TYGER Security

"Tyger, Tyger burning bright. Tyger, Tyger, always right. Tyger, Tyger, prepare to fight. Tyger, Tyger, protect the night."

- Hugo Strange recites the TYGER oath.

"What do you send to catch a bat? The best private security company in the world. A combination of ex-military and former SWAT operatives, the team is well-trained, well-equipped, and they come highly recommended."

- Rocksteady viral marketing.

TYGER Security was a rogue private military firm contracted by Quincy Sharp to police Arkham City. It was awarded a bid to restore order to Gotham in the wake of the T&T terror attacks, and subsequently to supervise Sharp's Arkham City project. TYGER personnel answered only to Hugo Strange and shared a universal hostility towards Batman, the product of intense programming. They were instrumental in carrying out Protocol 10.

Following the events of Batman: Arkham City, TYGER's operations were superseded by the GCPD. The firm was liquidated a few weeks later.

Background
Shortly after Quincy Sharp's election as mayor of Gotham City, a terrorist attack on City Hall by two Titan enhanced supervillains - T&T - left three hundred dead. Sharp lobbied the surviving councilmen to place Gotham under martial law, and subsequently, to contract a "privatized military force" that would follow executive orders without question. This force was to be separate from the GCPD and serve as Sharp's own instrument for restoring and preserving order.

Unknown to the general public, a previously unheard of entity, TYGER Security, was already being formed with the sole purpose of winning the municipal bid and assuming strict control over Gotham. Sharp used his old military contacts to solicit potential recruits with promising backgrounds. They were then sent to Hugo Strange, who profiled the individual men based on their service records. Strange then quizzed interviewees on their predilection for deadly force and willingness to follow orders. Whether or not they met his ideal profile, the recruits were subject to an extensive brainwashing process. This conditioning centered on four characteristics: intense loyalty to Strange, contempt for red tape, contempt for criminals, and a particular contempt for Batman, who personified anarchy. Once Strange had asserted dominion over the individual's thoughts and loyalties, he suppressed this side to their personality and freed the oblivious soldiers. It is implied that the would-be TYGER troops were then allowed to function as unknowing sleeper agents, until activated by a posthypnotic suggestion implanted by Strange.

TYGER first entered the public eye when it outbid several prominent Gotham companies for Arkham Island. It immediately took custody of the Arkham Asylum grounds and a number of facility records. Within weeks of the sale's completion, Sharp announced that TYGER had also been awarded the contract to police Arkham City. The firm's relationship with the GCPD immediately soured, as this decision had come in the wake of several private disagreements between Sharp and police commissioner James Gordon. Bruce Wayne noted that the GCPD was being intentionally "marginalized" in favour of TYGER. According to Sharp, the city council's previous declaration of martial law gave TYGER operatives the right to apply deadly force.

Meanwhile, Strange continued expanding his dossier on Batman. Having already completed his psychological profile and deduced the Dark Knight's true identity, he refocused on charting Wayne's skills and likely tactics. Known equipment was also studied. TYGER was then trained and equipped accordingly, spending months on end practicing for their contacts with Batman. Strange would later claim that each trooper was Batman's "equal in agility" and their specialized paraphernalia "more than a match for [his] weaponry".

Ultimately, TYGER's poor imagination and emphasis on inflexible tactics allowed Batman and his allies to outwit its units with unconventional thinking. This was most amply demonstrated by the organization's obsession with specifics - such as naively insisting that Batman traveled along mapped routes with no deviation from earlier observed patterns - while failing to develop even basic contingencies for what happened when said deviation occurred. During their initial engagements, it took Batman only about four minutes to defeat three companies of TYGER troops.

As their downfalls multiplied Strange became acutely aware his men would fail, but he "studied every defeat meticulously, analyzing the techniques and strategies of his opponent."

