Summary
The world-building and lore ofArkhamgames have always been incredibly rich. That’s why, because of how little it did to honor that legacy or make any meaningful connections to it aside from throwaway canon references,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguelargely failed the Arkhamverse. TheArkhamverse is packed with a ton of fully fleshed-out characters and antagonistsand while not all have been given as much attention as others, they’re all still impactful and intriguing, even if they’ve only been alluded to in physical villain memorabilia or supplementary stories and bios players can peruse at their leisure.
Many characters are only ever mentioned this way and never appear inBatman: Arkhamgames otherwise, such as the Ventriloquist, Killer Moth, and Great White Shark, but their inclusions enhance the Arkhamverse nonetheless. Now that Camouflaj’s VR-exclusiveBatman: Arkham Shadowhas been announced, it’s obvious that one of Batman’s lesser-known villains will finally have their comeuppance and take center stage after only having appeared in Easter egg references beforehand: Ratcatcher.
Ratcatcher Plays a Large Role in Arkhamverse Easter Egg Content
Ratcatcher is certainly one of the more obscure Batman villainsand definitely hasn’t been as fearsome or epic as some higher-class antagonists, butBatman: Arkham Shadowis already doing a phenomenal job of teasing the character with a perfect dose of atmosphere in the rain-slicked alleyways of Gotham City. The rats alone are enough to ensure Ratcatcher is at least one villain appearing inShadow, and the fact that the teaser is wholly focused on Batman’s pursuit of these rats seems to guarantee that they’ll finally be a main villain in the franchise after a lengthy period of appearing exclusively as an Easter egg.
Indeed, rubber gloves and gas masks can be seen multiple times throughout the series, usually as a point of interestplayers can scan in Detective Mode to solve Riddler’s riddles. Some light backstory details were given in the franchise thus far—enough to firmly establish Ratcatcher in the Arkhamverse, anyhow—and it’ll be interesting to see if Camouflaj decides to adhere to them or rewrite the character as it sees fit.
Regardless, this was always a neat way for the Arkhamverse to feature other characters without them being around or playing a role in the story because, especially depending on where these Easter eggs and references to antagonists are found, it reinforces how profound theArkhamgames’ environmental storytellingis.
Mr. Freeze wasn’t inArkham Asylumand only his icicle-frosted cell was, for instance, while Fries played a massive role in its sequel,Arkham City. So while Ratcatcher was only ever an Easter egg in the Arkhamverse, it’s a special treat to finally see them rewarded with what seems like a main antagonist role inArkham Shadow.
Batman: Arkham Shadow Drains Ratcatcher Out of the Gutter
Batman: Arkham Shadowcould be pulling a bait-and-switch with Ratcatcher; indeed, theArkhamgames tend to pedestal one antagonist as its focal point while another actually assumes that role, with that villain being Joker more often than not. That would be a shame inShadow’s case, though, because the tone ofShadowthus far is precisely what the Arkhamverse needs now: a gritty, dark, street-level Gotham City story that doesn’t have thecataclysmic or multiversal scale ofSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
TheBatman: Arkhamgames were brilliant for how they reduced the DC mythology scope to Batman alone and made his relationships and interactions with others intimate. IfShadowcan take the Arkhamverse back to that atmosphere with Ratcatcher as a villain whom Camouflaj can make truly terrifying it’ll put a tremendous stamp on the franchise and give its next action-adventure entry a lot to live up to—if one does hopefully follow this VR title.
Batman: Arkham Origins
WHERE TO PLAY
Batman™: Arkham Origins is the next installment in the blockbuster Batman: Arkham videogame franchise. Developed by WB Games Montréal, the game features an expanded Gotham City and introduces an original prequel storyline set several years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, the first two critically acclaimed games of the franchise. Taking place before the rise of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals, the game showcases a young and unrefined Batman as he faces a defining moment in his early career as a crime fighter that sets his path to becoming the Dark Knight.
