpectedly went out, with Alfred telling Batman to hurry as the manor was being set ablaze by the Penguin's Gang (the Penguin had earlier ordered his men to torch the manor) before he ended up caught by the Penguin's Henchmen. Batman then rushed to get to Alfred, and also fought several of Penguin's Henchmen. Batman eventually discovered Alfred and the reporters being held hostage in the Library, with the Wayne Crest blocking the exit. After he dispatched Penguin's Henchmen, Batman led the hostages to safety to the Study, with Boyle's secretary telling them that Penguin's Henchmen had cornered Boyle, and that they were most likely trying to kill him.

Batman then told Alfred to use the sprinklers to put out the fires (although because of the presence of the guests nearby, both Batman and Alfred had to talk in a way that indicated they were total strangers to throw off suspicion about Bruce Wayne and Batman being the same individual). Batman then encountered Penguin's Henchmen and managed to subdue them. However, Freeze interfered shortly thereafter and froze Batman in place with enough cryogenic fuel to stun him, and told the caped crusader that he had no quarrel with him and that he only wanted Boyle.

Boyle then recognized Mr. Freeze as Victor Fries and protested as he was dragged away. Batman then burst free of his icy constraints, pursued Freeze to the Ballroom, and also took out some of Penguin's Henchmen. However, Freeze anticipated Batman's pursuit, and had one of the Penguin Henchmen use a cryogenic weapon to freeze the door into the Ballroom shut, which forced Batman to enter via the balcony, and Batman discovered Penguin's access to cryogenic weapons.

Batman then entered just in time to see Freeze getting away with Boyle in a chopper. Batman then attacked the henchmen in the Ballroom as they were preparing to account for the loot they acquired, and left one conscious in order to interrogate him regarding Freeze and Boyle's destination. However, none of the henchmen at Wayne Manor knew where Freeze was headed, but he did point to an arms dealer of Penguin's who was responsible for selling the cryogenic weaponry to the Penguin via Freeze operating in South Gotham. Batman then used the Batwing once again to travel to South Gotham. Batman expressed disgust that Freeze would target Boyle, and vowed to place him into Blackgate on a gurney.

Batman eventually arrived in South Gotham in Coventry. While making his way down, Batman overheard a police dispatch that Anarky's Henchmen were taking advantage of the lack of police enforcement in South Gotham and caused several riots. Batman decided to delay on dealing with Anarky's followers until after he tracked down Penguin's dealer and got the location of Freeze out of him. Batman eventually located a frozen police officer after he dealt with several of Penguin's Henchmen. Setting up a crime scene, Batman deduced that the officer had stumbled upon the weapon's dealer by chance and attempted to take him in, but ended up frozen because he was ill-equipped to deal with him.

Being unable to save the officer with his current equipment, Batman was forced to leave him be for the moment. Batman also discovered a trail that potentially lead him to the dealer, as the dealer's cryogun was leaking when he froze the officer. Batman then informed Alfred about the Penguin and his gang using cryogenic weaponry to encase innocents in ice for various crimes, and cited that he'd find out where they got the weaponry after he found the dealer. He then followed the trail, and also stopped several members of Penguin's Gang while they were doing cryogenics-based crimes, including one that somehow resulted in the building that they raided catching on fire from their use of a cryo weapon.

After tracking down the dealer during a weapons deal, Batman managed to attack him and his men, and proceeded to interrogate the dealer. He then learned that Freeze and Penguin made a deal: Cryogenic weapons in exchange for capturing Boyle, and their destination was GothCorp's corporate headquarters. Batman believed that he was lying because GothCorp didn't make weapons, much less cryogenic weapons, but the dealer insisted that it was indeed GothCorp, and offered the access codes for GothCorp as proof.

Batman then took the codes before he knocked him out. He then decided to investigate GothCorp's possible involvement in weapons development. Upon arriving at GothCorp's headquarters and taking out opposition both outside the premises and within (with Penguin having earlier ordered the latter to "come runnin'" if things went sideways), Batman learned that Boyle was being taken to the Propellant Research Wing of GothCorp by Penguin and Freeze from one of the security guards.

The security guard also directed Batman to his superior, who was being held hostage in the Organics Lab, as he himself did not have the access codes to the Propellant Wing yet his superior did. After he told the guard to get to safety, Batman then went to the Organics Lab, dispatched Penguin's Henchmen, saved the guard, and got the codes before he told the guard to get to safety. Alfred then reported that the XE Suit's progress was slow, but he was working as fast as he could, with Batman informing him that ice formations were currently impeding his progress. Batman then dealt with several waves of Penguin's Henchmen in the Lobby before he proceeded to the access of the Propellant Lab.

Because the main door had been frozen shut (presumably by Freeze to prevent Penguin from calling for backup), Batman instead had to access elevator shaft D-17 to access the main lab, and also evaded various cryogenic blasts from the pipes. Upon making it there, Batman discovered Penguin and Freeze arguing, as Freeze demanded Penguin to supply him with Boyle, but Penguin was more interested in the weapons that Freeze had promised, with Freeze informing him that the contents of the room that he was trying to access were not of any interest to Penguin. Batman then knocked out two snipers, with Penguin ordering for his men to attack Batman, and was angered at his interfering with his plans again.

Freeze also noticed Batman's arrival and froze Penguin and his men in enough ice to restrain them. Because of the Penguin's aim being forcibly locked onto the latches of a coolant tank and the gun locked on fire mode, he was forced to have the tank's locking mechanism destroyed, with Batman being forced to dodge the tank. Freeze then yanked Boyle out of the frozen mass, and told him that he belonged to him. Batman then told Freeze that he had one chance to let Boyle go, but Freeze was unmoved, and told the caped crusader that his threats meant nothing to "a man who has lost everything." Freeze then overloaded the cryogenic tanks with his freeze gun to create an icy barrier to deter pursuit.

Batman then interrogated the Penguin (who was trapped in the ice barrier save for his face), learned that they had a cryodrill that was the only thing that was capable of breaking the ice barrier, and that it was located at My Alibi. Batman then left, although not before he told Penguin that his current status was the only thing that prevented Batman from giving the mobster a beatdown. Batman eventually discovered cryogenic vapors of enough quantity to instantly kill him in his current state, which forced him to evade the fumes. After he took out several henchmen who attempted to escape the compromised Propellant Wing, Batman then escaped by disabling a propeller above, and also evacuated a security guard who was caught in the cryovapor-flooded Organics Lab. Batman then told the guard that he'd return once he managed to recover the cryodrill, and confirmed that Freeze would try to stop him "with any luck."

Batman then made his way to My Alibi, learned from Alfred that the XE Suit had not only been completed, but had also just been loaded into a drop container, and told him to drop it off at My Alibi. However, Batman discovered various armed guards at the nightclub's premises, which necessitated that he needed take them all out before Alfred could drop off the XE Suit. After doing so and donning the XE Suit, Batman then proceeded to enter the nightclub. After he saved some of the cops with the XE Suit's Thermal Gloves and took out several members of Penguin's Gang, Batman proceeded to interrogate Loose-Lips about the location of the cryodrill that Penguin stole.

Loose-Lips confirmed that he stole it, but that Penguin ordered him to dismantle the drill and split it up into different parts of South Gotham, and gave him the locations under the request that the Dark Knight not drop him off a roof again. Batman then tracked down the drill pieces, although he discovered that it lacked fuel. Alfred then revealed that the organic superconducting fuel it used was developed by Mr. Freeze's original identity, Dr. Victor Fries.

Batman then realized that Freeze must have been a disgruntled former employee at GothCorp, and that he may have wanted revenge due to his lab being shut down and quarantined due to an accident. Upon returning to GothCorp, and also taking out several of Penguin's Henchmen, Batman then removed the cryovapor clouds by restarting the vents as well as fixing the generators. Upon accessing the lab, he noticed that things were out-of-place for it to be a mere accident, and noticed that the lab did research on weapons development. Batman then set up a crime scene. He noticed that the guard had the same skin as Freeze, and that he died from heat stroke despite it being room temperature.

