- While Batman's second year is far too early for Jason Todd, as speculated below, it's not inconceivable to move up the first Robin's inception to fairly early in Batman's career. A corollary to this would be that, as per the Schumaker films, Dick would be introduced as an older teenager and already fairly tough, if not a trained fighter. Dick is generally shown to be more athletically gifted, if not physically stronger, than Bruce, so in his late teens he would be a potential asset. The plot will to some extent be about Batman opening up to the idea of allies. It'll be like the Catwoman storyline, to some extent: Dick going through hell for Batman in a makeshift disguise via his circus costume and earn Batman's trust by saving his butt; the terrible 8-on-1 odds of the plot will require Batman to take any chance at evening the odds. This will also act as a contrast for him completely closing down at the end of Arkham City.
- That actually makes a lot of sense - in the New 52, Dick Grayson makes his first appearance as Robin at 15 or 16, when he plays the role of Big Damn Hero in the middle of a fight against Lady Shiva. Whilst Word of God has stated that Robin won't appear in the game, that doesn't mean a pre-Robin Dick Grayson won't turn up to help Batman, using his Flying Graysons leotard as part of a makeshift costume.
- Jossed. Dick Grayson doesn't appear in the story mode.
- Barbara (Batgirl) Gordon does, however.
- That actually makes a lot of sense - in the New 52, Dick Grayson makes his first appearance as Robin at 15 or 16, when he plays the role of Big Damn Hero in the middle of a fight against Lady Shiva. Whilst Word of God has stated that Robin won't appear in the game, that doesn't mean a pre-Robin Dick Grayson won't turn up to help Batman, using his Flying Graysons leotard as part of a makeshift costume.
- Assuming that Batman already has a working relationship with Barbara Gordon, it could be that we'll see her get crippled by The Joker. Not only would this be a good Killing Joke reference, it would also establish Joker as a serious threat, not just another freak.
- I suppose it's not impossible considering that this is a completely different canon and new rules apply, but that would put a lot of story emphasis on Joker when he's already taken over the plots of the other two games. Besides which, as he's just starting out, I doubt Batman even knows Jim yet, let alone his daughter. She'll probably just get a cameo and maybe some Harsher in Hindsight jokes about crimefighting or something.
- Yeah, the cameo and bitter humour thing is more likely. If they're going to deal with The Killing Joke in game at all, that's maybe...three games down the line. (You know if they're going to go to anywhere even coming CLOSE to an M rated place, it's probably going to have to be Rocksteady attached to push that boundary and Rocksteady is possibly doing that "Batman meets the Justice League" thing right now.)
- Given that it's Batman and Joker's first post-chemical bath encounter, it might also take influence from "Batman: The Man Who Laughs".
- Confirmed. Joker's flashback suggest that his TKJ origin is the canon one and Branden and Loeb from Year One are in the game so that's the Year One influence.
- The SWAT team leader from "Year 1" has been confirmed as a character out for Batman's blood, so they'll likely be opponents at some point.
- Loeb has been confirmed to play a role in the game, due to the fact that he's murdered fairly early on, leaving behind a power vacuum in the GCPD. Flass is less likely to appear, with the majority of his role in Batman's early days taken over by an Expy named Brandon.
- Brandon's not an expy - he's head of SWAT and was present in Year One and its sequels.
- Flass is mentioned in one of Enigma's extortion tapes, but does not appear.
- Confirmed. At least partially. In the cinematic trailer, Deadshot interrupts Deathstroke's fight with Batman, aiming to claim the kill on Batman for himself.
- Tossed. The assassins do not interact with each other at all in the game proper.
- Ra's al-Ghul, setting up his history with Batman in Arkham City.
- Scarecrow, taking advantage of his massive Arkhamverse fanbase, even if it makes little sense
- Bane, bringing a small army of other villains to soften Batman up, Knightfall style.
- The Riddler, continuing the Arkham trend of making him edgier.
- Holiday, as elaborated on in the first WMG. It would be an interesting development.
- Two Face, whose Start of Darkness will be shown properly over the course of the game.
- Dr. Simon Hurt and the Black Glove.
- The Joker. Doesn't he always steal the show?
