History Videogame / BatmanArkhamSeries

** While his eyesight was fine prior to ''Knight'' and ''VR'', in those two games, Alfred takes after [[Film/Batman1989 Michael Gough]] and [[Series/Batman1966 Alan Napier's Napier]]'s incarnations in needing to wear glasses.

** The Calendar Man is an EvilCripple, his right leg being shorter than his left and wearing a brace and elevated show to compensate.
*** Her DLC episode in ''Knight'' shows Harley Quinn hearing voices in her head.

-->--'''Random Mooks, [[OnceAnEpisode every single game]]'''

'''''Batman: Arkham''''' is a VideoGame series based, of course, on the Franchise/{{Batman}} superhero franchise.

Rocksteady's games are filled with appreciation for the Franchise/{{Batman}} franchise in all its forms, remaining loyal to the comics, yet incorporating elements from the [[Film/TheDarkKnightSaga Nolanverse]], the [[Film/{{Batman}} Burton]][[Film/BatmanReturns verse]], WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries, and the Franchise/{{DCAU}} in general. ''Asylum'' and ''City'' were written by acclaimed Franchise/{{DCAU}} writer Creator/PaulDini. Creator/KevinConroy reprises his role as Batman and Creator/MarkHamill reprises his as ComicBook/TheJoker.[[note]]Neither Rocksteady Games nor Creator/PaulDini oversaw ''Arkham Origins'' prequels, however. Conroy and Hamill were similarly not involved.[[/note]]

** Joker -- again, primarily based on his comic version, but he has [[Film/TheDarkKnight Heath Ledger's suit]], a face that looks a lot like [[Film/{{Batman}} Jack Nicholson]] (and his face and hair getting a [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries younger look]] in ''Origins''), he [[spoiler:transforms into a muscle-bound hulk]] similar to [[WesternAnimation/TheBatman Kevin Michael Richardson's Joker]], they used [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Mark Hamill's voice]] ''and'' we can count Hamill's voice as [[Series/{{Batman}} a Caesar Romero reference]]. There's a lot of similarity there, especially in the laugh, thus completing the full spectrum of Batman Jokers. In ''Origins'', he dresses similarly to his ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'' incarnation.

** While his eyesight was fine prior to ''Knight'' and ''VR'', in those two games, Alfred takes after [[Film/{{Batman}} Michael Gough]] and [[Series/{{Batman}} Alan Napier's Napier]]'s incarnations in needing to wear glasses.

The simplicity of control added considerably to the popularity of the game, along with well-timed animations, and the gameplay style has now been incorporated into many other games, most notably ''[[Videogame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor Shadow of Mordor]]'' and ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs''. Gadgets like Batarangs and the Batclaw are also incorporated. A [[StealthBasedGame stealth based]] "Predator mode" meanwhile revolves around performing takedowns on enemies using gadgets and the surrounding environment. A [[RPGElements levelling system]] also allows you to enhance to Batman's various abilities over time, with points based highly on combos.

* ''Arkham City: End Game'' - six-issue digital comic set directly after the ending of ''City'', as Batman comes to terms with [[spoiler:the Joker's death]].

* AbledInTheAdaptation: A few characters underwent the "Disabled" variation:
** While his eyesight was fine prior to ''Knight'' and ''VR'', in those two games, Alfred takes after [[Film/{{Batman}} Michael Gough]] and [[Series/{{Batman}} Alan Napier's Napier]]'s incarnations in needing to wear glasses.
** While fine during ''Origins'' and ''Blackgate'', the Penguin during the events of ''City'', ''Knight'', and ''VR'' features a vent in his neck from smoking and a beer bottle jammed into his left eye in place of his traditional monocle. ''Assault on Arkham'', an interquel film, shows that the beer bottle happened at some point before ''Asylum'', though the lack of the vents suggested that happened between ''Assault'' and ''City''.
** The Calendar Man is an EvilCripple, his right leg being shorter than his left and wearing a brace and elevated show to compensate.