He then noticed hand prints on the window that contained Victor Fries' fingerprints on it, a guard flash-frozen from a discharged cryogenic cannon, as well as signs of a struggle and pistol-whipping of Fries. Batman eventually found a handgun and discovered that the handgun had belonged to Ferris Boyle, which indicated that he was indeed aware of the weapons development at GothCorp. Upon analyzing gurney tracks that were frozen on the floor as well as the machine that Fries had been working on, he discovered that he had in fact been working on a cure for Huntington's Chorea, and that the subject had been his own wife, Nora Fries. Batman then deduced that Mr. Freeze, then known as Dr. Victor Fries, had entered a deal with Boyle to work on cryogenic weapons development in exchange for funding to research a cure for Huntington's Chorea.

However, Batman eventually learned that Boyle had absolutely no intention of meeting his end of the bargain, as he was more interested in how Fries had managed to successfully place his wife in cryostasis, so Fries then proceeded to take matters into his own hands and divert research towards a cure behind Boyle's back. Boyle eventually discovered this, had Nora confiscated, had several guards beat Fries, and also pistol-whipping Fries himself. During the struggle, Fries accidentally knocked over a prototype cryogenic cannon which destroyed a cryogenic generator. Boyle quickly left the room and left them for dead. Fries was knocked down by the remaining guard, but then witnessed the guard's death from heat stroke. After he realized that he'd die in his current condition, Freeze developed a suit to ensure his core subzero body temperature was retained so that he could walk outside the lab.

Batman then realized that Freeze's violence was out of desperation to save his wife and began to feel sympathy for Freeze, that he only intended to use Boyle's security clearance to get his wife out, and not kill Boyle. Batman also developed a newfound disgust towards Boyle for his actions. He then had Alfred transmit the evidence to the GCPD. Batman also told Alfred that, although he sympathized with Freeze's motives, he nonetheless had to stop him. Batman proceeded to return to the Propellant Lab as Penguin's Henchmen attempted to free Penguin from his icy prison with their boss issuing threats. After he knocked them out, Batman then proceeded to use the cryodrill, and left Penguin trapped.

Batman eventually entered the Cryogenics Lab, attempted to tell Freeze to stop his actions, told him that Boyle would face judgment for his crimes, and that Freeze's actions of harming innocents would not have been what Nora wanted. However, he was forced to fight Freeze and disable the cryogenerators. After subduing Freeze, Batman got in the way of the cryogenic blast that was directed at Freeze by Boyle, and was frozen solid. However, Batman broke out and proceeded to subdue the sociopath CEO as he was sadistically beating Freeze, proceeded to restore functions to Freeze's Suit and Nora's cryogenic chamber, and also promised Freeze that although he couldn't give him peace, he could at least give him justice.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
Three months after the Joker's riot at Blackgate, Batman become the most feared individual in the Gotham Underworld, with several criminals even upping the stakes to compete with him. During a patrol of the city, Batman encountered a female cat burglar by the name of Catwoman who stole classified data. He tried to stop and apprehend her, although forces that belonged to the Department of Extranormal Operations surrounded them, and mistook Batman as being an accomplice to Catwoman in the theft, which forced Batman to not only pursue Catwoman through various rooftops, but to also take down the DEO agents as well.

Batman eventually cornered Catwoman on a crane of an under construction building, although she nonetheless managed to transfer the data to her unknown employer. They then fought, with Batman effortlessly beating her. Batman then attempted to get Catwoman to talk regarding it, cited that her stance as a criminal would mean that she would be sent to Blackgate, and offered to give her a lenient sentence if she talked. However, she refused, and Batman proceeded to bail out when police choppers arrived.

Two weeks later, Batman, largely because he had hacked into the police scanner, was called in by Captain Gordon, who informed him that an explosion at Blackgate occurred six hours earlier, and that the entire prison staff was taken hostage by the freed prisoners in the ensuing riot. Batman then volunteered to infiltrate the prison alone, despite it being an impregnable wall from the river. When Gordon warned him that criminals of all stripes in the prison were likely eager for a chance to have his blood for his role in locking them up, Batman merely confirmed this and stated that they were about to get their shot. Batman eventually managed to cross over from the river and scaled the wall.

He then overheard Catwoman and three thugs who belonged to the Joker, Black Mask, and Penguin conversing, the latter three apparently attempting to force Catwoman to choose which group she should join. After he subdued her attackers, Batman learned from Catwoman that Penguin, Black Mask, and Joker had staked out the Cell Blocks, the Industrial District, and Administration, controlled movement around Blackgate, and allegedly locked all of the staff in the Arkham Wing.

Batman was naturally suspicious of Catwoman due to her being a criminal, although he ultimately accepted her offer to help due to having little chance of successfully taking on the task alone, although under the condition that she not trick him. Catwoman then used her status to illicit information to supply to Batman for their mission. Batman then called in the Batwing remotely to scan Blackgate's facilities' layout so that he could navigate through them.

Batman: Assault on Arkham
At some point, after he discovered that the Joker had stolen a dirty bomb with enough explosive power to wipe out half of Gotham City, Batman tracked down one of Joker's accomplices in the plot, The Riddler, to his hideout in the Gotham docks in an attempt to track down the location of the Joker's dirty bomb. However, by the time that Batman got to the hideout, it was raided by black ops soldiers from A.R.G.U.S., led by Amanda Waller, who were to take Riddler out for theft of data relating to the Suicide Squad. He then blacked out the hideout, and, after neutralizing all of the soldiers, attempted to interrogate the Riddler on the location of the bomb. However, as the Riddler lacked any knowledge of the bomb's location, Batman then sent him to Arkham Asylum.

Later, Batman caught Harley Quinn raiding a toy shop for a Cutie Boo Boo doll, and, after he fought her, Batman interrogated her regarding the location of the bomb under the assumption that she was still in league with the Joker, although she genuinely lacked any knowledge of the bomb either. After verifying that she was indeed being truthful, Batman then had Harley sent to Arkham Asylum. However, he was still suspicious about Harley Quinn wanting to get caught, and eventually discovered that a yellow-alert occurred at Arkham. Batman also deduced that the "live footage" was actually recorded footage that was being played of the Thursday shift, not the Friday shift, which caused him to deduce there was indeed a situation at Arkham. Batman then encountered the Suicide Squad, fought with them in the storerooms, eventually dispatched Black Spider, and disguised himself as the vigilante assassin.

Eventually, he witnessed the Suicide Squad subjecting themselves to electroshock therapy at the hands of the Riddler, although the Suicide Squad eventually deduced that he was Batman when they learned that "Black Spider's" head wasn't blown off (and Joker likewise deduced that the "Batman" whose head was blown off wasn't actually Batman due to his face being different). After he unveiled his identity, Batman then removed the active electroshock devices from Deadshot (having been inadvertently activated by the Riddler after he got hit with one of Batman's Batarangs), interrogated him, and learned Waller's involvement of sending them to kill Riddler. Before Batman could get more answers, however, Joker made an explosive arrival and intended to kill everyone in the room.

While the Suicide Squad escaped, Batman fought off the Joker and eventually attempted to flee via the window, although he ended up shot by the Joker. Before a confrontation could ensue, when they reconvened, however, the surviving members of the Suicide Squad and Batman saw a message from the Joker (who had been freed by Harley earlier), which revealed that he intended to give Gotham a lethal dose of "tainted love", and that he was going to instigate a riot at Arkham in order to slow Batman down. Batman managed to deal with several escaped foes, including knocking out Victor Zsasz by breaking a wall behind him, kicking Bane into the Gotham Bay, and stopping Poison Ivy when she placed the Arkham Staff under her control. Batman eventually tracked down Joker and Harley on a hijacked helicopter and fought off Harley while Deadshot fought the Joker. Batman, after he defeated Harley, managed to disarm the dirty bomb, which had been hidden in Harley's mallet.

Afterwards, Batman tried to warn the Suicide Squad handler, Waller, against such gambits in the future, although she ignored him.

Road to Arkham
After the escape of the Joker from Arkham Asylum two months prior, Batman had been on a constant search for The Clown Prince of Crime. During his second month of searching, Batman was notified of an anonymous tip left in Dr. Sarah Cassidy's office at Arkham which revealed that she had been kidnapped by Zsasz and taken to the Old County Hospital. Batman took Zsasz out by surprise and rescued Cassidy from his clutches. In the same month, a second tip came in the form of a note that was attached to a test tube. Unsurprisingly to Batman, the vial contained an extremely potent, odorless Fear Gas.

