If you haven’t heard, Lauren LeFranc’s The Penguin on HBO, starring Colin Farrel as the titular character, is a rousing success among critics and audiences alike–at least as far as Rotten Tomatoes is concerned. Rightfully so, in my opinion. The show is executed with panache grounded in thoughtful character writing and performances yet still keeps the gravitas with its cinematography and editing of a thrilling supervillain mobster drama. Farrel is clearly having the time of his life with the role, bringing forth all the icky quirks of the classic DC villain, but this time working with the well-rounded script to add some needed nuance to the character in ways I’ve never seen before. The show’s real star, however, is Cristin Milioti as The Hangman. Who would’ve thought that “The Girl with the Yellow Umbrella” would be so good at playing such a wonderfully terrifying and beautifully chaotic character.
For me, the third star of the show, and the third star of any Batman-related material, is and always has been a place rather than a character: Gotham City. There’s something about this dark and grimy city that stores a mess of sinister secrets within its underbelly that intrigues me. It’s the stories of those within Gotham’s shadows, not the rich orphan playing the Caped Crusader or his false justiciars at Gotham PD, but those who live in the margins of Gotham’s history that piques my interest. The Penguin showcases some of those individuals, and it now makes me want nothing more than to have an Arkham video game that puts us in the shoes of said characters.
Batman video games are in somewhat of a No Man’s Land currently. After the masked vigilante received what some may consider one of the greatest gaming trilogies of all time in the Arkham series, developer Rocksteady took a bit of a bad turn with their most recent title, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League. A critical and commercial flop, Suicide Squad pushed Rocksteady (and Warner Bros.) to rethink their next game, learning from this misstep and reportedly returning to their single-player roots. Though a new Arkham game did make its way to the public this year by developer Camouflaj to decent critical reception, Batman: Arkham Shadow’s existence on VR platforms, unfortunately, puts it out of reach for the masses, and the game itself is still a far cry from the glory days of the Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamil-led titles.
For as excited as a fan like myself may be that Rocksteady is returning to make another single-player game, I also can’t help but feel a sense of burnout. Not necessarily at the idea of playing another Arkham-esque title, but of Batman as a character. Much of Batman’s allure and identity comes from his relationship with those around him and Gotham City itself. And after watching The Penguin, I’m even more certain of that sentiment. It got me thinking of what a Rocksteady-led Arkham game might look like.
Imagine, if you will, an Arkham game that puts you in the shoes of a different character in each chapter, one of those that lurk in the aforementioned margins of Gotham’s society; showcasing their viewpoint and relationship to Batman and the events taking place around Gotham City. We could go from playing as a crooked reporter who works as a double agent for both Jim Gordon and The Penguin, doing L.A. Noire-type investigations and bending the truth to both sides, to one of Joker’s goons the next having to stealthily avoid Batman through Arkham Asylum as you look for a way to break out, to a civilian having to rescue their family from a building torched by Pyro, to Pyro himself wreaking havoc across Gotham.
The gameplay and narrative possibilities within Gotham City are ostensibly endless. If given the budget and time, a talented developer like Rocksteady could make a “Batman” game unlike any other, injecting some much-needed life into a stale IP. It’d be a risk, of course, and shareholders would definitely not like it (hence why it’ll likely never happen, at least not on the scale of a Rocksteady), but a show like The Penguin proves that, if done right, it isn’t Batman that makes Gotham City, but rather Gotham City that makes Batman.
