Deep Dive DC: Wes Builds the Roster for Batman: Arkham Arena

Apparently, this is now just a regular thing here on the blog. I may have to come up with a specific name for it. And don’t worry, we’re still going to finish off the Gargoyles Crossover Trilogy eventually, but I thought I’d work on something comparatively simple. I’ve made it no secret that we love Batman here on the blog, so much so that despite this being a Disney Blog, I still take every opportunity to discuss the exploits of the Dark Knight in various media. While Batman, as well as several of his allies and enemies have appeared in many a fighting game, to my knowledge, there has never been a fighting game that’s been specifically Batman focused. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Injustice Games and I intend to borrow heavily from them, especially when it comes to characters who have already appeared in those games, but what I want here is a game with somewhat lower stakes where we primarily pull from the heroes and villains of Gotham City. What that means is, the heavier hitters of the DC Universe, I.E. Superman, Wonder Woman or Green Lantern, will not be appearing in this game. We may venture outside of Gotham City for the DLC, but the rule we’ll be sticking to for the playable roster is no characters who Batman can’t reasonably defeat without help from The Justice League. With that in mind, welcome to Batman: Arkham Arena, a Batman fighting game for which we will be building the roster.

Okay, so one of the more well received recent additions to the Batman mythos is The Court of Owls. Mind you, “recent” is somewhat relative here given that the court has been around for over a decade at this point, but since a lot of the characters we’ll be discussing have been around since the 40’s and 50’s, a mere decade is a drop in the bucket, but I digress. The Court of Owls is a secret underground organization that’s been controlling Gotham from the shadows for centuries with the ordinary citizenry, including Bruce Wayne, recognizing the name only as an old nursery rhyme. They wield power by not only having members at the highest level of city government, but also by employing specialized assassins called Talons to take out anyone they consider a threat. Well, let’s say, for the purposes of this game, the Court of Owls have decided that Gotham has way too many costumed psychos running around and this chaotic element has made the city harder and harder to control. So, they’ve decided to pack up shop, declare Gotham a lost cause and arrange a tournament of sorts with the last man standing gaining access to their vast recourses. Since the power, information and influence possessed by the Court of Owls, not to mention command over an army of undead ninja assassins, would be seriously bad news in the hands of someone like The Joker or The Penguin, Batman and his allies have entered the tournament in the hopes of making sure no one has access to that power. And so, the streets of Gotham become a battleground as the Bat Family and villains face off with control of the city on the line. But who exactly will be fighting for the prize. Well, as far as our roster size goes, I think eighteen characters is a reasonable number for our starting roster. Keeps things small scale while still offering plenty of variety. So, let’s run it down, starting with the most obvious choice.

Batman:

I mean… what exactly am I supposed to say here. If you’re shocked that Batman is in a game with Batman in the title, then I honestly don’t know what to say to you. I really don’t think I need to explain to you who Batman is, but just in case some of you have been living under a rock that has itself been living under a rock for the past eighty years, here we go. As a small child, Bruce Wayne witnessed the violent murder of his parents at the hands of a mugger. Using his family’s vast wealth, Bruce spent the next several years training under some of the greatest martial arts masters, escape artists and forensic experts he could find. Basically, if there was a skill that might be useful in fighting the criminal element of Gotham City, than Bruce found a way to master it. Eventually, Bruce adopted a persona designed to strike fear in the hearts of criminals, becoming The Batman, Gotham’s Dark Knight, its Caped Crusader and a bunch of other nicknames. As for his moveset, I’m honestly not going to waste too much time on it. Batman was one of the main characters in the Injustice series, Injustice did a great job with Batman’s move set, and I honestly don’t believe I can do better, so let’s just copy and paste. In fact, get used to hearing that a lot, especially for the base roster. A lot of the characters we’ll be discussing here were featured in Injustice and nine times out of ten, we’ll just be borrowing their move set from that game. However, since that doesn’t exactly make for interesting reading, the least I can do is tell you what each character’s arcade ending would be. How would each character respond to gaining access to the Court of Owls’ resources, essentially gaining total control of Gotham City. Well, in Batman’s case, it’s still going to be fairly predictable. Batman would destroy the court of Owls bases and all their resources with it, feeling that no one should have this much power. Pretty standard, but then again, unless your name is Terry Bogard, main characters in fighting games tend to be fairly predictable and have the most straight forward boiler plate storyline. Now, if you know anything about Batman, it’s that he doesn’t work alone. He’s got a whole family of proteges helping him out. So naturally, our next group of characters should all come from…