While experimenting with it in the Batcave, a few molecules escaped from the vial, and caused Batman to fight his way out of a series of fear induced hallucinations. Batman was able to create an antidote from the formula and ambushed Scarecrow, attacking his psychologist, took him back to his cell, and cured his victims. The GCPD received the third and final tip in the form of a 911 call, moments before the Joker raided Gotham City Hall and took the Mayor hostage.

The Joker strapped the Mayor to the side of a large pillar on the roof of the building, and attached a bomb to his waist. Batman destroyed the Joker's detonator and removed the bomb before it exploded. The Joker attempted to escape via parachute, but Batman easily thwarted the villain. While he escorted the Joker back to Arkham in the Batmobile, Batman spoke with Oracle via radio, and vocalized his suspicions on the three tips and whether they came from the same source, as well as the easy nature of the Joker's capture. Despite these suspicions, Batman drove the Joker back to Arkham, and hoped that they would disappear once he was back behind bars.

Batman: Arkham Asylum
"You took longer than I expected." "Joker's out of control, he's trying to prove something. I'm not sure I can stop him this time." "You'll do it."

- James Gordon and Batman

Batman arrived at Arkham Asylum in the Batmobile, and took the Joker to the Intensive Treatment Center. The Joker remained in high spirits, and was pleased that he was back in Arkham. Joker was strapped to a prisoner movement gurney and wheeled through Intensive Treatment by a variety of security guards, including Frank Boles, with Batman following close by due to him sensing something amiss about his capture of Joker and returning him to Arkham, as the Joker had never let him capture him that easily before.

The Joker commented on all the brand new security at Arkham and how it was rather funny that a fire at Blackgate had sent over a hundred of his goons to Arkham (to which Boles reacted angrily and reminded Joker that he was supposed to keep quiet about it, before Joker implied that Bole's mouth should remain quiet for his own good). During the escort, the Joker made snide remarks to many of the Arkham Staff including Warden Quincy Sharp, Officer Aaron Cash and Dr. Penelope Young before he was taken down the elevator. In addition, when scanning the Joker for carrying weapons, the scanners also inadvertently detected multiple prohibited weapons on Batman.

During the elevator journey, a blackout occurred, and caused the Joker to laugh hysterically before he had his neck clutched by Batman as the lights turned back on. As the Joker was moved into the lobby area, he was unstrapped and escorted by a guard and an orderly while Batman and Commissioner Gordon looked on. Unknown to all but Joker, Harley Quinn was already in the security control room, waiting. Joker soon took the opportunity to break free at Harley's signal.

Pretending to stumble and trip, the Joker bashed his guard in the face with the back of his head as the guard demanded him to get up. Joker then used his handcuffs to strangle the guard, which forced the doctor to unhook him to save the guard. Joker strangled the guard to death before the doctor could save him, and when his cuffs were finally off, kicked the doctor down, and killed him as well.

The Joker then coldly said to the dead guard: "The choke's on you!", imitated a playful laugh, and pointed at the security door with a "Ta-da!". Joker looked up at the security camera and told Harley he was home. Harley then let him in by opening up the adjacent electrical doorway, and allowed the Joker to access the cell controls. He ran behind the energy screen just as Batman managed to break through the viewing window and into the room. Joker taunted the Dark Knight for springing his trap and released his followers from Blackgate out of their cells, and said: "Now let's get this party started!". As Batman battled the thugs, Joker said over the monitor system that he was originally going to kill everyone in the room and watch cartoons, but he decided to take a captive audience instead. After Batman defeated a round of thugs, the Joker left the room and made his way to the Patient Transfer Unit.

Batman told Gordon that he would find them a way out, but Joker told Batman not to make promises that he couldn't keep, as he was in control of the asylum and therefore where Batman was able to go. As Batman told Joker that he wouldn't let him run, Joker cut off his "hero speak" and goaded him to just pursue him. Batman followed the Joker through the depths of the Intensive Treatment Center, and found deceased Arkham security guards in his wake of destruction. Batman halted briefly to defuse a hostage situation in the Patient Pacification Chamber, where an escaped Zsasz took a security guard, Mike, hostage and had strapped him into the electroshock pacification chair.

Batman then eventually followed Joker's trail of smiles and arrows drawn by spray paint and dead bodies and found the villain in the Secure Treatment Transfer area. The Joker opened up a large patient transfer cell, and released a large experimental monster (bearing resemblance to Amygdala). The monster attacked Batman before he died of biological causes, much to the Joker's annoyance, who murmured: "Note to self: Need stronger test subjects!". As a result, the Joker allowed Batman one free shot at him, which would cause him to fall to his death and end the madness. Batman drew a Batarang, but hesitated and was unable to willingly kill his enemy, which caused the Joker laugh at him and say that he was becoming "too predictable".

Joker escaped via the Patient Transfer System and told Batman that he was organizing a "party" with the villains all over Arkham. Whilst Batman tried to get the transfer unit working again, the Joker appeared on a monitor and showed Batman an image of a treacherous Boles knocking out Gordon, taking him hostage, and ready to kill him should he follow.

Joker claimed that he helped Boles out of a situation a while back in which Boles owed him. Batman attempted to track down Gordon anyway, by detecting the alcohol that Boles had left in the air. Along the way, Joker left traps with Joker Venom as well as many gag chattering teeth. The Joker soon caught onto Batman's attempt, and, as a result, had Boles killed, and no longer needed him. The Joker took control of Arkham's intercom system, and told his goons to destroy the Batmobile as he took over the West side of Arkham Island. Joker's next target was the Medical Facility where he ordered his goons to round up all of the doctors in the area, most importantly Dr. Young, whom he needed the Titan Formula from.

To the Joker's annoyance, Batman defeated his goons and rescued the captive doctors. The Joker drew up a "Party List" which contained the individuals who would help take care of Batman. He enlisted the help of Scarecrow, who proceeded to attack Batman at the Medical Facility. After he escaped from Scarecrow's Nightmare, Batman made his way to Gordon, who was conveniently placed near Bane's holding cell.

After Batman rescued Gordon from Harley, the Joker pumped a large amount of Titan into Bane, and caused a fight with him and Batman. Joker was disappointed with Bane's inability to kill Batman, so he ordered his goons to assist him, though Batman defeated them all. The Joker's next order of business was to search the Arkham Mansion for Dr. Young's formula, and Dr. Young herself, who had gone looking for said formula. After he found Zsasz at the Botanical Gardens, the Joker enlisted his help to deal with Dr. Young. Zsasz held Dr. Young by knife-point in Warden Sharp's Office and threatened to kill her if he saw Batman approaching.

Joker told Zsasz to just kill her, as she was useless to him since he had gotten both Venom and Titan anyway. Batman incapacitated Zsasz and rescued the doctor, though an explosion set by Joker in the Warden's safe killed Dr. Young anyway. Harley then entered and had her thugs prepare Batman for the "Party". Batman defeated them, followed Harley, and rescued Sharp by tracking his DNA. Harley was shown releasing Poison Ivy from her cell, despite Ivy not being on the "Party List", much to Joker's apparent pleasure. He then unleashed the more violent, insane inmates all over the island. Batman went after Harley, who sent her thugs after Batman again, though he managed to defeat them all.

Harley's failure prompted Joker to remove her from the "Party List", and Batman defeated her, locked her up, and used her DNA traces from around the island to track Joker to the Botanical Gardens, where he found Joker forcing him to play a deadly game in the Aviary: Joker strung a pair of orderlies, Luke Curtis and Robert Stirling, in birdcages over a deadly chasm and was challenging Batman to rescue them as his men patrolled the area.

Batman was successful in taking down the cage operator while dodging the other henchman. The threat removed, Batman rescued the two orderlies, and Stirling informed him of a secret entrance to the Titan Production Facility. Once there, Batman watched as Joker demonstrated the successful Titan strain that he had managed to create by injecting two of his thugs and had them attack Batman before he escaped. The Titan Henchmen attempted to hit Batman with their huge hands and resorted to hurling at him the corpses of deceased Arkham security guards that littered the area.

Batman defeated the monsters, pursued Joker, and passed the bodies of Robert Stirling and Luke Curtis on his way back through the gardens. Batman swore to avenge their deaths: "They're all dead. Joker was busy while I fought his monsters. He'll pay for this.". As Batman continued in his pursuit of the Joker, the villain revealed over the intercom that he had teamed up with Ivy, injected her with Titan, caused her to become far more powerful, and took control of the island surface with her evolved plants.

