Batman: Arkham – Every DC Hero Confirmed To Exist In The Arkhamverse

Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham games may have primarily revolved around the Caped Crusader, but they also hinted at the wider DC Universe and the other superheroes who resided within it. The studio’s next game – Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League – will take players to that part of the Arkhamverse for the first time, showing Amanda Waller’s Task Force X take down Superman and the JLA after the heroes were mind-controlled by Brainiac. Many of the heroes set to appear in KTJL were hinted at through Easter eggs in Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham games, as well as in the WB Games Montréal prequel, Batman: Arkham Origins.

When Rocksteady released Batman: Arkham Asylum back in 2009, it quickly became praised for changing the world of superhero games. The first entry in the Arkhamverse gave fans a claustrophobic, dark experience that saw Batman trapped in the titular asylum alongside his Rogues gallery. To further delight fans, the voice cast for the game also pulled from the hugely acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series. Batman: Arkham City branched out from Arkham Asylum with a story that saw the Asylum closing, and part of Gotham City being taken over to contain the prisoners, allowing for free-roam gameplay to explore iconic locations. Since then, Rocksteady and Warner Bros. have built an expansive universe, with larger locations such as Gotham City and Metropolis introducing more heroes with each entry.

The Batman: Arkham games themselves have only spotlighted the Dark Knight and his allies, but the wider DC Universe was hinted at through the environment. Subtle DC Easter eggs brought various heroes to Batman: Arkham, even if they didn’t physically appear. Many of these references were tied up in the Riddler’s riddles, whereas others were minor dialogue cues from random henchmen, or even just random parts of the Gotham scenery. All of them in a way foreshadowed Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, so it makes sense to revisit the games themselves and see just how many DC heroes there are in the Arkhamverse itself.

Batman: Arkham’s Bat Family Heroes Include Nightwing, Batgirl, & Robin

As the Arkhamverse started with Batman, it seems fitting to begin with those closest to him. Since Batman debuted in the pages of Detective Comics in 1939, he has had a string of wards and close allies who have gone on to join him in his costumed crime-fighting crusade. These allies are affectionately referred to as the Bat Family, and they’ll lead Gotham Knights as its main heroes. However, Batman: Arkham also includes members of that cast in key roles and as minor references.

Batman was the first hero that players were introduced to in the Arkhamverse, and is the main playable character throughout the series’ story to date. After Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered at a young age, the billionaire dedicated years of his life to training and utilized his wealth and company’s resources to develop a symbol that criminals would fear, becoming the iconic Caped Crusader. Over the course of the series, players have access to his ever-growing arsenal of gadgets and abilities and can upgrade them to make Batman the ultimate crime fighter.

Dick Grayson was a young acrobat who traveled with his circus family The Flying Graysons until they were murdered at a show Bruce Wayne attended. Sensing a kinship with the fellow orphan, Bruce took Dick in and ultimately let him in on his mission as Batman, with Dick becoming the first Robin. As Dick grew older he and Bruce went their separate ways as Dick took on the title of Nightwing to protect neighboring city Blüdhaven, but often returns to Gotham to assist the Bat Family in times of need. Players were able to play as Dick’s Robin in Batman: Arkham Origins‘ multiplayer mode, and as Nightwing for Batman: Arkham City‘s challenge missions and Batman: Arkham Knight‘s GCPD Lockup DLC where Nightwing takes on Penguin following the main campaign’s ending.

Tim Drake is the latest character to take on the role of Robin in the Arkhamverse. Having witnessed the death of The Flying Graysons, Tim put the pieces together surrounding Batman and the first Robin’s identity and reached out after the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd. Tim appears in the campaigns for Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight and is playable in both titles’ challenge missions, and as the primary protagonist for Batman: Arkham City’s Harley Quinn’s Revenge story DLC, in which Tim tracks down Batman, who has been captured by Harley Quinn, who is out for revenge following the death of Joker at the end of Arkham City.

Barbara Gordon has been assisting Batman since the events of Batman: Arkham Origins, believing in the caped crusader in a time when the city was still unsure about whether the vigilante was a force for good or evil. Sometime later, Barbara became Batgirl, and players got a glimpse at her time in this role during Batman: Arkham Knight‘s A Matter of Family DLC, which saw her saving her father, Jim Gordon, who had been kidnapped by the Joker. Following these events and prior to the story of Batman: Arkham Asylum in the timeline, Barbara was paralyzed by The Joker in events similar to those of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke graphic novel and used her vast technical expertise to assist the Bat Family remotely as Oracle.

Jason Todd’s tragic story turned him against the Bat Family over the course of Batman: Arkham Knight. Borrowing heavily from the comics’ A Death in the Family storyline, Jason Todd was tortured and beaten by The Joker during his time as the Arkhamverse’s second Robin and was presumed dead prior to the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Although he returned like his comics counterpart, Rocksteady opted to put a different spin on this story by making Jason Todd the Arkham Knight, a vengeful, antithetical version of Batman who formed an alliance with Scarecrow to bring the Bat Family and Gotham City to its knees. Ultimately, he realized that his ex-mentor had never intended to abandon him and was willing to help, and by the ending of Batman: Arkham Knight Jason abandoned his Arkham Knight persona to become the Red Hood. Players can take control of Red Hood in Batman: Arkham Knight‘s story DLC where he wages war upon Black Mask.

Other members of the Bat Family are referenced when exploring Bruce Wayne’s office in Wayne Enterprises. When listening to voice messages, Bruce’s cousin Kate Kane (aka. Batwoman) can be heard inviting him to an event celebrating her engagement to Maggie Sawyer. In Bruce’s office, a dog bowl can also be seen as a reference to Ace the Bat-Hound, although sadly for dog lovers, the cape-wearing canine is nowhere to be seen.

