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“ | We are the Children of Arkham, and we have opened your eyes! | „ |
~ Lady Arkham after the attack at the mayoral debate in the Wayne Memorial Auditorium. |
The Children of Arkham are the main antagonists of the 2016 episodic adventure video game Batman: The Telltale Series.
They are a terrorist organization lead by Lady Arkham, and the group comprised of victims of Gotham's criminals, their relatives, and relatives of those wrongfully committed to Arkham Asylum. Their goal is to expose corruption in Gotham, get revenge on the responsible parties and bring the city under their control. The group was the first threat faced by Batman and many to come in the future of Gotham.
History[]
Episode One: Realm of Shadows[]
The Children of Arkham's attacks began when six of its members broke into City Hall, murdering a security guard on the way. Making it to Hamilton Hill's office, they accidentally activated an alarm, which locked the room down. Whilst one member tried to break open the lock with a power saw, their leader destroyed the elevator with C4, cutting off the GCPD. As they continued to break the lockdown, the vigilante Batman arrived and subdued several members. Confronting the leader in combat, he defeated the mercenary and the last member before going off to confront the thief Catwoman, who stole a drive from Hill's safe. Batman got the drive, though Catwoman escaped by stealing the Dark Knight's grapple gun and using it to flee. At least five members of the group would be arrested by the GCPD after the incident.
The next day, the group leaked the account managed by Thomas Wayne and Carmine Falcone to news outlets in Gotham. The same day, other members of the Children investigated a warehouse owned by Falcone, where the chemicals had been located and were to rendezvous with Catwoman. When she failed to arrive, the group were forced to search for the chemicals themselves, leading to them attracting attention. With GCPD officers arriving, a shootout took place that lead to multiple deaths, including three members.
After the shootout finished, the mercenaries left, leaving evidence to implicate Falcone in the incident and one of their snipers who is to give false testimony. After Batman arrived at the scene, he put together a rough recollection of the shootout. Using trajectory points from a exploded barrel and a dead cop, he interrogated the lone mercenary. Under interrogation, the member claimed to be working for Falcone and gave a vague description of the chemicals' purpose. After finishing with him, Batman would either break the mercenary's left arm or refrain from it before hearing Lieutenant James Gordon and Sergeant Renee Montoya arriving on scene. Batman either speaks with them about what he found or leaves, while the sniper is left to be arrested by Lt James Gordon and the GCPD. The warehouse would cause Batman to investigate and battle Falcone at the Skyline Club, leading to the crime lord's arrest.
Episode Two: Children of Arkham[]
The Children of Arkham attack the mayoral debate between Mayor Hill and District Attorney Harvey Dent. After terminating the G.C.P.D. officers behind the scene, the Children, led by The Penguin, storm the stage. Penguin shoots the moderator in the head. While his soldiers guard the hostages, Penguin continues the show on stage, forcing the people in the audience to continue the debate as to if nothing had happened. After a moment, Penguin grabbed the camera to play a tape containing a message of "his sponsor". The tape contains video footage of a masked person who tells the citizens of Gotham not to be afraid, as the Children of Arkham have come to cleanse the city of corruption. Batman realizes that there is a higher power behind Penguin.
While Penguin is on the stage, Batman and Catwoman take down the Children who are guarding the hostages backstage. After the hostages are freed, the event is stormed by the G.C.P.D. The policemen overpower most of the Children, but Penguin kills Mayor Hill, and if Catwoman was saved, severely injures Harvey. In the aftermath, many members of the Children of Arkham are arrested by the authorities, but Penguin escapes and remains at large. The group's leader sends another message, this time claiming that the Children of Arkham have opened the people's eyes.
Episode Three: New World Order[]
In the following week, the Children of Arkham began attacking Gotham in ferocity, ranging from simple crimes to elaborate attacks. Using records obtained from Wayne Manor that Hill provided, the Children of Arkham gained access to Wayne Enterprises' network and accesswd all organizations within the city. Covering up his past as the Penguin, Cobblepot infiltrated Wayne Enterprises to replace Bruce Wayne as CEO, granting the Children access to its resources and finances.