Batman defeated Scarecrow and Killer Croc down in the Sewers and successfully harvested the spores that were needed to make an antidote for the Titan Formula in Croc's Lair. Batman then went down further into the Sewers and found that Joker was trying to pump Titan pollutants into the Gotham River, and told his men to stop Batman from preventing that in a threatening, and serious manner. After Batman shut off the pumps, Joker sent a Titan Henchman as a token of his disapproval.

Batman defeated the monster and escaped the Sewers. Driven by more power hunger, Ivy betrayed Joker and swore to go after him once Batman was killed. Joker assured her that he would be prepared for her with an army of Titan monsters, and said the she could "bring the wine" and he would "make the salad". Batman managed to defeat Ivy in the gardens. With all of the enemies on Joker's "Party List" defeated, Joker had his men set off several fire works to direct Batman, the "guest of honor", to the "Party" at the Visitor Center by the Penitentiary.

Rather than fight Batman, upon his arrival and confirmation of being on the "Guest List", the goons acted friendly, cheered him and allowed him safe passage. Batman found a bomb planted by Joker in the Visitor Center, and, upon its explosion, discovered the Joker's Lair: a throne room atop various plastic toys from which he had been broadcasting to the island. Joker was holding Scarface and took out his frustration on him by having a fictional argument before he threw him away. Joker then sent two more Titan powered thugs at Batman, who defeated them both.

Joker then revealed that he had recaptured Gordon. Firing a Titan strain at Gordon, Joker was overjoyed when Batman took the shot himself. However, he was angered when Batman resisted and fought off Joker's attempts to make him give in. Joker then claimed that he had nothing to live for, as Batman would not allow him victory, and shot himself in the neck with the Titan injection gun, and comically acted as if he committed suicide.

Joker quickly awoke and mutated into the most horrific Titan monster, while still retaining his regular intelligence due to already being insane. Joker then directed the circling Gotham News helicopters and Jack Ryder to the rooftops of Arkham so that they could watch his final fight with Batman. After he strapped Gordon to an electric chair above a makeshift fighting arena (making him the "referee"), the mutated Joker goaded Batman to give into his injection, as it was the only way that they could be on even fighting terms. Batman refused and used the only antidote injection on himself, which the Joker found hilarious. The two, with assistance from Joker's henchmen, then fought a brutal battle, with Batman knocking Joker into the electrical generator that was used to torture Gordon. "Ready for the next round?" "Always." "What?!" "I'll never let you win. Never!"

- The Joker and Batman

The Joker got up from the attack and said that he could take anything that Batman threw at him, and asked if the Dark Knight was ready for the next round. After he sprayed Explosive Gel onto his glove, Batman declared that he would never let Joker win and would always be prepared for his tactics. Enraged, Joker prepared to kill his relentless nemesis as Batman charged him.

The gel on Batman's fist fiercely knocked Joker down as he was punched in the face. The GCPD then retook control of Arkham Island, imprisoned all of the inmates back in their cells, and watched over the Titan injected thugs as they returned to normal. Joker's transformation back to humanity was quite painful compared to others, and culminated with the severe injuries that he received in his battle with Batman. Joker was then securely locked back up, his plans having ultimately failed.

Outside the Visitor's Center, Gordon told Batman that the effects of the Titan were starting to wear off the Joker and his men, and that they were being taken back to their cells. Batman was informed that Two-Face was raiding The Second National Bank of Gotham, and flew away into the night in the Batwing to the scene of the crime.

After Arkham Asylum
Six months following the Joker's rampage, Commissioner Gordon informed Batman that Joker's Titan Formula had found its way into Gotham and had turned up in the form of brother-sister team, T&T. Wasting no time, Batman correctly suspected Two-Face to be T&T's previous employer, based on the fact that a pair of mirror images like T&T working together would be prime candidates for recruitment into Two-Face's Gang.

After he tracked Two-Face down to one of his old hideouts, Batman discovered him beaten, battered, and broken. Two-Face revealed information about T&T in exchange for a 30-minute head start. Two-Face explained that shortly after the Joker's rampage, crates full of Titan washed up at the docks where he bought them. Two-Face made the mistake of having T&T bring the crates into storage in his cellar.

Over the past six months, T&T experimented with the drug in small doses, and thereby gained control over themselves in their Titan forms. Two-Face also stated that T&T slaughtered his gang and that the rest of Gotham was next. At Mayor Sharp's new town hall dedication ceremony, T&T attacked, and Batman arrived to stop them. Perhaps getting the idea from his last fight with the Joker, Batman had installed gel sprayers on his costume, which gave his strikes extra power.

During the fight, Batman overheard T&T being given orders over their radio. Before Batman had the chance to apprehend and interrogate the duo, they committed suicide via surgically implanted explosives, killed hundreds in attendance of the press conference, and destroyed the rebuilt Gotham City Hall. Batman began to believe that T&T were working for someone who conspired with Mayor Sharp, and thus infiltrated his mansion, which doubled as a temporary City Hall.

There, Batman used Sharp's personal files to check in on his past, which revealed that Sharp was essentially a schizophrenic blank slate, who was extremely vulnerable to suggestion to the point that he had to be told to hang up a phone in order to do so. At that point, Batman was assaulted by non-lethal weaponry, which lead him to conclude that this was a trap that was meant to study him.

Choosing to deny his opponent his triumph, Batman fled the mansion. Meanwhile Harley successfully broke the dying Joker out of Arkham Asylum, and despite Batman's best efforts, they successfully escaped into Arkham City.

Later on, Batman disguised himself as a small time street thug who was named Lester Kurtz, and, with the added help of Oracle, who planted a criminal record into the GCPD database, infiltrated Arkham City where he learned of a rising gang turf war between the Joker and the Penguin who were willing to slit the other's throat to be the top dog in Arkham City.

As a test of the Lester Kurtz identity, Batman infiltrated and temporarily joined both gangs and was assured that the Lester Kurtz identity was safe because neither Joker nor Penguin, two of his old enemies who knew him best, had figured out the Lester Kurtz identity. In the process, Batman destroyed an arms shipment that was meant for TYGER Security that they were both after.

Unfortunately, it seemed that in a matter of hours, the Lester Kurtz Identity was compromised when Batman walked into a trap that was set by Mayor Sharp's accomplice by using the TYGER Guards. Batman discovered that the TYGER Guards had been extensively working out specifically to match him in a fight and were given impact-absorbing armor in order to lessen his super charged punches.

Batman was only saved by the timely arrival of Catwoman, and it's revealed that she had already hijacked the weapons shipment and had freed Poison Ivy from TYGER custody. Batman left Catwoman to her business and went to get some answers. He captured and interrogated a TYGER Captain into revealing the identity of the one who was pulling the strings in Arkham City: Hugo Strange!

Mere hours after this discovery, Batman instructed Robin and Alfred to dig up all that there was to know on Strange so that he, as Bruce Wayne, could publicly reveal it. Strange was a step ahead of the Dark Knight, however, as he had Sharp announce his involvement in the Arkham City Project so that he could paint a positive image of it and also give him an alibi for his actions. Thus, Arkham City opened on schedule and went unopposed.

Batman: Arkham City
"You're not safe here. No one is."

- Batman to Catwoman about Arkham City

One year had passed since the Joker's takeover of Arkham Asylum and Quincy Sharp had been elected Mayor of Gotham City for his actions in helping to end the Joker's control of the island. Shortly after assuming the role, Sharp declared both Arkham and Blackgate uninhabitable and ordered the construction of Arkham City on the southern banks of Gotham against the better judgment of both Batman and Commissioner Gordon. Batman believed that this was a ticking time bomb and had been keeping a watchful eye on Arkham City for months, and looked for any excuse to break into the well-guarded prison city.

As Bruce Wayne, Batman lead a protest and spoke out against Arkham City in a television press conference that was covered by both Vicki Vale and Jack Ryder. Immediately after it began, the TYGER Guards stormed the press conference, dragged Bruce into Arkham City, and Strange revealed to him that he knew that Bruce Wayne was Batman. Bruce was locked in with the inmates, and Penguin quickly found and kidnapped him. Bruce was able to escape with ease and headed to the Ace Chemicals Building to recover his Batsuit and equipment, that were delivered via the Batwing under automatic pilot by Alfred. Batman immediately went to the Solomon Wayne Courthouse to rescue Catwoman from Two-Face, who planned to execute her in order to gain both fear and respect from the prisoners of Arkham City, and to join his gang in order to be the ruler of Arkham City.

