If you haven't played Arkham City yet...**SPOILER ALERT**
I havent written an article on here in ages. I work really hard and none stop in my career in the "real world", but inside my batcave with locked doors i spend my hours at night in front of my PS3, or behind a book or two or hundred. But a few weeks back i beaten the main storyline of Arkham City... and i just HAD to write about it. (like the hundreds of others)
Well, I think most of us can agree that ArkhamCity was THE MOST satisfying, epic, story driven, sequel to one of the greatest superhero video games ever made. My personal opinion in AC is too much to handle. I beat the main storyline and it left me, to be honest and choose the best words to define it, Emotionally Disturbed.. but in a good way. For a good week or two after beating the game, i felt upset and extremely sad from The Jokers death, a big part of me inside died watching it... so i buried my nose in comics and i felt better again.
But let me get it out of the way to say, we knew about Mark Hamills departure from his long lived career as the voice of The Joker, and his retirement from the character has left most of us in awe and sadness that its all over. I still will forever smile when i hear his iconic laugh, remembering the Animated Series while growing up during the 90's. He left a HUGE stamp in my DC Fanboy soul as forever the REAL Joker... Alot of Ledger and Nicholson fans hate on me when i talk about it.. but Mark Hamill is my Joker and no one could ever be above his level of talent and to be able to project that madness... JUST from a voice!
Ok well, i was going to write a sort of "review" on the game... but if ya really wanna know, then go watch youtube videos or read someone elses page!!... anyways... The moment i put down the controller from beating the main story. I was total shock and awe. It took me a day or two to even realize what the hell has happened. And then i picked up the controller to get deeper in that same question... what the hell happened??... At first i was really pissed off how Batman just walked out of Arkham City carrying the Joker in his arms, puts his down on a car, then walked away... then BAM! cut scene, roll credits... i absolutely freaked out and kept talking out loud "why?? why???? whats gonna happen??? nooooo!!!" and then listening to The Joker's voice mail of him singing "Only You"... i got sorta choked up from finally sinking in Mark Hamills departure...
Then after calming myself for a few days, i got back inside Arkham City and learned ALOT more... with lots of investigating and exploring i learned alot of Hints from what could be the 3rd chapter in the "Arkham story". As most know... The Joker's dead, and there is no sign of him ever returning to the story (unless its a lame flashback or something). At first i thought, "well.. Harley is still around... maybe she'll take over and turn into a complete bad ass... but still be cute and bubbly..." And just when i thought i was gonna give up... i landed a friggin' A-Bomb...
1.--As most will know from online (but i proudly discovered it on my own =P) If you visit Jokers office inside the Steel Mill in "Jokers Funland" and you discover Harley's old Arkham Asylum outfit.. on the ground to the left of it, is a Pregnancy test.... yes.... your long time question is answered... Harley and Joker have had sex...... and the test? its POSITIVE... once again i freaked out and had a whole new can of nerdgasms to deal with!! i thought "thats it!! thats the big hint to the 3rd game!!"... and just when i thought it didnt get any deeper, i was searching for an audio clip of The Joker singing "Only You" online one day... and i discovered someone has found an after-credits audio clip of Harley singing to a baby which can be herd after u beat the game on "Plus Mode"...
"Shh... There There....Hush Little Baby Dont Say A Word... Momma's Gonna Kill For You The Whole Damn World..."
...once again... nerdgasms....
Also, could this be proof that the baby has already been born??... and maybe when The Joker gave Batman the missed call voicemail at the end of the credits, maybe he's really singing to his child?
2.--Also during the clip Harley sings "Hush Little Baby"... I wonder if Hush has anything to do with the 3rd installment. Last we saw Hush during the "Identity Thief" side mission, he surgically puzzled together pieces of flesh to make his face look like Bruce Wayne and then ran off escaping Arkham City... could Hush have a plan to "mimic" Bruce Wayne and reek havoc within the system of Gotham?.. or is Hush working with someone much like Dr. Strange was with Ra's Al Ghul.... SOO MANY QUESTIONS!!!
3.--Also.. There is a hidden Easter Egg within Arkham City when you use your Cryptographic Sequencer, you'll always hear a hidden Radio signal of a man just saying numbers over the air... But one group of numbers is 9, 23, 9, 12, 12, 18, 5, 20, 21, 18, 14, 2, 1, 20, 13, 1, 14.... and if you put the numbers as the letters of the alphabet. it spells "IWILLRETURNBATMAN"... This is only 1 of 4 hidden messages... and apparently one message decodes "SCARECROWSCAR".. and another message even says "FEARWILLTEARGOTHACITYTOSHREDS"... Could this be a hint into where the next game will take place???
Also another "scarecrow hint" at the hidden "boat shipment" easter egg near the old Gotham police station has a shipment of bugs... in the shipping notes stapled on the inside of the boat, it shows the shipment cost and such, and a personal note,
"Jonathan,
I hope you find everything satisfactory. Mr. Fine was very specific about the shipping details and we have followed them to the letter.
By now you will have received the initial 15 shipments. The rest are in transit and will be with you shortly."
4.--Most have wondered who "Mr. Fine" was... But it traces back to Sherman Fine, also known as "The Broker"... To keep myself from typing so much and explain to you who he is, The Broker provides hideouts and secret lairs for Gotham City's highest-class criminals such as the Joker and others. With The Broker and Scarecrow working together, most believe this is the main plot for the 3rd game.
5.--Near the end of the game, Dr. Strange self destructs the Wonderland Tower, you and Ra's Al Ghul jump from the tower and sky dive to the ground. Ra's then lands on a spiked fence and appears dead. Later on if you return, His body is missing, but his sword is shown stabbed in the ground near the fence... I personally doubt he will return to the 3rd game after his large involvement in the 2nd, but maybe a possible cameo... i mean come on! he's Ra's Al Ghul! he could never die!!
6.-- As most know by now of Black Mask's cameo in the very beginning of the game. If you unlock one of Riddler's challenges.. You head to the most south part of Arkham City in the Industrial District, to find his challenge. He then reveals where Black Mask has escaped from Arkham City... Im only adding this because i really really really hope we get to see Black Mask actually have a meaning in the next game!! So hopefully he can be a boss battle in the actual story line this time and not a DLC...
All and All, the now famous Easter egg found in Arkham Asylum reveling the story on Arkham City got stirred up from the pits and surfaced. It then left everyone searching for that big "WOW!" hint inside Arkham City for the 3rd game... in my opinion everything ive wrote just now leads up to the 3rd game. Instead of 1 hint, we got MANY... But we wont truly know until a game is talked about and released by the amazing story writers of the Arkham series! I for one will be first in line (yet again) for my copy of the 3rd game to continue on the epic adventure....
...but, I may ask... can we PLEASE!! PLEASE!! PLEASE!! finally see Batman die????? I mean come on!! they killed off the Joker, probly for Mark Hamills retirement... but might as well take it one level up!! KILL THE BAT!! KILL THE BAT!!! KILL THE BAT!!