Why is Jonkler reacting? Is he stupid?
Welcome to the Memehouse, Troper! I set a trap and you sprung it GLORIOUSLY! Let's get this party started.
Please add entries in the following format if possible:
- The meme. [[labelnote:Explanation]]The explanation behind the meme, if necessary.[[/labelnote]] ExplanationLike this.
- Further mutations and successor memes, if any.
- "I set a trap and you sprung it GLORIOUSLY!" ExplanationAs said by the Joker as he begins his plan after escaping confinement at the start of the game.
- BAM A HAM YUM ExplanationA humorous image edit of the first game's cover (and Arkham City) that caught on well with the Expand Dong crowd.
- IT'S DA FREAKIN' BAT! ExplanationA lot of Enemy Chatter has become quite memetic among the fans of the game, with the aforementioned quote being the most memorable one as the enemies use it the most while reacting to Batman's sudden appearances.
- Joker kicks a dude in the balls hits the griddy and then diesExplanationOne of Joker's silent takedowns is a swift kick to the crotch from behind followed by him doing a dance that's strikingly similar to the Griddy dance created in 2018. For added humor, short videos
of Joker performing the dance ends with him getting shot by a guard before the dancing animation finishes. - Batman: Arkham Aslume ExplanationOriginating from a poll that misspelled the game's title in r/BatmanArkham, the alternate spelling spread like wildfire, usually to describe the subreddit itself.
- "That actually is… pretty funny."ExplanationJoker's last words, used in response to situations that are, well, Actually Pretty Funny.
- "Two guns, bitch!" ExplanationTwo-Face briefly guns Batman down only to be disarmed by Catwoman, who looks set to claw his good side to shreds. Two-Face, thanks to his predilection for all things binary, pulls out a second gun out of nowhere and shouts this line.
- "Training: Trained by Batman." ExplanationThe Nightwing trailer for the game has "Trained by Batman" as part of his "Training" profile. The fandom has now taken "Trained by Batman" to automatically mean that the trainee is a badass.
- Achievement Unlocked - 10G I'm Batman ExplanationThis is an actual achievement received for completing the initial tutorial sequence of the game, in which Bruce Wayne suits up and becomes Batman. A Captain Obvious moment if ever there was one.
- Gigachad WayneexplanationThis game's depiction of Bruce Wayne has been noted to bear a great resemblance to the "gigachad" meme.
- It's common for fans to joke about Electrocutioner, who was one-hit K.O.d by Batman, being the hardest boss in the game.
- Expect almost every French player to say something along the lines of "Damn, Jamy became hardcore" due to Jamy from the (now canceled) educational TV show ''C'est pas sorcier!'' closely resembling the Riddler.
- The over-the-top behavior of Dax Ginn in the Arkham Insider videos, and his breathless, excited praise of every element in the game, gave rise to many, many variations on "Dax is hyped". Even more so with Gaz Deaves, whose ecstatic red-faced commentary seemed to blur the line between "game dev" and "drunk soccer hooligan"; commenters jokingly theorized that if they were ever in the same video together, the Earth would be crushed in a singularity of hype.
- A video clip of a cutscene where Batman and Catwoman have swapped character models has reached people who have not played the game. Batman with Catwoman's over-the-top Supermodel Strut has been compared to characters from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and has been used to show what people mean when they talk about the Male Gaze.
- What if I just turn around right now and see BAT-ExplanationPopular meme of a thug panicking when he sees Batman behind him, such as in this video.
- Where was [x] during Arkham Knight?ExplanationAnother meme from the infamous Arkham subreddit, asking where a certain character was during Arkham Knight, usually the character in question being from a completely different franchise.
- THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED. THIS IS HOW THE BATMAN DIED ExplanationFans grumpy with the PC version of the game were quick to turn the title's marketing slogan against it. Others, unhappy with other aspects of the title, including the storytelling and the Batmobile, happily took advantage too. The line is also spoken by Commissioner Gordon during the intro.
- Even the odds. ExplanationIn Arkham Knight, Batman rescues a police officer from getting killed by a bunch of criminals. The police officer explains the situation, and asks Batman what he's going to do. He responds "Evening the odds." A button prompt labelled "Even the odds" then appears, which summons the Batmobile.
- Batman with a gun.ExplanationIn the "No More Heroes" trailer, Batman under Brainiac's control is seen brandishing a gun. The sheer shock of seeing one of the most anti-gun characters holding one led to an exploitable meme.
- The Aslume is canon!ExplanationPrior to this game's release, the r/BatmanArkham subreddit adopted the name "the Aslume". A shot in the "No More Heroes" trailer shows the Arkham Asylum gates, with the "Y" having rotted off its place, leaving "Aslum". Users then proclaimed how Rocksteady has now canonized the Aslume.
