Amadeus Arkham was a prominent member of the Arkham family and the founder of Arkham Asylum. Having created the hospital after the murder of his family, he initially wanted to genuinely cure its inmates and treat their mental health. However, owing to a number of factors, Amadeus gradually lost his sanity and was eventually imprisoned within his own creation. Though long dead by Batman's time, Amadeus has affected the superhero's operations indirectly through either his family or asylum, which was used to hold many of the Dark Knight's enemies.
History[]
Amadeus Arkham was the only son of mentally ill Elizabeth Arkham, Amadeus watched his mother struggle with her illness for years, which drove him to become a psychiatrist. Years later, having earned a residency at the Metropolis State Psychiatric Hospital, he returned home, and having found his mother to be growing worse, aided her in committing suicide. After her death, he became the sole owner of her home, the Mercey Mansion, which he decided to turn into a facility for the mentally ill. He gave up his practice at MSPH and moved his wife Constance and daughter Harriet into the mansion.
During the remodeling process, one of Arkham's former patients, Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins, escaped from Metropolis Penitentiary and broke into the Arkham family living quarters. Amadeus returned home that night and discovered his wife and daughter had been murdered. It was determined his daughter had been raped and decapitated. The words "Mad Dog" were carved into her chest.
When the Asylum opened that November, Hawkins was captured and became one of its first inmates. Amadeus insisted on treating him personally. After six months of treatment, Amadeus could see no improvement in Hawkins and killed him with a lethal dosage of electroshock therapy. The incident was ruled accidental but was only the beginning of Amadeus' slide into insanity, and eventually, he ended up dying as an inmate in his own asylum.[1]
In other media[]
Batman: Arkham series[]
Amadeus's photo.
Amadeus Arkham features heavily as lore in the Batman: Arkham series, notably during Batman: Arkham Asylum. Arkham's character bio is unlockable in the first game by scanning either his grave in the East Arkham Island cemetery, his cell in the Arkham Manor, or a statue vandalized in the Arkham Botanical Gardens. Arkham's grave appears to be partially dug up, with what appears to be his skeleton being partially visible. The game's Chronicles of Arkham, apparently written by the "Spirit of Arkham", detail the character's apparent history in the foundation of Arkham and fall to madness, though their plausibility is made debatable in later entries detailing the events in the modern day and involving several of Batman's enemies. Amadeus' journals also feature in the "Dr. Amadeus" trailer for Arkham Asylum.
Amadeus is also mentioned in Cyrus Pinkney's journals in Batman: Arkham Origins, with their friendship and rivalry with Henry Cobblepot being explored in these. The journals reveal Arkham helped fake Pinkney's death, as well as suggesting they were responsible for the death of Cobblepot.
Other[]
- Amadeus Arkham is mentioned on a message board in The Riddler: Year One #3 by a user who alleges his body is kept in cryogenic storage. Arkham is also mentioned during a tour of Arkham Asylum in the final issue of the series, with one person indicating he shared the same fate as his main comic counterpart.