While Batman’s video game career has enjoyed many successes (and failures) over the years, it’s undeniable that the Arkham series of games – consisting of Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Arkham Origins, and Arkham Knight – was a major win for the Caped Crusader. Combining stealth gameplay with rhythmic action (as well as an array of nifty gadgets to use, including his “Detective Vision”), the games were a major hit with fans and critics alike.
Another major reason for the games’ success was the huge roster of villains for Batman to fight, including obscure jobbers like Anarky. However, despite the games’ aforementioned bench of villains, there were also several who didn’t make the cut.
10 Ten-Eyed Man Would See Batman Coming
Ten-Eyed Man, aka Philip Reardon, made his debut in 1970’s Batman #266. His power was having eyeballs on his fingertips. Although it’s a “superpower” that doesn’t initially seem very useful, Reardon’s fingertip-eyes gave him a 360-degree field of vision. This made him both a dangerous fighter and marksman. Consequently, there’s no reason he couldn’t be a throwaway miniboss or even one of the assassins sent to kill Batman in Arkham Origins.
9 Hell Yeah! Kite Man!
Kite Man had a resurgence in popularity recently, mainly due to the face he was Poison Ivy’s doomed love interest in the great Harley Quinn animated series. However, he initially made his debut in 1960’s Batman #133 as a minor villain who, unsurprisingly, uses kites to commit crimes. His real name – Charles Brown – is based on the perpetually unlucky comic strip character Charlie Brown from Peanuts).
Nevertheless, some setpieces involving him and Batman’s gliding cape mechanic from the games might be fun. For example, the possibility of a chase sequence in the sky.
8 Condiment King Could’ve Added Some Flavor
For a villain specifically created as a joke character for the Batman: The Animated Series episode, “Make ‘Em Laugh,” Condiment King has appeared in a lot of other Batman media, such as The LEGO Batman Movie, the Harley Quinn animated series, and even the official comics. For a series as dark and grim as the Arkham games, a little color and humor could’ve gone a long way – something the Condiment King could’ve easily provided.
7 The Eraser Would’ve Made Detective Mode Useless
The Eraser made his debut in 1966’s Batman #188 as a supervillain “fixer.” He erased all the clues from a crime scene using a special chemical compound on the top of his pencil-shaped helmet. This made solving crimes next to impossible for both the police and Batman, which would’ve made The Eraser a fun villain to fight in the Arkham series. He could’ve completely nullified the “Detective Mode” for any section of the game he was in.
6 King Tut Could’ve Had An Egypt-Style Arena
The villain King Tut, who debuted on the ’60s Adam West series before officially appearing in the comics in 2009, is a villain with an Egyptian aesthetic who believed he was the literal reincarnation of the eponymous ruler. Meanwhile, Arkham City’s story was about how a portion of Gotham City was transformed into an immense prison enclosure that housed all of Batman’s dangerous rogue’s gallery. Of course, different sections of Arkham City were eventually carved out and controlled by specific inmates – and with Tut in the mix – it could’ve led to an interesting Egyptian-styled stage for Batman to pummel goons, possibly in a historical exhibit at an abandoned museum.
5 Bite-Mite Would Take The Game To A Whole New Reality
The Arkham games weren’t shy about messing around with the gameplay or doing weird, psychedelic setpieces. This was especially notable in Arkham Knight where players controlled Batman as he hallucinated under the influence of Scarecrow’s fear toxins.
With Bat-Mite as a potential enemy of Batman’s, the development team could’ve had a lot of fun designing crazy, reality-warping levels precipitated by the magical Batman-obsessed imp from the 5th Dimension. Bat-Mite was more of an occasional, misunderstood antagonist than a full-on villain, trying to stop his magical mayhem in an optional sidequest or something similar would be fun.
4 Clock King’s Potential Quick Time Events
As the name implies, the Clock King is a villain obsessed with time and clocks. Making his debut in 1960’s World’s Finest Comics #111, his most famous iteration is arguably the one from Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Alan Rachins as a studious planner who put The Riddler to shame. There are many ways developers could’ve implemented the Clock King into the games, from timed levels to a potential boss fight involving quick-time events (in some versions, he can calculate the exact timing of Batman’s attacks).
3 Orca As A Killer Boss
Orca is a large half-human, half-orca hybrid with enhanced super strength and abilities akin to a killer whale (such as breathing underwater and superhuman swimming). She made her debut in 2000’s Batman #579 as a marine biologist named Grace Balin.
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Grace injected herself with orca DNA and became a formidable physical foe for the Dark Knight. In an Arkham game, she’d be a great boss to fight – perhaps after a hectic Batboat sequence?
2 Catman…Because, Why Not?
Catman (aka Thomas Blake) debuted in 1963’s Detective Comics #311 and isn’t one of Batman’s most popular or well-known adversaries. In fact, he’s mostly referenced as a joke at this point. However, he can still be a compelling character depending on who’s writing him.
Regardless of his depiction, he’s a master hand-to-hand fighter and would make a great miniboss for Batman to fight in one of the Arkham games. Also, his yellow-orange recolor of Batman’s costume is pretty fun.
1 Savage Skull Would Look Cool Rendered In 3D
Savage Skull is the most obscure villain on this list. However, he has a striking, monstrous look. Making his first appearance in Batman #360, Savage Skull was originally known as police officer Jack Crane.
Jack went insane after failing to stop an arsonist who disfigured him and was later fired from the police department for using excessive force on suspects. In an Arkham game, he’d work well as a miniboss that Batman fights at some point. However, the main reason he’s on this list is because he’d look cool rendered with modern video game graphics.
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