Inked Editorial: Is The Punisher Ballsier Than Batman?

Ink gives you his perspective of Batman’s “No Killing” rule.

Editor’s Note: I apologize for the poor Green Screen Quality.  There were technical difficulties involved and the current state is better than it would have been, had I uploaded the original render of this video.
This video does not count as the return from hiatus.  Editorials are not canon.

Fyreharticles – Five Things I Liked About Arkham Origins

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.

Fyreharticles – Five Issues I Have With Arkham Origins

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.

I actually finished playing Arkham Origins a while ago, so I apologize that it took this long to do the follow up. Anyway, Arkham Origins was an overall enjoyable game, however, there were still some things that bugged me. Some more than others, to the point some are just nit-picks or fan bias, and others are things I get more annoyed than I probably should. So, here are at least five issues I have with the video game Arkham Origins.

Issue 1 – Not Enough Mad Hatter

Seriously guys what the hell? What happened? We get the promise of “Mad Hatter playing a bigger role than he did in Arkham City”, but there was still only one side-mission to complete for him. Granted yes, it was longer than his Arkham City appearance…but “his side-mission is longer” seems like a bit of a cop out when they said he’d play a bigger role. I mean, I wasn’t expecting him to be involved in the main plot, but the least they could’ve done is given Hatter more than one side-mission for us to play through. Not too hard to do either, just say he’s kidnapped several girls he thinks could potentially be Alice, not just that one teenager……at least I think she’s a teenager. If not a young woman.

Oddly enough, if they hadn’t claimed he’d play a bigger role this wouldn’t even BE an issue. But they did, and I take the result as false advertising, and thus here we are.

Issue 2 – The “Enigma” Side-Story Ended With An Anti-Climax

Might’ve been my own expectations just being too high, but the Enigma/Riddler storyline really did seem to just end on a whimper. It appears to end when you’ve destroyed his network relays, since after that he never talks to you again, even when you’ve found all the data. You unlock the secret room in his “hideout”, and all you really get as a reward is a Riddler trophy. Really? That’s it? We spend God knows how long finding all those data packs to open the room, but all we get is a lousy Riddler trophy? We don’t even get to meet Enigma/Riddler in person like we did in Arkham City? Again, this may just be my expectations going a bit high, but even the Arkham Asylum Riddler Trophy side-mission has a better ending than this did.

Issue 3 – Batman: Corpse Raider

At one point in the game, The Joker decided to kick The Electrocutioner out of a (God knows what story) window to his death, because The Electrocutioner was too busy playing games on his phone to listen to whatever The Joker was rambling on about. What does Batman do? Well, I’ll tell you what he doesn’t do. Respect the dead. Batman outright steals Electrocutioner’s tech to use as his own.

I mean, sure, Electrocutioner won’t be using those any time soon (unless someone gets him to a Lazarus Pit real quick), but it’s still raiding a dead guy’s corpse. Gotham’s saviour ladies and gentlemen. He won’t kill anyone, but hey, if they happen to die he’ll make sure their stuff goes to a “good home”.

Issue 4 – Tracey Buxton

Just…..Tracey Buxton. I mean, why does she even exist? Candy on her own was better and she appeared much less. She looks like she couldn’t decide what decade her look was supposed to be from (Punk-ish hairstyle with a Beetlejuice-like suit) and she has one of the most forced Cockney (?) accents I’ve ever heard in my life. Like, wow, Nolan North’s Penguin voice isn’t great either, but I’ve gotten used to it. Tracey sounds like someone from the US trying to mock someone from England. AND THAT CHARACTER IS SUPPOSED TO ACTUALLY BE ENGLISH…I THINK!

Issue 5


(My ACTUAL reaction wasn’t so much anger as disenchantment but you get the idea)

Seriously, this is the biggest disappointment I’ve probably ever had playing an Arkhamverse game. They build up and advertise Black Mask as the main villain, but what’s that? It’s actually Joker disguised as Black Mask? Oh. Well, that kind of sucks honestly. I get they were just trying to trick us, but come on guys. Like, did this ruin the overall experience for me? No, but it made me enjoy the game less knowing that the only true encounter you have with Black Mask is a side-quest. I do like that they actually have him technically stick around to BE a side-quest, rather than just tossing him out like nothing happened, however it is still frustrating to see Black Mask get shafted like that. Black Mask as the main villain could’ve been very interesting, and was, right up until they decided they’d screw with us.

