Legends of Batman Collectors Editions
J.D. Cook
Ok so for the second week in a row I won’t be directly discussing the comic book industry. I’d like to but I’ve been so busy and sick I haven’t had time to get new comics in a few weeks. Rest assured I will be catching up when I visit family who live near Brave New World Comics in Philadelphia. That said I’ve decided to do another review to fill out this week’s Comic Book Commentary and what’s a better subject than the Batman: Arkham Origins Collectors Edition material?
I was a huge fan of both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City so I managed to convince myself to purchase the Collector’s Edition of Origins. I usually don’t spring for such things but I can tell you from the experience it was extremely worth it. The Joker stature is amazing and lights up 
with LCD screens. Not to mention the secret hidden inside it which I found almost as soon as I opened it. I guess that means I’m not a bad detective myself! Eat your heart out Batman! Every piece of the collection is well put together. My favorites were Black Mask’s dossier on the Assassins and the Art Book. I love things that tie the fictional universe into ours and nothing does that better than the two pieces of evidence. Really everything was awesome and I have no complaints. I even have my new Batman figure watching over the Joker statue ready to take him out. The real icing on the cake is a documentary called Necessary Evil focusing on the villains of the D.C.Universe. It’s awesome so far and Christopher Lee does the narration for it!
Oh yeah and there was also the game itself with all of this! Well I pretty much loved everything about it. There was a lot that could have went wrong when a new studio took over the Arkham Franchise but Warner Brothers Montreal did a good job. The plot was especially well done and probably my favorite part of the game. There is an obvious twist that happens very early that completely throws you off because you expect it to be at the climax of the game. Troy Baker fills in so well for Mark Hamill as the Joker that you could swear he was actually speaking in certain spots. The game play feels about the same as Arkham City which is great and the addition of the electric gauntlets makes free flow fighting much easier to handle.
The writers said they were inspired by a few different sources for the game’s story, the two biggest being Batman: Year One and the ongoing comic series Legends of the Dark Knight. Sadly Legends of the Dark Knight was recently canceled in print form after something like twenty years. I was interested from playing the game so I went and picked up a couple of issues. I just happened to grab one all about Cyrus Pinkney, who plays into the plot of Arkham Origins. The other story arc involved some circus freaks and Two-Face. It was odd but that is what was cool about Legends of the Dark Knight. It told standalone stories about Batman that didn’t have to be tied to D.C.’s continuity. I hope I can one day publish a Batman story in the online only form of Legends of the Dark Knight. Now I’ve officially tied comic books into this comic book commentary!
I will be doing a more in depth review of just the game itself soon but for now I will leave you with those few words. Always leave them hanging? That’s what the Joker always says…but his definition of hanging is a little more twisted than mine.
Past Comic Book Commentaries
Laying the Hammer Down on ‘Thor’s Day’
Boycott X-Men: Days of Future Past
Uncanny Venom, Hilarious Captain America
Batman Still the Crown Jewel of the New 52
The Superior Spider-Man
The 1st Comic Book Commentary