Superman, Wonder Woman, & Other Justice League References In Batman: Arkham

DC’s primary superhero team, the Justice League, had been referenced throughout the Batman: Arkham titles, and is due to appear fully in Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, which the developer has confirmed will take place in the Arkhamverse. Several members have been confirmed in various trailers for the upcoming title, and due to Suicide Squad: KTLJ showing some Justice League heroes under the power of mind control, fans are starting to get glimpses of which members of the Justice League will be allies, and which of them the Suicide Squad will need to put down.

While he may have been referenced on several occasions in Batman: Arkham Knight, Superman was nowhere to be seen during the events of the Batman: Arkham titles. He was, however, the first Justice League member to be revealed in Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League‘s first trailer. Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is due to take place in Superman’s home Metropolis, and clearly, Clark Kent’s alter ego – who is usually the epitome of heroism and righteousness – has been brainwashed as he can be seen disintegrating a soldier with his heat vision.

Much like Superman, there were several references to The Flash in the Batman: Arkham series. Scarecrow even planned to infect The Flash with his Cloudburst fear gas and unleash him upon Central City but was foiled before he could progress to this phase. Suicide Squad: KTJL‘s evil Flash trailer showed the speedster can be seen with a similar brainwashed look to Superman which grants him a purple veiny look under his mask as he engages in some verbal sparring with long-time foe Captain Boomerang and the rest of Task Force X between action-packed sequences.

Wonder Woman can be seen fighting Superman in one of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League‘s trailers. From what fans have seen so far, Wonder Woman isn’t showing the same symptoms as Superman and The Flash, indicating that the Amazon warrior might be one of the members of the Justice League who has not been brainwashed. If so, she could be a valuable ally that assists Task Force X in their mission to stop her super-powered peers.

The Green Lantern Corps have been referenced throughout the Batman: Arkham series, offering nods to the various heroes to have adopted the title of Green Lantern. John Stewart’s Green Lantern is in Suicide Squad: KTJL‘s trailers as he uses his powers to create steps to descend upon the Task Force X. The moment is so quick that it’s hard to tell whether he will be brainwashed like Superman and The Flash, or working to stop them like Wonder Woman appears to be.

Over the course of the Batman: Arkham games there have been several references to other Justice League members, giving Rocksteady quite a potential roster of heroes for Task Force X to combat in Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League. These come in a variety of Easter eggs, such as posters for Booster Gold, shops and clubs referencing Zatanna and Black Canary, Aquaman-related sushi restaurants, The Atom’s locker at Ace Chemicals, Martian Manhunter’s civilian alias John Jones on a list of GCPD detectives, and a reference to Cyborg’s past football career in newspapers found in Batgirl’s clock tower (which is called the belfry in Gotham Knights). Fellow billionaire vigilante Green Arrow is alluded to through his company Queen Industries on various occasions, with journalist Jack Ryder (aka. The Creeper) hinting at knowing the emerald archer’s real identity, calling Oliver Queen a “real sharp-shooter”.

DC Antiheroes In Batman: Arkham Include Harley Quinn, Catwoman, & Azrael

The world of DC is full of morally gray characters whose ethics waiver. While this makes for some very compelling character arcs, it does mean that they can’t be defined as traditional heroes in the same way as characters such as Batman or Superman who have their strong moral codes. Despite this, these characters have acted heroically and have saved the day on various occasions.

Batman’s on-again-off-again love interest Selina Kyle’s ethics are often dubious, with the cat burglar regularly putting her own interests above anything else. However, she can sometimes be persuaded by the Dark Knight to do the right thing for the sake of Gotham. Her her arc as a playable character in Batman: Arkham City takes advantage of this morality in its storytelling by offering players a choice towards the climax of the game where Catwoman can either save Batman – and therefore, Arkham City as well – or walk away with a fortune of stolen goods.

Azrael observes Batman over the course of Batman: Arkham City, and if players spot him and use symbols he leaves behind, they can confront him. If they do, Azrael claims that he has been sent by the Order of St. Dumas to deliver a prophecy to the Dark Knight, believing that Batman will save Gotham, but will fall in the process, before stating that the two vigilantes will meet again. Azrael fulfills this promise in Batman: Arkham Knight, and proposes that he takes Batman’s place should he die or retire, still firmly believing in the prophecy. Players can take control of Azrael in a series of missions similar to Batman’s AR Challenges to determine if he would be a worthy successor.

Amanda Waller’s Task Force X – or the “Suicide Squad” – is a team of supervillains forced into doing dangerous missions with the promise of a reduced prison sentence should they succeed, and the threat of an implanted bomb should they stray from their orders. Task Force X, was set up in the post-credits scene for Batman: Arkham Origins, but it has taken many years for the team to appear fully in the Arkhamverse. Although characters such as Deadshot and Harley Quinn have been depicted as villains over the course of the Batman: Arkham games so far, they are likely to be playing the roles of antiheroes as part of Task Force X in the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, much like they do in other recent Suicide Squad comics and media.

Fans will have to wait a bit longer to find out how Arkhamverse regulars Harley Quinn and Deadshot will be depicted in their team up alongside other super-villains Captain Boomerang and King Shark. While initially scheduled for a 2022 release, Rocksteady has delayed Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League to 2023. Fans of the Bat Family, however, won’t have to wait long before they can play as them again, as WB Games Montreal’s Gotham Knights – while not a part of the Batman: Arkham universe – is still expected to release later this year.