GAME · 2011 · UK
Batman: Arkham City
- Developer
- Rocksteady Studios, WB Games Montréal, Feral Interactive
- Publisher
- Warner Bros. Games
- Platforms
- PlayStation 3, Wii U, macOS, Microsoft Windows
- Original title
- Batman: Arkham City (The Movie)
73 archived facts 7 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Nov 2026
73 Interesting Facts About Batman: Arkham City
Interesting Facts (16)
- #001
Grey Delisle did not know she was the voice of Catwoman until she arrived to record. Initially, an unnamed on-camera actress was supposed to portray Catwoman. Due to unknown reasons, Grey Delisle was called in by Collette Sunderman for a role in an unknown project, and was not made aware of the fact she was Catwoman until she walked into the recording studio.
- #002
The memory card Catwoman steals from Two-Face and inserts into her smartphone-like device displays a map of Park Row, otherwise known as Crime Alley; the place where Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered. When Batman visits this location in the game, Strange has left an audiotape for him to listen to.
- #003
- #004
The ice cream truck Harley uses to crash into the church has "Mind the child" written on the front. This is the first hint in the game that Harley may (or may not) be pregnant. Harley Quinn's Revenge gets in on the act, too. During a radio broadcast near the beginning, Commissioner Gordon cuts an interview with Vicki Vale short when she asks why no one has been allowed to see the Joker's body. In the flashback, when Batman is about to infiltrate the steel mill, talking to Gordon reveals that after the hostage situation is resolved, he needs Batman's help with "that other problem," which is left ominously unexplained (it is elaborated on more in the Endgame comic). You also see dolled-up Mechanical Guardians posed around Harley's lair as soon as you walk in. She sics a load of active ones on you at the DLC's end.
- #005
During one of Hugo Strange's game-over screens, he will say "So, you failed to live up to his expectations. How predictable." It isn't explained who the "his" is, but it seems likely that he is talking about Quincy Sharp, who believed Batman to be some sort of worthy successor for his work. He's actually talking about Ra's Al Ghul.
- #006
- #007
- #008
When beating down Mr. Freeze, Batman momentarily hallucinates Joker's face on Victor's, foreshadowing how Joker's blood can infect people by slowly making them insane. Which is an integral plot point in Batman: Arkham Knight (2015).
- #009
- #010
Feeling that players relied heavily upon it in Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009), Rocksteady considered putting a time limit on Batman's detective vision. It was scrapped as the developers felt like Batman would never create a device with such limited capabilities.
- #011
The boat filled with cockroaches and a screaming man you can find in the middle of the flooded downtown district, that was supposed to be delivered to Scarecrow. This foreshadows events in Batman: Arkham Knight (2015). The glass-fronted cockroach boxes show up again in Knight, on Stagg's airships.
- #012
- #013
- #014
- #015
After finding Deadshot's weapon cache, if you look downward, you will find what appears to be the hilt of a lightsaber. Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker, portrayed Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films and his weapon was a lightsaber. However, this is actually a scope for a rifle, which makes more sense.
- #016
Production Story (7)
- #017
- #018
- #019
- #020
- #021
Batman: Arkham City was "remastered" for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 as part of the Batman: Return to Arkham (2016) Collection. When the remaster was initially revealed on May 18th, 2016, there was so much outrage about the very apparent graphical downgrades and stylistic changes that the remaster's release date was pushed from July 26th, 2016, to October 21st, 2016, in order to address the issues. The final product indeed ended up looking better than the reveal trailer footage, but many of the stylistic changes remained, much to fan dismay.
- #022
Contains a major spoiler — show
Batman: Arkham City (2011) implied that Harley Quinn was pregnant. This downloadable content (DLC) reveals that the pregnancy was either a false positive or she lost the baby through miscarriage. The game's writer, Paul Dini, was not consulted on this decision, and he claimed that he did not even know a story-altering DLC was being worked on until he saw a trailer for the DLC on his TV at home. Reportedly, this angered him so greatly that he quit as writer for the games. Not knowing Dini's vision for the 3rd installment in the series, Batman: Arkham Origins (2013) was written as an origin story instead of a sequel while new writers developed a story for the sequel Batman: Arkham Knight (2015).
