To begin with, Paul Dini and Carlos D’anda did a wonderful adaptation of the original video game in Batman Arkham City. Since 2011, many movies and adaptations had been made of the classic Batman. Still, this comic achieves to present the “Batman” we all remember: Bruce is devoted to his mission to achieve justice and equality for everyone living in Gotham City.
In a way, it is similar to the series Batman Beyond (1999) and Batman The Long Halloween Part 1 & 2 (2021). The graphic novel shows the classic villains and at same time the eternal contrast between Good & Evil. Batman Arkham City achieves to portray this duality with villains like Two-Face and Cat-woman who are in the neutral side: They are not completely evil but rather survivors who might help Batman against a common enemy like the mad scientist Hugo Strange.
At the end of the comic, fan service is given through complete panels for each one of the main villains in the story like the Joker, Poison Ivy or Harley Quinn. Moreover, Robin also makes an appearance being the version portrayed in movies like Batman Forever (1995) and Batman and Robin (1997). It shows Robin’s struggle to be independent and not just a shadow by trying to catch Harley Quinn and the mad scientist.
Lastly, Batman Arkham City is also a story that reflects present United States with problems like freedom, politics, poverty and immigration. Furthermore, it describes a society in decadence where individuals are forced to give in to the dark side like in the case of Jenna; she is an ex-con who used to pertain to Virtual Wonderland. Other problems can be related to global issues such as mortality and modern medicine (Two-Face and the Joker’s deterioration and illness) along with gender inequality (Cat-woman and Poison Ivy finding their own power to be equal to men).
In my personal opinion, Arkham City and, its “mirror” Gotham City, can be compared to real life big cities like Bangkok, Thailand, where local communities have practically disappeared: It is a large metropolis that offers individuality and a personal journey but also everyone is an almost complete alienation from the traditional friendly society.