The Bat Family:

Naturally, Bruce’s most trusted allies would get in on the fight as well. Gotham city is a big place and not even Batman can be everywhere at once, and besides, we can’t let Bruce have all the fun now can we. Oh, and heads up, all of these characters have been in Injustice games in the past so no discussing move sets here First up would be Nightwing. Dick Grayson was part of a family of circus acrobats. As a small child, Dick's parents were murdered by a crook named Tony Zucco. Sympathizing with young Grayson's situation, Bruce Wayne took in the boy and trained him to fight crime by his side. While he was the first to take the name Robin, he eventually grew up and struck out on his own under the name Nightwing. Now, while Bruce and Dick don’t see eye to eye on everything, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Nightwing would agree that destroying The Court of Owls resources is the right call, so his ending would not be that different from Batman’s. However, I’m adding a small wrinkle. See, during the storyline that introduced The Court of Owls, it was revealed that the circus Nightwing and his family used to perform for was used by the court for centuries as a recruitment center for his personal army, with some of their top assassins being Dick’s own reanimated ancestors. So while he’d destroy the information the court uses to control the city, he’d set the Talons free to live their own lives, which would have unforeseen ramifications all over the city. Next up, it’s Batgirl! Barbara Gordon was the daughter of police commissioner James Gordon. Inspired by the original Dynamic Duo, Barbara took on the identity of Batgirl, becoming a crime fighter in her own right. For a little while she was paralyzed following an encounter with The Joker and became Oracle, who was less of an active crime fighter and more of a person in the chair type. However, her spine eventually healed and she returned to active Batgirl duty. For her ending, I can see Barbara actually using the info from the court to clean up Gotham in a way Bruce never could. Personally, I’d like to think that if any one person would use that power right, it would be Barbara. Next up, Red Hood. Oh boy, is there a lot to unpack with this character. Jason Todd was a thuggish street kid who got caught trying to boost the Batmobile’s hubcaps who was eventually taken in by Bruce and trained to be the next Robin... and fans hated his guts. Yeah, Jason was a bit of a little shit and didn't exactly resonate with readers who were used to the more well-mannered Dick Grayson. So great was the anti-Jason sentiment that a poll was held to decide if Jason should die. Honestly, I don’t know what’s more fucked up, the fact that the writers set up a poll to determine if a child lives or dies or the fact that the fans voted almost unanimously to off the kid. In any case, Jason met a brutal end at the hands of The Joker, but was later revived when an alternate version of Superman punched reality or something. I don’t know, comics are weird. As you can imagine, getting your head bashed in with a crowbar and waking up years later can’t be good for one’s sanity. So, not long after retiring to the world of the living, Jason adopted a murderous vigilante persona known as The Red Hood and went on a rampage through Gotham. Despite killing a lot of people, he somehow ended up back on good terms with Batman and is now a regular member of the team. I don’t know, comics are weird. So, the way I see it, Jason would definitely use the resources of the Court of Owls to fight criminals, but unlike Barbara, Jason would go too far and that would bring him into conflict with Batman. And rounding out the Bat Family, we can’t have Batman without Robin. Now, there have been many Robins through the years, but two of them are already in the game under different identities, people tend to prefer Stephanie Brown as Batgirl or Spoiler (more on that later) and Carrie Kelley isn’t canon, so that just leaves Tim Drake and Damian Wayne. And look, growing up, Tim Drake was my Robin, but Damian is far more current, has a more interesting backstory and has been in more fighting games, so we’re going with Damian Wayne, the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul who was raised by an evil assassin cult. However, just because Damian is our default Robin, this does not mean that Tim is being left out of the action entirely. See, in Injustice 2, there were a bunch of echo fighters, fighters with the exact same move set as another character. They didn’t get their own arcade endings, but they did give you a way to include some of your favorite characters without overblowing the roster. I imagine that for this game, we could do something similar. So maybe Tim Drake could be an echo fighter for Damian Wayne. As for Damian’s ending, I think he’d try and use the Talons to start a war with his grandfather, Ra’s Al Ghul, and the league of assassins, one that results with this eight-year-old kid in charge of them both. For some reason that’s funny to me. Alright, so that about wraps it up for the bat family, which means we can finally start talking about villains, however, I’d like to ease us into the villain pool by starting with a character who’s more of an anti-hero. An ally of the Bat Family who’s still a career criminal. I think you all know exactly who I’m talking about.

