Awesome / Batman: Arkham Origins

The World's Greatest Detective vs. The World's Deadliest Assassin.

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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• Batman survives the events of this game. So he'll fight and defeat some of the deadliest assassins on the planet, built a relationship with the police, solved many cases including the oldest Cold Case in Gotham's history. All in one night. Makes one wonder what a slow night for Batman is.
• The cinematic trailer gives us, among other things, an epic one-on-one fight between Batman and Deathstroke.
  • Batman even managing to hold his own against Deathstroke. Generally, Deathstroke has always managed to come out on top whenever they've fought one-on-one in the comics, often needing assistance. Furthermore, Deathstroke in the comics is an Empowered Badass Normal (heightened strength, speed, and reflexes) with a Healing Factor, and has been active since Vietnam. This game features a rookie Batman; one still fairly young and new at crime-fighting. Deathstroke definitely has the advantage, and whilst Batman does make a few errors during their fight, he manages to prove himself an almost equal match for Deathstroke.
  • After Deadshot destroys Deathstroke's secondary sword, Deathstroke turns around and gives him a Death Glare right through his sniper scope. Given how far away from the fight Deadshot is shown to be, and that neither Batman nor Deathstroke heard the shots coming, for Deathstroke to be able to pick out his location and subtly threaten him to back off is pretty impressive.
    • Not only does he not hear the shots coming, from his perspective, his sword just sort of snaps in two. So there was next to no way for him figure out the trajectory of the shots. And yet...
  • It plays out differently in the game proper, but even the change of scenery isn't enough to detract from the awesome: after confronting the Penguin, Deathstroke appears on the boiler deck of the crime lord's ship. What follows is a fast-paced brawl that doesn't slow for a single second. Anytime you counter a strike, he'll counter it back, and if you counter the follow-up strike, he'll either take the hit, or counter one last time. Truly, Deathstroke and Batman was a fight no-one ever saw coming, but WB Games made it the perfect brawl that would not look out of place in a live-action film.
  • If you manage to win the fight without failing a single counter, you get an achievement. This means you need to have a Flawless Victory, never letting Deathstroke land a single blow from his staff, sword, Remote Claw, or gun. If you manage to get this, then congratulations. You've earned it.^*Stats on Steam show that 3.4% of players on that platform have this achievement. This also extends to Shiva, but this time, you can't take ANY damage. And given that she has ninja henchmen and martial artists aiding her, forcing you to be constantly aware of any attack coming at you from literally any direction, that is even more difficult.^*Again, Steam stats show that 2.8% of players have managed this.
• The pre-rendered cutscenes in general are notably more cinematic and action packed than the previous games. The camera angles and cuts frequently show off some rather impressive visuals courtesy of the snowfall, really good lighting and some post processing. Some noteworthy ones are before and after Killer Croc's boss battle, Loose Lips' first interrogation, right before Deathstroke's boss fight, and the entire sequence of Bane's first boss battle, including the sequence of Joker berating Batman for saving him. The quality of the cutscenes could essentially be compiled into a low-grade movie.
• Completing 100 to 1, a Challenge Map where you face off against 100 opponents, in the hardest way possible - that is, with every negative modifier enabled and turning off counter hints. It's you against 100 enemies consisting of Ninjas, Martial Artists, Firearms, Shields, Armored, Knives and other colorful enemy types, all of them having abnormally high health, uncannily high attack speeds that require you to have near-instant reaction times, not to mention that without counter hints, you'll have to watch each and every mook like a hawk 24/7, waiting for the slightest sign of their attack animation beginning, given that any time later is often too late. Forget about getting high scores or doing it flawless, finishing it without dying is a feat by itself already.
  • Then there's doing it flawless without dropping the combo. This means defeating 100 superpowered enemies with the most limited arsenal possible in-game, requiring a whopping 7 minutes of uninterrupted punches and counters. For comparison, most combat encounters with a massive amount of enemies are still finished in a relatively quick 2 minutes max, and that's an average encounter with every combat move available, that also accounts for being hit occasionally.
• The fact that when charged, the Shock Gloves can be activated at any time in gameplay, making everything Batman does twice as badass if activated mid-animation at the perfect time. You can activate it as Batman uppercuts a mook into the air at the end of a beatdown, during a weapon destroy animation (electrically charging a pipe before bending it is much cooler than just bending it normally), right as Batman catches the blade of a ninja during a Blade Dodge Takedown, and much more. The possiblities are endless.
  • The animations for the Shock Gloves themselves are worth noting too. A Special Combo Takedown has Batman briefly charging the mook himself before throwing and slamming him into the ground. Doing it on a shield-wielding mook has Batman doing a variation of an Aerial Attack that ends with him utterly pounding the mook into the ground with electrified fists that border on animalistic, but badass.
