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Off My Mind: Would the "Arkham City" Story Make Sense in Official Batman Continuity?

With half of Gotham turned into a prison in the upcoming video game, would that be the best solution to deal with Batman's enemies?

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Gotham City has long been under the protection of Batman. Witnessing the murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne devoted his life to become the Dark Knight, protector of Gotham. Since his arrival, the city has seen more and more crazed and deadly villains come to town. There's always been the argument that superheroes attract supervillains.

The solution for all of Batman's villains is Arkham Asylum. These aren't regular criminals that Batman deals with. They dress up in elaborate costumes and have crazy themes. A regular prison also is not capable of holding them. Therefore it falls that they go to Arkham in order to get treatment. The problem is, they tend to escape just about as soon as they arrive.

In the 'Batman: Arkham City' universe, a different approach is taken. After two suicide bombers caused the deaths of 300 civilians along with billions in property damage, Mayor Quincy (under the...influence of Hugo Strange) declared martial law. Half of Gotham City was walled off, privatized military forces were brought in and the criminally insane were meant to stay there until they have proven they are no longer threats within the Arkham society. Then they will be released back into regular society.

With all the countless escapes and deaths and injuries that result afterwards, is this blow against civil rights the solution that is needed to protect the innocent civilians in Gotham and is it something that should happen in the regular Batman comics?

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It is a violation of civil rights and seems like an insane idea but maybe there's something to it. Arkham City was meant to be a place where the criminals can be rehabilitated without any dangers to the citizens of Gotham. Being locked up in an Asylum didn't seem to be working. Giving them some semblance of a normal life could be the solution to getting them to see the errors of their ways.

Escaping Arkham Asylum has become too easy for them. It's become a game to them. Being in a city environment, there's more to keep them occupied. Without having hospital orderlies to provide everything they need, they might soon come around, right?

Honestly, it is a crazy idea. It's not like the Joker or Clayface are suddenly going to start a book reading club once they settle down in their new homes. Even with a security patrol, they will soon take over as much as they can. Their fellow inmates will have to choose sides and align themselves with those they feel can offer them the most protection and opportunities. In essence, the villains will soon build an army larger than any they could in the free world.

Despite all the manipulation Hugo Strange went through to make Arkham City happen, he has a point. In the comic prelude to the game, he notes that the wisest criminals have already fled Gotham or have hidden themselves.

So for now, let the little men build their tiny empires and make war with each other. When they have killed each other off, then my dominion over the city will be absolute.
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If the crazed villains kill each other off, doesn't that solve the problem? How many times has the Joker been locked up and treated? Is he any less insane than he was the first time he was apprehended? (Assuming he is insane and not simply evil). Arkham Asylum and all the treatment they've administered hasn't helped. This could be a way to thin out the herd.

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Of course, this would be like giving up. This isn't what Batman would believe in. Even though having all his enemies contained in one area and possibly taking each other out would make his job a lot easier, Batman isn't one to do things the easy way. If Gotham's most wanted were contained behind the walls of Arkham City, the residents could have a little more piece of mind. The privatized military forces should be able to keep the villains in line but we've seen what they're capable of doing. Putting them all in one place is a powder keg waiting to go off. Actually it'd be larger than a powder keg.

You would think that eventually the powers that be in Gotham might consider something like this in the comics. Hugo Strange is extremely manipulative but trying to sell the idea would take a lot of trickery and convincing. Arkham City is a great idea for a video game because it gives the player a much larger area to roam around in.

In the comics, events wouldn't escalate to this level. The overall comic universe is larger and someone like Hugo Strange, who can be portrayed as an intelligent and scheming character, just wouldn't be able to pull something like this in the DC Universe.

Having the villains contained in a city and attempting to rehabilitate them might seem like a good idea. When you consider the extremely dangerous individuals involved, there's no way it could work. They would either become more dangerous our break down the walls of Arkham City and take over the rest of Gotham. Batman may be only one person but he has had a decent handle on the villains so far. As long as he doesn't mind the continuous trips to Arkham Asylum taking the villains back into custody, Arkham City will never be necessary in Gotham.