Catwoman:

Very few skirt the line between hero and villain more so than Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. An expert cat burglar and animal rights activist, Catwoman has managed to capture the heart of the caped crusader. She’s also a hell of a fighter, deadly with her claws and signature whip. Once again, we have a character who’s been a big part of the Injustice games so the move set is taken care of. So, what would Selina do with the power of the Court of Owls? Well, the way I see it, Selina would become one of the city’s most powerful crime bosses, but find it incredibly boring. Selina is the type who needs the thrill of the chase, so she’d willingly give all that power up and go back to stealing jewels and being chased by The Batman, all she ever wanted. Alright, next, it’s finally time to introduce the most popular clown in all of DC Comics…

Harley Quinn:

What? Were you expecting someone else? Well, don’t worry, we’ll get to you know who soon enough, but honestly, in many ways, Harley is a much popular character. Created by Paul Dini for Batman the animated series back in the early 90’s, Harleen Quinzel was a young psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who was seduced and brainwashed by The Joker and spent the next several years in the most toxic relationship in the history of fiction. Harley ended up proving so popular, that she made the jump from animated series to the pages of the comics, and today, she’s got three seasons of her own TV show plus a few movies under her belt. Not too shabby. In recent years, Harley has finally broken free of The Joker and nowadays leans more toward the anti-hero side of the fence. For her move set, again, copying from Injustice, particularly Injustice 2, mostly because I love that brutal super move where she sicks a pair of hyenas on the opponent. For her ending, well, since Harley is bisexual and it is pride month as I’m writing this, I like the idea of Harley using the influence of the Court of Owls to make Gotham a safe haven for the LGBTQ and starting her own team of heroes to fight against hate. Well, that’s about it for Harley Quinn, but of course, you can’t have Harley Quinn without a certain other character…

Poison Ivy:

Faked you out again! Of course we can’t have Harley without Ivy. Best friends and lovers, Harley and Ivy make a more iconic duo than Joker and Harley ever were. As for Ivy herself, Pamela Isley was once an ordinary botanist who was injected with experimental toxins that transformed her into the villainous Poison Ivy, eco-terrorist from hell, bent on preserving plant life, by destroying human life.. Not only does she have power over plants, but she also can take control of people using her powerful pheromones. With all that in mind, you can guess that her ending would have her use her powers to return Gotham to nature, destroying the man-made structures and growing trees and flowers all over the city. Think the ending to A Troll in Central Park only it's actually meant to be horrifying. Okay, for real this time, let’s bring on the clown.

The Joker:

No more fake outs, it’s time for the Clown Prince of Crime, the American Criminal Lunatic, the one, the only, Joker! Of course The Joker is in this game. The Joker is Batman’s greatest enemy and one of the most popular supervillains of all time. While there have been many possible origins for The Joker that range from a failed standup comedian who got in deep with the mob to a sadistic hit man betrayed by his boss, to my knowledge there has yet to be a definitive backstory for The Joker. The Joker himself has famously said that if he’s to have an origin story, he’d prefer it to be multiple choice. But in any case, The Joker has menaced the Batman more than any other villain. He murdered Jason Todd, crippled Barbara Gordon, and in the movie, he was revealed to be the man who murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne. For Joker’s move set, we’re once again borrowing from Injustice, but I’m going to add a little something. See, I think Joker should have an instant kill move. I want to see Joker spray his venom at the opponent causing them to laugh uncontrollably until they fall over dead with a horrifying rictus grin etched into their face. Why this wasn’t his fatality in MK vs. DC or Mortal Kombat 11 I’ll never know. So, what would Joker do with the recourses of The Court of Owls. Not a goddamn thing. See, my personal read on The Joker is that he doesn’t give a shit about ruling the city or getting rich or anything like that, he just wants to cause chaos and get a rise out of Batman, and he does that just fine on his own. So, I want Joker’s ending to almost mirror Batman's. He destroys the Court of Owls, burns their labyrinth to the ground and goes about his business. Alright, we’re finally getting into the major villains, so after The Joker, the next logical step would be…

