When we talk about good superhero video games, the Arkham series can never be left out of the conversation. Who doesn’t want to drive around a dark, gritty Gotham, fighting bad guys and using a silly number of gadgets that definitely kill at least some people when Batsy deploys them? Arkham Asylum, City, Origins and finally Knight are fantastic fun, but it seems that there was almost a fifth in that timeline featuring a much older Batman.
As reported by Push Square, a different version of Batman was on the cards for the fifth Arkham game it seems. Concept artist Goran Bukvic has been posting work on their ArtStation from a reportedly cancelled project instantly the face of Bruce Wayne has been visibly aged with a greying beard.
Here is the trailer for Suicide Squad: Kill The Justic League...
The images that can be seen on the site are simply stunning. It’s a real shame we never got to see this version of Batman work. There is often a really fascinating situation in aging superheroes. They’re struggling, they aren’t as fit as they used to be or perhaps the anger that fuelled them has evolved into irreverence or faded into despair. There isn’t a way to know what this interpretation would have held, but the images look just as gritty and hardcore as the original games.
Additionally there is a younger Batman in the project too. This one has a red symbol and looks far more robotic than the image of Bruce. It’s not clear who this who this is, if it’s a replacement or an alternate Bruce for sure, but I’d put money on it being a successor. Nightwing has had red variations in the past, perhaps it’s Dick Grayson in the suit after being Robin? Well again, it’s a cancelled project so we may never know for sure. However Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is on the horizon which marks the return of Rocksteady’s DC games - what will Batman be like then?
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.