• WB Games gets one for doing what Rocksteady didn't: playing as Batman but in Gotham City instead of being confined to a prison facility. As big as Arkham City is, it's only a part of Gotham. This game allows us to really see not only supervillain antics, but what Batman deals with on a nightly basis. And since Batman can return to the Batcave, we can also really get an idea how his operation works.
• When entering the GCPD, Batman comes across a room filled with Branden's men. He muses to himself that he should sneak past quietly, since he wouldn't be able to handle that many armed men. Of course, you can always prove him wrong.◊
  • When Batman rescues Branden from the hostage situation on the Pioneer Bridge, unties him, and tells him how it's impossible to collect the bounty now that Joker's behind bars, Branden still furiously takes a swing at his head, claiming he's "got a score to settle". Batman counters him with a massive punch to the jaw, knocking him cold, and informs the other SWAT officer to keep on the straight and narrow from now on. The guy not only agrees, but is frightened enough to apologize.
    Batman: (in possibly the coldest voice to ever come out of him) You took an oath to uphold the law. When I see you again I expect you to be following that oath - to the letter.
    Officer: Yes - yes sir. I’m sorry.
  • Also, that means that, if you take the optional fight, you beat him up three times.
• Being able to play as the original Red Hood is a shocking and welcome surprise. Made even better by the fact that you're walking through locations related to the Killing Joke.
  • Joker snapping and beating the hell out of his tormentors at the comedy club, set to the victorious crescendo of "The Thieving Magpie". Ultra-violence, indeed. And even cooler is that you get to fight as him and don't take any damage while he narrates to Dr. Harleen Quinzel. Short but sweet nonetheless.
• The game introduces a divisive mechanic in the crime scene reconstruction, but damn if it isn't effective in setting up the Joker/Black Mask mystery. We don't know what the hell happened and neither does Batman. It's not until Joker's full unveiling at the Bank, an equally iconic scene, that it all makes sense. The reconstruction of the crime at Sionis's safehouse is confusing and brilliant.
• After defeating T1 Bane, there is a segment of the game where Batman and Gordon fight together against a bunch of Blackgate inmates. Back-to-Back Badasses at its finest!
• Gordon's Establishing Character Moment when he meets Batman face-to-face for the first time. Batman disarms him and immobilises him, and asks him to stop struggling so they can talk. All Gordon hears is a criminal telling him to stop fighting, and he just says "Never".
  • Before Batman disarms him, Gordon is just waiting for the elevator. When the door opens up, revealing the Dark Knight, Gordon's first reaction is to aim his gun at him.
  • Batman gets a subtle one in that same scene, when he points out that the police force isn't as noble as Gordon believes:
    Gordon: We've earned Gotham's respect—
    Batman: If that were true, I wouldn't be here.
• The penultimate battle with Bane at Blackgate Prison counts. First, in a Scripted Battle, Bane gets his Moment of Awesome by countering Batman, hoisting him above his head, and slightly breaking his back before tossing him and placing his foot on his chest. Then, after the Joker holds Lieutenant Gordon at gunpoint, and Batman gets flashbacks as clues on how to beat Bane, the muscleman says to him "May you find the peace in death that you did not find in life" before lifting his foot to strike him for the kill. That's when Batman gets his Moment of Awesome by grabbing Bane's striking foot in a Heroic Second Wind and says, "I'm not looking for peace," before unleashing the unlimited power of the Electrocutioner's Shock Gloves. After completely draining Bane's health, we get to see the Dark Knight unleash that power on the muscleman, temporarily stopping his heart to save both the Joker and Gordon. True Moment of Awesome indeed!
• After three games, we finally get to have an actual combat with the true, non-enhanced Joker. Sure, it's extremely unbalanced, but it's so satisfying to finally punish Joker.
  • Just before that, there's the scene where Batman informs Joker that Bane is still alive. For the chronologically first time in the entire Game Series, Joker is visibly furious and declares that's not funny. Sure, he laughs it off later, but for that one glorious moment Batman managed to make the continually Laughing Mad psychopath lose his temper.
  • Also, the moment when Batman tells Joker "you need to learn to shut up". Not only because it actually stops the Joker dead, but the camera pans round to show the two greatest enemies in all of comic book history staring each other down for the first time, the music swelling in the background. Even if you knew nothing about Batman and Joker, you could tell, right then, those two would be destined to do this forever.
• Any players who actually manages to get the Twice Nightly achievement. Why? Because it not just requires you to beat the game on the highest difficulty, but to do it with NO CONTINUES. If you can get this achievement, then you really are Batman.