The Penguin:

While The Joker will always be Batman’s number one foe, Penguin often finds himself coming in second place when it comes to Batman’s rogue’s gallery. Oswald Cobblepot is a criminal mastermind born into high society with a deformity that makes him somewhat resemble a penguin, hence the nickname. While the Joker commits his crimes out in the open without fear or shame, Penguin tends to operate from behind the scenes, masquerading as a legitimate businessman who owns and operates a popular Gotham nightclub called The Iceburg Lounge. However, just because he prefers to work from the shadows, doesn’t mean he can’t mix it up with the Dark Knight when he needs to. So, for Penguin’s move set… hey wait a minute, Penguin wasn’t in any of the Injustice Games. Finally, we actually get to devise a move set for ourselves! So, how would Penguin fight? Well, Penguin’s main method of attack involves his umbrellas, which could be used either as a bladed melee weapon or as a machine gun projectile. He also has an affinity for birds, so maybe a few attacks where vultures or hawks swoop down and slash the opponent in the face. Also, in tribute to Batman returns, I’d give him a grab move where he gets in close and takes a big bite out of the opponents nose. And for a super move, Army of Rocket Penguins!! His ending would be what you’d expect. He’d use the Court of Owls power to take over the city, and he’d rename it, The Court of Penguins! Alright, that’s another villain done and dusted, but our next one has a special place in my heart. Friends, I give you, my favorite villain in Batman’s rogue’s gallery…

Two-Face:

Once, Harvey Dent was Gotham City’s heroic district attorney who kept his struggles with dissociative identity disorder out of the public eye. However, following a horrific accident that horribly scarred half his face, Dent’s already fragile psyche finally fractured and Harvey literally became a man of two minds. Harvey soon turned to a life of crime and rechristened himself Two-Face. Obsessed with duality, Harvey now leaves all of his decisions to his trademark coin, which is often how he determines if his victims live or die. To translate Harvey’s dual nature into a fighting game, I suggest making Harvey a stance fighter of sorts. Next to his health bar, there would be a little coin icon that would flip automatically every so often. If it’s the unmarked side up, Harvey fights with clean martial arts taught to him by Batman (there was a storyline in the comics where Harvey briefly reformed and was trained by Batman to be a crime fighter). If the scarred side is showing, Harvey’s fighting style is now focused more on gunplay, cheap shots and low blows. As for Harvey’s ending, well, to keep things on brand, Harvey would be the only character with two potential endings. Here’s how I see it. Harvey has just defeated the big boss and he’s confronted by a heavily injured Batman. Two-Face has got the caped crusader dead to rights, but Batman has his coin. Harvey has a choice to make, and this time, the coin won’t make it for him. That’s when the player gets to choose. In one ending, he’d surrender to Batman, serve his time and after being released from Arkham fully rehabilitated, he’d once again run for the position of district attorney and usher Gotham into a new age of peace. In another ending, Two-Face would shoot Batman dead and use the recourses of the Court to become the most powerful crime lord in Gotham, turning the city into an even bigger crime ridden wasteland than it already was. The final scenes of each ending would parallel one another. In the good ending, Harvey would wake up from surgery, his whole face restored. In the bad ending, Two-Face would scar the other half to symbolize that any good that was ever in Harvey is now truly gone. Alright, that’s another major Batman villain in the books, but riddle me this, after The Joker, Penguin and Two-Face, who comes next?