Batman: Arkham City
As Arkham City developed, TYGER became more visible - appearing at Sharp's press conferences, printing public propaganda, and canvassing Gotham in search of those with criminal records. It collectively assumed responsibility for evicting residents and closing structures within the quarantine zone. A network of alarms and closed-circuit television monitoring was also installed with the assistance of sub-contractors, many of whom were later arrested and detained as Political Prisoners.

TYGER later stormed a demonstration held by Bruce Wayne's "Close Arkham City" campaign, deploying tear gas and assaulting members of the press. Wayne, Jack Ryder, and a number of others were taken into custody. Hugo Strange interviewed Wayne personally upon arrival, disclosing knowledge of his double identity before releasing him into the inmate population. As Batman, the latter immediately hacked into TYGER's communications with an encryption key taken from a guard radio. This allowed him to monitor transmissions from TYGER patrols, their command center on Arkham Island, and Hugo Strange in Wonder Tower. For example, bi-hourly status reports allowed Batman to learn about Catwoman's capture by Two-Face, Bane's presence in Arkham City, the Hush murders, and the abduction of Aaron Cash's Medical Protection Team (MPT) by the Riddler.

Meanwhile, news of Wayne's abduction was the result of furious controversy in Gotham. Reporters like Vicki Vale attacked the raid as "heavy handed" and emphasized the fact that the protest was indeed peaceful. Vale was later able to penetrate Arkham airspace unmolested in a news helicopter, which was subsequently downed by a surface-to-air missile fired by the Joker and provided by Strange. Batman would later discover that TYGER had been supplying both the Joker and Penguin with military-grade weapons from their own stocks to escalate local turf wars. This included everything from automatic rifles to anti-riot equipment and thermal imaging gear. While it initially remained unclear why Strange would funnel contraband into his own facility, Oracle later discovered that he was using the flow of arms as a pretext to initiate Protocol 10 — the total extermination of Arkham's criminal populace. Having received the necessary authorization from the Gotham city council, Strange disposed of Mayor Sharp by having him committed and began arming multiple rocket launchers from Wonder Tower. Protocol 10 opened with a bombardment of the Joker's headquarters in the Sionis Steel Mill, trapping Batman beneath the debris. Subsequent rocket barrages also demolished part of the Cyrus Pickney Natural History Museum (Penguin's headquarters) and the Solomon Wayne Courthouse (Two-Face's headquarters). TYGER launched follow up operations in the form of air strikes from helicopter gunships, using thermal scanners to locate fleeing or concealed inmates, while new detainees awaiting processing were abruptly taken to the basement of Wonder Tower and executed.

Having been rescued by Catwoman, Batman determined to halt the killings and infiltrated Wonder Tower. After besting several platoons of TYGER troops, he broke into Strange's office and deactivated Protocol 10. Strange then reverted to Protocol 11 upon being mortally wounded by Ra's al Ghul for his failure, triggering the destruction of Wonder Tower. Batman and Ra's were hurled from the structure in the ensuing explosion.

A rudderless TYGER had no alternative but to recall all its units and break off the attack on Arkham City. Its personnel appear to have ceased manning their posts, as they will no longer react to the destruction of their surveillance equipment or attempt to use their radios. When James Gordon and the GCPD prepared to retake Arkham by force, they encountered no resistance.

It is unclear whether the firm was prosecuted for involvement in Strange's criminal activities. Nevertheless, fallout from the scandal ruined TYGER, and it disbanded shortly thereafter.

Structure
Within Arkham City, law and order, the control of suspected or overt opposition to Hugo Strange, and the detection or control of contraband was the responsibility of TYGER. All TYGER officers appear to be competent long-service professionals, although it was rumored that many of the troopers were in fact brainwashed inmates. Most personnel were well-trained, well-equipped, and publicly loyal to Mayor Sharp's administration. With few exceptions they developed an efficient record for early detection of dissidence and subterfuge: such as identifying undercover agents of the GCPD. The aerial patrol unit, which was small but effective, was responsible for monitoring airspace and for support of the ground forces in internal security operations.