- The Joker DOES steal the show by masquerading as Black Mask, sending out the hit on Batman.
It was pretty clearly stated that the assassins were lured by Black Mask's bounty on Batman's head, actually.
- You mean like how it was clearly stated that Hugo Strange was behind Arkham City?
- Which he was. Ra's al Ghul was simply paying the bills and waiting to see how it would turn out.
- Sure, fine. But less-famous villain Hugo Strange isn't the main plot focus (that's Ra's) nor is he the final boss fight (that's Joker/Clayface). So, it's not illogical to assume that someone with a little more credibility than poor Black Mask might similarly upstage him at the end.
- Or his voice would just be muffled and unrecognizable within the costume
- Actually, I think it would work better if the Red Hood was the last assassin to be fought in the entire game.
Seems to be Tossed. Joker will appear as Joker.◊
- Doesn't mean he couldn't appear as the Red Hood at the beginning and appear as the Joker later.
- Depends on how much time the game takes place over. If it's one day like the other two, Joker would probably still be in the middle of his breakdown.
- Joker's Red Hood appearance is whom in a playable flashback, but is still in the past of the game proper.
- Highly unlikely. If Batman himself is still new at crimefighting at this point and still on a learning curve, then it's certainly far too early for him to take on a Robin yet.
- This probably won't be the case in the Arkhamverse, but it's worth noting that Robin's debut was only 11 months after Batman's. Word of God said this was, what, year two?
- Crime fighting Year Two is far different than Publication Year Two and the first story sort of implied he might well have been working for a year or two already at that point.
- I sorta meant it as a meta-Mythology Gag. Plus, it's why I said "probably won't be the case".
- Tossed. Robin isn't in story mode.
- This probably won't be the case in the Arkhamverse, but it's worth noting that Robin's debut was only 11 months after Batman's. Word of God said this was, what, year two?
- Tossed. Jack Ryder is in the game during a credits dialogue scene but his Creeper persona isn't in this.
- Considering the heavier emphasis on Batman as a detective in this game, the crime scene scenario seems more likely.
- How about you investigate the crime scene and then fight him later? Besides, it wouldn't be unreasonable to have the snowstorm be supervillain-enhanced.
- For added drama, maybe a blizzard will hit right when Batman is in the middle of an important quest (or a sidequest that serves as a bait-and-switch), and he'll have to hunt down Freeze to make it stop.
- Freeze will be a hopeless boss fight. In Arkham City Oracle implies that Batman had got his but kicked by Freeze previously.
- It's also mentioned that he got his butt kicked ''trying to take Freeze head-on." Now what kind of strategy would a headstrong, armored up, and, say, hypothetically, 15-years less experienced Batman favor?
- That is awesome and needs to happen.
- Tossed
- Actually, it looks like Freeze is going to be the main focus of the upcoming story DLC. So not that far off.
- How about you investigate the crime scene and then fight him later? Besides, it wouldn't be unreasonable to have the snowstorm be supervillain-enhanced.
- Confirmed. He'd been present, but almost totally unknown, earlier, but this is the moment when he first makes his mark on Gotham.
- Tossed. She appears in the Arkham Origins: Blackgate handheld game.
- I don't quite think so. I think that's going to be Rocksteady's next release, next year.
- Actually, in one interview, they said Deathstroke would open up a larger DCU.
- That doesn't mean said DCU will be in this particular game. It's likely that Arkham Origins is meant to set up backstory canon for the Arkhamverse, since they've established that the series can be commercially successful to the executives. They'll probably expand on things like the Justice League in whatever game Kevin Conroy signed up for.
- Tossed. Refs are made to some of the JL members but none appear in the flesh.
- Actually, in one interview, they said Deathstroke would open up a larger DCU.
- And he was hinted at in Arkham City. When you use Tim in Joker's Carnival, the Joker says he thought he had already killed Robin.
- Guys, this is a Year Two story. Yes, the multiple Robin thing is confirmed as happening in this series, but I'm almost dead certain that Rocksteady will delve into Dick Grayson with their game next year.
- This is set when Batman himself is only just starting out... it's a little too early for the first Robin to show up yet, nevermind the second one.