Batman has a VAST Rogue’s Gallery, and they can’t help but make Joker the main focus of ALL THREE GAMES so far? Come on. Why couldn’t Joker just be a side-villain? Or, you know, you could’ve NOT advertised Black Mask as the main villain and just have it be Joker from the outset. It still would’ve been annoying honestly, but it would’ve been a lot less annoying. And really, less annoying is all I ask. Isn’t making things “less annoying” what America is all about?

Wait, what? This game was made by WB Games Montréal? Oh, well then, now I know what to do about this.

I’ll see you guys next time with things I actually liked about Arkham Origins.

Why I Think The Joker Should NOT Be In Arkham Origins

Oh yes, you did read that correctly. I honestly don’t think The Joker should be in Batman: Arkham Origins. Don’t get me wrong, I love The Joker, but I’m not blindly going to get something because The Joker is in it. Also I’m not saying they should take him out last minute or anything, or generally saying they should undo all of their hard work; though I will concede that this is basically “he never should’ve been in it in the first place”. I also will make a follow up article after I have played the game stating whether I hold true to this opinion, or if the game has made me change my mind. Remember, this is written having not played the game yet, so my opinion could easily change once it’s released.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand exactly why The Joker seems to be in everything and is everywhere; he’s an iconic villain and the character has earned that spot. However Joker has been the main focus of both previous Arkham games. Sure, he was the main villain in Arkham Asylum, so that gets a pass, however he also hogs the spotlight in Arkham City; a game where the main villain is SUPPOSED to be Hugo Strange (or Ra’s Al Ghul, or both). Don’t believe me? His story ends AFTER the main plot does. I will admit it worked due to how they handled the conclusion of that story, but the fact remains that a sub-plot concluded after the main story.

Now, we come to Arkham Origins, where the main villain is supposed to be Black Mask, which automatically drew me to the game out of curiosity as to how that would play out, with Deathstroke’s inclusion being what sealed the deal for me. But what will most people like me (comic adaptation fans) most likely care about? The Joker is in there! Come on guys! Even Batman Begins didn’t have Joker! Why should this? I get it, I get it…”Joker sells”, fine, but come on guys, if you’re going to include him, make him a flat out side villain with guys like Anarky, or flat out diminish him to a cameo appearance like Mad Hatter got in Arkham City.

Hell, think about it. If they’re trying to “fall back in mainstream known villains”, and that’s their logic for using Joker in every game, guess what? THEY DID A POOR JOB OF THAT IN ASYLUM!

  • Riddler – voice only
  • Two-Face – only verbally mentioned right at the end
  • Mr. Freeze – no verbal mention
  • Catwoman – no verbal mention (Yes I know she isn’t always a bad guy but still)
  • The Penguin – no verbal mention

They didn’t seem too preoccupied with trying to throw in a bucket load of well-known (mainstream wise) Batman villains. Hell, even the biographies in Arkham Asylum are filled with a bunch of villains I had no idea existed at the time (Great White Shark, Tweedledum & Tweedledee, Killer Moth, etc.). Honestly I wish that trend had continued with the Arkham City biographies, but oh well, a man can dream.

Actually, that’s a whole other thing I’d like to bring up. Fine, Joker’s in it. But guess what? I actually find myself being drawn towards EVERY OTHER VILLAIN more than Joker, purely because I don’t know as much about the other villains. Does that mean I’ll necessarily like all of the other villains? No. But to me the unknown is a lot more fascinating in this sort of case. Mad Hatter was a case for this in Arkham City, and he turned out to be one of my favourite villains despite only making a cameo appearance, so I’m excited to learn he’s having a (probably only somewhat) larger role in Arkham Origins. As far as Joker goes though, I honestly do not care about Joker’s storyline at all as of writing this. He wants to blow up a bunch of buildings on Christmas Eve? Seems more like a Calendar Man scheme to me. Seriously, switch out Joker for Calendar Man in that scenario and see if it changes anything. Makes more sense with Calendar Man doesn’t it?

