Line #22 ComicBook/TheBatmanOfArkham


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batman_of_arkham.jpg]]
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4	''The Batman of Arkham'' is an Creator/DCComics series published under the ''Creator/{{Elseworlds}}'' imprint written by Creator/AlanGrant set in the year 1900. ComicBook/{{Batman}} prowls the streets of Gotham to save the innocent and fight crime, but by day Bruce Wayne is a respected psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum, turning it from a BedlamHouse into a place where those housed in its walls receive the compassion and help that they need.
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6	Meanwhile, ComicBook/TheJoker is spreading his maniacal brand of madness through the city, and [[ComicBook/TheScarecrow Jonathan Crane]] is a subordinate member of the asylum staff with his own views on patient care. When Wayne falls victim to the Joker and is left in a manic state, Crane has the chance to work his harsher will on the patients. However, Bruce recovered from the gas and captured the Joker. Bruce then dedicates his life to curing the Joker.
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9	!!This comic provides examples of:
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11	* AdaptationNameChange: Bruce Wayne's father has his first name changed from Thomas to James.
12	* AdaptationalJobChange: Rather than a [[HonestCorporateExecutive business magnate]], this version of [[SecretIdentity Bruce Wayne]] is a psychiatrist.
13	* BedlamHouse: Bruce is determined that Arkham Asylum ''not'' return to its previous state of abusing and mistreating its inmates. Naturally, it returns to this state under Crane's rule, but turns back once Bruce returns.
14	* DeadlyGas: Joker's gas, as usual. All victims end up LaughingMad; most DieLaughing.
15	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Not just when it comes to the treatment of the mentally ill; the sexism of the era is also touched upon.
16	* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: Instead of being shot by Joe Chill, Bruce Wayne's parents in this continuity were killed when an insane seaman stabbed them to death.
17	* EasilyForgiven: Commissioner Gordon flinches when he sees Killer Croc, worried that he wanted revenge for having him captured and institutionalized, only for Killer Croc to politely greet him, showing that Bruce’s methods actually work.
18	* GoodDocBadDoc: Bruce Wayne uses psychology - surmised from a mix of UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud and Franz Mesmer’s methods - to treat his patients. His humane, personal methods are shown to work wonders on the patients, turning the once savage and violent Killer Croc into a more polite individual with hope of integrating into society. When Jonathan Crane takes over, he turns Arkham into a BedlamHouse (not unlike most other mental institutions back in those days) where he strips the inmates of their rights and privileges and rules over them all with an iron fist, out of belief that fear is more effective than compassion.
19	* JokerImmunity: Double subverted. Batman very nearly lets the Joker perish in the conflagration of his dirigible, but ends up saving his life at the last minute upon realizing that letting the Joker die goes against his belief that the mentally ill can be cured when given the help they need.
20	* MoralityPet: Weirdly enough, ''Killer Croc'' qualifies as this. When Bruce is confined to a cell in a straight jacket, Croc manages to escape his own cell to get to Bruce and tell him just how bad things have gotten in Arkham. When he escapes to bring in the Joker, Batman remembers how much faith Killer Croc has in him in order to keep himself going.
21	* MundaneSolution: While Bruce has his session with the Ventriloquist, he is unable to get a word in edgewise because Scarface won’t let him. While not exactly “mundane”, Bruce is quick to see that the dummy is getting in the way of his treatment and proceeds to pimp-slap the dummy’s head off.
22	* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: Bruce understands that the asylum was meant to be a place of healing for those that society has strong-armed into the state that they are in rather than simply being deviants that needed to be scared straight.
23	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Jonathan Crane shows no compassion for the asylum's inmates and dismisses Pamela Isley's complaints about how women are treated as proof that she is insane.
24	* TheShadowKnows: Jonathan Crane’s shadow always takes the shape of a scarecrow, reflecting his non-elsewhere persona.
25	* StrawMisogynist: Unlike Bruce, who thinks that Poison Ivy has a point when it comes to women’s rights, Jonathan Crane thinks it just makes her insane. Once he takes control of the asylum, he has her tossed inside a dark cell away from access to sunlight and her plants.
26	* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Arkham goes right back to being the horrible place it once was (and usually is in other works) after Crane steps in due to Wayne being out of commission.
27	* VillainHasAPoint: Bruce acknowledges that Poison Ivy is totally correct to fight so hard for the rights of women like herself. The problem is that society has judged her as "insane" for wanting such things, which drives her to unfortunate extremes to get her point across.
28	* WordAssociationTest: Bruce gives one to Two-Face in his first session.
29	-->'''Bruce:''' When I speak, respond with the first word you think of. One.\
30	'''Two-Face:''' Two.\
31	'''Bruce:''' Life.\
32	'''Two-Face:''' Two.\
33	'''Bruce:''' Death.\
34	'''Two-Face:''' Two.\
35	'''Bruce:''' Murder.\
36	'''Two-Face:''' Happens.
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Context ComicBook / TheBatmanOfArkham