Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham games do well to showcase the wide variety of suits that the Caped Crusader had donned throughout the years. Aside from their original creations, suits ranging from Batman's earliest runs in Detective Comics to his latest film outings all make an appearance as alternate outfits available to the players after meeting certain conditions or purchasing them as DLC. This allows players to explore Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, or Gotham City at large dressed as their favorite version of Batman. Even for all the inclusions, however, there are still several suits that didn't make the cut and don't appear in the games.
It isn't one of Batman: Arkham's biggest spoilers to say that alternate suits for Batman and his allies first appeared in Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009. However, it was only by beating the game that players could unlock the Armored Batsuit, and even then it was only usable in the challenge maps. When Batman: Arkham City was released, it started the trend of having alternate costumes available to Batman throughout the game. From the cel-shaded Batman: The Animated Series suit to the deep-cut inclusion of the Sinestro Corps batsuit, players had their pick of unique crime-fighting gear.
Even with the extensive suite of suits available across all the Batman: Arkham titles, the list isn't exhaustive. Several of the most unique suits from across Batman, Nightwing, Robin, and the other playable characters' runs are missing from Rocksteady's trilogy. With so many to choose from, and data storage being at a premium, here are some of the suits that didn't make the cut to get into a Batman: Arkham game.
Even though Batman: Arkham had the wrong Azrael for the story, Batman: Arkham Origins players who purchased the Knightfall pack gained access to the batsuit worn by Azrael during the 1994 story-arc "Batman: Knightfall". In this story, Batman famously has his back broken by Bane and is forced to retire from crimefighting while he recovers. Not wanting to leave Gotham without a Batman, Bruce Wayne entrusts the cape and cowl to Jean-Paul Valley, the first Azrael. Valley modifies his own suit, complete with clawed gauntlets and bright lights, before embarking on much more violent vigilante victories. Despite this arc being somewhat retold during the Heir to the Cowl mission line in Batman: Arkham Knight, Azrael's batsuit does not appear in the game's myriad other alternate costumes. The only game in the series it does appear in was the only one not produced by Rocksteady. Batman: Arkham Origins was produced by WB Games Montreal, who currently have a lot riding on Gotham Knights, the pseudo-sequel to the Batman: Arkham series.
Following his convalescence during the Knightfall arc, Bruce Wayne returns to the cowl in the Batman: Troika storyline. Wearing a suit much darker in design and sturdier in construction, this story follows Batman as he attempts to save Gotham from a nuclear bomb. The Troika suit (from the Russian for "Trinity") is much darker in color, with the body being almost completely black (aside from the emblem) and the cape being a deep blue. Given the darker nature of the later Batman: Arkham games, this suit would have made a natural fit into the lineup of alternate costumes. Given that it is very similar in design to the suit from Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie, whose suit did appear in Batman: Arkham Knight, it is possible the suit was overlooked in favor of a more iconic look.
Not every Bruce Wayne goes by Batman. On Earth 3, he is known as Owlman, a member of the Crime Syndicate. With the Court of Owls causing problems in Gotham Knights, introducing this owl-themed Batman counterpart would've fit perfectly. This costume sports an overall silver tone, as well as a full helmet lacking the signature pointed ears of Batman but adding a set of owl-eye goggles. Aside from the differences in headgear the costume is similar enough to the standard batsuit that inclusion in Arkham Knight, which already includes another alternate-universe Thomas Wayne in the form of Flashpoint Batman, would seem an easy sell.
The Owlman outfit also has enough visual differences to avoid the problem of having two similar-looking costumes available. Its silver and blue would make its palette more at home in Nightwing's closet than in Batman's. However, if Rocksteady wanted to limit the Thomas Wayne inclusion to only one, it makes sense that Flashpoint would beat out Earth 3 for the spot.
Batman isn't the only one with multiple outfits in the Batman: Arkham series. Nightwing also gets the (much more limited) pick of his previous costumes to wear during his outings both with and without Batman. As with much of Nightwing's media though, it skips over the boy wonder's original super hero outfit. Like how Gotham Knights should recognize the mullet era for Nightwing, it would have been right for Arkham Knight to acknowledge the disco suit. The outfit's blue and gold would contrast well with the dark grays and blacks of Gotham's palette, and match Nightwing's much more jovial personality. His roots in the circus are obvious, as this design looks straight out of what could have been a Flying Graysons show.
After much fan demand, Batman's suit and batmobile from Christopher Nolan's acclaimed trilogy were added into Batman: Arkham Knight as alternate outfits. The Nolanverse love ended at Batman, as Catwoman was left wanting. Making her debut in the Dark Knight Rises, Anne Hathaway's Catwoman would fit perfectly in this version of Gotham. Her more technically-minded suit (complete with goggle cat ears) would pair well with Batman's new armor and batmobile. The sleek lines of her catsuit would mesh with her base game design, and the added technical gadgets would put her outfit on par with Batman's aesthetic in Arkham Knight. Plus, it would be a suitable apology after Batman: Arkham did Catwoman dirty.
Rocksteady was spoiled for choice when it came to including alternate outfits for the playable characters in the Batman: Arkham series. Batman alone has dozens of different suits, and his supporting cast each has a closet full of costumes apiece. When looking at what to add, the most famous costumes certainly took precedence, with inclusions from Batman 1989, Batman Beyond, and the New 52 comic run all beating out contenders like Azrael's suit, the Troika suit, and Nightwing's original outfit. What Rocksteady gave players was superb, with each suit lovingly rendered and detailed and in some cases completely updated (see the transformation of the Batman Beyond suit from Arkham City to Arkham Knight). But it still doesn't stop players from imagining how much fun it would be to fight criminals in Gotham City dressed in Nightwing's original disco-inspired jumpsuit.
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