After Batman rescued Catwoman from Two-Face, Joker attempted to assassinate her to keep Batman from learning the secrets of Arkham City. After he traced the trajectory of the bullet, Batman was able to deduce that the shot had originated from Bell Tower at the Gotham City Cathedral, which had been transformed in the Arkham City Medical Center. After he rescued the members of the staff (including Aaron Cash), Batman went to the Bell tower to investigate the scene to determine the Joker's location and get answers that regarding Protocol 10. The Dark Knight traveled through Arkham City until he reached the abandoned Sionis Industries Steel Mill, which became the Joker's hideout. After he infiltrated the Steel Mill, Batman eventually came face to face with a dying Joker. Batman fell for the ruse, and the Joker infected him with his tainted blood, which poisoned the Dark Knight with the same disease that affected him. Joker told Batman that he had contracted Mr. Freeze to work on a cure and sent Batman to find him, and cited that Joker had also sent samples of his own blood to hospitals all around Gotham. 80 people were already reported as being infected. "So, Batman, you 'ere for the cops, the ice man, or me?" "I was only here for Fries and the hostages, but now, I'm taking you down too."

- Penguin and Batman

Soon after, Batman found Freeze's hideout in Arkham City at the old GCPD Building, however, Penguin and his henchmen took Freeze captive. Batman went to the Museum to face the Penguin, but first had to disable the security systems that Penguin had established that interfered with Batman's equipment and uplinks to Alfred at the Batcave and Oracle at the Clock Tower. Batman also had a chance encounter with Bane who suggested the two team up in order to eliminate the last traces of Titan in Arkham City. After he disabled the jammers, Batman fought his way through the Museum, and rescued the undercover GCPD officers that were sent in to investigate Arkham City in the process, as Gordon was unaware of what happened inside Arkham's walls, while he tried to find and rescue Freeze.

Penguin had other plans and took Freeze's equipment for use against Batman and deployed a Titan Henchman to protect the Museum. With Freeze's help, Batman was able to disable Freeze's Gun, fought Solomon Grundy, and stopped Penguin. Nonetheless, Freeze revealed to Batman that there was no cure for what was affecting both he and the Joker as the cure broke down quickly after it was created. After Freeze showed a specific DNA strand to him that the cure lacked, the Dark Knight quickly realized that the DNA was a match for Ra's al Ghul's blood and set out to find him in Arkham City.

Fortunately, Ra's had set up a base in Arkham City. After he left the Museum, Batman was attacked by assassins from the League of Assassins and Talia al Ghul's personal guard. He pursued them, and, during a fight, covertly implanted a tracer on one of the ninjas. Batman allowed them to defeat him so that he could track them to Ra's, but that was interrupted by Tim Drake, the third Robin. Robin vowed to stay and help, but Batman sent him away and went after Ra's on his own. After he went into the abandoned Subway following a brief encounter with Killer Croc, Batman eventually found the compound of the League of Assassins in the abandoned Wonder City.

After a near death experience from his affliction, Batman agreed to pursue the Trials of the Demon so that he could continue to live. Batman drank the blood of the Demon and joined the spirit form of Ra's where he was tested to see that if he was worthy. During the last trial, Batman refused to go forward to kill Ra's. Talia, was betrayed as her father threatened her life, relented that Batman and Ra's deserved each other, and left. Batman took the sample of Ra's blood to Freeze, and discovered two murdered victims while on his way that had their faces removed. A nearby witness reported that Bruce Wayne was behind it.

Upon returning to Arkham City, Batman delivered the blood sample to Freeze who quickly refused to give Batman the cure as Joker had Nora. After a fight, Freeze agreed to give Batman the cure, but Harley had managed to steal the cure from Freeze's safe. Batman pursued her to get the cure, but was diverted when the Joker shot down Vicki Vale's news helicopter. After he rescued Vale, Batman received word from Alfred that Lucius Fox had synthesized a cure from the blood sample that Robin had smuggled out of Arkham City. This was a trap by the Mad Hatter, who took Batman prisoner. Batman was able to free himself and pursued Harley back to the Steel Mill. While on his way back to the Steel Mill, Batman encountered Azrael, who informed him that he had been identified as a person who would face a great trial in the future.

With increased security including snipers and guards using ultraviolet goggles to detect him, Batman was able to break into Joker's Funland after he rescued Nora and gave her coordinates to Victor. While he made his way through the Steel Mill, Batman eventually came face to face with Harley, who was tied up and gagged by Talia. Batman went to the Funhouse where he was quickly attacked by Joker's goons and a Titan powered goon and found that the Joker was healed. After fighting with Joker, the ceiling gave way and Batman was trapped under the rubble. Joker was about to kill Batman when Talia appeared and offered him immortality in exchange for Batman's life. The Joker took the deal, let Batman live, and left with Talia who had reactivated the tracking chip that Batman had previously placed on the League of Assassins Ninja. Batman briefly reunited with Bane, who double-crossed him, and the Dark Knight was forced to destroy the remaining Titan containers on his own.

While Batman pursued Talia, Strange activated Protocol 10, and TYGER began to systematically destroy Arkham City. At both Oracle and Alfred's pleading, Batman decided not to pursue Talia and instead went to stop Strange by penetrating Arkham City's defenses at Wonder Tower. Batman fought his way through the TYGER Guards and learned that Arkham City was merely the first step in a larger plan for Strange and his benefactor to eliminate crime with new cities expected to be completed in both Keystone City and Metropolis within the next year.

Batman was able to stop Strange and hacked into the computer network alongside Oracle to stop the attack on the city. Strange struggled and gloated about how he had proven himself better than Batman in his ability to end crime, only to be stopped by Ra's who had revealed that the League had used Strange to take over the city. Strange, after he knew that he was defeated, activated Protocol 11: setting off charges that destroyed Wonder Tower. Ra's and Batman both escaped; however, Ra's was impaled on nearby debris when he hit the ground. Nearby, Batrman discovered the final crime scene, which lead him to the Identity Thief Killer.

After he activated the tracker after Arkham City was safe, Batman discovered that Joker and Talia were at the Monarch Theatre. After he took down the patrols that guarded the entry, specifically snipers who were armed with weapons that were capable of penetrating the Batsuit, Batman infiltrated the theater and found Talia and Joker in the main room. After a brief stand down, Batman learned that Talia had intercepted the cure from Harley, and also seemingly killed Joker in the process by stabbing him with her sword. However, Batman then deduced from various things that he heard throughout the night that the Joker that he had seen was actually a double and attempted to warn Talia, but she ended up shot in the back by the real Joker. The stabbed "Joker" was revealed to be Clayface, who quickly attacked Batman. With Clayface defeated, Batman took the cure and Joker came for it. Batman struggled with the decision to give the Joker the cure, was stabbed in the arm, and quickly dropped the cure which shattered and was absorbed into the ground. Joker tried frantically to ingest the cure, but failed. Batman revealed that he would've given the Joker the cure despite everything that he had done in the past and knew that he'd probably do it again in the future. With a final laugh and a smile, the Joker died from the toxin. "Do you want to know something funny? Even after everything you've done... I would've saved you." "That actually is... (coughs) ... pretty funny!"

- Batman and The Joker's final words to each other

As morning broke, Batman carried the lifeless body of the Joker out of Arkham City and passed the barricade of the GCPD, led by Gordon, in silence.

Harley Quinn's Revenge
As the days passed since his horrific night in Arkham City, Batman fell into a deep depression over the loss of Talia and the guilt of the Joker's death, and refused to speak of what really happened that night. After two weeks, Batman returned to the condemned Arkham City to apprehend Harley who had taken over Industrial District and redesigned the Sionis Industries Steel Mill in her own image. Gordon summoned Batman at the bridge entrance of Gotham Dock Yard where he informed Batman that Quinn had kidnapped several GCPD officers and brought them to the Steel Mill as a part of some elaborate trap that was set just for him.

