There were many factors that went into making Batman: Arkham Asylum the excellent game that it was. One of those factors was the selection of villains. Each villain chosen was given their time to shine, and each of them proved to be a viable threat for Batman, even while The Joker remained the main obstacle to overcome.

One villain that really stood out from the cast was Scarecrow, whose segments not only provided unique boss fights in terms of gameplay, but also took a look into the psyche of The Dark Knight himself - detailing his guilt over the death of his parents and his desire to protect the people of Gotham. Many fans agree that they were the best moments of the game. Those fans may not be happy to hear that there's a chance those segments won't be making a return for Batman: Arkham City.

Even though Arkham City will be featuring most of Batman's villains, from big names like Mr. Freeze, to lesser-known villains like the recently-announced Deadshot, there is a chance that Scarecrow's role will be decidedly different than the one he had in Arkham Asylum. Rocksteady's Paul Crocker explains that while the Scarecrow segments in Arkham Asylum were excellent, they didn't want to just copy it into Arkham City, and that they wanted to do something different.

While this has cast some considerable doubt on what the Scarecrow will be doing in Arkham City, there are two ways that this could go:

  1. The Scarecrow takes on a much more active role in the game, much like The Riddler has. Though the Scarecrow did have a large role in Arkham Asylum, he mostly just appeared at random and then left just as quickly. Players didn't actually fight him or his minions and instead just dealt with his fear gas. It would certainly be interesting to see how he would fit into the plot of Arkham City if his role was expanded.
  2. He gets removed from the game entirely. This would definitely not be the best route to go. Scarecrow is certainly one of the more intriguing members of Batman's rogues gallery, and he proved that in both the previous game and in the movie Batman Begins. To remove one of the more popular Batman villains would be a very foolish decision on Rocksteady's part.

Do you want Scarecrow to make an appearance in Arkham City?

Batman: Arkham City will arrive on October 18, 2011, for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. It will also appear on the Wii U at a later date.

Source: Arkhamcity.co.uk