What you’re seeing here is the latest trailer for the upcoming Batman game, due out in just a few short weeks. And, to no one’s surprise, the Dark Knight’s white-faced archenemy will be in the game, masterfully voiced once more by Mark Hamill.
But, the plot points teased in this trailer have me a little worried, because there seem to be hints that The Clown Prince of Crime might wind up being the big bad of Arkham City after all. Very little’s been revealed about the storyline in the Bat-sequel, but we know that psychiatrist Hugo Strange is one of the masterminds behind the idea of turning half of Gotham City into a laissez-faire super-prison. In an earlier trailer, the B-list Bat-villain also appears to know that Batman is Bruce Wayne. All of this is consistent with Strange’s portrayal in various comic book storylines and the mad doctor even posed as Batman a few times over the years.
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So, it’d make sense for the game to build to a confrontation between Hugo Strange and Batman. But this new Joker clip has the smiling psychopath talking about planning something big. My worry is that Arkham City will culminate in yet another Batman/Joker face-off.
Look, I know that Batman vs. Joker is one of the most enduring rivalries in pop culture but we just saw them square off in the first Batman game by Rocksteady Studios. I’d hate for this year’s game to go there again.
These are just one worried observer’s concerns, mind you. It could turn out that the Joker’s schemes are just a big subplot to the game’s overarching story and that the World’s Greatest Detective will have a climactic showdown with someone who isn’t Harley Quinn’s boyfriend. With all the new villains teased so far in Batman: Arkham City, surely we can expect a fresher final battle, right?
MORE: Preview: ‘Batman: Arkham City’ Puts the Dark Knight in a Lawless, Urban Landscape