T w e n t y S i d e d
Batman punches his way into Joker’s lair. When he gets there, he finds Harley Quinn crying over what appears to be Joker’s dead body. Batman ponders the scene with a dumb look on his face until the REAL Joker ambushes him from behind and doses him with knockout gas.
Times Batman has been knocked unconscious so far this evening: 3
Fumbling Around in the Dark Knight
As the Arkham series went on the developers have increased Batman’s combat prowess to make the gameplay more empowering, while at the same time they’ve made him less competent in cutscenes. His powers of observation and preparedness have languished while his face-punching powers have grown. In particular, this scene is one of those moments that really highlights the difference between Arkham Asylum and Arkham City in terms of writing.
Batman walks into this ambush like a dumbass. To be clear, I’m 100% fine with Joker getting the drop on the Caped Crusader. He’s a dangerously clever foe and totally capable of catching Batman off guard. The problem isn’t the ambush, it’s how Batman behaves before the ambush. We need to be selling the audience that this happened because Joker is smart and knows his adversary, not because Batman is dumb and inert.
Again, there are lots of moments like this in Arkham Asylum. The entire opening scene shows how Batman is completely prepared for an escape attempt. At one point the lights go out for a moment, and when they blink back on we find Batman has the Joker in a choke hold. He knows Joker is planning an escape, and he’s working to thwart it. That sort of anticipation and preparedness is his superpower, so showing him being inert in a cutscene is like having a cutscene where Superman forgets he can fly.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Arkham City Part 9: Surprise!”