A broad spectrum of emergency measures provided Strange and TYGER considerable authority to suppress active or suspected opponents. Under these contingencies, critics in Gotham were silenced and a state of martial law had been in effect continually since the T&T attacks. A limited level of open political opposition and criticism continued, such as the "Close Arkham City" campaign, but TYGER had the authority to restrict or suppress such activity at any time.

The regular active ground forces consisted of at least a single battalion at Arkham's inception. In addition to the active headquarters on Arkham Island, several combat-ready companies, a rapid reaction force, and support units had also been set up. It's possible that more company-level cadres could be summoned by calling up trained reserves normally seconded for other tasks or not yet activated by Strange. TYGER also operated one special air squadron, consisting of twelve helicopters equipped with M230 30mm autocannon and air-to-ground ordnance. At least four were patrolling the skies over Arkham at any one time (one each for the Industrial District, Amusement Mile, Park Row, and the Bowery). Although capable of being deployed as gunships, as in Protocol 10, the helicopters largely provided transport and related support for a small but effective reaction team trained for heliborne operations. At least one was also adopted by Hugo Strange for VIP shuttle purposes.

In addition to weapons training and infantry tactics, all TYGER personnel were schooled in riot tactics. For many, advanced phases of training or first duty assignments seem to have included actual confrontations with Batman or prisoners in Arkham.

Organization and equipment
Radio chatter and references in Arkham Unhinged have confirmed a basic TYGER tactical organization: ranks from private (trooper) to captain, the 4-man squad, the platoon-sized company, and the presumed three-company battalion. In practice, the shortage of personnel nearly always limited units inside Arkham or Gotham to squad size. Squads were usually sent to check sightings of wanted criminals and apprehend or recapture Arkham inmates. It is apparent that recruits who could not be armed at once served initially as auxiliaries on intelligence, dispatcher, courier, and logistics duties. There were static guard and conventional reaction roles to be filled on Arkham Island.

The typical TYGER squad consists of a 4-man team, though larger groups could also be assembled. This team consisted of a leader, two riflemen, and a shotgunner or a third rifleman. The leader was either an officer or an NCO, known as the squad captain. The captain navigated and led, as well as being the only member permitted to report directly back to Strange; in the comics his typical load consisted of night vision binoculars, a K-bar type combat knife, grenades, a semiautomatic pistol, a taser, a rifle and anywhere from one to four spare magazines. Each team member also carried a stun baton or a taser. Explosives carried included a US Mk.2 defensive hand grenade and an unknown canister-type grenade which released conventional explosives or tear gas. Guards equipped with sniper rifles wore conventional night vision goggles, but others were provided with tri-focaled thermal imaging headsets. Other personal and survival equipment - most notably the aviator sunglasses popular among lower ranks - was nonstandard and improvised by each operator. Balaclavas and face scarves were issued to keep the cold out of the eyes and nose, and for concealment. All webbing equipment was seemingly made from black nylon and canvas material. A specially padded uniform was developed for TYGER as a counter to Batman's Explosive Gel, minimizing shock to the wearer. Boots appear to be almost exact copies of a Goodyear "GI" type urban combat boot, but made from darker leather with a more distinctive sole.

Generally speaking, after Arkham City opened most field units were adequately armed with Armalite automatic rifles, sub-machine guns, shotguns, and grenades; specialist weapons such as sniper rifles seem to have been rare, and apart from occasional harassing fire from machine guns and two surface-to-air missiles Batman faced nothing heavier. An important exception was TYGER's stocks of long-range multiple rocket launchers, which were installed on Wonder Tower and reserved for Protocol 10. In addition to the helicopters other weapons and vehicles included land mines, riot shields, tasers, stun batons, nightsticks, a patrol boat glimpsed in Arkham Unhinged #14, armored vans, and trucks. Batman noted that most of the equipment was of foreign origin and suggested an outside arms dealer was involved.