Batman headed directly to the Loading Bay Office at the Steel Mill and saw a police officer who was held captive by a group of Harley's Thugs. Batman quickly dismantled the gang and rescued the officer who revealed that the other remaining officers were being held hostage deep within other section of the Steel Mill. Batman continued his search for the remaining officers by using a blood trail that he found at the gate entrance of the Steel Mill which lead him to a secret TYGER entrance that required three code keys to access.

Upon entering the Shipyard, Batman found the second cop and took out the thugs who were guarding him, but fell into a coma when Quinn arrived, shot him in the chest, and imprisoned him in an airtight, glass ball for two days. When Robin arrived and stole Harley's key code to the ball and freed Batman, Harley revealed three bombs that were stolen from the GCPD Lockup that were placed around the shipyard for the Dark Knight to detonate, before she unveiled her final plot of revenge by activating the Wonder City Mechanical Guardians and pitted them against him.

After he destroyed them all, Batman took Quinn out, but not before she revealed that she intended on blowing up the entire Shipyard with Robin, Batman, and even herself inside. However, Batman escaped with Harley, who attempted to stab him from behind with a knife, but was knocked out cold by Robin using one of his Shurikens. Batman then quickly left without another word to Gordon who arrived on the scene.

Batman: Arkham City: Endgame
In the Batcave, a post-death message was sent from the Joker himself to Batman, and revealed one last, twisted joke that would tear Gotham apart, even in his death. Joker stated that during the events of Arkham City, he sent his men to the Gotham City Radio Tower within the prison to take control of the broadcast frequencies and implant a message from him into them. That message was soon broadcasted to all of Gotham over the next couple of weeks as Joker confirmed his death to the people of Gotham, but promised them that whoever found his body and gave it to Harley would be rewarded with millions of dollars. Gotham soon went into chaos as members of Joker's Gang, the GCPD, and the citizens began to tear apart the city and looked for Joker's body. After he cruelly asked Batman to abuse Harley for him in his absence, Joker then revealed a special surprise for him: the bombs that were still rigged to the Arkham City perimeter walls, were set to detonate within the hour. While the prison was still in the process of being shut down, the remaining, rampaging inmates were given notice of this plan and prepared themselves for their escape.

With the GCPD too busy to contain the inmates within Arkham City and the chaos in Gotham, Joker informed Batman that he was the only one who was capable of stopping the bombs. Joker left off his message by stating that the bombs would go off if they were tampered with and informed Batman that he would find the device that was needed to deactivate the bombs within Arkham Asylum, in a room of personal significance to the both of them from a "Day of Independence" many years ago.

While in route to the Asylum, Batman relived in his memories a particularly brutal plot by the Joker that he orchestrated on the Fourth of July by firing off toxin induced fireworks all over Gotham, and murdered hundreds of men, women, and children. Batman remembered that he took Joker to a a cell in Extreme Isolation that night and deduced that this was where Joker hid the code that was needed to deactivate the bombs based off his clue.

When Batman entered the room there, he found no such code, but a book that Joker wrote underneath a loose stone tile that contained the names of every single person that he had ever murdered in it with Batman's name on the last page. Unknown to Batman, Joker had sensors installed within the room, which tripped security and activated another message from the murdering psychopath.

Joker's voice was suddenly heard on the security monitor in the room, which revealed to Batman that he never had any intention of blowing the walls of Arkham City and had simply used it as a ruse to lure Batman to that room. The door suddenly locked as Joker laughed and revealed to Batman that the room itself, instead of the Arkham City walls, had been rigged with dozens of explosives by Clayface during the events that took place in the mega prison, one of which was triggered when Batman grabbed the book. Joker bid farewell to his eternal enemy, promised on seeing him in Hell and believed that this was the only way to set things right in their psychotic friendship.

As the bombs went off, Arkham Asylum was nearly completely destroyed in the explosion as the entire message from Joker was broadcasted to Arkham City through the security monitors along with one last image: R.I.P. with a Batman Symbol above it. As the inmates cheered at the message, Detective Harvey Bullock gave the order to have medical units over at Arkham Island and ordered the news team outside Arkham City to fly him over to the island. When Bullock and his forces arrived at the ruins of Arkham Mansion, all they found was Batman's Batsuit, which forced them to believe that the Dark Knight had finally perished.

As Gordon found out, he ordered Bullock to make sure that the news did not get leaked to Gotham. As Gordon lost hope of protecting his city, he received a phone call from none other than Batman, though he never revealed how he had survived such a chaotic explosion. Batman and Gordon finally met at the Morgue where the Joker's body was being kept and came to a mutual solution on how to ensure that his body was never recovered and that the people of Gotham stop fighting for it: cremation.

As Batman took one last look at the man who caused him years of tragedy and misery, he gave Gordon the order to cremate the psychotic, mass murder's body. Joker's body was sent into the inferno as Batman walked away, and declared that all of Joker's plans had finally ended, and, for the first time in years, there would be no more laughs.

Batman: Arkham Knight
9 months since the incident at Arkham City and dealing with the Joker, Batman appeared shortly after Scarecrow had warned Gotham with a demonstration of his new Fear Toxin. Gordon explained to the Caped Crusader that they had lost a military vehicle through Chinatown, so Batman went to investigate. Batman found Officer Kevern being threatened by several Thugs and he took them down before saved the officer from being struck by a military truck.

Batman summoned the Batmobile, pursued the truck and stopped it before it got away. Batman began interrogating the driver, and was almost injected with Crane's new toxin. The driver told him Crane was working out of a penthouse in Chinatown, which was where Batman headed after he broke his arm. Upon his arrival, the Caped Crusader found Poison Ivy held hostage by Crane's men whom he took down before he confronted Ivy. Ivy told Batman that she was invited by Scarecrow to kill him and takeover Gotham, however she was captured due to her refusal of his offer. Batman was suddenly ensnared by Ivy's Plants, however, he got out of them quickly before his green-thumbed foe gave him the slip. Batman took Ivy into custody after he took on the militia forces, brought her to the GCPD Lockup, and put her in an isolation cell.

Once Ivy was in custody, Batman headed for the Clock Tower where Oracle was working on the chemical analysis to Crane's new toxin. Barbara showed him her progress in analyzing the toxin, however there was no way of tracing it. Batman then looked at the manufacturing process to trace the substance instead of the core elements that were needed to make Crane's toxin. They found that the toxins had emitted a unique radiation which they could trace, so Batman headed to Panessa Studios where he would repurpose the antennas. Once he left the Clock Tower, Batman contacted Gordon, let him know that he had a way to track down Scarecrow, and to prep his men for the location that he gave him.

Batman arrived at Panessa Studios where he activated the first antenna with the help of the Batmobile and a remote access device. He then headed for the second antenna at the Falcone Shipping Yards where he found that it was already occupied by armed thugs. After he took out 2 of the thugs, Batman contacted Lucius for his new suit. Fox sent the suit and Batman put it to the test, by taking out the remaining thugs and saved a hostage that they took. When Batman activated the second antenna, he sent out the Batscanner and found that Scarecrow was manufacturing his toxin at Ace Chemicals which was where he told Gordon to go with his men in hopes of stopping Crane.

Arriving at the scene, Batman encountered the Arkham Knight for the first time who manned a helicopter while his forces shot at Batman and the police. The Dark Knight headed in on his own to rescue a skeleton crew at the factory and was contacted by Barbara to the identity to the militia's leading commander. Batman also managed to get the Batmobile into the factory to combat the militia's unmanned vehicles and forces before he went after the workers. Batman found one worker nearby and was almost killed by a squad of militia soldiers if it hadn't been for the Batmobile saving him at the last minute. Batman rescued Mark Cheung who explained to him that Crane was working on a way to disperse his new toxin over the Eastern Seaboard. Batman then contacted Gordon, warned him of the threat, and who took the people who Batman helped in for medical treatment and care.

Going deeper into the factory, Batman saved Adam Brewer from a small battalion of troops, brought him up via the elevator, and placed him in the Batmobile. The Arkham Knight sent his helicopter to confront Batman, only for the Caped Crusader to destroy the aircraft before it took out the Batmobile. Once the remaining workers were out, Batman headed into the factory to confront Scarecrow. Batman found Scarecrow in the Central Mixing Chamber preparing to disperse his Fear Toxin via the explosion that he would cause. On the way in, Batman took on several troops who were set there by the Knight and Crane. Batman then arrived in the Central Mixing Chamber where he found himself taking down armed troops and sentry turrets before he confronted Scarecrow. Crane realized that his foe was in the room, so he allowed Batman to try and apprehend him, and revealed to the Dark Knight that he had sent troops to kidnap Barbara.