- Tossed
- Hmm. That would be...interesting. If they're doing it, though, they might do it as paid DLC with a rating independent of the main game to allow them to go M-Rated.
- Confirmed. Deathstroke will be playable via DLC.
- "Rubber bullets, honest."
- It gets used as a distraction in the Firefly level.
- Tossed.
- Tossed.
- Confirmed.
- Tossed.
- Semi-confirmed. Croc doesn't throw a rock, but his fight does involve throwing things.
- Confirmed, in a sense. All of the assassins are working for Joker.
- For bonus points, this will be before he gains weight and he'll mention offhand that all the Christmas turkeys are going to his gut.
- A preview video confirms that he's around at this point, but it seems that he was defeated and arrested prior to the events of the game.
- Tossed. He appears in the opening briefly but that's it.
- But, if they do that, it raises the other question: Who would do it? I don't think Dick and Barbara are running around. And Deathstroke is specifically pre-order DLC instead of Day One DLC. I'd guess, if they do that, it ends on a cliffhanger and they leave it as a surprise DLC pack. As for who? Considering that this is pre Robin, I'd guess The Question (Vic Sage) or Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) are the two most likely contenders for the part.
- Tossed.
- In addition, this could be a good lead in (and twist) to who Flamingo is working for
- Tossed.
- Tossed. Killer Croc is one of the assassins.
- The Black Mask in the Arkhamverse is still Roman Sionis by Arkham City. Unless the one we're dealing with in this game is actually Jeremiah Arkham and they switched the order around to play on expectations, it seems unlikely he'll have any major plot impact. Something involving the Asylum doesn't sound out of the question, though.
- Given the apparent theme of the crazy supervillains overtaking the traditional mobsters and the word "Origins" in the title, the game might end with the creation of Arkham Asylum.
- Arkham was made years before Batman was in Gotham. But we might get an ending shot of the insane supervillains Batman has captured over the course of the game being transferred there. And the ones you see will change depending on whether or not you completed all of the "Most Wanted" missions.
- This incident could be the reason why Batman/ Bruce Wayne become involved in the asylum's security.
- Confirmed in a way. One of the Enigma tapes records Shiva talking to Quincy Sharp on behalf of her employer and telling him that if he wants to become mayor and cleanse the city, the first step he needs to take is to become Warden of Arkham Asylum.
- Confirmed, in a sense. The radio interview that can be heard over the credits explicitly state the events of the night, specifically the two jail breaks from Blackgate, necessitate the reopening of Arkham Asylum.
- Arkham was made years before Batman was in Gotham. But we might get an ending shot of the insane supervillains Batman has captured over the course of the game being transferred there. And the ones you see will change depending on whether or not you completed all of the "Most Wanted" missions.
- Unlikely, but it would be cool. And it kinda fits, since Bats and GA have always had many similarities.
- He could be a character that can only be used in the Challenge maps, just like Nightwing in Arkham City.
- Tossed by Eric Holmes.
If Black Mask wants nothing more than a death Batman, then why did he turn it into a competition between assassins and gave them such a short time limit? That seems to be very counterproductive and actually encourages them to fight against each other. Maybe his hatred of Batman is mostly an act and the assassins are nothing but a distraction: While Batman is busy fighting them off he won’t notice what Black Mask is doing in the meantime. Alternatively he may have secretly hired one of them for a different job.
- Very likely, since promotional material likes to say Batman must figure out why Black Mask wants him dead so badly. Well, if there's no such kind of secret, it's kind of a stupid question; he wants Batman dead because Batman is bad for his business. Now, if the whole "hiring a bunch of assassins to kill Batman" is just smokescreen to keep Batman too busy to discover and ruin his true plans, it would make sense.
- Tossed. Black Mask didn't hire them at all, Joker did. And he doesn't seem to have any goal other than his usual desire to cause chaos For the Evulz.
- Confirmed after his boss fight.
- If not that, Ra's will act like an ally and try to trick Batman into helping him with a plan. Batman, being something of a rookie, will initially fall for it, but figures out the scheme in time to stop him. Talia might act as his contact, hiding her status as Ra's' daughter and playing dumb when Batman confronts her what Ra's is up to.