- #023
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the downloadable content (DLC) for this game called "Harley Quinn's Revenge" (2012) it is revealed that the hint of her being pregnant in the main story was either a false positive or she lost the baby through miscarriage. The game's writer, Paul Dini, was not consulted on this decision, and he claimed that he did not even know a story-altering DLC was being worked on until he saw a trailer for the DLC on his TV at home. Reportedly, this angered him so greatly that he quit as writer for the games. Not knowing Dini's vision for the 3rd installment in the series, Batman: Arkham Origins (2013) was written as an origin story instead of a sequel. Eventually, Dini was convinced to return, but production of Origins was already underway. Dini claims that the DLC destroyed his plans for the sequel, though some of his plans were salvaged for Batman: Arkham Knight (2015).
Behind the Scenes (1)
Characters & Cast (5)
- #025
Grey Delisle did not know she was the voice of Catwoman until she arrived to record. Initially, an unnamed on-camera actress was supposed to portray Catwoman. Due to unknown reasons, Grey Delisle was called in by Collette Sunderman for a role in an unknown project, and was not made aware of the fact she was Catwoman until she walked into the recording studio.
- #026
This is the first known project where Tara Strong has voiced the role of Harley Quinn, which has predominantly been voiced by creator Paul Dini's friend Arleen Sorkin. Strong is better known in the Batman animated universe in the role of Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl and in this game aka Oracle.
- #027
- #028
- #029
At the Beginning of the Catwoman Missions, we see a painting of Cain and Abel "The Duality of Man." While this foreshadows the end of the game in a literal sense of batman carrying Joker in the same way, it could also foreshadow Arkham Knight, as The Duality of Man portrays the first murder, In Arkham Knight, Batman struggles with wondering if he killed the Joker.
Easter Eggs & References (38)
- #030
An Easter egg/reference relating to The Scarecrow can be found on a barge in the docks area. When on the barge, use the sequencer gadget to solve the code "City of Terror". A panel opens. Once inside, you are in a room filled with neon bug zappers. At the end of the hall, there is an unconscious inmate sitting in a chair. Upon zooming in on him, he is startled awake and gives a loud shriek. He goes back to sleep. It is assumed that he is a victim of The Scarecrow's experiments.
- #031
During the Catwoman DLC mission to get her loot back from Two-Face, Two-Face says, "Whoever kills the Cat gets to be my number one... guy" in a manner very similar way to how Jack Nicholson's Joker says to Bob (the goon) "And remember... you... are my number one... guy" in the Tim Burton's Batman (1989) movie.
- #032
There are several references to Lost (2004), the ABC television show. One when flying around Arkham City, an inmate asks another, "So, did they ever explain what the island was?" And later, more dialogue: "...why did it end in a church?" Writer Paul Dini was part of the "Lost" writing staff for the first two seasons before leaving the series.
- #033
- #034
- #035
When you go to Two Face's courthouse and you enter the back way; you can go down to the cell next to the Calendar Man's cell. When you're in that cell turn on detective mode, look up (make sure you are under them), and punch. When you do that they somehow notice you and run through the door and come to fight you.
- #036
- #037
- #038
The memory card Catwoman steals from Two-Face and inserts into her smartphone-like device displays a map of Park Row, otherwise known as Crime Alley; the place where Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered. When Batman visits this location in the game, Strange has left an audiotape for him to listen to.
- #039
- #040
- #041
- #042
- #043
- #044
- #045
During one of Hugo Strange's game-over screens, he will say "So, you failed to live up to his expectations. How predictable." It isn't explained who the "his" is, but it seems likely that he is talking about Quincy Sharp, who believed Batman to be some sort of worthy successor for his work. He's actually talking about Ra's Al Ghul.
