WHAT DC SHOULD DO WITH THEIR VIDEO GAMES, PART I
(Also Known As: WDSDWTVG - The Arkhamverse)

Hi everyone, 

Welcome to part one of my new series of editorials, What X Should Do With Their Video Games. I have plans to do multi-part installments in this series, beginning with DC (thats this one), and going to other franchises, such as Marvel. The first part of the DC installment is all about how DC should move forward with their video games following the recent Arkham Knight. As of right now there is a massive SPOILER alert, as I will assume anyone reading beyond this point to have either finished the game, or to be OK with hearing about what happens at the end. Ready? Ok, lets get started! 

THE ARKHAMVERSE

So, the basis of this entire idea on what DC should do with their video games revolves around the concept of a SHARED VIDEO GAME UNIVERSE, just like the shared universe Marvel already has, and the one DC is establishing in the near future. The beauty of this is, this shared universe (from now on, we will refer to it as the DCVU) has already been created - its the world of Rocksteady's Arkham Trilogy, which fans have taken to calling the Arkhamverse. As anyone who has played the conclusion to the final entry in the Arkham trilogy would have noticed, their are several references to other DC Heroes and the cities they protect scattered throughout the game, from Superman, to Green Arrow, and even to lesser known characters, such as Wildcat.

BATMAN AND HIS ALLIES

Ok, so first things first: where should the Arkhamverse pick up after the conclusion of Arkham Knight? We're going to assume the Knightfall Protocol 100% Ending is canon, so the first thing we should examine is the fate of Bruce Wayne, A.K.A. Batman.

For those who haven't seen it, here is the ending in question:



Now, this ending has caused a LOT of confusion amongst fans, and there is no official confirmation on which of the SEVERAL fan theories about what the ending means is correct, so here is what we are going to go with:

This Knightmare Batman IS Bruce Wayne. If there is any doubt in anyone's mind that Bruce Wayne is alive, simply think of it like this: Bruce would NEVER take Alfred's life for ANY reason. It wouldn't happen. Its that simple. While the timing between the door being shut and the explosion going off IS uncannily short, its BATMAN. Whoever takes on the next installment in the franchise (an interesting thing to note: developer's Rocksteady have constantly said that Arkham Knight was their last Batman game, but they have at no point said they were done with DC characters) will have to come up with some kind of explanation for how Wayne and Alfred survived the blast (or perhaps it will be covered in some upcoming DLC), but needless to say, they ARE alive. And that Batman at the end IS Bruce Wayne.

So how is Batman going all flaming-bat-monster on those thugs? Well, if you look at the effects, they are very clearly similar to those shown whenever Scarecrow's Fear Toxin was used in the game. At the end of the main storyline, when Scarecrow unmasked Batman on national television, Batman finally fully embraced fear. He overcame his fears in their totality, and he was even able to turn the weapon of fear on the master of fear himself. Batman told Selina Kyle (Catwoman) earlier in the game that he needed to become something "darker", to be a new legend, something "the Batman can't be". So what IS that something exactly? A MYTH. That was what Batman was in the beginning. He was something surreal, a tale that struck fear into the hearts of criminals. And THAT is exactly what he is again. Everyone in Gotham truly believes that Bruce Wayne died in that explosion, so who would believe that the thugs were taken down by the Batman, especially when what Batman does to them is unlike anything he had ever done before? No one is going to believe that Batman is actually a giant flaming bat monster, are they? But wait - how IS Batman a giant flaming bat monster? Well, thats why you have to take it back to the Fear Toxin. Batman has (presumably) altered the formula, to ensure it is not lethal, but it is more than enough to scare the criminals into learning their lesson. Of course, there are the naysayers out there who will say "thats impossible, how could the criminals have been affected by the Fear Toxin? When did Batman get the toxin into their systems? Well, by looking back at the plot of the main story again, we can work that one out too. Batman has the specs for Simon Stagg's Cloudburst device, which was originally designed as a means of providing Airborne Innocculation. With a bit of tinkering, Batman could probably manage to make some form of smaller device capable of just that. But Batman isn't the only hero at the end of Arkham Knight. 
 
Dick Grayson is still going around under the guise of the vigilante Nightwing following the events of Arkham Knight. While we could figure that based on common sense (Blüdhaven isn't suddenly safe just because Gotham's most wanted are locked away), we also have confirmation of this as September's story DLC will feature Nightwing fighting against a breakout in the GCPD Lockup AFTER the events of the game. While the fate of Tim Drake's crime-fighting alter-ego, Robin, is uncertain at this point, it does seem as if he has hung up his cape. Of course, he IS a hero at heart, so it isn't too far fetched for Drake to return to crime fighting if the need arised. On the other hand, he has more to lose now, considering he was shown to be getting married to Barbara Gordon, who has presumably given up her life as Oracle as well. Or perhaps not... 

An easter egg in the Clocktower, which is where Oracle's base is located, shows that the Birds of Prey seem to exist within the Arkhamverse. 



As you can see, this particular easter egg confirms a few things:

• The Birds of Prey are an established group in the Arkhamverse
• Huntress exists in the Arkhamverse, and is a member of the Birds of Prey
• Black Canary, who is teased by the existence of the Black Canary Club in Gotham, uses that identity to fight crime, and is also a member of the Birds of Prey.

So, as you can see, Oracle wasn't only there to assist Batman, she was also a vital member of another team of crime-fighters. Its not too hard to believe that she may still be involved in crime-fighting to some degree. You can also find the office of Paranormal Investigator, John Constantine, in Gotham. And obviously, following the events of the story, Jason Todd has ditched the persona of the Arkham Knight, and taken up the mantle of Red Hood. At the GCPD Lockup, both John Jones (the name taken on by J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter), and Renee Montoya, the second Question.

There appear to be other crime-fighters, villains and metahuman beings outside of Gotham as well. Throughout the game, there are various different mentions of Superman, The Flash, Green Arrow, and Swamp Thing. Zatanna is also mentioned, though she is only confirmed as the owner of a magic shop. There is also reference to there being a growing number of metahumans. In the DLC add-on, A Matter of Family, you can also find Starro, further implying the existence of cosmic charcters within the Arkhamverse.

So, at this point, we know that these characters exist within the Arkhamverse:

• Batman (possibly Bruce Wayne)
• Nightwing (Dick Grayson)
• Oracle (Barbara Gordon)[Birds of Prey]{Possibly retired}
• Robin (Tim Drake){Possibly retired}
• Superman (Clark Kent)
• Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)[Birds of Prey]
• Black Canary (Dinah Lance)[Birds of Prey]
• Red Hood (Jason Todd)
• John Constantine
• John Jones (possibly J'onn J'onzz)
• Renee Montoya (possibly The Question)
• The Flash (possibly Jay Garrick, as The Flash is implied to be a protector of Keystone City. This also means it could possibly be Wally West)
• Oliver Queen (possibly Green Arrow)
• Swamp Thing (Alec Holland)
• Zatanna (possibly just as a magic shop owner)
• Starro (the Conquerer)
• Azrael (in the game, your choices either leave him in the GCPD Lockup, or send him off to seek retribution against The Order of St. Dumas. We will assume the latter is canon in later installments in this series of editorials)

So, as you can see, the Arkhamverse is starting to get quite expansive, and definitely allows for some great potential games. 

That wraps up this editorial, as it is starting to get quite lengthy. Now that all of the introductory stuff is out of the way, I'll jump straight into what DC should develop in the next installment of these editorials. 

Thanks for reading!