- Partially Tossed. Ra's al Ghul does not appear, but he does send Lady Shiva to attempt to test and possibly recruit Batman in his stead.
- Exotic counters apply to Shiva and Deathstroke.
- I couldn't see Harvey anywhere in that video. I also think it's mentioned that he was disfigured in the courthouse with a face full of acid by one of his mooks, and even if it wasn't, Copperhead's thing appears to be poison administered through cuts in the skin, not burning off someone's face.
- Tossed. Not only does Harvey not show up in-game, he's also already said that Falcone was the one who caused his disfigurement.
- I couldn't see Harvey anywhere in that video. I also think it's mentioned that he was disfigured in the courthouse with a face full of acid by one of his mooks, and even if it wasn't, Copperhead's thing appears to be poison administered through cuts in the skin, not burning off someone's face.
- Confirmed for Bane.
- Close. Bane attacks the Batcave after learning who Batman really is, but he doesn't fight him there.
- There's more than 4 Copperheads in the trailer. It's most likely that whatever Copperhead poisoned Batman with at the end of her trailer most likely cause him to hallucinate multiple Copperheads.
- Confirmed. Copperhead is part of a group - you only see the female one. She even hints at her organization.
- Still the theory that the Copperhead in the game is a group of similar-looking individuals is Tossed.
- Confirmed. Copperhead is part of a group - you only see the female one. She even hints at her organization.
- Tossed. Black Mask is kidnapped by Joker but is simply taken in by the cops if you finish his side mission.
1) Geoff Johns has confirmed that a Suicide Squad video game is in development. The Squad typically doesn't have any A-list villains as members, so it makes sense from a marketing standpoint to make it an Arkhamverse spin-off so they can reach a bigger audience.
2) Of the characters being introduced in this game and the Blackgate handheld, four of them (Deadshot, Copperhead, Electrocutioner and Bronze Tiger) have worked with the Squad.
3) The developers have said that they want to use the assassins to introduce a larger DC universe. Of the options available, the Squad would be both tonally consistent with Batman's world and make logical sense. If you tried to introduce a superhero, like Superman or Green Arrow, you'd have to explain why didn't try to help Batman when it's obvious the odds are against him. The Squad's handlers are just amoral enough to not give a damn.
4) Finally, the Squad provides a handy excuse for why we haven't seen some of the newer characters in the older games: they've been working with the Squad and are either dead or stuck working for them.
- Good idea. But, two notes:
- 1. Who's going to be the player character/field leader? Between the Post Crisis takes on the concept, I'd put it as between two characters: 1. Bronze Tiger. Former victim of a League of Assassins brainwashing trying to genuinely atone, to an extent or 2. Cluemaster (Arthur Brown). Sees this as a path to redemption and retirement to raise his daughter right, even as forces around him push him further into amorality. Other choices are either 1. Too amoral from the start or 2. FAR too minor to give a darn about.
- 2. This game is at a point where Batman's just starting out and even THE COPS don't trust Batman. At this point, it's doubtful any superheroes that are around are a community, more disconnected people with fantastic powers.
- Well... partly confirmed. While the Suicide Squad doesn't appear yet, The Stinger shows Deathstroke being visited by Amanda Waller in his cell. She gives him a confidential file, and says that he can either work for her or rot in jail; he takes the offer.
- And in Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, there's an end credits scene where Waller recruits Bronze Tiger and Deadshot.
- Somewhat confirmed. Bane has been studying Batman and has made a name for himself but this is their first encounter
- Actually, in the cutscene introducing the assassins, Batman does seem to recognize Bane.
Bane. Here? In Gotham? Why would he be taking money as a hired killer?
- It's been confirmed that Mad Hatter will be returning and will again have his own sidequest in which Batman must rescue "Alice" from him. It was implied in Arkham City and explicitly shown in the Arkham: Unhinged comic that Hatter thinks the blonde, blue-eyed Vicki Vale is Alice (indeed, it is for this reason that he actually abducts her in the latter). As such, the sidequest in Origins will show a similar incident from earlier in continuity. Further evidence of this is the fact that Batman will reportedly have to climb a clocktower to rescue "Alice"/Vicki from Hatter, just has he had to climb a belltower to rescue Vicki from the Joker at the climax of Batman (1989). This is a series that loves the Mythology Gag trope after all.
