Jackson (Guard)

"I can't believe it. They killed Jackson."

- Masked Guard

Jackson first appeared in Rocksteady Game's Batman: Arkham Asylum in August 2009.

Biography
Jackson is a security guard at Arkham Asylum, one of the many present during the Joker's takeover of the asylum. He was shot dead during an exchange of gunfire with several liberated Blackgate prisoners.

Background
Jackson was a senior member of Arkham's security staff, having served under Quincy Sharp's administration since the asylum first reopened its doors following the events of Batman: Arkham Origins.

Batman: Arkham Asylum
According to William North and a shift board in the Arkham Medical Facility, every available guard had been summoned for an extra shift due to heightened security concerns over a transfer involving Killer Croc, and the return of the Joker, who had been recaptured by Batman after his latest escape. Tensions in the asylum were already running high due to a mass influx of convicts from Blackgate Penitentiary, which had been destroyed in a suspicious fire.

Unknown to Batman, the Joker had plotted his return to Arkham so he could seize control of the institution, orchestrate a mass breakout, and get his hands on the Titan formula, a Venom derivative being developed by resident psychiatrist Penelope Young. Using security codes obtained from Frank Boles, his mole inside Arkham, the Joker unleashed the Blackgate prisoners, who overpowered and massacred most of the staff. They also gained access to automatic weapons after looting the guard armory in the Intensive Treatment Center, which had been depopulated of most of its security detail after the guards received a radio call instructing them to report to the eastern side of the island and await further orders. Presumably Jackson was among these. The guards in Arkham East remained oblivious to the Joker's escape and the armed siege taking place elsewhere, only learning the details on the local news broadcasts. Jackson, along with several of his colleagues, quickly lacked down the maintenance tunnels and prepared to hold their positions. They did not have to wait long.

At some point four Blackgate prisoners entered the primary maintenance tunnel after leaving the Intensive Treatment Center. At least two of the four inmates were armed with rifles taken from the armory, and they apparently succeeded in taking the guards by surprise. Most of the security personnel retreated from the tunnel, but Jackson remained pinned down inside and was shot dead in the ensuing firefight. One of his colleagues had dragged him into cover behind an ambulance when Batman arrived on the scene, having escaped the initial chaos in the Intensive Treatment Center. Other officers at the tunnel entrance briefed him on the situation, informing him that the assailants had weapons and that there were still Arkham personnel trapped there. Batman ordered them to stay where they were, promising he would handle it. He later encountered the lone remaining guard kneeling by Jackson's corpse, in a shell-shocked state.

Upon defeating the armed inmates, Batman continued towards the other side of the island, where he hoped to rescue James Gordon, then being held captive by Harley Quinn. Another group of Blackgate prisoners later stormed Arkham East and killed or took hostage all the remaining staff.

Notes/Trivia

 * Jackson appears to have shot in the stomach, as he died clutching his abdomen. Spots of blood are also visible on his lower back and on the ground behind him, further lending this credence and suggesting the fatal bullet or bullets passed through Jackson's body. Abdominal bullet wounds are known to cause severe bleeding, so even if he survived the initial gunfire he probably expired from loss of blood on the scene.


 * When questioned by Batman, the guard in the tunnel mentions that he and Jackson had worked at Arkham for "the past five years", which means they would've been hired when Quincy Sharp first opened the asylum's doors immediately proceeding Batman: Arkham Origins.