Warning: The following contains spoilers for Batman: Arkham Origins. If you are yet to play or complete the game and take issue with spoilers, don’t read ahead.
As I said in the previous article, I DID actually enjoy the game overall despite the things I mentioned, so on the flipside of the issues I had, here’s some things about Arkham Origins I actually enjoyed.
1 – Bane
Bane may be my favourite character from this game, simply because it finally felt like the Bane everyone kept telling me about. When Joker tells him to go away, he stays, concluding that Batman would come to Joker, and so it made sense to stay with him. Later after your first encounter with Bane, police helicopters show up, and after fending some of them off, Bane makes the decision to leave as the place is “getting too hot”. It turns out later Bane has even discovered that Batman is Bruce Wayne, causing Bruce to flip and destroy the evidence Bane had assembled in his hideout, attempting to get to Alfred before Bane, only for Firefly attacking a bridge to cause a distraction.
Near the very end of the game, Bane even seems to outsmart Batman, forcing Batman into a situation where it seems he needs to either kill Bane or cause The Joker’s death by allowing Bane’s heart rate to go up too high. Batman manages to find a way out of it, but he had to actually think his way out of it, not just muscle his way out of it. Hell, the game even EXPLAINS why Bane doesn’t seem as smart after the events of this game, with the TN-1 Bane uses as a last resort (turning him into “HULK SMASH” Bane) effectively giving him brain damage, which also works as a way around how Bane wouldn’t remember that Bruce is Batman. All things considered, I feel that Arkham Origins may have the best portrayal of Bane I’ve seen in a Batman adaptation.
2 – Anarky
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me that Anarky would show up early in Batman’s career. The reason being Anarky is essentially what Batman could’ve been like if he hadn’t gone down the path he did. I mean, sure, it may seem odd that a trust fund baby would become an anarchist, but weirder things have happened in the DC Universe. Ra’s Al Ghul is another villain people seem to say Batman could have ended up like had he not turned out the way he did, and they’d be right, but Anarky honestly seems more likely, as Bruce may never have gotten the training he did when it relates to fighting.
The fact that Batman can’t entirely disagree with Anarky is also interesting. He doesn’t disagree with his cause, just his methods. After you defeat him, Anarky himself even says he could become Batman’s protégé, eventually rejecting the notion when he decides that Batman must think he’s better than everyone else, and “beyond reproach”. Another reason Anarky makes sense to be in Arkham Origins is simply the entire set up of what Gotham is like at the time, corrupt as hell. If Anarky is going to exist, it makes sense he would get his start when it actually made sense to do so.
On top of all that, his final monologue after you defeat him lasts for a few minutes, but is actually worth listening to.
3 – Alfred’s “Death”
At one point in the latter half of the game, Bane decimates the Bat Cave whilst Batman is busy stopping Firefly, with Batman speeding back to Bat Cave to find Alfred after Bane taunts him about what he’s done. When Batman makes it back, he finds Alfred near death, and comforts him, only for Alfred to die in his arms.
Batman’s reaction to Alfred’s death goes a little like this.
Not willing to allow his butler/father figure to die, Batman uses the tech he stole from Electrocutioner’s corpse (still a dick move, but it did come in handy) to bring Alfred back to life. I must admit, the moment when Alfred came back to life actually made me tear up a bit. Like, you KNOW they can’t kill off Alfred in a prequel, but with the way they executed him dying and being brought back, I couldn’t help but be affected by it. Great writing/acting there.
4 – Harleen, Not Harley
When I found out Harley was in this I became worried; but thank the all mighty Video Game Gods that she was Harleen Quinzel the entire time. I was so worried they would’ve made her Harley, and honestly it would’ve been way too soon, especially since, Jesus, she should’ve been like a teenager at this point (aka Batman’s early years) shouldn’t she? Then again, different continuities allow for this sort of thing I guess.
Also despite being annoyed that Joker turned out to be the main villain, I can’t deny that the entire part where The Joker meets Harleen for the first time was VERY well done.
5 – The Post-Credits Tease
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
I gotta say, as someone who doesn’t even follow the comics, this tease potentially being for an eventual Suicide Squad game had me pretty hyped. Nothing much else to say honestly, it speaks for itself.
I’ll see you guys next time.