TYGER maintained a varied collection of small arms:

Dialogue

 * "What the hell are you doing? Did you think we wouldn't hear you?"
 * "Try and escape, will you?"
 * "You pissed off the wrong person, Wayne!"
 * "You like that?"
 * "Want another?"
 * "How's that feel?"
 * "Help me! Get in here! Help!"
 * "Escape in progress!"
 * "Welcome to Arkham City, Wayne."
 * "Don't attempt to escape."
 * "Get back in line."
 * "Stay within the line, prisoner."
 * "On the ground. Now!"
 * "Give up, Sionis!"
 * "Put the chair down."
 * "No one breaks out of here!"
 * "Don't fight it!"
 * "Does that hurt? Too bad!"
 * "You're nothing in here."
 * "You'll regret that, mask!"
 * "Arkham City's not got time for your kind."
 * "Stun him again!"
 * "What are you waiting for, Wayne? Line A! Move!"
 * "Line A. Now!"
 * "You! Line A."
 * "Line A, prisoner."
 * "Get your lazy ass in Line A!"
 * "Line A!"
 * "Wayne! You're in Line A. Move it, rich boy."
 * "Turn back!"
 * "Head back down the line."
 * "Wrong way, prisoner."
 * "Break it up, ladies."
 * "I said, break it up! Now!"
 * "You two get out of the way. Wayne! Get your ass up here!"
 * "Move up, prisoner!"
 * "Close the doors. Prepare for insertion."
 * "Do not move."
 * "Fight back! Stop him!"

Predator

 * "All units, Robin is the target."
 * "All units, Catwoman is the target."
 * "No sign of target."
 * "Huh?"
 * "Got something!"
 * "What was that?"
 * "Contact. Enemy device found."
 * "Fire in the hole!"
 * "Watch your line of sight."
 * "Stay on target! Don't lose focus."
 * "Target spotted!"
 * "Target is mobile."
 * "Target moving above us at my location."
 * "Move to my location. Target is in the area."
 * "Moving to cover location."
 * "Move it!"
 * "Contact. Move!"
 * "Casualty!"
 * "Casualty. My location."
 * "Wall breach at my location."
 * "I've got a visual on Batman."
 * "Target is lost!"
 * "Target has vanished."
 * "Move to locate!"
 * "Anyone got eyes on target?"
 * "Target neutralized. Repeat, Batman is down."

Radio chatter

 * "All units, this is Air TYGER 4. We have confirmation that Prisoner 4011 is in the courthouse. I repeat, Catwoman is in the courthouse."
 * "Affirmative. Target is being held by Dent. We believe he intends to kill her. How should we proceed?"
 * "Understood."
 * "Air TYGER 5 to command. We have visual on a distress flare on a rooftop in the East Arkham district. How should we proceed?"
 * "Do you have any orders?"
 * "No problem, Professor."
 * "Coming back to base."
 * "Awaiting orders."
 * "Affirmative, command. Moving to intercept, over."
 * "What should I do?"
 * "Affirmative. We're coming home."
 * "Please advise."
 * "Onward to location, command. Over."
 * "Requesting order."
 * "Captain, I copy."
 * "Target is lit. I repeat, we have positive on Batman."
 * "We have positive visual on Batman."
 * "Batman spotted."
 * "Target is lit."
 * ''"Target is raisin' hell."'
 * "Batman is clear. All freaks are down."
 * "Batman wins."
 * "We found him. Repeat, we have eyes on Batman."
 * "Visual confirmed. We have eyes on Batman."
 * "Visual on target. Repeat, we have visual on Batman."
 * "We have eyes on the prize."
 * "We have him."
 * "We have him again."
 * "Target in sight."
 * "We have Batman in sight."
 * "Batman in sight."
 * "We have him back in sight."
 * "Batman sighted."
 * "Locked on Batman."
 * "Target Batman acquired and locked."
 * "We're opening fire."
 * "Target re-acquired."
 * "Systems reporting a weapons error! I need to run diagnostics."
 * "Weapon malfunction. Running diagnostics."
 * "Command, we're having problems with the weapons systems. Switching to diagnostic mode."
 * "Diagnostics are clear. Weapon systems back online."
 * "Weapons are back! Must have been some kind of glitch."
 * "We appear to have an issue with the stability control."
 * "Did we hit something?"
 * "We have some kind of malfunction. Running diagnostics."
 * "Zero visual on target. I repeat, we have lost sight of Batman."
 * "We've lost sight of Batman. Repeat, target is missing."
 * "Target is dark. I repeat, we have no eyes on Batman."
 * "Target Batman has disappeared, we have no visual."
 * "Damn it. Target has vanished!"
 * "We have no eyes on the target. Batman has gone dark."
 * "Target escaped. I repeat, Batman has escaped area."
 * "We've lost contact with Batman. He's gone."

