History VideoGame / BatmanArkhamAsylum

** In general, both the Joker and his goons make a lot of twisted statements that are both horrifying and hilarious at same time. In fact, Joker often test his henchmen's loyalty through morbid means, such pestering one henchman to kill his sister... even though he has no sister to begin with. How does that henchman resolved Joker's demand? He got into his car and killed the first woman he saw. And Joker seemed happy with that result.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Frank Boles]], the guard who helped Joker escape, is [[spoiler:killed by Joker so Batman can't track the whiskey on his breath to Gordon's location.]] When Batman tells one of the guards about it, said guard does not miss his colleague in the slightest.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Warden Quincy Sharp. Given that he's a cowardly bureaucrat with a callous disposition who cares more about his mayoral campaign than, you know, actually trying to help any of the inmates, you can't help but smile a bit at the hilariously crude abuse Harley puts him through. [[spoiler: Becomes this trope in full effect once you learn he's a self-righteous and delusional serial killer and all-around pathetic and petty abuser towards the inmates of the Asylum. And as we learn in Arkham City, having been responsible for allowing Hugo Strange to conduct his mind-control experiments on the more regular Arkham patients, turning them into the Lunatics even before he was himself blackmailed and mind-controlled by Strange.]]

* BlackComedy: The Riddler's take on the ancient riddle of the Sphinx. Child-diddle-riddle.

* TwentyMinutesIntoThePast: Released in 2009, the game is canonically set in 2001, as it is set eight years after ''Origins'', which in turn is set in 93 if the Easter Egg detailing the re-opening of the titular Asylum is anything to go by. At the time of release the game seemed to take place in the time it was made (The year before TheNewTens started) with the exception of the digital bars on cells that shock you if you try to escape.

Gotham City is just beginning to emerge from another chaotic month. First, the Blackgate Penitentiary is destroyed in a suspicious fire, forcing the Gotham police to move its inmates to Arkham Asylum; then the Joker goes on another crime spree, culminating in a failed attempt to kill the city's mayor. The game opens with Batman ending the Joker's rampage and bringing him back to Arkham, where Warden Quincy Sharp hopes the clown will finally be rehabilitated. What they don't realize is that this time, Joker ''wants'' to be at Arkham: after escaping from the guards, he and Harley Quinn break into the asylum's security, free the inmates, and [[ClosedCircle seize control of Arkham Island]]. Realizing that his archnemesis is up to something far more sinister than a mere breakout, Batman fights his way through the waves of convicts and tries to find out what the Joker really wants with the asylum.

A sequel, ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', was released in 2011. A prequel game titled ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' and a portable spinoff/sequel to said prequel titled ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOriginsBlackgate'' were released on October 25, 2013. WB Games Montreal developed the main game, instead of Rocksteady, and Armature[[note]]A studio founded by former Creator/RetroStudios staff[[/note]] developed the portable game. ''Blackgate'' would also get a UpdatedRerelease for the 7th generation home consoles and PC via UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. A fourth game, ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'', this time developed once more by Rocksteady, was later released on June 2015. Finally, in 2016, Warner Bros. announced that remastered versions of both ''Asylum'' and ''City'' would be released for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne as part of a collection called ''Return to Arkham'' later that year. The game was ported to the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch alongside ''City'' and ''Knight'' as part of the ''Arkham Trilogy'' [[CompilationRerelease collection]], which was released on December 1, 2023.