The upcoming Gotham Knights will explore a world without Batman. In the wake of the Dark Knight's death, the well-being of Gotham City will fall on the shoulders of four prominent members of the Bat-Family: Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Red Hood. These characters are set to serve as the primary protagonists of WB Games Montreal's next big title, but at present it's unclear if any other notable Batman fan-favorites will be joining them.
Given the Arkham games' knack for granting players control over all sorts of heroes and villains alike, it wouldn't necessarily be a stretch to learn Gotham Knights has more playable vigilantes on the way. The developer has yet to confirm this one way or the other, but considering the long list of allies the Bat-Family has accrued since Batman debuted over 80 years ago, it's not hard to imagine a few suitable candidates who could provide much-needed backup to the heroes revealed so far.
Gotham Knights: Diving Deeper Into The Bat-Family
The Bat-Family is a great place to start when considering any potential characters to join Gotham Knights' playable roster. The presently confirmed characters are perhaps the most well-known members of the family. Barbara Gordon is an iconic Batgirl, while Dick Grayson and Jason Todd were each Robins who grew into their own identities of Nightwing and Red Hood, respectively. Finally, Tim Drake is the current Robin in Batman comics. It's evident that the bases of the Bat-Family are covered well, but there are still quite a few other key members who could make for good additions to Gotham Knights.
Damian Wayne - the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul - seems like an obvious choice. The Dark Knight's progeny is notable for his stint as Robin, and while Tim Drake appears to be the current Robin in Gotham Knights, there's always a possibility Tim could assume the Red Robin mantle later in the game's story. Such an event could present the perfect opportunity to introduce Damian as the next Boy Wonder.
With a sword as his primary weapon, Damian Wayne's moveset would surely vary from the main cast. It would also be wonderful to see other personality traits, such as his love for animals, shine through with combo attacks incorporating his dog Titus, or his cat Alfred.
Other Bat-Family notables like Cassandra Cain or Kate Kane would be great additions as well. Kate, better known as Batwoman, has recently risen to prominence with the debut of the Batwoman CW show, while Cassandra could, theoretically, take on any of the identities she's been known as throughout the comics - whether that be Kasumi, Black Bat, Orphan, or even a new incarnation of Batgirl.
Other Associates of The Dark Knight
Batman's list of allies extends well beyond the Bat-Family, and it'd be a shock if one particular acquaintance of his were to be absent from Gotham Knights. Provided that Selina Kyle's Catwoman, the on-again/off-again love interest of Batman, exists in a similar capacity within the game's universe, she would undoubtedly want to know the rationale behind her lover's sudden death. Catwoman was previously featured in Arkham City and Arkham Knight as a playable character boasting her own unique moveset, gadgets, and open-world traversal options. The folks at WB Games Montreal would have plenty of material to draw inspiration from should Catwoman make the cut.
Another familiar Arkham face who would fit well in Gotham Knights' post-Batman setting would be Azrael. Similar to Red Hood, Azrael is more often a good guy with some harsh methods. During the Knightfall story arc, he notably donned the cowl after Batman was paralyzed by Bane, but took a more violent approach to fighting crime. Naturally, this drew the ire of the Bat-Family. It's not known if Azrael will appear in Gotham Knights, but having him fill a similar role to Knightfall could make him a solid secondary antagonist for the Bat-Family to take on. Ideally, such an encounter would end with the character turning over a new leaf, and joining forces with the four main characters.
Gotham Knights is set to release in 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.