Protocol 10

 * "This is TYGER 54. We have confirmation that target is in the Steel Mill. I repeat, Batman is in the Steel Mill."
 * "Understood."
 * "Target is set."
 * "Commencing in three...two...one."
 * "All units, we have visual confirmation. The Steel Mill is hit. Batman is down. I repeat, Batman is down."
 * "Hits successful. Multiple inmate casualties."
 * "Casualties in Sector Three are high. Returning to base."
 * "Target is hit."
 * "Targets are all hit. Sector Four is lit up like a Christmas tree."
 * "We have multiple casualties."
 * "Thermal scans of the area are showing fifteen...no...seventeen casualties."
 * "Boom! Scratch twenty more inmates."
 * "Missile locked. Structure is hit."
 * "Targets are all hit. Casualties in Sector One are topping one hundred."
 * "Hit successful. Multiple inmate casualties."
 * "I'm showing multiple successful hits in Sector Two."
 * "Hit successful. Inmate targets neutralized."
 * "Multiple targets down. Body count is high."
 * "All targets are lit. Repeat, we have multiple successful strikes, all on target."
 * "Multiple targets acquired...and neutralized."

Catwoman sequence

 * "What's going on?"
 * "Some one's opening the vault."
 * "Is this a drill?"
 * "If it is, no one told us. Listen up! Room is hot. Spread out and search for intruders. No prisoners. Move!"
 * "I don't like this. Think it's Batman?"
 * "I hope not. We've got special orders for him. With any luck it's just some Arkham scum trying to get rich. We can have a little fun with them."

Trivia

 * TYGER forces are not easily intimidated, and are the only antagonists who can never become terrified during combat or stealth sequences.
 * An advertisement for TYGER appears in a newspaper clipping from the Gotham Globe released as part of a Rocksteady press kit. It reads, "Your safety is our priority", and presents the force as the new "predator of crime". A caption claims TYGER is a subsidiary of "Strange Laboratories".
 * It is likely that the company was secretly funded by the League of Assassins as part of Ra's al Ghul's deal with Strange.
 * Like Mayor Quincy Sharp, Strange controls TYGER operatives with the same mind control techniques he developed during his time at Arkham Asylum, with assistance from the Mad Hatter. Thus they resemble little more than highly trained mind-controlled slaves. This explains why they carry out Strange's orders even if it means committing mass murder or allowing innocent civilians to die.
 * A TYGER guard tortured and killed by the Penguin can be found on display in the Natural History Museum.
 * Batman confronts a group of TYGER guards with Bane if the Fragile Alliance side-mission is completed before the destruction of Wonder Tower and the deaths of Strange and Ra's. If the mission is completed after these events, a script replaces them with the Joker's gang.
 * TYGER maintains a fleet of about twelve helicopters, which patrol the city in shifts of four or five. Prior to Protocol 10, the aircraft will not molest the player, merely reporting on Batman's activities and movement. They will only become aggressive if the player endangers the actual safety of the crew (ie de-stabilizing the helicopter with a remote electrical charge). After Protocol 10, they are always hostile and may engage without warning.
 * TYGER helicopters can never see Batman if he is near TYGER ground personnel or fixed to the skids of a second aircraft.
 * "TYGER" is likely a reference to the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Tyger, Tyger".