We all know the premise of Batman: Arkham Origins by now, following the caped crusader on one of the most trying nights of his early career. The setting: Gotham City, Christmas Eve. The opponents: eight of the world’s deadliest assassins hired by Black Mask.
Given the characters seen previously in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, the odds of seeing the likes of Deathstroke (already confirmed via artwork) or Deadshot as one of the assassins are high. Then again, this is a brand new studio, looking for brand new comic book inspiration.
With that in mind, we’ve singled out a few comic contract killers we think should be given a chance to take down the Bat in Origins’ campaign.
Here is our list of 10 Villains We Want in Batman: Arkham Origins.
The tale of The Mad Dog begins with assassin David Cain, a member of Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Assassins possessing disturbing ideas about training children for a life in the shadowy order. Ra’s supplied Cain with infants to practice upon, but his methods prove far too effective.
Eventually, the children turned on one another, killing their brethren until only one ‘mad dog’ of a boy remained. Set free instead of killed by a sympathetic guard, Mad Dog would go on to become a full-grown killer, and even served in the assassin order established by Ra’s’ daughter.
With a twisted back story and plenty of room for artistic license, Mad Dog could pose Batman a truly terrifying threat. Especially if it helped lay the groundwork for the interactions with Ra’s in later games.
Like Bizarro Superman and the Reverse-Flash, Wrath was first introduced as something of an inverted image of Batman; the son of burglars, Wrath devoted his life to training and killing the police officers who shot them dead, Jim Gordon included.
The first Wrath is quickly dealt with, and later ret-conning made him out to be a somewhat delusional cop-killer. But even so, the Wrath name was also used by Elliot Caldwell, the first villain’s sidekick (and counterpart to Batman’s Robin).
With a tradition mirroring that of Batman and Robin, and plenty of emotional baggage to go along with Wrath’s willingness to kill any and all who got in his way, this crimson-and-purple villain seems right at home in the world of Arkham.
As skilled with knives and blades as any surgeon, Guillermo Barrerra decided to put his experience as a Latin American torture specialist to use in Gotham’s criminal underworld. As Brutale, Barrerra wields countless throwing knives in service to the highest bidder, acting as a hired gun (knife?) for any crime-lord with cash.
That’s not too far a leap from enforcer to contract killer, and with an eye-catching get-up and twins bands of throwing knives, Brutale would certainly make an impression. Plenty of Batman villains use blades or knives to do their business, but there are few we can think of who do it with as much style and flare as Brutale.
Maybe it’s a Latin thing.
If villains are awarded style points, then Flamingo is off to the biggest head-start of our entire list. Proficiency in hand to hand combat and firearm usage means this contract killer is no stranger to the business, but it’s Eduardo Flamingo’s whip and bright pink motorcycle that we can’t forget.
But before anyone assumes that Flamingo’s bark is worse than his bite, it should be said that with an “impeccable kill record,” this assassin doesn’t make a habit of failure. He gets his target every time, and when he does…well let’s just say his victims’ faces tend to pique his appetite.
Even if he was lacking in combat, we’d still want to see Flamingo get his fair share of screen time. But pairing style with substance, Warner Bros. Montreal should take note of this assassin in pink.
Known for her allure as much as her mercenary experience, Cheshire is every bit as deadly as any other assassin in the DC Comics universe. Specializing in poison - on both her blades and fingernails - her skill in martial arts makes a single slice or swipe from her as deadly as a crushing blow.
While many Batman villains may usually find themselves outmatched when up against Bruce Wayne’s intellect, Cheshire isn’t the kind of woman to make foolish mistakes. A master planner, the comic books have seen this assassin formulate complex plots that include defeating or subduing some of her deadliest colleagues.
Given just how many other DC characters Cheshire has a…history with, including her in Arkham Origins would be a clever way of hinting at a larger game world.
It’s no secret that plenty of English aristocratic families made their fortunes through what could be seen as ‘mercenary work,’ but Lady Elaine Marsh-Morton keeps the tradition alive. As ‘Lady Vic, this English aristocrat partakes in mercenary work whenever possible, keeping her family’s estate intact with the money that assassinations provide.
As athletic and acrobatic as another fictional noblewoman with a taste for adventure, Lady Vic’s natural abilities are augmented by skill with daggers, swords, and guns. Her heirloom weaponry is signifies her determination; she fights not for wealth, but keeping her family’s name alive.
She may not be as well-known as others on our list, but with Nightwing claiming she “talks like Jane Seymour, fights like Bruce Lee,” it should be clear why she’s a must.
David Cain: the man you call when your target is nearly impossible to touch. But Cain is one of the only DC Comics characters who has ever matched Deathstroke in combat.
The pair first crossed paths when after the same target, immediately trying to eliminate the other and claim the reward. They were a perfect match, and left one another with respect, not hatred. Having partly trained Bruce Wayne in the art of killing, Cain decided to take an heir, capable of doing what Wayne as Batman would not.
After finding the perfect killer and mate in Sandra Wu-San (a.k.a. Lady Shiva) Cain fathered a daughter, Cassandra. Cassie would go on to become Batgirl, but Cain never traded fortunes for morals. he was an assassin, first and foremost.
She was good enough for Cain’s perfect child, so she’s more than fitting for our list. Arguably the great martial artist on the face of the Earth (in DC continuity), even Batman has claimed she’s the best fighter alive, period.
Unlike others on our lists, it is Lady Shiva’s mastery of weaponless fighting that makes her exceedingly deadly in any situation. No swords, guns, or even a bo staff (the weapon of choice for Tim Drake’s Robin, whom she helped train) are needed for Lady Shiva to kill any opponent.
Lady Shiva even claimed in the comics that part of her reason for mothering a child with Cain was belief that the offspring might be good enough to kill her; so you know she has issues right at home in Arkham’s bleak atmosphere.
Trained by the Soviet Union’s best KGB officers, Anatoli Knyazev - known as The Beast to his countrymen and KGBeast to his enemies - is about as deadly as men come. Given the KGB’s knack for covert operations and assassinations, stating that Knyazev was their most gifted killer should speak volumes.
Even without his cybernetically-enhanced strength and mastery of all the world’s weapons, KGBeast is an imposing figure. But for all the strength and size nature gave him, it’s his determination that is most terrifying; during his second fight with Batman, KGBeast chose to cut off his own ensnared hand than be captured by Gotham’s dark knight.
KGBeast survived the injury, and replaced his missing hand with a gun. He’s got a bit of a one-track mind.
As yet another twisted take on Batman’s origin story, that of Prometheus is also one of an early orphan. Unlike the Waynes, Prometheus’ parents were twisted killers, eventually gunned down by police in front of their son, who vowed to fight against law and order for the rest of his days. Spending years training in combat and warfare, Prometheus has the technology to back up his skills.
With a helmet and suit that grant him the ability to hypnotize, take on appearances and voices of other heroes, and upload information directly into his brain and nervous system, Prometheus is one of the few villains who could accurately be described as every bit the strategist and devoted crusader as Batman. Albeit for chaos, not order.
Include him in Origins, and the later games are a cakewalk.
Ranging from terrifying to ridiculous, Batman’s rogues gallery has hosted some wacky assassins over the years. How many of them are suitable for Origins - without being significantly re-imagined - is up for discussion.
We will say that including only the grittiest, most grounded villains isn’t what we’d hope for; and doesn’t seem to be the course Rocksteady has taken either.
What do you think of the names on our list? Have we left any out? Feel free to add them in the comments.
Batman: Arkham Origins will be available on Wii U, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC October 25, 2013.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @andrew_dyce.