The Riddler:

From a very young age, Edward Nygma discovered that he had a talent for solving riddles, puzzles and brainteasers. After years of physical abuse from his father, Nygma was left with a compulsion to always tell the truth (hence all the riddles) and a need to always prove himself superior. As the villainous Riddler, Nygma specialized in leaving riddles at the scenes of his crimes that only those who can match his vast intellect (I.E. Batman) can solve. That’s all well and good, but translating that into a fighting game might prove a bit tricky. See, while there are some versions of The Riddler who can go toe-to-toe with Batman, including my favorite incarnation from the 2004 cartoon, most of the time, Riddler isn’t exactly what you’d call an impressive physical specimen. See, Riddler is mainly a threat because of his superior intelligence, so how do we make that work in a fighting game. Well, I will borrow a little from the 2004 incarnation and give him some fighting prowess. He’d also have his signature question mark cane for some melee range. However, Riddler’s main method of attack would involve small devices he could leave all over the arena. If an opponent comes into contact with one of these devices, a button combination would appear on the screen that the opponent would have to input really fast, kind of like solving a riddle. If they fail, they take a ton of damage, but if they succeed, Riddler takes some damage instead, making him a high risk high reward sort of fighter. For his ending, Nygma would use the resources of the Court of Owls to solve the greatest riddles of Gotham City, like say, who is Batman and how do I defeat him. However, even defeating Batman wouldn’t be enough for The Riddler. Like I said, he needs to prove himself superior, so Nygma would set his sights on a bigger target, The Justice League. Fun fact, that 2004 Riddler I mentioned was voiced by the great Robert Englund, but that’s not the only Batman villain he’s leant his voice too. How’s that for a segue?

The Scarecrow:

While seeking revenge on a childhood bully, young Jonathan Crane developed a twisted obsession with inflicting fear upon others. As an adult, Crane became a university professor specializing in the psychology of fear. After being fired for injuring a student, Crane dons the ghoulish guise of The Scarecrow, and develops a hallucinogenic gas that induces causes his victims to become overwhelmed with fear. No we’ve already borrowed heavily from the Injustice games for this roster, but this time, I truly feel it's necessary because the version of Scarecrow from Injustice 2 might be my favorite version of the character to date. I especially like how the real Dr. Crane is just a skinny nerd in a lab coat wearing a burlap sack on his head, but once he turns the gas on, the opponent sees him as a towering eldritch nightmare. So naturally, when it comes to Scarecrow’s move set, I wouldn’t change a damn thing. I love that he carries around a nasty looking scythe, I love how his ultimate is an homage to a trippy boss battles from the Arkham Asylum games, and I really love that Scarecrow is voiced by the legendary Robert Englund. Who better to play the master of fear than the king of nightmares himself, Freddy Krueger! As for Scarecrow’s ending, well, with Gotham city now in his control, he pumps the city full of so much fear gas that all of Gotham starts tearing itself apart, sort of like it did in Batman Begins. In fact, the city is so overwhelmed in fear that it attracts the attention of the Green Lantern villain Parallax (basically a giant yellow space bug that’s also the living embodiment of all fear) who arrives to make The Scarecrow its new host. Alright, we’ve got a good chunk of the core members of Batman’s rogues gallery out of the way, and while we still have a few left to go, let’s break things up with a character you may not have been expecting.

Talon:

We’ve discussed the Talons quite a bit thus far, but to remind you all, Talons are basically undead ninja assassins that The Court of Owls use as their foot soldiers. Since the court are a major driving force of the game’s story, it only makes sense that a Talon be playable. For the default Talon, I suggest using Calvin Rose, a Talon who defected from the court and had his own solo title for a little while, but there would also be a generic talon variant that you’d face frequently during story mode. As for a move set, well, Talons are ninjas so I’m thinking something in the neighborhood of Taki from Soul Caliber or Ibuki from Street Fighter III, though hopefully not as broken as Ibuki. For an ending, I see the Talons rebelling against the court and striking out on their own. Alright, Talon is out of the way, so let’s move on to another classic Batman villain.

