Batman’s Arkhamverse may have had a considerable drought betweenBatman: Arkham KnightandSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueand yet its catalog grows ever onward.Batman: Arkham Shadowis a terrific prequel chapter that continues the rich legacy of Blackgate penitentiary, for example, and Rocksteady is reportedly at work on a new Batman game. BetweenBatman: Arkham Asylum,Batman: Arkham City, andBatman: Arkham Knight, Rocksteady crafted a definitive trilogy andSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s divisive eventsmake any upcomingArkhamgame from the studio a massive question mark—green or otherwise.
Batman: The Animated Series’ successor,Batman Beyond, is unique as it takes place far enough into the future to retire Bruce Wayne out of necessity and have a novel, dystopian setting—Neo-Gotham in 2039. So, assuming that the Arkhamverse’s rumored take onBatman Beyondwould be comparably futuristic and take place decades afterSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League—much later than 2039 in relation to the game’s rocky timeline—Rocksteady and many other developers would have ample room to stretch their legs and tell stories within that span before Terry McGinnis (or whoever becomes Batman) ever assumes the Batman mantle.
Batman’s Arkhamverse is a Franchise That’s Only Begun Filling in Prequel-Led Lore
As long as it was set a decade or two into the future, aBatman Beyond-esque storyline would create an immense gap betweenSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueand it, like howBatman: Arkham Asylumcreated a huge gap between Batman’s crime-fighting inception andgivingBatman: Arkham Origins,Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, andBatman: Arkham Shadowa wide berth to explore untapped years. It’s difficult to pin down precisely how many years have passed since Bruce Wayne became Batman and which year each game’s events reside in, but some contextual timeline clues are more explicit than others.
There are roughly two years betweenBatman: Arkham AsylumandBatman: Arkham Knightas per a recording of Batman, for example, whereas it’s quite vague how many years are left betweenBatman: Arkham ShadowandBatman: Arkham Asylum.
Ironically, this vagueness has contributed greatly to how much lore could be inserted into the franchise to layer characters with development. It is alluring seeing the first glowing green question mark trophy inOriginsas well ashow District Attorney Harvey Dent’s left half was chemically scarred inShadow, and without prequel installments to make those revelations they would’ve been left to players’ imaginations.
Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson’s debuts in the series’ chronological timeline have been made as ofOriginsandShadownow, too, but the empty gap followingShadowis somehow meant to be enough time for Batgirl and three separate Robins to spread their wings before Barbara becomes Oracle permanently, Dick becomes Nightwing, Jason Todd becomes Robin and is believed to be killed, and Tim Drake becomes the newest Robin afterward. Likewise, a lot of characters have yet to be fleshed out with their launches as costumed villains that sequels toShadowcould and should indulge in.
A Batman Beyond Time Jump Would Make for a New Chasm of Lore to Fill
Jumping ahead to the present-day Arkhamverse and its whirlwind of controversial story beats, it would likely be Rocksteady’s best bet to leap even further ahead and commit itself to a decade-or-two time jump if it’s going to adaptBatman Beyond. Of course, this is allcontingent on Rocksteady actually making a Batman game inspired byBatman Beyond, which thus far should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Regardless, while such a drastic transition might be enough to leave modern lore behind, it’d be wholly possible and fortuitous for subsequent games to then fill that chasm and gradually lead into theBatman Beyondera. In any case, more space carved out for an extensive timeline would be ideal as it couldgive Rocksteady and other studios ample room to tell Arkhamverse stories.
