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"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday, Christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday..."
―Solomon Grundy as he is awakened by the Penguin[src]

Formerly known as Cyrus Gold, Solomon Grundy came into existence after Gold's brutal murder and ruthless experimentation at the hands of Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins as part of their plans to discover the secrets of immortality. Dying dozens of times from the inhuman torture only to be brought back to life for further experimentation, Grundy was left broken in body, mind, and spirit. Grundy grew to relish in his own pain and suffering and inflicted the same on anyone else who was unfortunate enough to wander across his path. Eventually brought under the control of the Penguin for many years, Grundy was used as a weapon to wipe out anyone who stood against Cobblepot's criminal empire.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Cyrus Gold was a notorious mass murderer. He sought to escape justice in late 19th Century Gotham City, but was eventually murdered and dumped into Slaughter Swamp. He was eventually captured by a circus and forced to work within a side show, and thus, was rechristened Solomon Grundy after the famous nursery rhyme

Grundy's amazing abilities to cheat death eventually drew the attention of Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins. Ra's and his organization eventually captured Grundy from the circus and used him in inhumane experiments within a secret lab that they constructed in Gotham. Grundy was repeatedly killed and revived with Lazarus chemicals, the same substance within the swamp that brought him back to life, and experimented on to see what effects that the Lazarus would have on Ra's, who was intent to use it to discover the secrets of immortality.

Transformation[]

In the process, not only was Gold permanently transformed into an undead swamp monster, but was also robbed of his memories as Cyrus Gold. Ra's findings into that new and more pure Lazarus substance was similar to others that he had previously found throughout the world, which dried up after a short amount of use, enabled him to create his primary Lazarus Pit and constructed a new pit in Gotham, later to become part of Arkham City, which was named Wonder City and was powered by Lazarus.

Eventually, however, Ra's' plans failed when the Lazarus chemicals were revealed to be driving Wonder City's residents insane, which forced Gotham's authorities to shut down the city after it was destroyed during maddened riots and Ra's refused to act and accept responsibility for the destruction. Grundy was left within Ra's medical chamber, broken mentally and emotionally, over which the Iceberg Lounge was built years later as North Gotham was built over the remains of Wonder City.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate[]

Grundy later somehow entered Blackgate Prison's sewer system underneath the Industrial Complex of the facility. Batman, when he tried to track down Black Mask to the Generator Room, encountered Grundy, who prevented a gate from coming down. After he was forced into a battle with the undead super-villain, Batman managed to outsmart Grundy by exploiting the environment to get him electrocuted enough to stun him with Batman finishing him off with several blows, which destroyed the gate in the process.

It should be noted that Batman called Grundy by name when he saw him, which either meant that he had encountered Grundy before or was at least aware of his existence.

Batman: Arkham City[]

Grundy eventually returned to his grave, where he was found in the Iceberg Lounge by Penguin when he took over the Cyrus Pinkney Institute for Natural History in Arkham City. Penguin realized that he could wake up Grundy using electricity. After he saw a use for Grundy, Penguin frequently sent disloyal henchmen or enemies to be disposed by him. When an undercover Batman (Lester Kurtz), questioned Penguin about the identity of "the man downstairs," Penguin simply told him to pray never to find out. Later, Grundy fought Bane (when he came to claim Penguin's Titan for himself) and won.

Grundy was mentioned by Cobblepot's thugs who were guarding the three signal jammers Penguin placed around his territory to prevent Batman from using his tools to get access to the Museum. One of the thugs hinted that Oswald had Grundy in the Museum as Batman was destroying the final jammer. Shortly afterward Batman entered the building looking to free Mr. Freeze and secure his cooperation. His search for Fries was successful, but Penguin detonated an ice sculpture that Batman was standing on, making him fell down into the experiment chamber where Grundy was. Penguin then unleashed Grundy on Batman by electrocuting him.

Batman blew up the electrical sources with explosive gel to weaken Grundy and almost finished him off before Penguin remotely reactivated the electricity with safeguards that blocked the explosives. The safeguards weren't perfectly effective, and Batman repeated the same technique, but this time Grundy seized Batman before he could subdue him, and crawled to the main generator, where he reached into it and regenerated again. Batman was only able to defeat him by destroying the main power supply and punching his heart out through his shattered rib cage. Penguin was then without backup and defeated, and Batman returned above, but Grundy's body was never seen, so it was unknown if he died his final death. Deprived of electrical power and with heinously traumatic and violent injuries, regeneration seemed unlikely, and as of the end of the game he appears to be permanently dead.

Batman: Arkham Knight[]

On Founders' Island, a shrine was dedicated to Grundy, which included a gold gramophone that recited his iconic theme. It was unknown who constructed the shrine, but when Scanned, it revealed a 'Gotham Story' that detailed that Grundy's body discovered by the authorities as Arkham City was shut down.Grundy's body was then taken to the Gotham Morgue and was kept under heavy lock and key with several Wayne Enterprises' locks. On a Monday Night, the Morgue attendant began to hear chanting that grew louder and louder as Grundy sprung back to life, and chanted 'Born on a Monday'. It was unknown what became of Grundy, but he did not appear to be a threat any longer by the events of Arkham Knight.

Penguin also alludes to him in one of his voice lines, saying that one of his gang who survived a brutal attack by the Arkham Knight looks like he 'went ten rounds with Grundy'.

Game Over Lines[]

  • "Grundy must hurt the Bat!"
  • "Grundy will kill you!"

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Solomon Grundy's only line throughout the game, when he was first activated by Penguin, was "Solomon Grundy. Born on a Monday. Christened on Tuesday. Married on Wednesday." which are the first verses to the English nursery rhyme that acted as his namesake. However, during Grundy's Game Over Screens, he said different lines.
  • When Detective Mode was used on Grundy, his condition was set as "Unknown"; considering that he's undead, Batman's actions were most likely a temporary setback.
  • If you shot Grundy with the REC, he temporarily regained health and turned blue.
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