Mr. Freeze:

We’ve discussed Mr. Freeze at length here on the blog, but just to bring everyone up to speed, Dr. Victor Fries was a benevolent scientist who was searching for a cure for his wife’s terminal illness while keeping her alive in cryostasis. Due to some corporate sabotage, Fries came into contact with some experimental chemicals and was rendered unable to survive outside of sub-zero temperatures. Donning a high-tech refrigeration suit, Victor turned to a life of crime in order to fund his research which, naturally, often put him in conflict with The Batman. Technically Freeze WAS in Injustice, but only as an echo fighter for Captain Cold, so we’re going to change things up ever so slightly. He’d still have a ton of ice based projectiles, but I’d also load him up with a few heavy melee attacks since the suit is supposed to triple his strength. Freeze’s ending is something straight out of my own fanfic. See, I’ve always felt that Freeze wasn’t beyond redemption, so I’d have him finally cure Nora then willingly surrender to the police. However, his time in Arkham will be cut short courtesy of Bruce Wayne. Seeing an opportunity to atone for his past, Freeze uses his technology to fight crime instead of commit it, eventually leading to him joining the Justice League. Alright, we’re in the home stretch with only three spots on the roster left to go. Now it’s time for something big and bad, a real killer.

Killer Croc:

Waylon Jones was born with a rare condition that caused him to develop scaly skin and other reptilian traits. After murdering his abusive guardian, Waylon gave himself the name Killer Croc and became a notorious crook and serial killer in Gotham City. While Croc isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, physically, he’s more than a match for The Batman. Croc is one of Batman’s most bestial enemies, so fighting style wise he’d be a real unga bunga character. Kind of like a Blanka type. He’d come in slashing with his claws wildly and constantly keeping up the pressure. Also, for a super move, there’s only one option. In tribute to my favorite episode of Batman TAS, I’d have Croc “Throw a Rock At ‘im” And don’t worry, it’ll be a big rock. For Croc’s ending, in some storylines in the comics, Croc is shown to be a leader of sorts to a group of people living in Gotham’s sewer, so I’d have him use the Court’s recourses to help those people take over the city and become Gotham’s new elite. Croc is a scary customer, but there’s only one Batman villain who actually scared me as a child. Guess who’s next…

Clayface:

There have been many incarnations of Clayface over the years, but for simplicity’s sake, we’re going to go with the origin from Batman The Animated Series. Matt Hagen was once a prominent screen actor whose career came to an abrupt end after he was disfigured in an accident. A shady businessman offered Hagen an experimental face cream that would restore his features, but only if he agreed to work for him. When Hagen failed to live up to his end of the bargain, his benefactor poured a whole jug of the cream down his throat and left him for dead. Hagen survived but was forever transformed into a shapeshifting monster made of living mud. As a child, I thought Clayface was the scariest villain in Batman's rogue's gallery. The fact that he he was a massive scary mud monster voiced by Ron Perlman was bad enough but the fact that he could be anyone or anything always left me unsettled. And the episode called “Growing Pains” certainly didn’t help matters. In any case, Clayface is larger than life, so naturally, he’d be pretty tanky. I’d even give him a counter move that would let him absorb certain projectiles and spit them back at the opponent. And of course, he’d have plenty of heavy melee attacks where he turns his limbs into hammers and maces and the like. I’d also throw in a teleport move where he melts into the ground and reforms on the other side of the screen and a transformation attack where he copies a move from the opponent. For his ending, I honestly don’t think Hagen would care much about what happens to the City as long as the Court can make him human again. So, he’d likely just restore his humanity, resume his acting career and things would seem to be going pretty well for him for a while, but just as he’s receiving an award for one of his latest films, he’d start to revert back to Clayface. Not even the Court of Owls can perform miracles. Alright, we have one final spot left on the roster, and I have give it to the biggest and baddest Batman villain I can think of, and by process of elimination, you know exactly who it is.

