When the announcement for Arkham Knight dropped I was ecstatic. I am a long time die hard Batman fan. It's in my nature. Then I discovered the title also doubled for the new villain in the franchise. That got me thinking. So far, Rocksteady says it's a new character they created in conjunction with DC. Looking at the last 2 games that Rocksteady made (and even WB Montreal's Origins)i don't believe this character is completely original. In fact I think he will be based on a couple of characters already in the source material.
A few people online think this is a new character or haven't heard the idea of a negative or anti Batman. I can tell you from my knowledge of the Batman property this is not the case. I have compiled a list of possible characters and or plot points that could be going to this character's creation.
1- Wrath
The character of Wrath has been in the comics for quite some time but, never really took off. Recently DC reintroduced him in the new 52 with great success. They even went as far as nick naming him the Anti Batman. His moniker has always been a batman like appearance and does the opposite acts of Batman himself. Sometimes aiding other criminals as Batman would the police. In the New 52 shown in the above image he has a very armored militarized look with some nods to Batman's appearance. Rocksteady has stated that the character looks like a militarized Batman who totes a gun. My thought is, if the character is not this character completely, his story will be heavily based on this character.
2- Jason Todd
For a small period of time, after he had been resurrected, Jason todd, the second Robin, took on the mantle of Batman during Battle For The Cowl. As a middle finger to his mentor he wore the suit and carried two handguns to administer his brand of justice to Gotham while trying to take the role from his predecessor and successor as Robin. This is also a very strong possibility as they introduced both Tim and Dick in Arkham City. This would round out the Bat family and be a very cool addition to the series.
3- Prometheus
Prometheus has been mentioned in the Arkham games and like Wrath, has not been used a whole lot in the years of his existence. Like Wrath, he tries to do the opposite of Batman and is a master assassin. In the profile from Arkham Asylum, the riddle given was, Prometheus, Arkham Guards most wanted and most hated. Again this character is a strong possibility as he has been mentioned in the games and fits the persona being explained for the Arkham knight. It's possible that he would drop the prometheus persona and try to take batman down at his own game.
4- Azrael
Azrael was Bruce's replacement as Batman in the nineties after the Knightfall story arc which also made Bane an iconic character. While he did not carry a gun he was more brutal and used more harmful tactics than Bruce. Eventually he became comfortable with allowing the deaths of criminals due to his conditioning from the Order Of Saint Dumas. This Character is a little less likely but still a high possibility, due to the fact that he was introduced in city with the idea that he may return in the future of the series.
This is the list I have come up with that seems like the strongest possibility for plot device or overall character identity. Will Rocksteady try to make a new character using parts of some of these characters? or will they actually try to generate something without any of these 4 in mind? What do you guys think? Are you in agreement with some of this? or do you have another idea in mind? Post your thoughts below.