Skip to main content

Batman: Arkham Knight’s prequel episode may pull from Alan Moore’s famous Killing Joke story

batgirl batman arkham knight
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Following Rocksteady’s recent announcement that Batgirl will be playable as part of the Season Pass for Batman: Arkham Knight, speculation has run wild as to which of the women who has worn that particular mantle would be featured in the game. Would it be Cassie Cain, the daughter of the League of Assassins’ David Cain, or Gotham Police commissioner Gordon’s daughter, Barbara?

Rocksteady has put the debate to rest and confirmed that it will indeed be Barbara Gordon.

Recommended Videos

As a few of you have asked about the DLC, "who is Batgirl?" I can confirm it is indeed Barbara Gordon.

— Sefton Hill (@Seftonhill) May 5, 2015

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Barbara Gordon has already been featured in the previous Arkham games as Oracle, the voice in Batman’s ear providing support and advice from back at home base. Many have speculated that this prequel episode, called A Matter of Family, will draw from The Killing Joke, an Alan Moore-penned Batman story from the late ’80s in which the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon as Batgirl in the spine, paralyzing her and laying the groundwork for her becoming Oracle.

The Batman: Arkham Knight Season Pass will be available for $40 on its own or as part of the Premium Edition of the game for $99, adding six months of additional content following the game’s release. In addition to A Matter of Family, it will include new story missions for Batman, custom race tracks for testing out various Batmobile’s from the Dark Knight’s long history, and various challenges and additional character skins.

Official Batman: Arkham Knight - The Voices of Arkham

In a new trailer, Rocksteady also revealed much of the game’s prestigious core voice cast. Kevin Conroy, who has voiced Batman in cartoons and video games for over 20 years, returns with his iconic, gravelly baritone. Jonathan Banks, best known for playing the intimidating Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad, will play commissioner Gordon — I, for one, would not want to have to explain to him that his daughter had been shot by the Joker. John Noble (Fringe) lends his talent to the creepy Scarecrow. Ashley Greene (the Twilight films) will play as Barbara Gordon/Oracle/Batgirl. The cast also includes video game voice acting mainstays Troy Baker, Nolan North, and Tara Strong as Two-Face, Penguin, and Harley Quinn, respectively.

On a tangentially-related note, here’s a great clip of Kevin Conroy from I Know That Voice, describing the time he was recognized while cooking meals for 9/11 rescue workers:

Exclusive I KNOW THAT VOICE Movie Clip: Kevin Conroy

Batman: Arkham Knight comes out on June 23 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.

Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
NYT Connections: hints and answers for Saturday, December 7
New York Times' Connection puzzle open in the NYT Games app on iOS.

Connections is one of the best puzzle games from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends.

Some days are trickier than others — just like other NYT Games favorites The Mini and Strands. If you're having a little trouble solving today's puzzle, check out our Connections tips and tricks guide for some good strategies or check out the hints for today's Connections puzzle below. And if you still can't get it, we'll tell you today's answers at the very end.
How to play Connections

Read more
NYT Strands today: hints, spangram and answers for Saturday, December 7
NYT Strands logo.

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you'll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

Like Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword, Strands can be a bit difficult to solve some days. There's no shame in needing a little help from time to time. If you're stuck and need to know the answers to today's Strands puzzle, check out the solved puzzle below.
How to play Strands
You start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the "theme words" hidden in the grid of letters. Manipulate letters by dragging or tapping to craft words; double-tap the final letter to confirm. If you find the correct word, the letters will be highlighted blue and will no longer be selectable.

Read more
NYT Mini Crossword today: puzzle answers for Saturday, December 7
The Mini open in the NYT Games app on iOS.

Love crossword puzzles but don't have all day to sit and solve a full-sized puzzle in your daily newspaper? That's what The Mini is for!

A bite-sized version of the New York Times' well-known crossword puzzle, The Mini is a quick and easy way to test your crossword skills daily in a lot less time (the average puzzle takes most players just over a minute to solve). While The Mini is smaller and simpler than a normal crossword, it isn't always easy. Tripping up on one clue can be the difference between a personal best completion time and an embarrassing solve attempt.

Read more