- The Aslume is over/[Batman] wasn't stupid.Explanationr/BatmanArkham's insanity is credited to this post asking why Batman didn't just call the Justice League for help during Arkham Knight. Before the game was released, an alpha tester stated on Twitter this game would reveal the Justice League didn't exist yet. Cue the "inmates" expressing shock that their catalyst for insanity was wrong and wondering if they should go sane again. Though people have countered that Easter Eggs in Knight confirmed that while the JL didn't exist yet, its individual members were active, leaving the question of why they didn't help when they saw the news intact.
- "It's called "Kill the Justice League!"note This meme was made in response to the backlash the game got over leaks of Batman's death as well as the full release that featured the deaths of the Justice League, maliciously calling out the people who were shocked at the game despite the title indicating what the aim is.
- "It's also called "Suicide Squad!"note A common response to the above argument, in that despite its name and its source material none of the squad die during the game's story, despite the inclusion of at least one Red Shirt to prove the bombs are to be taken seriously being a team staple.
- Thunderbolts: Kill The AvengersExplanationA joke Marvel Comics Alternate Company Equivalent to this game, often portrayed as being a similarily depressing ending to the Spider-Man (Insomniac) series.
- "Me when Screwball kills Spider-Man in Kill the Avengers"Explanation (spoilers)In response to the fact that Harley Quinn ultimately kills Batman by shooting him in the head, jokes abounded comparing the idea to Screwball from the Spider-Man (Insomniac) series ultimately being the villain to put down that game's version of Peter Parker.
- Can we all agree that the Arkham saga ended here?ExplanationA series of shitposts stemming from this serious post on the infamously insane r/BatmanArkham subreddit parodying the Fanon Discontinuity applied to the game. Usually, it's screenshots of arbitrary moments both Batman-related and not, or pictures of theories of how the universe will end. A related trend is "Can we all agree that the Arkham saga began here?" where they show pictures of the Big Bang or sperm.
- Can we all agree that this should have been the Arkhamverse Suicide Squad?/Why weren't they the Arkhamverse suicide squad? ExplanationMemes depicting various groups that should have been the Suicide Squad, such as the LEGO variants of the characters or the Team Fortress 2 Mercenaries.
- Boomerang's epic double-take Oh, Crap! face when seeing the gigantic Green Lantern shark construct coming straight for the Suicide Squad has started to become a popular "When you see X" template on TikTok.
- The Twinkler Explanationr/BatmanArkham's Fan Nickname for the the Elseworld's Joker. Usually used to deride and mock him.
- What Arkham Batman ACTUALLY would've done here. Explanation Fan's outrage towards Batman's infamous death scene, mainly over how he just let Harley shoot him in the head, and that he should've been able to beat all of the squad single handedly (and has multiple times) resulted in several videos showing him taking down Harley and the Squad right before Harley shoots him.
- Kill The Arkhamverse / Suicide Squad: Kill the FranchiseExplanation Malicious Misnaming for the game's story, for ruining the lore of the Arkham Series in the eyes of many fans, or for derailing an otherwise-beloved series of games with what everyone thinks is going to be a disappointing final installment.
r/BatmanArkham
The
r/BatmanArkham Subreddit is infamous for having gone as bonkers as the inmates of the titular facility, due to not having any new content for 8 years. It now almost entirely consists of shitposts and is recognized as a bountiful
Fountain of Memes, and is responsible for most of the memes on this page.
- The Aslume/Alsume ExplanationThis is now the subreddit's nickname, originating from this post, which is also cited as the beginning of the subreddit's descent into madness.
- Why doesn't (character) do (sensical action)? Is he stupid?ExplanationOriginated from r/BatmanArkham, it supposedly started from this shitpost parodying the Fridge Logic questions related to the games. The subreddit then got recurring posts with this template and similar joking tone, before it spreaded out to other gaming subreddits like r/tf2 (which is often mistaken for the origin of this post template). Not only it was quickly widespread, but it was also highly effective in baiting genuine replies to the given topic when it was supposed to be a joke, earning the uninformed users confusion at best or annoyance at worst.
- Jonkler/Jerker/Jimbler ExplanationCorruptions of The Joker's name which became a borderline Fan Nickname for the Arkham version of The Joker. Memes referring to him usually show a still of Joker making a shocked expression
- Man ExplanationBatman with all his Bat iconography removed. Has crossed over to other characters, such as Joe, The, and Green.
- What would Man's favourite (band) song be? Explanation A snowclone popular on music and video game subreddits, where commenters respond with what they think Man's favourite song from that particular band or video game OST would be. Any Sanity Slippage Song is a popular choice because of how their lyrics describe the typical resident of the Aslume.
- Who the fuck is this? / Created a new character, what the FUCK should I name them? ExplanationA trend of posting pictures of significant characters from the Arkham series or from other media or even real life coupled with this phrase.