The Caped Crusader contacted Barbara, but spoke to her for a brief second before the connection was severed. Crane escaped while Batman was distracted and it was up to him to stop the blast before the toxin was dispersed. Batman contacted and ordered Alfred to find Barbara while he stopped the explosion. Against his faithful butler's protests, Batman activated the neutralizing agent to reduce the blast radius, however, upon getting the final agent, Batman witnessed before his eyes a hallucination of the Joker holding him at gunpoint. In his mind, Batman contacted Gordon to meet him at Panessa Studios where he had several people who were infected with Joker's blood were held in hopes of curing them. Batman awoke to see Joker's incorporeal form standing over him, but got up and escaped with the aid of the Batmobile before the factory came down on top of him.

After he realized that he would have to break the news about Barbara's capture to Gordon, Batman headed to the GCPD and told Gordon that Scarecrow had her. He and Gordon then took to the streets and were pursued by the militia forces who were on a mission to capture the Commissioner. Batman stopped them, then told Gordon to get into the Batmobile and they made their way to the Clock Tower. Upon their arrival, Batman ordered the Commissioner to stay in the Batmobile while he took down the militia forces. Batman gave Gordon the all-clear as soon as the troops were dealt with and they entered the Clock Tower, where he showed him that Barbara had been secretly working for him.

Gordon was angered by that and told Batman to stay away from his family, then they both went their separate ways. Using the Batcomputer at the Clock Tower, Batman found that the Arkham Knight had taken Barbara in a military truck which he traced the tire tracks, only to be stalled by the militia and an armored mine. After he took out the mine and the tanks, the Caped Crusader continued following the tire tracks until he got to the bridge that lead to Miagani Island which was raised due to the militia. He headed over the other side on foot to take down the troops and lower the bridge.

Batman was then contacted by Riddler who recently captured Catwoman. Batman went to take on Riddler's Thugs and saved Catwoman, only to discover that Nigma had placed a bomb around her neck to which he would need the keys in order to free her. Upon following the tire tracks, Batman found that the truck had crashed and so he set up a crime scene which led to him finding a microchip. Batman contacted Lucius to decrypt the chip's contents and then headed for Wayne Tower to continue his investigation. Batman then continued onward, only to be stalled by Man-Bat before he continued over the bridge to find Barbara.

Batman arrived at Wayne Tower where he met up with Lucius and pinpointed the location of the Arkham Knight's last known transmission in the Miagani Tunnel Network. While he made his way through the tunnels, Batman was ambushed by the Arkham Knight, and then took on several of his troops. Batman then found himself against the remaining tanks and pursued the Knight. Upon stopping the APC, Batman discovered that the Arkham Knight was not actually in the APC, as the driver had been using a voice synthesizer that was programmed with the Knight's voice to act as a diversion to ensure that the actual Arkham Knight had got away. Nonetheless, Batman interrogated the driver by having the Batmobile's tires nearly crush the driver's head as clear sign of how desperate Batman was to try and find the Arkham Knight and Barbara, and the drivers revealed that Penguin was supplying the Knight with weapons via his front company, North Refrigeration.

Attributes

 * Trained to a physical and mental peak
 * Arsenal of gadgets, vehicles, and advanced technology
 * Inventor, detective, genius-level intelligence
 * Expert in most known forms of martial arts
 * Trained in all aspects of criminology
 * Mastery of the physical sciences
 * Computer expert
 * Master of disguise
 * Photographic memory
 * Trained in stealth and espionage techniques
 * Expert escape artist
 * The "Initiation" DLC revealed that even when not wearing his WayneTech-equipped Batsuit, Bruce Wayne's extensive martial arts training allowed him to visualize his surroundings in a manner reminiscent of Detective Mode, and was referred to simply as "Concentration".

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Additional gameplay could be unlocked for Batman by players completing some of the Riddler's specific challenges. That unlocked Challenge Mode, which allowed players to practice their skills as Batman on waves of the Joker's thugs, and post their scores on online Leader Boards. Challenge Mode also allowed players unlock Combat achievement trophies after playing Batman: Arkham Asylum. The Challenge Maps in Challenge Mode were divided into Combat and Predator Challenges.

The Combat Challenges pitted Batman in an enclosed, arena-like, battle room to face off against a number of thugs and inmates who came in to face the Dark Knight in groups. The Predator Challenges were when Batman must defeat all the goons without being detected in a large area of Arkham Asylum, often complete with nooks and crannies for him to hide in and ambush enemies. Batman may sometimes fight specific enemies from the regular game, including Zsasz, the Venom Henchmen, and the Titan Guards. The Challenge Maps returned in Arkham City.

Batman's Combat Challenge Maps
Intensive Treatment
 * Round 1- Batman must face three Blackgate convicts trying to attack him at the Holding Cells.
 * Round 2- Batman must face one of the Raincoat Henchman (An imposter in a pilfered asylum guard jacket) and four other convicts in clown makeup the Joker sends out to fight him.
 * Round 3- Batman must face two unarmed convicts, and four other inmates carrying lead pipes.
 * Round 4- Batman must face a team of convicts and one of the Joker's "security guards". Lead pipes littering the floor from the previous round may be picked up and utilized by the desperate henchmen.

Sewer Bat
 * Round 1- Batman must face four convicts under the Joker's employ in the Old Sewer.
 * Round 2- Batman must face a knife-wielding High Security Henchman and a group of other inmates, including one of the Joker's "security guards".
 * Round 3- Batman must battle six convicts attempting to kill him on the Joker's orders. If the fight was prolonged, one of the prisoners would take a piece of piping off one of the Old Sewer's walls and attempt using it against Batman.
 * Round 4- Batman must take down a High Security Henchman, two imposter "security guards", and an army of convicts. If the fight was prolonged, one of the convicts (most likely a fake "security guard") would go for a riot gun locker or take a cement block off the wall to hurl it at Batman.

Shock and Awe
 * Round 1- Batman must contend with four inmates in the Extreme Incarceration area of the Penitentiary, one of which wields a lead pipe. He has 43 seconds before the Arkham security systems electrify the floor and shock him into unconsciousness.
 * Round 2- Batman must face a team of five convicts led by an imposter "security guard", one of which carries a lead pipe. The "security guard" wields an electrified Stun Baton taken from a real guard and could block most of Batman's attacks. Batman has 58 seconds before the floor electrifies.
 * Round 3- Batman must face a group of eight thugs led by an imposter "security guard" sent into the Penitentiary to attack him. Two of the thugs are High Security Henchmen armed with knives, and two others were armed with pipes. Batman must defeat them all within a 73 second limit before the floor electrifies. As the fight intensifies, at least one of the convicts will draw out a Stun Baton to use against Batman. The convicts may also climb onto another part of the floor to open the emergency riot gun locker stored there.
 * Round 4- Batman must face a team of the Joker's inmates led personally by Zsasz and two "security guard" imposters. Two of the convicts carry Stun Batons, and there are three lead pipes lying scattered across the floor which inmates would no doubt snag and attempt to use against Batman. Zsasz and his henchmen must all be eliminated before 88 seconds are up. As soon as one opponent loses a Stun Baton, another would instantly bend over to retrieve it, making this last combat challenge one of the hardest of all. Almost all the inmates (except Zsasz) would attempt to get their hands on a Stun Baton or a lead pipe, and the "security guards" seemed to have a higher tendency to do so.