- #046
During one of the unlockable interview sessions between Hugo Strange and the Joker, Strange is attempting to deduce Joker's origins and his relationship to Batman. Joker proceeds to tell Strange about how he was a failed stand-up comedian who got mixed up with the mob and was, under the "Red Hood" disguise, forced to break into the Ace Chemicals plant, where he was also employed, which, in turn, led to his run-in with Batman and being dropped into the vat of chemicals that transformed him. Afterwards, Strange states that Joker is lying about the entire story, to which Joker replies "If you have to have an origin story, you're better off making it multiple choice". The story, and the quote, were both taken, almost directly, from Alan Moore's immensely popular graphic novel, "The Killing Joke".
- #047
The boat filled with cockroaches and a screaming man you can find in the middle of the flooded downtown district, that was supposed to be delivered to Scarecrow. This foreshadows events in Batman: Arkham Knight (2015). The glass-fronted cockroach boxes show up again in Knight, on Stagg's airships.
- #048
After finding Deadshot's weapon cache, if you look downward, you will find what appears to be the hilt of a lightsaber. Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker, portrayed Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films and his weapon was a lightsaber. However, this is actually a scope for a rifle, which makes more sense.
- #049
The ice cream truck Harley uses to crash into the church has "Mind the child" written on the front. This is the first hint in the game that Harley may (or may not) be pregnant. Harley Quinn's Revenge gets in on the act, too. During a radio broadcast near the beginning, Commissioner Gordon cuts an interview with Vicki Vale short when she asks why no one has been allowed to see the Joker's body. In the flashback, when Batman is about to infiltrate the steel mill, talking to Gordon reveals that after the hostage situation is resolved, he needs Batman's help with "that other problem," which is left ominously unexplained (it is elaborated on more in the Endgame comic). You also see dolled-up Mechanical Guardians posed around Harley's lair as soon as you walk in. She sics a load of active ones on you at the DLC's end.
- #050
- #051
Contains a major spoiler — show
It is heavily implied at in the game that Harley Quinn is or was pregnant. This is suggested by examining Harley's costume on a dummy and panning down to the floor. At the dummy's feet is a box reading "Fruitful Endeavors pregnancy test". Lying beside it is a positive test. Also during the end credits, Harley can be heard singing an alternate version of "Hush, Little Baby."
- #052
Contains a major spoiler — show
Before you realize there is a fake Joker, you can hear Harley Quinn say something along the lines of "Oh Mistah J you look perfect! Oh wait it isn't you is it?" And Joker says "Be quiet Harley!" This is a foreshadowing hint that Clayface impersonates Joker later on.
- #053
Contains a major spoiler — show
During the Joker boss fight that takes place a few minutes before Protocol 10, if you switch to detective mode while fighting him, you can see that he doesn't have a skeleton while the thugs and lieutenant do. This is one of the many hints given throughout the main storyline that Joker is just being imitated by Basil Karlo/Clayface.
- #054
Contains a major spoiler — show
At the beginning of the game when you are told to get in line an inmate says "Bruce Wayne. You're on my list. Bang!" This is Deadshot out of costume. Later in the game you track a sniper assassin throughout Arkham City and find out it is Deadshot and he has "a list of targets." One of which is Bruce Wayne.
- #055
- #056
- #057
Contains a major spoiler — show
When you are using the cryptographer, there are a few stations that give off seemingly random numbers followed by a chime. This is a system that was legitimately used by Russia during the Cold War. But if you decode them, a major foreshadowing occurs to Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) and the return of The Scarecrow.
- #058
Contains a major spoiler — show
If you don't jump out of the church when Joker reveals that he's wired the place with bombs, he drops a few hints about the ending. Joker: Sometimes I wonder if all this would just end with one of us looking down at the other's corpse, trying to work out what to do next? The only question is, whose body will it be? The very first thing seen when launching a new game is a painting called Cain and Abel, the duality of man. Sure enough, the final cutscene has Batman and Joker emulating exactly that painting.
