Why Batman: Arkham Origins Should Have Been Great, But Wasn't
The Batman: Arkham series is an amazing game series. There is no question about that. Maybe there is one question about it: why doesn't Batman: Arkham Origins live up to the name? It's by no means a bad game, it has a great deal of content and builds on the excellent gameplay of the rest of the series. So why isn't it great? The answer to the question lies not in this game, but in the other three entries. The main three games of the series have a deeper connection than people might realize. And it all goes back to the Joker.
The Joker was the main villain in Arkham Asylum. an almost main villain in Arkham City and a ***SPOILERS*** hallucination of Batman in Arkham Knight. He was also the surprise main villain in Arkham Origins, much to fans annoyance. After two Joker-heavy games, fans were ready for Black Mask to lead the charge against Batman. However, that is not the connection that I am trying to get at. The Joker's presence isn't what connects the games; there is a much deeper connection. Let's go through the three main games and dissect what I mean.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
The 2009 gaming hit depicted the Joker taking over Arkham Asylum after Batman captures him. It's clear from the get-go that Joker has a plan. And as the story progresses that plan is made clearer. The Joker has been using an Arkham doctor, Penelope Young, to help him make a better-faster-stronger version of the serum Bane uses. Bane's juice is called Venom, Joker's new formula is Titan.
His plan is to make an army of Titan soldiers to take over Gotham City. At the end of the game, the Joker shoots himself up with Titan and grows into a monstrosity. Batman defeats him and Joker is shrunk back down to his regular self.
Batman: Arkham City
Come sequel time and now Gotham has opened a super-prison in the heart of the city to replace both Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison. Arkham City houses Gotham's worst: Penguin, Two-Face, The Joker, Deadshot, Ra's al Ghul and his League of Assassins, Bane and Bruce Wayne aka Batman. Bruce Wayne is arrested at an anti-Arkham City rally and thrown into the super-prison. After becoming Batman, he sets off to figure out what the mysterious Protocol-10 is. After rescuing Catwoman from Two-Face, the Joker takes a shot at them. Batman tracks him down and discovers that the Titan formula is killing the Joker.
Joker injects his sick blood into Batman to force him to help as well as shipped over gallons of blood to Gotham hospitals for weeks before. Batman has no choice but to help Joker find a cure. Batman teams up with Mr. Freeze to do just that. At the end of the game, Batman cures himself but the Joker's selfishness leads to his death at the hands of the Titan poisoning.
Batman: Arkham Knight
The final entry in the Arkham series finds it's lead villain in the Scarecrow who hadn't been seen since the events of Arkham Asylum. As Batman combats Scarecrow and comes face to face with a new villain, the Arkham Knight, he begins to have hallucinations of the Joker. The Joker messes with the Dark Knight and tortures his mind as the game progresses. We learn that there were 5 people infected with the Joker's blood that weren't treated. Those 5 patients are in Batman's custody because they are slowly and literally becoming Joker's. When Batman shows Commissioner Gordon the patients, Gordon says that there are only 4 in the lockup, and then it is revealed that Batman is the 5th Joker.
As Batman descends into Joker-hood we begin to see the deep connection of these games. The events of Arkham Asylum set the tone and set up the rest of the series. Why would you place a game chronologically before that? It misses out on the main story, so to speak, of the Arkham games: the descent of Batman into insanity. Arkham Origins shows the Joker, masquerading as Black Mask to put out a hit on Batman, who is 2 years into his career. Yes, this game shows us the first meeting of Batman and the Joker, but it's events have no bearing on the rest of the series like the other games do.
Like I mentioned earlier, Arkham Origins is a fun game. It just lacks a connection with the main series that makes it a bit of a red-headed step child.
And how fitting is it, that everything literally comes down to the Joker, in grand Batman fashion?
