By Josh Crooks
Being a massive 'batfan' and video game geek has rarely been as profitable as it has during the Arkham Asylum series released by Rocksteady in recent years. Before this, gamers were treated to a slew of games that ranged from bad to mediocre (Batman Begins, Batman: Return of the Joker) with the odd diamond in the rough such as the original NES game and fantastic Batman: Vengeance. So, with today’s announcement of Batman: Arkham Origins, new developers Warner Brothers Games Montreal or WBGM for short (the people who developed the Wii U version of Arkham City), have big shoes to fill. With Deathstroke already announced as one of the 8 rouge's gallery villains/assassins to be in the game, here's the list of characters I'd like to fill the other 7 slots.
Being a massive 'batfan' and video game geek has rarely been as profitable as it has during the Arkham Asylum series released by Rocksteady in recent years. Before this, gamers were treated to a slew of games that ranged from bad to mediocre (Batman Begins, Batman: Return of the Joker) with the odd diamond in the rough such as the original NES game and fantastic Batman: Vengeance. So, with today’s announcement of Batman: Arkham Origins, new developers Warner Brothers Games Montreal or WBGM for short (the people who developed the Wii U version of Arkham City), have big shoes to fill. With Deathstroke already announced as one of the 8 rouge's gallery villains/assassins to be in the game, here's the list of characters I'd like to fill the other 7 slots.
1) Clayface
As many of you are sure to remember, the big reveal of Arkham City was the use of the ever formidable Clayface: a shape shifting character who is primarily made of Clay (go figure). The problem I have with that is it simply wasn't a big enough showing for what has always been one of my favourite characters, as he is basically depicted as little more than a freakshow, mumbling his way through very few lines of actual dialogue. Lets face it, like most things Batman, its rarely been made as well as the original animated TV show, as they managed to give him personality and drama, which is where I feel like the franchise has failed… so far.
As many of you are sure to remember, the big reveal of Arkham City was the use of the ever formidable Clayface: a shape shifting character who is primarily made of Clay (go figure). The problem I have with that is it simply wasn't a big enough showing for what has always been one of my favourite characters, as he is basically depicted as little more than a freakshow, mumbling his way through very few lines of actual dialogue. Lets face it, like most things Batman, its rarely been made as well as the original animated TV show, as they managed to give him personality and drama, which is where I feel like the franchise has failed… so far.
2) The Ventriloquist
A character that has been teased so far in both Arkham games through the use of his ventriloquist dummy 'Scarface', surely its high time for us to finally get a fully Arkhamised version of the organ grinder. Much like villains such as Calendar Man and The Scarecrow, his level of mental derangement has been played up or down depending on the iteration and personally, I'd like to see an off the chain version of the character giving in to his puppets every whim.
A character that has been teased so far in both Arkham games through the use of his ventriloquist dummy 'Scarface', surely its high time for us to finally get a fully Arkhamised version of the organ grinder. Much like villains such as Calendar Man and The Scarecrow, his level of mental derangement has been played up or down depending on the iteration and personally, I'd like to see an off the chain version of the character giving in to his puppets every whim.
3) Professor Pyg
The first of two villains with a doctorate and known best for surgically 'enhancing' his victims with demonic masks to control their minds; Professor Pyg surely fits the more 'mature' aspects of the Arkham series as well as upping the creep factor. I've always thought that handled in the right way, the character could echo that of Dr. Steinman in the seminal Bioshock.
The first of two villains with a doctorate and known best for surgically 'enhancing' his victims with demonic masks to control their minds; Professor Pyg surely fits the more 'mature' aspects of the Arkham series as well as upping the creep factor. I've always thought that handled in the right way, the character could echo that of Dr. Steinman in the seminal Bioshock.
4) Phantasm
Taken straight from one of the few animated cinematic Batman releases worth your time, the character has deep personal history with the caped crusader (much like Hush). One of the many things that Arkham City got right was crafting a story personal to its protagonist, and if the new game has any hope of recreating its success then it has to adopt a similar approach.
Taken straight from one of the few animated cinematic Batman releases worth your time, the character has deep personal history with the caped crusader (much like Hush). One of the many things that Arkham City got right was crafting a story personal to its protagonist, and if the new game has any hope of recreating its success then it has to adopt a similar approach.
5) Man Bat
First seen in issue #400 of Detective Comics, Frank Robbins and Neal Adams (a man who openly likes to hit on my girlfriend... true story) created a character with shades of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and all of the other mad scientists that came before him. To have another scientist villain taking centre stage in the same way that Hugo Strange did might seem to familiar for most, but Dr. Kirk Langstorm's alter ego would surely make up for that.
First seen in issue #400 of Detective Comics, Frank Robbins and Neal Adams (a man who openly likes to hit on my girlfriend... true story) created a character with shades of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and all of the other mad scientists that came before him. To have another scientist villain taking centre stage in the same way that Hugo Strange did might seem to familiar for most, but Dr. Kirk Langstorm's alter ego would surely make up for that.
6) Red hood
A character key to not only Batman's past, but also the current iterations of the man with the cowl: Jason Todd aka The Red Hood would not only strike a personal tone, but also prove to be a worthy foe. The two have had their share of battles in the past, but it would take clever story telling to craft a believable reason for the former Robin to join the ranks of Deathstroke.
A character key to not only Batman's past, but also the current iterations of the man with the cowl: Jason Todd aka The Red Hood would not only strike a personal tone, but also prove to be a worthy foe. The two have had their share of battles in the past, but it would take clever story telling to craft a believable reason for the former Robin to join the ranks of Deathstroke.
7) Talon/The Court of Owls
As seen recently in issues #1 through #12 of DC's New 52 Batman, The Court of Owls and its army of Talons have entered the mythology in style. Much like Hush, their storyline would work best crafted into a video game in its own right, but much like the other characters on the list, and appearances we've seen so far: they would work just as well appearing as one of the many roadblocks placed in The Dark Knight's way.
As seen recently in issues #1 through #12 of DC's New 52 Batman, The Court of Owls and its army of Talons have entered the mythology in style. Much like Hush, their storyline would work best crafted into a video game in its own right, but much like the other characters on the list, and appearances we've seen so far: they would work just as well appearing as one of the many roadblocks placed in The Dark Knight's way.
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