Rumble in the Jungle
 * Round 1- Batman must face a High Security Henchmen and six Blackgate convicts tasked with guarding the Titan Production Facility in the Botanical Gardens, one of which carries a lead pipe.
 * Round 2- Batman must contend with a team of twelve Blackgate convicts sent to capture him, including three "security guards". One of the "security guards" and four other thugs were armed with lead pipes. If the fight was prolonged, one of the convicts will take a cement block off the wall to hurl it at the Dark Knight.
 * Round 3- Batman faces a High Security Henchman, who leads a "security guard" and five other Blackgate convicts in an attempt to attack him. One of the convicts carries an electrified Stun Baton and may block many of Batman's attacks. Another convict also carries a lead pipe, and the pipes that litter the floor from the previous round would no doubt be utilized by some of the convicts.
 * Round 4- Two "security guards", six other thugs, and even a ferocious Titan Henchman make this desperate attempt to dispatch Batman in the Titan Production Facility. Most of the Batman's opponents in this last combat challenge would try making use of anything they can get their hands on to use as a weapon. At least three enemies would attempt to retrieve a lead pipe from the floor. As soon as one opponent loses a lead pipe, another would likely retrieve it. The Titan Henchman would try to hurl one of the senseless convicts at Batman, and attempt to ram him with his hulking body.

Alternate Costumes

 * Batman Beyond Skin
 * 1970s Batman Costume
 * Batman: Year One Skin
 * The Dark Knight Returns Skin
 * Earth-1 Skin
 * Batman: The Animated Series Skin
 * Sinestro Corps Batman Skin
 * Batman Inc. Skin available later

The Joker's Carnival

 * Pre-order Exclusive and DLC pack

Iceberg Lounge V.I.P. Room

 * Collector's Edition Exclusive and DLC pack

Batcave

 * DLC pack

Psychological Profile (by Dr. Young)
Batman

Real Name: Unknown

Psychological Profile: Despite the Batman's relationship with GCPD and his public perception of him as a hero, I have gathered numerous reports of his activities from the inmates of the asylum, and have personally begun to wonder if they are his true peer group. Purely theoretically, I would posit the man who calls himself "Batman" as an antisocial, possibly borderline individual with paranoid tendencies. His "crime-fighting" activities seem motivated by a belief that criminal behavior is some kind of personal affront, his use of an alias indicates identity disturbance, and he has a flagrant disregard for society's norms and laws.

Additional Notes:

I'd presume a childhood free from trauma; his mix of disorders seems much more likely to be caused by genetic predisposition, and possible substance abuse.

His ideation around bats is peculiar and unique. My hope is to gather enough material from Arkham's inmates to publish a psychological profile of the Batman, in which I would name a new category for his specific affliction. Chiroptera complex?

Arkham City Profile: Dr. Hugo Strange
Bruce Wayne

A.K.A: Batman

They say hindsight is 20/20. When reviewing all of the facts, Batman's personality gives ample clues to his identity. He lives by a strict code—protect the innocent and apprehend the guilty, but never kill for any reason. His radical sense of justice makes him almost predictable. Batman's victory over the Joker last year highlights this. By allowing the Joker to survive, has Batman sealed his own fate?

Dr. Hugo Strange: Side Note

I know your secret, Batman

~ Hugo Strange

Batman: Arkham Origins

 * "You want teeth. I want answers!" (Killer Croc)
 * "Black Mask. Put a bounty on my head. Where is he!?" (Penguin)
 * "I'm not playing games, Slade." (Deathstroke)
 * "Noted." (To Alfred about the Concussion Detonator)
 * "I am the reason the criminals breathe easier when the sun rises." (Alfred)
 * "Tonight will not be my end. But it will be theirs!" (Alfred)

Batman: Arkham Asylum

 * "Warden, something's not right. I'm going with him!" (To Quincy Sharp about Joker)
 * "Not where you're going!" (Joker)


 * "Long night, Jim?" (Commissioner Gordon)
 * "Joker's loose! Alert the Warden!" (Frank Boles)
 * "If you think I'll let you run..." (Joker)
 * "Joker happened. You're lucky to be alive." (Eddie Burlow)
 * "You have one chance to surrender Quinn." (Harley Quinn)
 * "He's lying. It's just a diversion to keep people away." (To Oracle about Joker)
 * "Harley thinks she has me trapped in this chamber. She never was very bright."
 * "This isn't a simple escape attempt. Joker's been planning this."
 * "Oracle. Disable the Batmobile's countermeasure system!"
 * "I'm outside the Arkham Mansion. Harley Quinn probably triggered the alarm. If she's still got Gordon with her, he could get hurt." (Oracle)
 * "I can handle these low-life thugs." (Arkham Guard)
 * "Stay with your colleague. I'm ending this. Now." (Arkham Guard)
 * "I'm sorry Jim." (Gordon's "Corpse")
 * "He's out of control. He's trying prove something. I'm not sure I can stop him this time." (To Gordon about Joker)
 * "Be quiet!" (Joker)
 * "Never mind that. Get behind me. Now!" (Gordon)
 * "Bane." 
 * "Who did this to you?" (Bane)
 * "Gordon! Run!"
 * "No, Bane. This time I break you!"
 * "The radio claims he's planted bombs all over Gotham. Gotham will panic, you're needed there." (To Gordon about Joker)
 * "It's Spanish. For witch." (To Gordon about Bane calling Dr. Young "bruja")
 * "Oracle, go through the city's computers! Pull up all you can find on Doctor Young. I'll go through anything you find once I get to the cave."
 * "I built it years ago. It's best to plan ahead for situations like this." (To Oracle about the Arkham Asylum Batcave)
 * "Yeah, I know. I once saved an unfortunate inmate from leaping off into the rocks below." (To Oracle about Dead Man's Point)
 * "I found a cave entrance and over the years have moved a number of supplies here. It's a regular home away from home." (To Oracle about Dead Man's Point)
 * "Looks like she was experimenting on the Arkham patients. This new chemical only barely resembles the original Venom compound." (To Oracle about Titan)
 * "There are a number of changes that appear to amplify the strength of the drug. Multiple references to a Titan formula. Even a small amount could trigger a Venom-like transformation in the host, eliminating the need for the storage tank Bane requires." (To Oracle about Titan)
 * "Hang on. These notes aren't complete. The formula is missing! That must be the secret Dr. Young is hiding. If Joker gets his hands on this, he'll create an army of a thousand Banes." (To Oracle about Titan)
 * "Someone has already got to the safe! The only question now is who opened it!"
 * "No sign of forced entry. Whoever opened it knew the combination. Hmmm." 
 * "Let's see!"
 * "Good. Dr. Young got to her notes before Joker. She's taken them to hide somewhere."
 * "I need to follow her and find our where she put them."
 * "I'm really not interested in a bunch of flowers, Ivy." (Poison Ivy)
 * "Just stay where you are! Last thing I need is you running free!" (Poison Ivy)
 * "You're safe now." (Louie Green and Arkham Guard)
 * "She won't get away. I'll stop her and then her boyfriend." (To Louie Green about Harley Quinn and Joker)
 * "Quiet!" (Harley Quinn)
 * "Why the smiles next to certain names?" (To Harley Quinn about Joker's Party List)
 * "Get in!" (Harley Quinn)
 * "Yup, I know." (To Harley Quinn about Joker)
 * "Oracle. I'm done. Harley is...subdued, and I have her prints scanned."
 * "Yes. Harley's been everywhere on the island, so I'm calibrating the scanner to only show prints that have traces of chlorophyll."
 * "You need to stop this now. Before it goes too far!" (Joker)
 * "Let him go NOW!" (To Joker about the hostage Arkham Guard)
 * "NO!" (Joker)
 * "I'm fine. I eat punks like these for breakfast. What were they doing in here?" (Carl Todd)
 * "Another mutation. If Joker is still mixing chemicals, he hasn't perfected the formula yet. I've got to hurry."

Batman: Arkham Knight
"Do not lie to me" (Penguin)

"Who are you?" (Arkham Knight)

"I'm not afraid Crane." (Scarecrow)

"What's the matter? Scared?" (To Scarecrow)

Gallery

 * Batman (Arkhamverse)/Gallery

Trivia

 * Batman's defeat of Zsasz mirrored how he had dispatched one of the clowns from The Penguin's Red Triangle Circus Gang in Batman Returns.
 * Batman's design in Arkham City was available as an alternate skin for those who pre-ordered Injustice: Gods Among Us at Walmart.
 * In Batman: Arkham Knight, there were several references to Superman. One such reference being a message that Bruce could listen to on his phone at Wayne Tower from t invading Metropolis next and another stating "No way man. You think the Bat's tougher to kill? You don't want to go up against the other guy in a cape.", in other words, Superman.
 * Bruce also had a dog's water bowl in his office with the name "Ace" on it, which obviously meant Ace the Bat-Hound.