** In "City": The Joker's boss fight happens just before Batman must take on the BigBad- Hugo Strange. But after Batman defeats Strange, it's quickly revealed he was [[spoiler: the puppet of Ra's Al Ghul, who then commits suicide minutes later]]. Batman then has to [[spoiler: save Talia from The Joker]], who appears to be the game's real BigBad. But after [[spoiler: rescuing Talia, who kills The Joker]], the true final boss is revealed in a major plot twist: [[spoiler: Clayface was employed by The Joker to impersonate him at various points in the game, and the Joker Talia stabbed was merely a decoy Joker, who transforms back into Clayface]].

Each game revolves around the inmates of the infamous Arkham Asylum, the mental institution that holds (or [[CardboardPrison fails to hold]]) all of Batman's insane foes. ''Asylum'' has ComicBook/TheJoker seizing control of Arkham Island and freeing all the other inmates, including the Bat-rogues. ''City'' takes place a year later, with Batman caught up in a plan to imprison Arkham's inmates in a walled-off area of Gotham City that includes pivotal locations in Batman's history, including [[DeathByOriginStory Crime Alley]] and [[CreateYourOwnVillain Ace Chemicals]]. ''Origins'' is a {{prequel}} detailing how Batman first met several of his enemies, including Joker, ComicBook/{{Bane}}, ComicBook/{{Deadshot}}, and the Riddler. ''Knight'' is the supposed finale of the series, in which Batman battles Scarecrow and an alliance of villains as they attempt to burn Gotham City to the ground.

** Unrelated to past actors, Riddler in ''City'' and ''Knight'' resembles (respectively) Creator/StephenMerchant and Creator/CharlieSheen, and Robin in the latter game resembles {{Music/Eminem}}. Copperhead in ''Origins'' resembles Music/MileyCyrus.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To the Batman-related parts of the Franchise/{{DCAU}}, especially because its [[Creator/PaulDini writer]] wrote for the first two games and several of its voice actors appear in the series, either resprising their roles or taking on new ones.

** From ''WesternAnimation/BatmanYearOne'': Music/GreyDeLisle reprises the role of Vicki Vale from ''Year One'' in ''City'' and ''Origins'' (the former being released the same day as ''Year One''). ''Origins'' also sees the return of Creator/JonPolito as Gillian Loeb.

* ItsProbablyNothing: {{Averted}} at low fear levels and {{Inverted}} at high fear levels. At the beginning of a stealth segment, the guards know that Batman is around somewhere, so they have the presence of mind to check anything out of the ordinary. Once they get panicy enough, they'll start freaking out at the slightest noise in fear that it might be Batman, whether or not it is.

* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Batman usual MO. Anuncing there will be pain and giving unbearable beatings to lower mooks, until he gets the name of someone else above the chain of command or of a place.

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity Hugo Strange, Talia al Ghul, The Joker]], [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight Poison Ivy, Killer Moth, Black Mask, Mr Freeze & his wife, Nora, and either Ra's al Ghul, or Nyssa Raatko (depending on what choice you made)]]

* AnyoneCanDie: All over the franchise:
** At least 113 personnel during the Joker's takeover in ''[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum Arkham Asylum]]'' (including Dr. Penelope Young & Officer Frank Boles).
** ''[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity Arkham City]]'' had [[spoiler:Hugo Strange, Talia, The Joker, and quite ''possibly'' Solomon Grundy & Clayface]] all dead (or implied) before the end.
** ''[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight Arkham Knight]]'' killed off former Mayor/Warden Quincy Sharp ([[AllThereInTheManual in his back-story]], no less), as well as Poison Ivy, while the accompanying DLC, '''The Season of Infamy''', killed off [[spoiler: Killer Moth, Black Mask, Mr Freeze & Nora Fries, and either Ra's al Ghul, or Nyssa Raatko (depending on what choice you made)]].

* ''ComicBook/BatmanArkhamUnhinged'' -A comic book miniseries following various villains before and during ''Arkham City'', including Hugo Strange, TYGER security, and various Arkham inmates.

** ''Knight'': Not in the main plot, but the DLC and an EasterEgg. Said Easter Egg? [[spoiler: Setting the clock to 10/31 sees Kirk Langstrom transform back into Man-Bat and escape from the GCPD. Whereas the Season of Infamy DLC's Kiler Croc mission has a brief one at Iron Heights Penitentiary, and two of the Arkham Episodes have Penguin and Riddler making failed attempts, and a third one sees Two-Face having a successful, albeit brief, one.]]

