While there may not have been any announcements at E3 2019, fans are still eagerly awaiting news on the rumored next game in the Batman: Arkham series. Rumors continue to swirl regarding what the game could be called or what it will be about. Rumored leaks for the game have included mention of Superman, the Court of Owls and more.
Yet nothing is certain, and so with nothing concrete released yet, all fans have left is speculation. There have been so many incredible Batman storylines over the years, so here are ten of them the game franchise could explore next.
10 Batman: Battle For The Cowl
One of the first storylines that could be explored is Battle for the Cowl. This storyline comes in the aftermath of Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, which saw the supposed passing of Bruce Wayne at the hands of Darkseid, (in reality he’d been thrown back in time, but that’s a whole other story).
This story saw the city of Gotham fall into chaos with Batman gone, as well as imposters taking his mantle while Dick Grayson refused to take it up himself. This would work out perfectly, as the last game saw Batman unmasked and faking his demise.
9 Bruce Wayne: The Road Home
This is a unique story as it involves a majority of those who had been a part of Bruce Wayne's life prior to Final Crisis and saw his return with a futuristic suit and a new identity, The Insider. Through this armor and identity, Bruce began to see how his allies (and enemies) were faring with him gone.
This is a great story to use for the game series, as it could explore the Bat-family in the aftermath of Bruce’s absence after the events of Arkham Knight. Getting to play as Red Robin and Batgirl would be extremely fun.
8 Batman And Son
One of the characters that would make the most sense to introduce into the Batman: Arkham video game series is none other than Damian Wayne, the son of Bruce Wayne. After a brief affair between Talia al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, and Batman, she gave birth to Damian and raised in him the League.
Years later, she brought him to Batman in order to distract him while she went after the Man-Bat serum. With Talia falling to the Joker in the second game, it would be interesting to see Damian come to Gotham seeking a missing father.
7 Dark Nights: Metal
One of DC’s most recent crossover events that have rocked the DC Comics multiverse in a whole new way has to be Dark Nights: Metal. The story featured the exploration of the Dark Multiverse, which houses evil counterparts to Earth’s heroes, including Batman. Various evil versions of Batman invade Earth and threaten to collapse the multiverse as a whole.
Getting to witness Batman’s return to take on The Batman Who Laughs, The Red Death, and The Devastator (a Doomsday-infected version of Batman), would make for a breathtaking game that ups the stakes after Arkham Knight’s truly game-changing events.
6 Batman: No Man’s Land
One of the most iconic Batman storylines that should become part of the Arkham universe has to be No Man’s Land. After a massive Earthquake hits Gotham and violence erupts in the city, the U.S. Government cuts the city off from the rest of the nation, and chaos erupts for those left behind.
What would really make this story perfect for a video game would be to see Gotham City’s open world gameplay and the map of the city divided up by territory claimed by Batman’s various villains, (at least those who survived the events of the Arkham Knight).
5 Batman: Night Of The Owls
One of the most intriguing concepts for a future game has to be the introduction of the Court of Owls. The Night of the Owls featured the Dark Knight going up against the Court, who’s elite guards, the Talons, were formidable warriors who nearly destroyed Batman and his Bat-Family.
It would be truly great to see the introduction of these powerful foes. To see the powerful elite of Gotham take advantage of Batman’s absence in the city by taking control of the city would be a great way to bring Batman and his allies back into fighting for Gotham.
4 Batman: Endgame
One story that would be truly interesting to see would be Batman: Endgame. The story itself begins with a fear-gas attack by the Scarecrow, followed by the Justice League attacking Batman. It is shown they have all been infected with a powerful strain of the Joker toxin.
The entire story explores the possibility of the Joker’s return, his possible immortality and a city-wide infection that nearly destroys everyone, including some of Batman’s closest allies. It would be interesting to see the Joker return to life, forcing Batman to come back as well. Joker truly is his greatest foe.
3 The Resurrection Of Ra’s Al Ghul
One enemy that has proven both in the comics and the Arkham series to be a formidable opponent and constant thorn in Batman’s side has been one other than Ra’s al Ghul. The leader of the League of Assassins becomes a truly great threat when he is resurrected during this storyline, and also includes Batman fighting to save the soul of his son Damian Wayne.
The story also introduces the concept of Ra’s father, who is known simply as the Sensei. It would be interesting to explore Ra’s history and the complexity of Batman’s relationship with his son Damian Wayne.
2 Batman: War Games
This story would be great as a return to a more street level, criminal element rather than the big city destroying, end of the world scenario storylines that the last game in the series explored. War Games explores a massive gang war amongst Gotham’s criminal underworld, after an attempt to assume control of them all to subdue them in their tracks goes horribly wrong.
The story also showcases fan favorite Stephanie Brown, who at this point had taken up the mantle of Robin under Batman, and Black Mask taking control of all the criminal underworld with him as the crime leader.
1 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
The story that would not only make the most sense for the video game franchise but is a true fan favorite would be Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Rises. Although set in an alternate storyline taking place in the dystopian future of Gotham, the story explores a world where Batman had been gone for years and was forced to return when a threat too big for the police to handle arrived.
With Batman disappearing at the end of Arkham Knight, it would be great to see him return years later for a major threat, older and a grittier masked vigilante.