As a massive Batman fan, I wanted to create a thread here on GOG where we can discuss all things Batman-related. Your entrance fee is to answer the following questions:

- Why is Batman your favorite superhero?
- What's your favorite Batman TV show, film and game? Why?
- Which challenge map is your favorite from the Arkham series? What's your high-score and playtime?

Remember - we are not defined by who we are underneath but by the games we choose to play. :-D

P.S. Mark this thread as a favorite to stay tuned!

He isn't, but his ballpark average is above the line of mediocrity.
BTAS, Batman, and Sunsoft's Batman because I've not played any other.
I HAVEN'T PLAYED ANY OTHER.

How about I turn a few questions on you:
Do you think Batman & Robin is a homage to the Adam West Era and that the camp is intentional, or do you think the movie is simply a disaster?
Outside of the Joker, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Mad Hatter and the rest of Batman's main rogue's gallery, any highlights?
Do you actually like Frank Miller's ASBAR? (This one is important.)

1) probably because he was the first superhero (besides Superman) I ever encountered in comics.
Superman turned out to be a super bore,...Batman remained entertaining.
Also: Batman has the best opponents.
And: he has no "superpowers", but is a "normal" human, instead (besides being super rich).

2) TV show: "Batman - The Animated Series"; Film: "The Batman"; Game: "Batman: Arkham Asylum".

3) I don't do e-peen comparisons.

He has best movies (and some of the worst too, I guess, but that's a different story), best tv show and best stories in the comics. And, when written well, he's just the most interesting of them. TAS, obviously, I feel like so much has been said about TAS over the years there's hardly need to repeat it. As for games - Arkham Asylum. The first game was the most tight and focused, the atmosphere of being stuck in the relatively contained and spooky space of the Asylum was just better and way more immersive than what came later in the series.

Edit: I forgot about movies - my favorite of them all is probably the animated adaptation of Year One (Mask of the Phantasm is great, but it has too many loose ends that are never explained, which annoys me). If we exclude animation and only focus on live action, then it's probably Batman Begins. None, really. I hardly bothered with any of that, I only really cared about getting though the story campaign. I used to think it's just a disaster, but I kinda turned on that later on, leaning more towards intentional camp. That said, I don't think it's nearly as good at it as West's Batman. And camp or no, they still wasted Bane terribly. Anyway, it's still at least better than The Batman. Wrath, Batman's supposed "opposite number" was pretty good. Two of them actually, the first one from a 1984 story, the second from a londer arc in 2008. I really like the Cavlier from the story arc Blades in Legends of the Dark Knight in the 90s, though he's not really a villain, more of a fellow vigilante unwillingly turned antagonist. Great story. I also quite like Onomatopoeia, not an all time great villain, but a cool, creepy idea that probably only works in a comic book. Phantasm, from the TAS movie probably also deserves a mention. And I always liked Rupert Thorne, I liked Batman having a recurring villain who is more of a traditional crime boss and not a costume wearing crazy person. Never actually read the whole thing. What I saw of it online was enough for me to say, "thanks, but no thanks".

Why is Batman your favorite superhero?

Used to be my favourite. Oversaturation of Batman media pushed him off my #1 spot.

What's your favorite Batman TV show, film and game? Why?

BTAS, New Adventures, & the Justice League animated series. Favourite Batman film is the 1989 release, followed by The Batman. Favourite Batman game is Arkham Knight, followed by the NES game.

Which challenge map is your favorite from the Arkham series? What's your high-score and playtime?

Never put too much thought into this. The ones in Knight are too frustrating because the limitations they put on you IMO.

Edit: formatting.

Wow! That game is pretty ancient. I didn't even know about it. The oldest Batman game I've probably played is "Batman Vengeance", which was pretty decent for its time.

By the way, which "Batman" movie are you talking about? Even the last one was just called "The Batman". The camp itself was most certainly intentional. I believe they were trying to boost toy sales while keeping Batman "family-friendly". Does Quincy Sharp count? Those messages he left all over Arkham Asylum as the "spirit of Amadeus Arkham" was pretty shocking. Although, he isn't really a typical villain either since he doesn't directly confront Batman. Okay, I've never read that either. Unfortunately, I've not been able to read most of Batman's comics. I could probably read them now through something like Comixology, but I'd rather not buy comics with DRM.

So, do I pass the test? :-)

The Tim Burton Batman. And you've read more comics than I have, so that probably counts.

I agree that Rocksteady did actually take the difficulty up a notch in Arkham Knight but, to be honest, I still think Arkham Origins and Arkham City still had more limitations if you take the custom challenge maps (with modifiers) into consideration. Arkham Knight also gives far more options to deal with a particular situation.

For example, in earlier games, you can't really do anything about a booby-trapped vantage point except avoid going there altogther. In Knight, you can actually use those vantage points again after disarming the traps with the Disruptor — which I think is super cool. :-)

I love Arkham Asylum too. It really holds a special place in my heart. Like you say, its atmosphere and environment is unmatched. In terms of gameplay though, I do think the later games are a definite improvement. To me, the challenges have always been a highlight of the Arkham games. I especially love the "infinite challenges" — it's like what would happen if you push Batman to his very limits.