- Is there a lore reason?Explanation Similar to "Is he stupid?", it started in a post from r/BatmanArkham, where an user asks for the In-Universe reason for the Arkham Knight name. This caused many post parodying it, asking for explanations for things taken out of context, or overlaping it with other memes, frequently the aforementioned "Is he stupid?".
- Killer CockExplanationA Fan Nickname for Killer Croc, with the main joke being how users will comically lust after him and see him as irresistibly sexy.
- BoneExplanationFan Nickname for Bane, used in the same vein as Killer Cock.
- Nude Bone picsExplanationImages tagged as NSFW promised to be Bane naked. These turn out to be troll posts.
- I'm proud of you, Dick.ExplanationA quote said by Batman to Nightwing before he initiates the Knightfall Protocol. Since Dick is now more commonly slang for a penis, it caught on with the crude humor the subreddit adopted.
- The bomb's payload is exposed. I can use the power winch to trigger a controlled explosion.ExplanationA line said by Batman that's exactly as it sounds like that the subreddit adopted as a euphemism for sex/masturbation.
- What Arkham quote should I use?ExplanationA shitpost template where someone will say they did or experienced something and ask this question. The most popular are Joker's "Stand back fool, I've got a bomb!" and "I'd be happy to drop my pants."
- What movie becomes completely different once you end it with [X]?ExplanationA meme prompt where the thing added is something incredibly vulgar.
- Fake swipeExplanationA joke stemming from troll posts where the poster would trick users into thinking there were galleries when in fact the picture of the swipe icon and numbered slides were just pictures.
- Hi, I'm [X]. AMA.ExplanationWhere users will pretend to be minor characters or inanimate objects present throughout the series and sometimes outside for QnA sessions.
- We need a new joke. ExplanationUsers expressing dismay at the continual cycle of the same jokes being reused ended up becoming one of those same jokes that kept getting reused.
- Officer BallsExplanationA Mondegreen of Batman addressing Officer Boles. It's followed by Joker laughing his ass off.
- r/ArkhamRehabilitationExplanationA joke sub created in response to this sub, that takes the form of an actual mental ward where users are rehabilitated from the Aslume. "Doctors" here will prescribe "Anti-Aslume pills".
- The Aslume is spreading.ExplanationJokes about how the madness and stupidity of the Arkham subreddit has now spread to other subreddits and websites, usually accompanied by this phrase.
- The least sane sub in history vs The most insane sub of todayExplanationThe r/jujutsufolk subreddit has gone nearly as insane as r/batmanarkham, leading to shitposts about the two fighting to see who is the most insane, using a corruption of the caption from the beginning of Sukuna and Gojo's fight.
- Explosive gelExplanation (NSFW)Referring to an infamous incident where a user posted a picture of his Poison Ivy statue covered in his "explosive gel" (his semen). "Explosive gel" has now become a byword for horny fans and whenever mentioned will result in faux-traumatized responses.
- r/BatmanArkham is Arkham AsylumExplanationThe sheer madness in the sub fits so well with the series's focus on one of the most famous Bedlam Houses in fiction that some have joked users are actually Arkham inmates.
- What does [X] taste like?ExplanationAnother joke trend from another sub, this time r/SpiderMan2, another sub on its way to going insane. Any question using these words will inevitably get a sexual response.
- r/okbuddyblacklung reaction imagesExplanationFor some reason, screenshots of Red Dead Redemption II edited to have comedic phrases in them are popular to post in comment sections.
- Odd question, [X]? I heard that it was implied, but nothing in the game ever states that.ExplanationA shitpost template that originally had the format "Odd question, was [X] sexually abused by [Y]?" stemming from a (now-removed) serious post asking if Jason was sexually assaulted by Joker. This post was mutated only a few hours after it was posted, but was later forced into its current form a few hours later because the mods and many users thought making sexual assault jokes was too far.
Other
- Batman doesn’t kill. ExplanationFans have posted many short video clips on YouTube and Reddit showing Batman performing takedowns that would almost certainly be lethal in real life, poking fun at Batman holding onto his no-kill rule and Detective Mode being programmed by the devs to always say that everyone Batman takes down is merely unconscious
- Batman: Arkham World Explanation Quite bizarrely, in 2022 – 7 years after the as-of-this-writing final main installment of the saga – fans of the series (especially on reddit) not only started collectively pretending that there was a new game in the series, but that it was the best entry yet, discussing what moments were the best and even celebrating its 1-year anniversary. The whole thing can be traced back to an unused 'award speech' for the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards where Joker publicly discards a folder labeled "Batman: Arkham World script" before musing about spoilers.
- "Why is his right hand bigger than his left?"ExplanationDue to the games keeping the camera to the player character's right, from certain angles their right hand looks bigger than their left. While usually only directed at Batman himself, this has led to endless amounts of jokes about the characters having more than one way to exercise.