• After avoiding a New Year's Eve explosion in the Royal Hotel by jumping through a window and using the Batclaw to grapple onto a news helicopter, Batman drops onto a balcony full of Mooks and proceeds to beat them up, as per usual. Players, however, will find themselves observing the fight from a different camera than usual, for a brief moment; namely, the actual camera mounted on the news helicopter, broadcasting one of the first in-universe public sightings of the Batman. While slightly disorientating, watching yourself as Batman beat up criminals during an actual news broadcasting, while Vicki Vale narrates how Batman is on his way towards becoming a hero and a household name, is quite the cinematic moment.
• The fact that Bruce completed his training under Master Kirigi, where one is expected to be as ruthless as possible to succeed, much less survive, whilst managing to keep his Thou Shalt Not Kill philosophy intact. This is doubly impressive, since his opponents during his training have no such objections to killing him and are actively encouraged to do it; and especially since his devotion to this also impresses Kirigi himself, and he is rarely impressed.
• As Batman is on his way to the Gotham City Morgue, Alfred tries stopping him from going any further, giving him a What the Hell, Hero?. The badass exchange that results from this is priceless:
  Alfred: You're not some hardened vigilante! You're a young man with a trust fund and too much anger; you're in over your head and I don't want this to be your end!
  Batman: Alfred, who do you see when you look at me? The boy whose shoes you used to tie every morning? The teenager you drove to his first date? While you are here every night, I am out there. The only thing between the innocent and the predatory!
  Alfred: You may be, but—
  Batman: [interrupts] No, not 'may be'! I am! When the mugger or the thief stops to think twice: that is fear. That is what I am. That is why they hired assassins. Because I am the reason that criminals breathe easier when the sun rises. So no, Alfred, I am NOT in over my head! Tonight will not be my end. But it will be theirs!
• As a subtle Call-Back / Bookend to the above, after Batman suffers a Heroic BSoD due to Alfred's near-death, it's Alfred who gets him back on his feet.
  Alfred: I know I haven't always been supportive of what you do...but I understand now. Go. They need you out there.
  Bruce Wayne: I can't defend Gotham. I can't even defend my own home.
  Alfred: Master Bruce, now is not the time for doubt.
  Bruce Wayne: I can't do it. I can't stop them.
  Alfred: No, you can't...not on your own. But it is high time you realized that you are a man, not an island. And a man's strength comes not from just brawn and intelligence...but also from his allies.
  (Alfred turns on the police scanner)
  Radio: —Priority One alert. The Joker has broken free from his cell and is leading the riots at Blackgate. Repeat, the Joker has taken over the entire prison. Multiple casualties, multiple hostages. We have lost Blackgate. Captain Gordon is calling on anyone—anyone—for assistance!
  (by this point, Bruce—amid flashes of bats awakening and swarming through the cave—has put the cowl back on)
  Alfred: They need you.
  Batman: No. They need us.
  (cut to the Batwing soaring above Blackgate as it dissolves into chaos, with Batman ejecting and descending into the heart of the storm)
• The reveal of Joker taking Black Mask's place. Joker was considered a nobody in Gotham, yet he was able to take over Black Mask's operation, hire eight bounty hunters to kill Batman and arguably shook up the status quo in Gotham more than Batman has. It was truly a great backstory for Batman's arch-nemesis.
  • One for Black Mask: Even if he was trussed up by Joker and beaten to a pulp, the fact that he still mustered the balls to threaten Joker is impressive, because not too many people can attest to threatening that psycho and living to tell about it.
    • Heck, not only did he do all that, as soon as he is freed, Sionis immediately goes back to rebuilding his operation, contacting his loyal henchmen, preparing to liquidate all of his drug assets to get some cash back and PERSONALLY LEADING a group to engage Batman in a fistfight. (He loses, but still.) It's worth noting that at this point, he has 6+ broken ribs plus whatever Joker did to him. And he still engages BATMAN in a fistfight. Bravo, Sionis, bravo.
• When the police choppers strafe the roof and take down Bane's men, Bane just keeps walking calmly and slowly away. When a round actually hits him, he just looks mildly annoyed that they hit his Venom supply. Presumably he still has the bulletproof subcutaneous shields in this version, but it's still impressive.
• Joker hangs off a building from a lamppost and fires bullets at Bane, who turns round and launches a bazooka rocket at him. The building explodes and Joker topples, arms open to accept death, cackling. Batman dives after him and beats Joker up as they fall. Well, their foreplay did start off interesting, didn't it?
• The first performance meeting with all the assassins and the Joker is one both for the Clown Prince of Crime and Bane. Bane gets his when Joker order him to move out, where instead of following his orders, Bane instead calmly stands up and replies that he's not going anywhere. He then proceeds to throw Joker back into a chair. The Joker gets a CMOA too, because while Bane is standing up and towering over him, all Joker does is stand where he is and give Bane a wide grin. True he's easily shoved in the chair, but points to Joker for actually standing his ground.
