The Top 7… Reasons Batman is the perfect video game hero
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Few will deny that Batman is awesome (and all of those people will likely find themselves in traction within a day of said denial). Like, for real: he's super rich, he dresses like a bat, and he beats up bad guys at night. What more do you need to know?
But beyond being great for movies, comics, and television shows, Batman is essentially the perfect video game hero. His robust skill set and back story make him perfectly suited for traversing video game worlds, hanging upside-down and beating up bad guys within an inch of their lives. Why? Well, there are a number of reasons...
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7. He doesn't kill people
It's infrequent that video game characters aren't serial killers. Even the charming Nathan Drake and the heroic Commander Shepard have so much blood on their hands that it's shocking they can even sleep at night. They've both killed hundreds of people, slaughtering fathers and mothers without blinking an eye. Batman, though, doesn't fall victim to this folly. He's a good guy, and good guys don't kill people. And he's not only not a murderer, but he goes out of his way to make sure his victims don't die from the punches and kicks he mashes them with.
This forces the developers of Batman games to get creative. If Batman killed people, he could just shoot enemies from the tops of buildings, murdering every foe he came across. Because he has morals and doesn't feel like ending lives just because he can, he needs to actually swoop down and fight, taking on enemies face-to-face. It makes for more interesting gameplay, and a more balanced character.
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6. He’s loved by kids and adults alike
Another added benefit of not bring a murderer: he's a hit with the kids. Batman's code of ethics makes it so his games can avoid the Mature rating without being watered down, retaining the adult fans while still making a game that most parents would be alright with their kids playing, as long as they're alright with the occasional foul language.
And that's just one side of Batman. Outside of the dark, moody Arkham, the character has spun off into a number of other styles, including the popular (and totally kid-friendly) Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as Batman Beyond and Batman the Animated Series, both of which would make for absolutely awesome games. Everyone loves Batman, old and young! -
5. He’s a master of hand-to-hand combat and has tons of gadgets
Batman might not beat his foes to death, but he sure loves beating them half to death. He's a trained fighter, and can take down almost anyone in hand-to-hand combat with powerful kicks, punches, and other melee attacks. Being able to fight obviously makes him a great video game character, and allows developers to create awesome combos and battle systems (like the one found in the Arkham games).
Even better is his utility belt and vast assortment of gadgets. They're essentially the perfect deus ex machina, allowing him to get just the thing he needs at the exact time he needs it. Just like Samus gains a new power every time she needs to enter a new room or Link finds a new weapon when he needs to defeat a boss, Batman can simply access a new gadget whenever he needs to get to a new area. It works perfectly for video games, tapping into the core mechanics that make non-linear games so great.
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4. He's mortal
It doesn't make sense when Superman gets shot to death by bank robbers in a Superman game. His skin is impenetrable, it doesn't matter how many times he gets shot - he can't die. That's why making a game based on most comic book characters is so difficult: they're usually nearly impossible to kill. Batman doesn't have this strength. He's just a man, and that weakness is one of his best video game strengths.
There doesn't need to be some weird reason why Batman is suddenly weak enough to be taken down by a regular guy. Batman is, at all times, one stray bullet away from the end of his story. He doesn't have any super powers at all, and his armor is only sort of bulletproof, meaning developers can treat him like a normal human instead of a super hero, opening up a lot more gameplay variety than is normally afforded to supermen.
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3. His city is extremely interesting
Batman's home town is a mix of the best and worst part of every large city in America. Gotham is a shadow of brilliance, cast across a scarred, destroyed landscape ravaged daily by maniacal villains hell-bent on ruining the lives of the people that live there - who, truth be told, are barely worth saving to begin with. It's a messy place, but it's a great video game location, and one that shares just enough in common with the real world to be relocatable, but is just cartoony enough to be whimsical and wonderful.