- #059
- #060
- #061
- #062
- #063
Contains a major spoiler — show
At one point in the game, Vicki Vale's news helicopter crashes and Batman needs to save her from snipers trying to shoot her from neighboring rooftops. After you succeed and rescue her, Batman quickly grabs Vicki by her side and uses his Line-Launcher gadget to escape. Usually Batman uses a grapple gun to rescue people, the Line-Launcher is a direct reference to the 1989 live-action film, where Batman saves Vicki Vale from her "date" with the Joker at the museum.
- #064
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the end of the third Catwoman DLC mission, the player is presented with a choice: Leave Arkham City with her loot, or leave it behind in the vault, but save Batman who has become trapped in the Steel Mill. On the floor, a green arrow points towards where the "better" option of the two is (save Batman), and likewise for the red arrow pointing towards the "lesser" choice (leave Arkham City).
- #065
Contains a major spoiler — show
There are a lot of hints dropped about Clayface impersonating the Joker. * After Harley Quinn locks you out of Joker's office, you can hear her say "Oh, Mr J, it's a miracle! You look perfect! Oh, wait, that's not you, is it...?" to which Joker's voice can be heard telling her to shush. That's because she briefly mistook Clayface's Joker form for the real Joker. What's particularly interesting is that this happens at a very early point in the game, and the statement isn't clarified until the very end. * "You fell for the old fake Joker gag, Batman!" Apparently spoken by Joker about a dummy, actually Clayface disguised as the Joker, and the dummy was the real deal. Players may also notice that when the Joker attacks Batman, he looks normal, not sickly, because it's Clayface. * After briefly capturing Batman in the Steel Mill, Joker stops Harley from taking off Batman's mask. When she protests that she wants to know Batman's true identity, Joker replies "Nobody's who you think they are, my dear." * Just before you need to infiltrate the Steel Mill for the second time, some Enemy Chatter can be heard discussing The Joker's newfound health. One Mook says "It's like he was a completely different person before, but now he's back to his old self again." It's actually the other way around. * During the second infiltration of the Mill, one piece of Enemy Chatter you can catch has two mooks claiming that they each just saw the Joker in two wildly different locations. * After the battle with Mr. Freeze, when Batman opens the safe and finds that the cure has vanished, there are two Joker cards. One of them is faxed with a scribbled message that reads "Get well soon, Mr. J. XOXO"; the other is a physical one. Both are clues that indicate that there are two Jokers, one of them real and the other actually Clayface. * When Batman confronts the Joker after he got the cure, Joker is examining himself in a mirror, looking diseased, then turns around revealing he's healthy again. It's easy to chalk it up to one of Batman's hallucinations, but if you look closely, you can see the other Joker walking away -that's the real Joker and you're now talking to Clayface. There was no mirror, just a pane of glass. * Using Detective Vision during the fistfight with Joker later will reveal that he has no skeleton, just like Clayface in Arkham Asylum. * During one of the Joker's broadcasts when he reveals that he has taken the cure, the actual Joker holding the camera coughs. * A few times, Joker's speech patterns change a bit, like him using some British slang and being inconsistent in calling Batman "Bats" or "Batsy". Clayface is the one using the slang and never uses the Joker's nicknames for you.
- #066
- #067
Deeper Meaning (5)
- #068
- #069
- #070
At the Beginning of the Catwoman Missions, we see a painting of Cain and Abel "The Duality of Man." While this foreshadows the end of the game in a literal sense of batman carrying Joker in the same way, it could also foreshadow Arkham Knight, as The Duality of Man portrays the first murder, In Arkham Knight, Batman struggles with wondering if he killed the Joker.
- #071
- #072
Career & Awards (1)
- #073
Contains a major spoiler — show
After the release of this game, Mark Hamill announced he was retiring from voicing the Joker. However, he said that if an adaptation of the graphic novel "Batman: The Killing Joke" was ever released, he would return to the role. Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) featured a flashback to this event, and Hamill returned as The Joker for it.
Related pages
- Batman: Arkham Origins — Batman: Arkham City comes up in the facts on that page
- Joker — Batman: Arkham City comes up in the facts on that page