In Darkest Knight

We’re somewhere around 1994, I think, and a friend of mine decides that I absolutely must read Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. For a long time, north-american comics were filtered through Brazil before landing in Portugal and the end result, in spite of being fondly called ‘pocket comics’, was reduced in about 50% of its original size which caused obvious problems. But this copy of Arkham Asylum on my hands kept its proportions intact, each page complete and no cut off dialogues. More importantly, its story and themes introduced me to a Batman beyond my expectations. Of course when you’re fourteen everything looks awesome but Arkham Asylum was, and still is, very good. We need to blame Grant Morrison and Dave McKean for that, names I’ve tried to follow as closely as possible – especially McKean, whose visual art in comics remains one of the few to work in the representation/deconstruction field in a natural way.

When it comes to comics, there are few characters I can call personal favorites. Barry Allen, the second Flash, is one – his sacrifice during the Crisis on Infinite Earths saga, and his revised origin story by Robert Fleming and Carmine Infantino in Secret Origins Annual #2 contributed to that. There are several others but Batman is highest on the list. Of all possible reasons for this, I choose one: because he’s a human character, in every possible way. Not only does he not belong in the pantheon of characters with godlike powers (and I have to confess my profound irritation towards the character’s gradual association with the term “superhero” for that very reason) but he’s also one of those characters whose humanity has been incredibly explored. The psychological predisposition towards a constant struggle against crime, the need for that very same struggle, the moral code, the very suit itself both as an utilitarian (that allows him to conceal his identity and operate in the shadows) and supernatural (the bat as a symbol of death, as a night hunter, as the character’s “soul”) motif have all developed a very strong mythology.

When news came that a relatively unknown studio was to give the Dark Knight a new lease on life, I wasn’t sure what to think. Having played nearly all games created about the character, there was a strong chance this might’ve ended up spectacularly wrong (I believe the technical term is EPIC FAIL). Not because the studio only had one game under their belt but because Batman is a perfect target for productions looking for financing. It’s par for the course in the genre – Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is an excellent example of this for the wrong reasons. There is never a feeling of presence or a larger diversity in its restricted context – whether narratively or mechanically, the difference between a Wolverine and a Thor is virtually none, to the point where we could just have been playing a spruced up version of Gauntlet. The problem is that when you get your mitts on this kind of license, many studios funnel characters into game concepts that have been previously established instead of building a game around a character.

But then Batman: Arkham Asylum comes out, Rocksteady gets it right and many surrendered to the game’s charm. Unsurprisingly, me too. But in spite of all that’s been said about it, I can’t agree that it is a game about Batman. Or even about Joker.

It’s about the asylum.

Continue Reading →