It's a varied landscape, too. Just like any other city it has its rich areas, its poor areas, and everything in-between, making this New York analog an interesting one to traverse, be it by gliding above, driving below, or walking around. It also has a prison located within its perimeter, which brings up the next point...
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2. He has a huge roster of awesome enemies
Locked up in Arkham Asylum (or Arkham City, or just wandering around), Batman's enemies are some of the most numerous and the most interesting in all of comics. From the psychopathic Joker to the sympathetic (but also psychopathic) Mr. Freeze, the rogues gallery of villains makes not just for great stories, but for great boss battles in video games.
Dude with an ice-ray? Perfect video game boss. Chick who can control plants? Seems like it was made with gaming in mind. Giant, hulking crocodile man? Riddle-obsessed maniac? Shape-changing murderer? Batman's villains each come with a mechanic that makes them super interesting as bosses in games, and there are plenty that haven't even been tapped in games yet.
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1. ...he's "the Goddamn Batman"
Like, for real. Do you even need more than that? He's "the Goddamn Batman." He's the world's greatest detective, hiding in shadows and pouncing on foes that quiver at the mention of his name.
He punches sharks in the face, throws criminals off roofs, and has the coolest, most futuristic gadgets on the planets. And that's when his mask is on - even when it's off, he's a billionaire playboy who can do whatever he wants. He's the perfect game hero because he's awesome. He's strong, he's smart... he's the Batman, and who doesn't want to be the Batman?
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Riddle me this
There are plenty of other reasons Batman is awesome. He has cool cars, he gets to hang out with women dressed like cats, and he has a cool cave with a bunch of toys in it.
What other reasons do you think Batman is awesome, and what sort of stuff do you think you'd want to see Batman do in games? Let us know in the comments below!
And if you want more super-powered goodness, check out gaming's greatest unexplained super powers and 9 great comic book games that don't star super heroes.
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maul - June 24, 2013 12:11 p.m.
I think the fact that batman has no powers makes him more believable and the fact that he's a one man wreaking machine makes him cool. They should give players the choice in the games if they want their batman to be a true vigilante and kill. That would rock. -
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ChiChiRocket - July 17, 2012 8:27 a.m.
First reason is why I cannot see them ever letting you drive the Batmobile in any of Arkham games. Even if Batman doesn't kill people in the games, there will always be someone behind the controller trying to make him do it. Put Batman behind the wheel, and someone is going to try to get him to run over a random thug's head. It just isn't going to happen. -
AuthorityFigure - July 17, 2012 3:33 a.m.
Everyone bitched when Darth Vader (a non-video game character) was voted Greatest Game Villian, but when Batman (equally unqualified) is proposed as the best game character nobody disagrees for a second. Weird. -
codystovall - July 17, 2012 7:47 a.m.
not weird both are videogame characters but vaders games sucked (especially the last battle against him) and batman has 2 game that are now 2 of the greatest ever. -
LordRevan111 - July 16, 2012 9:09 p.m.
To be fair...Shepard wasnt exactly sleeping well either... -
BladedFalcon - July 17, 2012 5:43 a.m.
Yes, but it wasn't because all of the deaths HE caused... But because of the death of ONE single child he barely knew for a couple seconds and that he could have never helped to begin with. Oh, but when several of his closest squadmates (And potentially, even love interests.) died in the past, he slept like a rock. Really, don't get me started on the amount of bullshit those "nightmare" sequences and that stupid kid have created. Honestly that whole thing bothers me far more than the endings ever did. -
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TheFabricOfTime - July 16, 2012 8:38 p.m.
I asked a girl out to the movies... only Batman's playing this weekend, and she doesn't like Batman... HOW DO YOU NOT LIKE BATMAN?!? -
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KA87 - July 16, 2012 3:27 p.m.
Because everyone wants to be a billionaire that is secretly a superhero. That is so much cooler than being a reporter or a guy that takes pictures of himself for a newspaper (that is really creepy if you think about it). Also the women come looking for him unlike the other two who are just keep chasing the same girl all the time. -
BladedFalcon - July 16, 2012 3:56 p.m.
