If they asked me about the best video game starring a superhero, I would have no doubt: Batman Arkham of the Dark Knightby Rocksteady Studios are superb from start to finish. Batman Arkham Asylum it was a turning point, a mirror in which many games have been looked at since then … in the shadow of the great charm of Batman and his charismatic villains.
Batman Arkham Knight It was the perfect culmination, being the most complete adventure to date of the Dark Knight. And with a villain created exclusively for this 2015 video game, which we would like to talk about in depth now.
Be careful, SPOILERS. Do not continue reading if you have not passed the story …
The Arkham Knight, a very insistent Nemesis
The feeling that invaded me about the figure of the Caballero Arkham for much of history it was to think that it was a machine. After all, he was a new character created by Rocksteady Studios and I doubted he was a face never seen before. The face of a person outside the world of DC Comics, hence the feasible thing of a robot. Although I also thought of a reborn villain.
It was impossible, knowing what happened at the end of Batman Arkham City, but the idea flew over me that The Joker had risen in cyborg form, giving life to the character of the Arkham Knight. In fact, Batman Arkham Knight himself plays deception and in a certain scene, after giving him a good ration of punches, we see the aforementioned Arkham Knight remove his helmet to see the Joker get rid of Batman. And immediately afterwards, the illusion fades …
Because The Joker is part of Batman’s greatest fear, manifested by the Scarecrow neurotoxin. It is a recurring nightmare throughout history, seeing the “Joker” appear every two by three in the form of hallucinations that seem too real, in which he tells us many things to drive the Dark Knight crazy. And there is one in particular that affects poor Bruce, that of the death of Jason Todd, his former ex-partner Robin.
The first appearance of the Arkham Knight occurs in a factory and from there he does not stop assaulting us every two by three, making his potential clear, also in relation to all that machinery that he shows off and that has Gotham in check.
The Batmobile was the main novelty of this installmentHence, it is not surprising that two of the great confrontations against the Arkham Knight take place on the back of the Batmobile: the first, against one of his special tanks; and the second, against a giant excavator, the scene that produces the most tension.
But, Who the hell was that insistent Batman rival? If we looked at the information on the batcomputer, all the data about the Arkham Knight are unknown, except for his height (1.83 cm) and weight (91 kg), having a small complementary biography in relation to his arrival in Gotham, with the Scarecrow as an ally and that goal that “he will stop at nothing until he kills Batman.” In addition, as attributes, beyond that robotically synthesized voice, he stands out as a “great connoisseur of Batman’s tactics and fighting style” and “expert military strategist”. Is someone known to Bruce?
Death, Resurrection and Redemption of Jason Todd
Indeed, near the final stretch his identity was revealed, already without a helmet. ¡Era Jason Todd! And this inevitably called into question what we had witnessed in Batman’s eyes, with The Joker murdering Jason in one of the hardest scenes of the whole adventure. Batman’s guilt didn’t stop haunting him and having the Joker inside his head didn’t help mitigate that duel.
Batman Arkham Knight knew how to play the distraction, despite giving timid hints, such as that Jason Todd was the only one who fit in with the Arkham Knight by measuring exactly 1.83 cm and weighing 91 kg. Because there were many characters that measured 1.83 cm (The Joker, itself), but without coinciding with the weight. A master play that had its revelation on a mission where Gordon had to be rescued.
It was all a trap orchestrated by Jason, of course. A closed environment, with him equipped with a large-caliber rifle and an entire army that was coming out in waves, each time we managed to get close to the Arkham Knight. The game itself was very careful about this confrontation, banning screenshots and video. Rocksteady wanted to make sure not to show any SPOILERS.
As much as Jason hated BatmanAs was clear from his confession to The Joker, Bruce was fond of his former partner. The latter was demonstrated by defeating the Arkham Knight, offering him his hand as a sign of truce and so that the aforementioned Jason would not fire his pistol. However, shortly after alerting his butler Alfred to the good news that he was still alive, he vanished.
It wasn’t a goodbye from Jason Todd, if not a see you later. Because he reserved his redemption for the final duel of Batman against the Scarecrow, before seeing the Dark Knight finally sell the nightmare of the neurotoxin by metaphorically locking The Joker in a deep place in his mind and thus showing the Scarecrow that he is no longer afraid of nothing and no one will ever be able to manipulate it with the neurotoxin.
Life without fear is meaninglesssaid the Scarecrow before pointing his pistol at a Batman immobilized by handcuffs and with his true identity as Bruce Banner revealed to all of Gotham City. And there, in that instant, there was a flash, that of the Arkham Knight’s rifle scope, to drop the Scarecrow’s weapon and free Bruce to end that great nightmare once and for all.
His nemesis had become his ally, which served as proof that Jason had forgiven him. He proved to be a rival to the height, although Rocksteady did not really create a new villain for the occasion, but rather resurrected an old acquaintance in a new light. Will there be surprises with Gotham Knights in 2022?
