Many Batman fans are hoping that news of the new Batman Arkham game might be announced on the first day of DC FanDome this Saturday, August 22.
WB Games Montreal has left some hints about the potential plot of the next Batman Arkham game. With the studio taking over from the Arkham creators at Rocksteady, many fans will be as anxious as they are excited about what they’re able to glean from the hints the studio has released so far.
The Symbols
On September 23 of 2019, WB Games tweeted “Capture the Knight” along with a five second video of various symbols morphing into one another. This message helped back up speculation that the next Arkham game could be about different groups attempting to take Batman down, which would pair nicely with rumors that the Court of Owls story-line from the comics could be the basis for the next games’ plot.
This would match nicely with the fact that DC writer Scott Snyder deleted a tweet with “#BewareTheCourtOfOwls” and a second leaked image of a WB Games Montreal employee with an owl symbol on their shirt in the same style as the symbols from the teaser. One of the symbols released is the face of a demon, which many fans believe could indicate that Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Assassins is involved in the game, likely as one group hunting down Batman. Ra’s al Ghul was referred to as "the Demons Head" when he lead the organization.
WB Games Montreal also released a teaser including another symbol which resembled the seal of the US government, with the comment “/redacted”. On Aug 18, 2020, a linked twitter account, @r3dakt3d, posted a cryptic video with “INPUT 01 MISSING. REFER TO ATTACHED VIDEO FOR CORRECT INPUT CODE. #DCFanDome”.
Since the Court of Owls contains a variety of criminal interests, it is entirely possible that it has links to both the League of Assassins and some aspect of the US government. Some have speculated that the governmental symbol may be the badge of the Gotham City Police Department. If fans follow the clues and go to the website mentioned in the tweet, they get the message “WE HAVE BE3N EXPECTING YOU." This allows them to download an image that says “One Step Closer” while hinting at further teasers coming up throughout the week.
Speculation and Saturday's DC FanDome
The other cryptic Batman images released are quite similar to one another, and fans are less unanimous on what they expect the symbols are hinting at for the upcoming Batman game. They appear to be evolving towards the Demons Head, but some have speculated that these could represent some of the other factions at play in the next game, including the Suicide Squad. The ending to Arkham Origins showed Amanda Waller first attempting to assemble the Suicide Squad, indicating that it could be featured in the coming game alongside Rocksteady's portrayal of the team.
It is also possible, however, that if Talia al Ghul survived the events of the previous Arkham games, then the symbols represents the flame - Batman's old flame - becoming the Demon Head and taking over her father's organization.
Other potential links include the Order of St. Dumas, who have attempted to ritually sacrifice Batman in the past, and could easily be an addition to the Court of Owls. A logo for either the Court itself or possibly the villain The Talon also briefly appeared. Talon is one of the assassins trained by the Court of Owls, also called Talons, and the great-grandfather of Dick Grayson, later Nightwing.
All of the symbols fit into a larger pattern that indicates a few more symbols will be revealed which hint at the composition of the Court of Owls, or perhaps a larger organization the Court is a part of. The four circles in the middle are rumored to represent the 4 key members of the Wayne family, which could include Bruce, Batgirl, Damian Wayne, and maybe Dick Grayson or even Alfred, though the last one is less likely if they’re all included as playable characters. No matter what, it looks like Arkham fans have a lot to look forward to in the rest of the week as hype builds for Saturday.
The new Batman Arkham game is currently in development.