TheBatman: Arkhamgame series or as fans have dubbed it, theArkhamverse, hasn’t received a new mainline title to the series since 2015 withBatman: Arkham Knight. Whilethe wait for the nextBatmantitle’s releasemay be a long one, fans are free to speculate what may be upcoming in the series' future.
During this wait,Telltale’sBatman: The Enemy Withinwas released and it showed players more of Batman’s secret identity, Bruce Wayne. Playing as Bruce had players change how the Joker would develop as a villain as well as had players balance the rich playboy person between the Batman persona, trying to keep both as separate as possible. With this experience in mind, many players have show an interest in playing more of Bruce Wayne in the upcoming and unnamed next Arkham game.
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With the ending ofBatman: Arkham Knight, the caped crusader’s fate in theArkhamversecurrently unknown. While it is possible that Bruce Wayne did kill himself via the explosion in Wayne Manor, its very unlikely that he would take Alfred with him as well. It seems far more likely that the explosion was a way for Bruce to fake his and Alfred’s deaths toprevent enemies of Bruce’s Batman personafrom harming either of them.
With the identity of Batman being released to the public in theBatman: Arkhamgames and the possible faking of Bruce Wayne’s death, where can the series go? There are many possibilities despite what some players may initially think. Whether it does continue the storyline or as a reboot, Bruce should play a bigger role similar to that of his caped counterpart.
Bruce Continuing as Batman
As what can be seen in the 100% Completion ending inBatman: Arkham Knight, someone is definitely still patrolling the Gotham City as Batman. However, this Batman seems to take more of a supernatural appearance with mysterious smoke emanating from their body. Some theorize this to be Bruce Wayne using amodified version of the Scarecrow’s fear toxin. This would allow for him to take more of a fearsome appearance when stopping criminals while also keeping up the illusion that he’s dead.
If this were to be what happened, it would be interesting to see where Bruce and Alfred are living during this timedue to the destruction of Wayne Manor. Bruce Wayne clearly had the possibility of his identity being exposed in mind, as he is the one who planned the Wayne Manor explosion. Sections involving Bruce Wayne in this new life could add interesting gameplay sections and story possibilities for the game.
Bruce Wayne Becoming a Mentor for Terry McGinnis
Another possibility for Bruce Wayne’s future is for him to become a mentor for a new Batman: Terry McGinnis. For fans unaware, Terry became Batman after Bruce’s retirement from the role in a sequel show toBatman: The Animated Series,known asBatman Beyond. While Terry does go up against some of Bruce’s old foes, there are plenty of enemies exclusive to Terry’s own rogues' gallery that would make for interesting characters in anArkhamversegame.
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If the team behind the Arkhamverse decide to go down theBatman Beyondroute, it’s very possible that Bruce Wayne would no longer be a playable character. However, it is also possible that he could be playable in certain sectionssimilar to the Catwoman gameplay sectionsavailable inBatman: Arkham City.
After a time skip resulting in an old aged Bruce Wayne, there is a high amount of possibilities of character moments with interacting with Terry as a protégé. More could be explained about what exactly happened during the end ofBatman: Arkham Knightas well as how the events of the other Arkhamverse games affected him. Forcing Bruce out of the Batman mask while also helping stop crimes in Gotham could make for a fresh take on the character as well. While some fans may not be all too excited overplaying as a different Batman, it may be just what the series needs.
The Next Game is Another Prequel
One possibility that may not sit well with fans at first is thenext game not taking place afterArkham Knightsimilar to what happened withArkham Origins. Doing this would allow characters to return to a sort of status quo before other events took place such as the deaths of Poison Ivy and the Joker, as well as before the shooting of Barbara Gordon.
If more members of the Bat Family were around in anArkhamversetitle, this could lead to more interactions outside of crime fighting as well, such as Bruce Wayne also raising Dick Grayson as his son outside of teaching him how to be Robin. After all, Bruce did legally adopt Dick and was his father for most of his life. Not only that, but Bruce was a father figure to many of his sidekicks and protégés. Having those human interactions or glimpses into their lives outside of crime fighting in the night could make for a heartfelt and possibly heart shattering game.
There are also plenty of comics that revolve aroundBruce Wayne’s lifethat couldn’t possibly take place in a sequel such as the origin of Two-Face and other suchBatmanvillains that appear in games afterBatman: Arkham Origins. As Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne were close friends, it would be interesting to see how theBatman: Arkhamdevelopment team would handle their relationship as well as Harvey’s own downfall.
Another area developers and writers could explore is Batman’s relationship to the Justice League and the possibility ofother heroes existing in theArkhamverse. Doing this could also open up the possibility for other games starring other heroes such as Superman, Wonderwoman, and the Flash. With Robin already being in theArkhamverse, it’s also possible for the formation of the Teen Titans to also occur somewhere in the timeline.
There’s currently no real way of knowing what’s to come in the nextBatman: Arkhamgame. There arehundreds of comics and storiesthat the developers can get side quest and mainline quest ideas from. With the current pandemic occurring, many games and movies are being delayed due to many employees being unable to come into work and the like. However, this also gives fans even more time to speculate what’s to come in the caped crusader’s future.
