Understanding the Details of Batman: Arkham Knight
Before we can understand the ending cutscene, let’s take a moment to think about what actually happened in Batman: Arkham Knight. Between Joker, Barbara Gordon, and Jason Todd, a constant theme of the game is a character appearing to be dead, gone, and out of the picture, but then reappearing in a shocking manner later on.
While it’s easy to get caught up in the ending cutscene, we must also keep in mind that there’s a good chance that the same writers who included this theme throughout Batman: Arkham Knight, the same skilled staff who has cleverly woven intricate details and hidden easter eggsinto the game, might have intentionally made this a big theme in Batman: Arkham Knightbecause they wanted to clue us in about the ending.
This is Batman, right? We’re detectives, right? It stands to reason that if Rocksteady presented us with a mystery, they also might’ve given us some clues. And, it also stands to reason that those clues might come in the form of subtle themes and overarching symbolism. There are the symbolistic images we see on the surface but there is also a deep metaphoric meaning that lies beneath.
Let’s also take a look at the the internal conflict that Batman or Bruce Wayne was experiencing throughout the game. From start to finish, the subliminal undertone of this game is the story of a middle-aged man having an identity crisis while he isolates himself from the world, watching everything burning and collapsing around him, struggling to re-define himself at this stage of his life relative to the chaos and madness of the world.
As Catwoman comments at some point during the Riddler challenges, Batman is a master of repression. While it almost seems as though Batman is fearless, he is not. He fears for the safety of his friends and loved ones. He fears for the safety of Gotham and the innocent people within. He fears for his own safety as well as fears for the safety of his secret identity. All of this begins to change as the Scarecrow toxin, combined with the effects of the Joker toxin, works its way throughout Batman’s body.
While Batman has a dubiously powerful immunity to Scarecrow’s fear toxin, he’s still human and at some point, his fears start to crack through his dark wall of solid stoicism. Yet, since Batman is no ordinary human, his fears do not manifest in the forms of overwhelming hallucinations that dominate his general perception of reality. No, instead, Batman’s master repression tactics have converged all that he fears into one convenient archetypal, subliminal, metaphoric image: Joker
Although Joker is arguably the best character in Batman: Arkham Knight, he doesn’t actually exist in the game. Rather, he exists in the perception of the player and of Batman as the manifestation of all his fears personified and projected. In Freudian terms, he is Batman’s id. In colloquial terms, he is Batman’s ego. The Joker in Batman: Arkham Knight is a symbol of Batman’s burning desire to make a lasting impression on the world and to be remembered.
The Joker, in this metaphor, is all of Batman’s repressed thoughts and decisions. When Batman choose to subdue his foes in a non-lethal manner, he is not doing so because he feels no desire to kill. He is instead overcoming his Joker-esque desire to kill. Batman is a complicated character because his mind is always at war with itself, always dualistic in nature. Batman is constantly maintaining a balance between giving into his primal urges and forcing his will power to overcome those darker instincts for the sake of justice.
To put it simply, he walks the line.The man’s self-image struggles to find a place to exist between multiple personas. That is why he must be the dark knight Gotham needs and not the white knight that it deserves.
While the portrayal of this man walking the line makes for an awesome character for fans to admire and cheer for, this type of internal psychological landscape is probably a hellish nightmare for Bruce Wayne. How does a man with the two powerful public identities of Batman and Bruce Wayne and a subconsciously repressed Joker identity decide for himself who he actually feels as though he is?
How? Dose after dose of Scarecrow’s fear toxin. That’s how. Under the influence of Scarecrow’s fear toxin, Batman is no longer able to maintain his internal subconscious walls of repression and stoicism. Through confronting his fears, Batman confronts every contradiction within himself. He is no longer able to walk the line. He must make a decision. Who is he? What does he stand for?
With all this in mind, let’s go back to the ending cutscene video, this time with new eyes.