Going along with that, Joker’s sub-plot seems entirely tacked on and pointless to me. Here we’ve got a game where the main plot is that, for some reason, Black Mask has hired eight assassins to try and kill Batman; so Batman has to survive their attacks and find Black Mask, also trying to figure out why this is even happening in the first place. Sounds like a basic, yet strong, story to base a game around to me. If Joker is a major player then it just throws everything out of balance, considering we have NINE main villains already. There are enough characters to focus on without needing Joker as a major player, or even a minor player. Once again, Batman Begins didn’t need The Joker, so why does Arkham Origins? As of now it’s a completely unnecessary addition to an already appealing game in my eyes; whether it’s handled well or not

That aside, I realise I could actually end up being wrong about how large a role Joker even plays in this game. For all I know, he could actually just be stuck in the same boat as Anarky and be a side-mission villain (ala Riddler, Zsasz & Bane in Arkham City), rather than a major sub-plot villain. If that’s the case? Then fine, I won’t mind as much, and I’ll admit that in a follow up article. But as of right now, I firmly believe this game does NOT need The Joker. And I honestly doubt that his story being well done will change that. Whether it does or not, I do intend to do a follow up article.

Does anyone actually agree with me? Do you disagree? Either way leave your opinions below (Negative wise only if you actually have something constructive to say) and I’ll see you all again next time.

CotD 13 – DC’s Recent Debacles

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Skeletroy sits down with NNTV Chris to discuss the current state of the DC Universe.

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CoTD 12 – Cinematic and Animated Universes, Pt 2

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Jimmy, Chris, Alanah, & Skeletroy continue their conversation of all things cinematic & comic book.  Enjoy!

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CotD 11 – Cinematic and Animated Universes, Part 1

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Jimmy and Chris are joined by That Ruled producers Alanah Sees and Skeletroy Blockbuster to discuss the relationship between comic book universes on and of the silver screen.

Part 1 of 3 – only because we couldn’t shut up (and we really missed Alanah).

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CoTD 10 – Reboots and Retcons

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Jimmy and Chris talk about the often-villified practice  of rebooting and retconning characters withing the comic book world, both on and off the page!

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CotD 9 – Sidekicks and Partners

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Jimmy and Chris talk about legendary and not-so-legendary partnerships between comic book characters, and the dreaded term of “sidekick” (and, no, not the Subaru).

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Comics on the Dot SPECIAL – Time Warp

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Loyal Listeners, due to unforeseen circumstances, this week’s CoTD will not be released today. As a consolation prize, we are re-releasing the episode of When That Ruled The World (the podcast that started it all) on Comic Books.  Hear Jimmy TR, Chris NNTV, Thomas Fyrehart, Samantha Maybe, and SkeleTroy Blockbuster discuss their various memories and opinions about growing up in a culture deeply influenced by Comic Books, circa November 2012.

Thanks for listening to our shows – You’re awesome.

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Comics on the Dot 8 – Writing

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Jimmy and Chris set out to talk about writers, attempting to continue their discussion of artists last week, only to get much more “big picture” in their discussion of the philosophies of mythology in the process.

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Comics On the Dot 7 – Artists

McFarlane, Liefeld, Larsen, Ditko, Kirby, Lee, Bagley, & Craig – what do we like?  What don’t we like?  More importantly, why?  Chris and Jimmy explore this and more on this episode.

spawn8 spider-man1 spider-man18 trialofvenom xmen1coverAmazingSpider-Man375 venomlethalprotector1 venomlethalprotector2

Liefeldcaptainamerica

Comics on the Dot 5 – The Batman

Batman.  Easily the most influential of any superhero ever, so, how long will it take for Jimmy to mention Spider-Man?

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The Isometric Perspective #15 – A Casual Conversation

Skeletroy didn’t feel like doing research after the long week that was E3. So tonight, Skeletroy, Grant, JimmyTR, Samantha Maybe, and Bennett Fiasco talk about Mortal Kombat, Super Hero games, and arcade memories.