- Tossed. It looks very much like an Arkham series version of his co-worker from Batman: The Animated Series.
- Adding to that, it is possible that the "concoction" used by Arkham to fake Pinkney's death had some Lazarus Pit components in it. They still haven't really gone into how the Pit is supposed to work in the Arkhamverse, save that it is the source of Grundy's power in this universe, meaning Arkham's concoction might have played a role in his transformation when exposed to more of it. Further, as the OP noted, Pinkey does seem a little...unhinged in his last entry, and madness is a known side-effect of the pit.
- If so, let's hope stealth challenges are easier this time around.
- People have been quick to point out that Harley first meeting Joker in Origins invalidates the interview tapes from Asylum. But there's nothing to suggest that Harley has any romantic interest in Joker at this point. Given the events of both Origins and Origins Blackgate Harley's residency will end prematurely and she'll resume it at Arkham, and that's where she'll fall for Joker
- Batman's suit and equipment is functionally similar to his load out in City, just bulkier and less sophisticated. Since we don't know when he streamlines it all to what we've seen in the first games, it's possible that Asylum is the first appearance of those versions, and as such they haven't had all the kinks worked out by then. The batsuit's missing separate bars for melee and bullet protection and the batclaw can't disarm foes? He fixes it all by City. The sequencer's not as versatile? Arkham Asylum has custom made security panels, unlike Arkham City.
- That second part is Jossed, at elast on the costume front, as Batman is seen wearing the Asylum/City costume in Batman: Assault on Arkham and that is stated to take place two years before Asylum.
- The Batsuit in this game is an earlier model, that is MUCH heavier, and functions more like a suit of Powered Armor rather than the high tech fabric suits Batman opts to use later (due to the high tech fabric weighing him down less and letting him be much quieter). The Grapnel Accelerator is fundamentally different from the Boost used in Arkham City, because he doesn't have to worry about the force it's exterting on his arm - the force is entirely on the suit itself instead. When he switched to the lighter suits, the Grapnel stuff had to be redesigned because it actually exerts a force on his arm instead, and it took some time to make City's Boost upgrade that could be used safely. Once he eventually switched back to a more Powered Armor suit in Arkham Knight, notice the Accelerator came back and was much more powerful than in Origins, because once again the force can be exerted on the suit instead of his arm.
- The Glue Grenade doesn't exist in later games, because the compound disintegrated after about a week and was useless. Batman determined that it was too unworkable to make into something he could use all the time because of its limited shelf life.
- The Shock Gloves were turned into the GCPD by Batman after the events of this game. You can even see them in the evidence locker in Arkham Knight.
- A newspaper in the Batcave claims that the storm hitting Gotham is expected to drop 400 inches of snow. One problem with that: The all-time record for a one-day snowfall in the contiguous United States is roughly 4 feet, and that was in the Rockies, not the East Coast, where the record is closer to 2 feet. It is not possible for weather patterns to change so dramatically as to break a historical record by a factor of eight (16 locally) naturally. Thus, some artificial factor is responsible for the extreme storm.
- News in real life has been known to make mistakes like this, so this really isn't as unusual as you might think. One news station reported that when Columbia was destroyed on reentry that its speed was "18 times the speed of light" (should've been speed of sound). I just assume that whoever printed up the newspaper meant to type 40 (which is possible if they're in an area that has lake effect snow - see Buffalo NY), had their 0 key get stuck, and noone noticed it before it went to print.
- Tossed. You play as Batman the entire time.
- Rule of Cool. She just waited to use it until she had already poisoned Batman to gain the element of surprise. I don't think she ever actually said that they were a hallucination, only that Batman was hallucinating, (which he clearly was,) and if she did, it was probably just a lie to make him underestimate them and believe that they weren't a danger. After a while, she gets too weak to create more of them - and making copies of herself won't help her get out of that container - but those polceman sent there to arrest her - expecting to find one woman - may be in for a nasty surprise.
- Branden is more likely. During the first run through the GCPD he explicitly states that Black Mask had agreed to treat his SWAT team as a ninth assassin and give them the 50 million if they killed Batman.