Bane:

Very few have challenged The Batman, pushing him to both his physical and mental limits, to the same extent as the man known only as Bane. Born inside a hellish South American prison, Bane grew up knowing only hardship and brutality. Over time, Bane developed the skills he needed to survive the harsh prison environment and eventually ascended to the level of “King of Pena Duro.” In addition, Bane also was subjected to experiments involving a drug known as venom, a drug which Bane uses to enhance his already considerable strength tenfold. When Bane escaped Pena Duro, he set his sights on The Dark Knight. Bane leveled Arkham Asylum, allowing the inmates to escape. After rounding them all up, Batman was left beaten and exhausted, making him easy pickings for the masked muscle man. Bane broke Batman’s back over his knee, leaving him a paraplegic for months. Even though Bruce eventually recovered, Bane still remains a deadly threat that even The Batman should be weary of. For his play style, well, Bane was actually my main in the first Injustice game so we’ll definitely be borrowing another move set. For Bane’s ending, he’d blow Gotham to Kingdom Come, leaving nothing but a crater, a crater which he would convert into a new Pena Duro, where he’d imprison all the survivors. And in the lowest pit of this new prison, would be Batman, beaten and broken. Alright, the starting roster is all set, now all that’s left are the bosses, but before that, I believe I promised you a few echo fighters.

Echo Fighters: Echo Fighters are basically alternate costumes for the characters that allow you to play as other characters with the same move set. They won’t get their own arcade endings, but they would get their own unique dialogue. I have a few cool ideas for these echo fighters, so before we move on to the bosses, let me run ‘em down.

Azrael (Batman): While Bruce Wayne was laid up after getting his back broken by Bane, he entrusted the protection of Gotham to a violent vigilante named Jean-Paul Valley, also known as Azrael.

The Signal (Nightwing): Duke Thomas is a metahuman teenager trained by Bruce Wayne who defends Gotham during the day.

Spoiler/Cassandra Cain/Batwoman (Batgirl): These three are all incredibly popular characters, but I only wanted one Batgirl in the mix and if I have to choose one, it had to be Barbara.

Punchline (Harley Quinn): After Harley kicked Joker to the curb, the Clown Prince of Crime needed a new squeeze. Enter Punchline, a character I admittedly don’t know a lot about, but has proven rather popular.

King Shark (Killer Croc): One’s a big scary crocodile man, one’s a big scary shark man. Good enough for me.

Alright, enough of that, on to our bosses, and first up, our sub-boss, and like Goro before him, he’s a big one.

Solomon Grundy:

Back in the day, a mobster named Cyrus Gold was murdered and tossed into slaughter swamp, emerging from the highly polluted quagmire as the immortal rampaging zombie known as Solomon Grundy. Grundy is an interesting one as he’s one of the few characters in DC Comics who can take a punch from Superman but still fits comfortably in the world of Batman. Grundy is tough, but as a monster that usually acts on primal instinct, he’d be easy for the Court of Owls to control. We’d borrow a few moves from his Injustice move set, but we’d beef him up a bit more to make him a challenge. He’d do a ton of damage with his heavy melee attacks, but he wouldn’t be terribly defensive. However, he would slowly regenerate health over time so you’d need to finish him off fast. Once Grundy’s out of the picture, that’s when you finally reach the center of the Owl’s Labyrinth and meet the big boss.

Lincoln March:

Lincoln March was a high ranking member of The Court of Owls who was not only being groomed as a candidate for mayor of Gotham, but was also trained as one of their top enforcers. He’s never been given an official codename, but we could probably come up with something like Brother Owl or Talon Knight or whatever sounds cool. Lincoln also may or may not be Thomas Wayne Jr., Bruce’s younger brother whom Bruce believed was miscarried during a car accident. Whether or not Lincoln actually is Bruce’s brother or if he’s just delusional has never officially been revealed, but he believes he is who he says he is, so that’s a thing. In any case, I can see Lincoln here borrowing several moves from both Batman and The Talons. His Talon armor also gives him enhanced strength so he’d hit like a truck. Also, thanks to a serum, he has superhuman stamina, so like Grundy, he’d recover health over .

And that does it for the base game, but don’t worry, we got more. Stay tuned for next time when we discuss DLC characters including three new bosses. See you then.