Who is the Arkham Knight?

Ever since the first teaser image was released for Rocksteady’s Arkham Knight, fans have been clamoring to know the identity of the mysterious figure known as the Arkham Knight. Who is under the helmet? What is the goal of this mysterious character? Rocksteady has told us that he (or she) is a completely new character, created specifically for the Arkhamverse. (Turns out this was complete bullshit!) Well, we’ve never seen The Arkham Knight before, that much is true. But that doesn’t mean that the character under the helmet is new. It’s a technicality, I know (Turns out we were right!), but that’s not going to stop We the Nerdy writers Jean-Luc Botbyl and Roshan Krishnan from forming a super team for some super speculation about the identity of the Arkham Knight. So bear with us, and enter the world of our wildest fantasies.

Just a warning, there may be some mild spoilers for certain story lines from the comics, especially any that pertain directly to characters that will be discussed below.

Hush

Hush or Thomas Elliot is one of the most viable answer to the question, “Who is the Arkham Knight?”. Elliot was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. He resented the good things that Bruce had in his life. He dedicates his life to destroying Bruce Wayne and adopts the identity of Hush, a reference to the secret that is Elliot’s identity. Thomas Elliot has been in the Arkham universe before, most prominently in Arkham City. In City, Hush is responsible for the serial murders dubbed the ‘Identity Theft’ murders; he removes his own face and surgically dissects the faces of his victims. His goal is to find faces similar to that of Bruce Wayne and reconstruct his face to resemble that of Bruce Wayne’s. Hush escapes in City, and Batman fails to stop him, saying that he will deal with him later. As Hush is masquerading as Bruce Wayne, it is definitely not farfetched for him to do the same with Batman, seeing as he is aware of Batman’s identity. Also, we know that the Arkham Knight prefers to fight with guns, making Hush the perfect candidate as one of Hush’s defining characteristics is the dual pistols that he wields. The Arkham Knight does not appear to be as bulky as Batman, which also fits in with Elliot who is a master tactician and relies more on his mind than his brain.

Damian Wayne (clone)

Damian Wayne, who eventually became Robin, was the child of Talia al Ghul and Bruce Wayne. We’ve already seen Talia in Arkham City and she called Batman he ‘beloved’, and implied a night of passion between the two. So it’s not farfetched to assume that sometime in their lovemaking, a child was conceived. Now I’m not saying that the Arkham Knight should necessarily be Damian, as it would not be viable for him to age that fast, but a clone of him, such as the Heretic; this could be a more plausible explanation for whom the Arkham Knight really is. The Heretic was an adult Damian clone who eventually killed Damian. This could also provide Bruce with a personal vendetta against the Heretic. Although, the Talia we’ve seen so far is benevolent, she could have been coerced by Ra’s. Although Talia and Ra’s technically died in Arkham City, any al Ghul can never be written off, as there is always the Lazarus Pit. Ra’s could also play a big role in the cloning of Batman as he has always been disappointed that Bruce hasn’t joined Ra’s as his successor. Ra’s could be trying to engineer his own heir using the clone of Damian.

Dr. Hugo Strange

Hugo Strange is no stranger to us. He was the the primary antagonists in Arkham City, and was responsible for most of the events of the game. Arkham City was a chessboard of his creation in which he faced off against Batman. Hugo Strange teams up with Ra’s to get access to his vast resources, but it is revealed that Ra’s considered Strange as a pawn. Ra’s promptly stabs Strange, just before Wonder Tower explodes. Strange has an almost genius level of intellect, so there is a possibility that one of the protocols handled a near death situation. In the 1970s, Strange was once believed to be dead in the comics, but returned. He knows yoga, and can apparently slow his heart to an imperceptible level. So, it is possible that he survived the stabbing. Also, even if Strange really died, he could have used a Lazarus Pit to revive himself, as he was searching for one in City. Strange has impersonated Batman on numerous occasions. In City, Riddler references this when he says Strange would sit around his office wearing his suit, implying that Strange has a batsuit. He knows that Batman is Bruce Wayne, and his intentions of cleaning the city coincide with the Arkham Knight’s intentions. Strange could also have a personal feud with Batman, as he ruined Strange’s plan in City.

 Talon 

Technically, this is one of the more plausible theories. The Arkham Knight is a character we’ve never seen before, and if this holds true even when the helmet is removed, then it could easily be a Talon. For those who are unfamiliar with the Talons, they are genetically modified assassins that work for the Court of Owls, an underground, shadowy organization that lurks in the shadows of Gotham. Initially, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo introduced them early on in their run on Batman, which began in 2011. With the Court of Owls came a single Talon, who attacked Batman on numerous occasions as the Court of Owls made moves to completely take over Gotham. With their role as a very real threat having been solidified, it is entirely plausible that they are using a Talon to attempt to take the city, establishing him as a figurehead. Also, after having received a bloody nose from Batman, it’s likely that they will want to take revenge on him, and slapping a bat suit on their assassin would hit the world’s greatest detective where it hurts. It’s not unlikely that the Court would go after the city and ally with other villains in order to assert their power completely.

Azrael 

Perfectionists like me will remember the side quest concerning this character that appeared in 2011’s Batman: Arkham City. Once the side quest was completed (in which you glided around Arkham City, looking for him), Azrael delivered a cryptic message, about a burning city and Batman having to really step up to prevent the destruction of his city. Kind of sounds like the situation that’s being set up for Arkham Knight, doesn’t it? Because Azrael has taken on the mantle of the Bat before, during the Knightfall event, in which he donned a Batsuit to defend the city after Batman had his back broken by Bane, it is entirely plausible that he could don the a suit similar to Batman’s once again. The teaser image of the Arkham Knight we’ve seen shares some aesthetic similarities with the suit donned by Azrael. The biggest issue with this theory is that he is a member of an ancient order designed to protect the world. However, it is possible that, like the League of Assassins, they have unorthodox methods of doing this. It’s also entirely possible that they need to put Batman through an experience like none other in order to make him stronger for future events, events that could unfold in other DC Universe games, such as one based around Superman or even the Justice League.

 Jason Todd <- This is your guy!

Jason Todd; the Robin that died. The greatest failure that Batman ever experienced. And a character who has a penchant for rising from the dead, and taking on new identities. He is, of course, best known as the Red Hood, but he has taken on other personas as well, namely in Grant Morrison’s run on Batman & Robin. And it seems that his goal is always to spite his former mentor. At times, they ally with one another, but it is far more often that they are at each other’s throats. So what would stop him from taking on yet another identity, the identity of the Arkham Knight? Nothing.  Considering that Red Hood was teased in Arkham City, and initially played a role in the game, it would make sense for Rocksteady to bring him back for their new game, the final game in the Arkham franchise. Furthermore, in the aforementioned Batman & Robin run, Jason Todd attempted to replace Bruce Wayne, after Bruce “died” at the hands of Darkseid during the Final Crisis event. Having him attempt to impersonate, and possibly even replace, Batman in this story would not be too far fetched of an idea.