** From ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': In addition to reprising his role from ''Origins'' as Deathstroke, Creator/MarkRolston reprises his ''YJ'' role as ComicBook/LexLuthor in a voicemail to Bruce.

Each game revolves around the inmates of the infamous ArkhamAsylum, the mental institution that holds (or [[CardboardPrison fails to hold]]) all of Batman's insane foes. ''Asylum'' has ComicBook/TheJoker seizing control of Arkham Island and freeing all the other inmates, including the Bat-rogues. ''City'' takes place a year later, with Batman caught up in a plan to imprison Arkham's inmates in a walled-off area of Gotham City that includes pivotal locations in Batman's history, including [[DeathByOriginStory Crime Alley]] and [[CreateYourOwnVillain Ace Chemicals]]. ''Origins'' is a {{prequel}} detailing how Batman first met several of his enemies, including Joker, ComicBook/{{Bane}}, ComicBook/{{Deadshot}}, and the Riddler. ''Knight'' is the supposed finale of the series, in which Batman battles Scarecrow and an alliance of villains as they attempt to burn Gotham City to the ground.

* EasterEgg: The Arkham games are famous for their incredibly subtle and clever Easter Eggs; some of them are incorporated into Riddler trophies, others simply visual details there for the fans to pick up, but its most famous ones are those that [[DidntSeeThatComing nobody noticed]] until the developers revealed it. In ''Arkham Asylum'', there was a secret room announcing the Arkham City plan that nobody found until it was outed a year later by the developers; in ''Arkham City'', two years after the game's release, it was revealed (in a video some suspected was also released by the developers, on a YouTube channel with a cryptic pseudonym) that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=temF1OFCIPg there was a secret conversation with Calendar Man]] referencing Rocksteady and ''Arkham Knight''.

Each game revolves around the inmates of the infamous ArkhamAsylum, the mental institution that holds (or [[CardboardPrison fails to hold]]) all of Batman's insane foes. ''Asylum'' has ComicBook/TheJoker seizing control of Arkham Island and freeing all the other inmates, including the Bat-rogues. ''City'' takes place a year later, with Batman caught up in a plan to imprison Arkham's inmates in a walled-off area of Gotham City that includes pivotal locations in Batman's history, including [[DeathByOriginStory Crime Alley]] and [[CreateYourOwnVillain Ace Chemicals]]. ''Origins'' is a {{prequel}} detailing how Batman first met several of his enemies, including Joker, ComicBook/{{Bane}}, ComicBook/{{Deadshot}}, and the Riddler. ''Knight'' is the supposed finale of the series, in which with Batman battles Scarecrow and an alliance of villains as they attempt to burn Gotham City to the ground.

** Within the series itself, ''Underworld'' sees Dino Andrade reprise the role of the Scarecrow after the character himself was absent in ''City'' and recast with Creator/JohnNoble in ''Knight''. Likewise, after Creator/SteveBlum reprised the role in ''Knight'', Croc is once again voiced by his ''Origins'' voice actor, Creator/KharyPayton.

* ''Batman: Arkham Underworld'' - [[/index]]''VideoGame/ClashOfClans'' clone based on the series, released alongside ''Arkham Knight.''[[index]]

* BittersweetEnding: It's [[TragicHero Batman]]. Do you expect anything else?

** ''[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum Arkham Asylum]]'': [[spoiler: Batman stops Joker and prevents Gotham from destruction from TITAN. But Arkham Asylum is heavily damaged, almost everybody of its staff is dead. And there's [[KnightTemplar Quincy Sharp's]] [[KillThemAll plans about]] [[TheAlcatraz Arkham City]]...]]

** ''[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight Arkham Knight]]'': The BigBadEnsemble is thwarted and the GCPD takes Gotham back, but [[spoiler:Scarecrow has successfully made Batman suffer, and unmasked him in front of Gotham and the world. In order to keep everyone else safe, Bruce and Alfred blow up Wayne Manor [[TheHeroDies with themselves inside]]. Gotham is watched over by a new Batman.]]