Actually... I wouldn't like to be like Batman. I LOVE reading, watching and playing stories as Batman, because he IS a great and interesting character, but i would never want to have his life. I mean, superficial, yeah, it seems cool to be a billionaire and playboy that could get anything and any woman he wants, and then also be strong and smart enough to take on the world's most dangerous criminals... But have you SEEN Batman's attitude most of the time? He seldom is a happy guy, and when he is, it never lasts long. he tends to be brooding and an asshole for a reason: He's fucking miserable. And honestly, who wouldn't be? He's a Billionaire mainly because he lost his parents prematurely, so for one, that means adios childhood, and hello emotional trauma for the rest of his life. Try as best as he can't, he can't never remain with a woman, even one he truly loves, for long because precisely the life he has. And due to this, he is also ALWAYS a target and in constant danger of being killed of worse. So yeah... I think you're confusing what would make a great character, one that's fun to hear stories about... And another very different thing is what would make an actual great, happy life. -
KA87 - July 17, 2012 4:42 a.m.
I completely agree, I just meant that from a superhero game stand point that his normal life would be a lot more interesting then Clark Kent’s or Peter Park’s normal life. Just think about if you actually had to play as some of these heroes in their everyday lives. Kent: Your task today is to accompany that female reporter that hardly gives the time of day to the local grocery store were the girl scouts are selling cookies. Fun. (side note, why does no one seem to realize that Kent and Superman are the same person? The only difference between their faces is a pair of glasses.) Parker: Your task today is to is to put on a Spiderman costume and take pics of yourself by a snowman and then sell them to a blowhard editor. After that you need to go over to your rich friend’s house and fail miserably to court Mary Jane before going home to your grandma’s house. Fun. Wayne: Here are today’s tasks: 1. Drive your $250,000 car around. 2. Buy the Bobcats and find away to make them win less games. 3. Eat lunch with Slash. 4. Go to an auction and buy stuff for your mansion. 5. Go order the people at Wayne Corp. to make some new gadget for Batman. 6. Take Megan Fox to dinner. That kind seems like it would be more fun. -
garnsr - July 16, 2012 3:02 p.m.
Watching the Adam West show recently on the Hub, you see just how mortal and fallible Batman can be. He's a terrible fighter a lot of the time, is easily captured at the end of the first part of every story, and once Batgirl comes along he gets saved by her every episode. I guess that's how it would really be if we were Batman, but it's funny on TV. -
slimjim441 - July 16, 2012 3:17 p.m.
The Adam West Batman series represents a great insight into the story of Batman during the Silver Age of comics and insight into the common mentality of the 60s in general. I love Batman, and a handful of the villains from the show, namely Penguin, still stand as the best portrayal of those villains to date. HOWEVER, the show was so cheesy at times, you have to put your love for Batman aside and just laugh at how ridiculous he is. The reason Batgirl was constantly saving Batman was because of the feminist campaigns and women's rights movements at the time; they wanted/needed to show that women are more than just kitchen slaves. They even did a hilarious PSA about it. But in the end, Batman will always be the best super hero ever, because he's the 'goddamn Batman.' Unless Grant Morrison is involved, in which case, Grant Morrison can just die. With Damien. Both of them can die. -
Japanaman - July 16, 2012 2:54 p.m.
And the real top reason he's the perfect video game hero is.... (Drumroll, please), he doesn't fly!!! Remember all those great flying games like Silver Surfer, Superman 64, Superman Returns, and Superman for the Atari 2600? Yeah neither do I since I tried to erase the memory of their existance from my head. -
AuthorityFigure - July 17, 2012 3:35 a.m.
Technically the Silver Surfer doesn't fly either - it's his magic 'board. Unless of course you count the Batwing as Batman flying too.