  • Give Bane some awesome points for just showing a small hint of his strength, he doesn't even really throw Joker either, just kinda flexes his arm when his hand is on Joker's shoulder. Joker goes sailing back like Batman had kicked him in the stomach. Whoa.
    Joker: ...Move it along, big boy!
    Bane: No. He's coming for you now. And when he gets here, I'm going to kill him. (stands up and slowly approaches Joker) ...So you wait.
  • If you watch Joker's face as Bane stands up and starts walking towards him, his smile vanishes for several seconds. Whether it's because he's pissed at Bane for disobeying him, genuinely intimidated, or both, it's amazing that Bane can instill that kind of reaction out of the Joker, who just killed Electrocutioner a couple of minutes beforehand.
  • Shortly afterwards when Batman arrives to the office, we get another glimpse of Bane's intellect. He takes a whole of two seconds to take in the Empty Elevator, then he punches through the ceiling of the elevator (which he is easily tall enough to do), pulls Batman down from there and throws him out of the elevator and into the wall.
• "You want teeth, I want answers." delivered to Killer Croc, neatly summing up Batman's interrogation technique.
• The Joker's got a lot on his to-do list:
  Joker: Well, I'd love to stay and celebrate your victory, but I've got stockings to stuff, mistletoe to hang - and about fifteen skyscrapers to blow up before sunrise. Ciao.
  • Given what we know of the Joker, he could back up that boast; in fact, he'd probably use a different method for each and every one of them and each would probably be more gruesome than the last; some of his methods are known to be murder, poison, guns, and massive explosions which sometimes contain poison or release it into the air via smoke... and the exploding buildings will probably be packed to the gills with goons packing More Dakka than your average PMC. The Joker does have quite a case of Complexity Addiction, after all.
• A minor one: After Batman stops Bane's heart and successfully revives him, Bane doesn't even gasp for air or cough - he immediately jolts his head up with a Death Glare towards Batman, and just as quickly stands up and chokes him with one hand. In one second. Bane is just that utterly dedicated to Batman's death - not even dying and being resuscitated fazes him!
• Batman's final confrontation with Joker in the game.
  • The former tells the latter he managed to beat Bane without having to kill him, essentially winning at Joker's own game. The latter is not happy with that.
  • The Joker tries to mess with Batman and insults throughout the fight, saying that they're not so different.
  WE BOTH EXIST BECAUSE OF THEM!
  • Joker is no match for Bats' physical prowess as he's flung thrown across the church they're in twice by him.
  • The last few minutes are Batman throwing a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on the clown, filled with zoom ins and multiple cuts between blows.
  • Before Joker is defeated with one final blow, he hallucinates Batman as the demonic figure he saw him as during his therapy session with Dr. Quinzel. He is both astonished and horrified at what he is seeing and is the last thing he sees before getting knocked out by Batman.
• Mr. Freeze's fairly explosive and powerful entrance into Wayne Manor of all places (which involves literal ice explosions of a whole wall!), as shown in the Cold, Cold Heart DLC. He can be seen walking across the room with no one still alive daring to even stand up.
  • Alfred holding back two goons with nothing except for a fireplace poker. He even gets a hit in.
  • The massive multi-stage boss fight against Mr. Freeze. The developers clearly went out of their way to try and top Arkham City in scale and difficulty, and they did it.
    • Seeing Ferris Boyle, more unpleasant here than he's ever been in any other version, finally get his deserved pummeling at Batman's hands. And topped off with a paraphrased line to "Heart of Ice", no less.
      Batman: Take a seat... humanitarian.
  • A more minor one for the crime scene reconstruction—Victor before the accident has usually been portrayed as a bit nervous, weak and easily cowed (such as in "Heart of Ice" where he backs down even though he's the one with the gun in his hand). When Victor can be seen demanding to know what's going on, Ferris pushes him and begins talking—and Victor rears back and socks him full in the face.
  • After Freeze kidnaps Boyle in the beginning, Batman is disgusted that anyone would target a great man like Boyle, and is burning with hatred towards Freeze as he heads to Gotham, telling Alfred that he'll be bringing Freeze in on a gurney. But later, after discovering that Freeze is just trying to save his dying wife and a "villain" because he has no other option and that Boyle is the real monster in this scenario, Batman makes it clear in the following conversation with Alfred that he's going to make the "humanitarian" pay for what he's done.
    Alfred: And are you still going to need that gurney?
    Batman: I am. But not for Victor.
• Despite spending most of the game hopelessly corrupt, ineffectual, and in Gordon's case blindly idealistic, the Gotham Police actually get one. Batman disarms three of Firefly's bombs before being forced to confront him. Despite Batman's best efforts, Firefly eventually reclaims his detonator and triggers it...and nothing happens. The police managed to disarm the last bomb and rescue the last group of hostages, saving everyone on the bridge. Including Batman.