A Batman Beyond Game Could Be a Boon, But Not for the Reason You Think

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Posted 6 hours ago by inuno.ai

Category: Gaming

Batman’s Arkhamverse may have had a considerable drought between Batman: Arkham Knight and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and yet its catalog grows ever onward. Batman: Arkham Shadow is a terrific prequel chapter that continues the rich legacy of Blackgate penitentiary, for example, and Rocksteady is reportedly at work on a new Batman game. Between Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, and Batman: Arkham Knight, Rocksteady crafted a definitive trilogy and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s divisive events make any upcoming Arkham game from the studio a massive question mark—green or otherwise.

Batman: The Animated Series’ successor, Batman Beyond, is unique as it takes place far enough into the future to retire Bruce Wayne out of necessity and have a novel, dystopian setting—Neo-Gotham in 2039. So, assuming that the Arkhamverse’s rumored take on Batman Beyond would be comparably futuristic and take place decades after Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League—much later than 2039 in relation to the game’s rocky timeline—Rocksteady and many other developers would have ample room to stretch their legs and tell stories within that span before Terry McGinnis (or whoever becomes Batman) ever assumes the Batman mantle.

After Batman: Arkham Shadow, One Villain’s Lack of Backstory is Doubly Disappointing

Batman: Arkham Shadow dives deeply into Harvey Dent’s psyche with a profound backstory that one other antagonist has sadly been denied in the series.

Batman’s Arkhamverse is a Franchise That’s Only Begun Filling in Prequel-Led Lore

As long as it was set a decade or two into the future, a Batman Beyond-esque storyline would create an immense gap between Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and it, like how Batman: Arkham Asylum created a huge gap between Batman’s crime-fighting inception and giving Batman: Arkham Origins, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, and Batman: Arkham Shadow a wide berth to explore untapped years. It’s difficult to pin down precisely how many years have passed since Bruce Wayne became Batman and which year each game’s events reside in, but some contextual timeline clues are more explicit than others.

There are roughly two years between Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham Knight as per a recording of Batman, for example, whereas it’s quite vague how many years are left between Batman: Arkham Shadow and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Ironically, this vagueness has contributed greatly to how much lore could be inserted into the franchise in order to layer characters with development. It is alluring seeing the first glowing green question mark trophy in Origins as well as how District Attorney Harvey Dent’s left half was chemically scarred in Shadow, and without prequel installments to make those revelations they would’ve been left to players’ imaginations.

Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson’s debuts in the series’ chronological timeline have been made as of Origins and Shadow now, too, but the empty gap following Shadow is somehow meant to be enough time for Batgirl and three separate Robins to spread their wings before Barbara becomes Oracle permanently, Dick becomes Nightwing, Jason Todd becomes Robin and is believed to be killed, and Tim Drake becomes the newest Robin afterward. Likewise, a lot of characters have yet to be fleshed out with their launches as costumed villains that sequels to Shadow could and should indulge in.

A Batman Beyond Time Jump Would Make for a New Chasm of Lore to Fill

Jumping ahead to the present-day Arkhamverse and its whirlwind of controversial story beats, it would likely be Rocksteady’s best bet to leap even further ahead and commit itself to a decade-or-two time jump if it’s going to adapt Batman Beyond. Of course, this is all contingent on Rocksteady actually making a Batman game inspired by Batman Beyond, which thus far should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Regardless, while such a drastic transition might be enough to leave modern lore behind, it’d be wholly possible and fortuitous for subsequent games to then fill that chasm and gradually lead into the Batman Beyond era. In any case, more space carved out for an extensive timeline would be ideal as it could give Rocksteady and other studios ample room to tell Arkhamverse stories.