The video game “Batman: Arkham Asylum” is the best video game ever based on a comic book character. So I was anxious to check out this mini-series by DC Comics that is intended to bridge the gap between “Batman: AA” and the upcoming “Batman: Arkham City” video game. First of all the cover kicks ass and the first few pages are true to form with the ending of “Batman: Arkham Asylum”. It shows The Dark Knight defeating a Titan fueled Joker, but unlike the game where Batman and Commissioner Gordon hear a radio call about Two-Face robbing a bank the comic jumps ahead one full year to where the former warden of Arkham Asylum is now Mayor of Gotham and the plot revolves around two thugs named Terry and Tracy Trask who have made use of leftover Titan barrels from the Arkham riots.
Wait? Why not just pick up with Two-Face robbing the bank? Two-Face does make an appearance as he is the one that hired the Trask siblings to oversee the barrels of Titan, but he quickly takes a back seat to some other mysterious figure who seems to be plotting something awful for the Cape Crusader. While I’m sure the action and gameplay of “Batman: Arkham City” the video game will remain true to the original, if this first issue of the comic series is any indication of the upcoming plot for the game then I definitely see a drop-off coming. There’s an incident in the comic that serves as a catalyst for the formation of Arkham City, basically a prison within the city of Gotham, but the tone of the narrative hints of 9/11 false flags and the notion of Batman battling badies in one enclosed location is all too familiar.
In closing, I still look forward to playing “Batman: Arkham City” when it’s released on October 18, 2011, but this comic has me questioning the storyline. When it comes to video games I always do stress gameplay over plot but after hours and hours in front of your X-Box eventually it’s the story and characters that can make a great game a classic.
BATMAN ARKHAM CITY #1 READ IT!!! SKIP IT!!! BURN IT!!!