A number of members, including Lady Arkham herself, planned out another attack, this time on the busy Mercy Street. They planned to send a rigged train to spread the chemical via a monorail train, which was modified to store tanks and release them on trigger. Requiring more of the drug, they arranged a transfer a number of barrels to a Skyrail Depot at the Highland Line they had infiltrated. With the handoff taking place on Arkham Island, the operation was interrupted by Montoya, who had sworn to stop them following their use of her in murdering Falcone. At the same time, several members made another attempt on Dent's life, hoping to murder the new mayor. Depending on Batman's decision, the following situations can take place.
- Batman save to Harvey and his assistant Deborah, subduing the members in the process. However, the Children of Arkham are able to prepare for Gordon's response, increasing their members at the scene. Along with being able to get their chemicals loaded, they also take a officer hostage, using him as a test subject for the new Arkham drug and executing him following their success.
After hearing members alert the perpetrators of the crime he chose not to pursue, Batman realized the GCPD's communications have been compromised and alerted Gordon. When he learned that Wayne Tech has been responsible, Batman tipped the GCPD off and they removed all Wayne Tech from their operations. With this, the Children of Arkham were unable to monitor their operations, but it also crippled communication for it's officers.
After running out of the dissolving agent required for the new chemical, Lady Arkham lead a group of the Children to attack an unknown building to acquire more. Successful, they returned to the Skyrail depot with Catwoman, who hand-helped with the heist. Having tipped Batman off about the base and knowing he was likely present, Lady Arkham took the thief hostage and threatened to inject her with the new drug unless he surrendered. This lead to a fight between the vigilante and the members present, including Lady Arkham herself. Batman was able to sabotage the plan by destroying their delivery train with sticky bombs. It is unknown how many members were able to escape or were left behind by the group, with the exception of Lady Arkham herself.
Episode Four: Guardian of Gotham[]
In the following days, Children of Arkham attacks dropped, due to the police state imposed by the now insane Harvey Dent, who is being subbed by the media as Two-Face. Their last reported crime was the apparent kidnapping of Vicki Vale. After murdering her adopted parents, Lady Arkham used her father's warehouses to store the drug and as a new base for their operations. Using his new position as CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Penguin began using its finances to fund the Children of Arkham and purchase various weaponry. He also provided them with various prototype gadgets and installed a Black Box into the network, enabling them to hack into any Wayne Tech device. In doing so, Penguin discovered Batman's own computer network was connected to the systems and began working to cripple the vigilante's operations by disabling his tech. He also worked to hack into the Batcomputer to learn his secrets, including his identity.
After Batman learned of the Children of Arkham's stockpiling at thd Vale Oil & Heating warehouse in the East End, he informed the GCPD about it. When Two-Face gained access to the information, he sent his Enforcers to blow up the building. Though it didn't cripple the Children of Arkham's operations, it cut off their supplies and ensured that they would not use it in their operations, but at the cost of more than thirty innocent civilians losing their lives in the explosion, as it was so powerful that it wiped out East End. Two-Face's actions lead to the public losing trust in the deranged mayor, creating even more chaos spreading throughout Gotham. After discovering how the Children of Arkham were hacking into his network, Batman was forced to decide whether to stop them or defeat Dent and his Enforcers. Depending on the decision made, the following possibilities occur.
- Batman goes to Wayne Enterprises to stop them. With a number of members patrolling the building, Batman fights his way though to confront Penguin in the CEO's office. After a long fight with the criminal, Batman locates the Black Box and destroys it, saving his technology and secrets. Penguin and the members present are then left for the GCPD to arrest. Unfortunately, Two-Face and his Enforcers burned down Wayne Manor.
Episode Five: City of Light[]
- If Batman chose to stop the Children of Arkham from compromising his network, they remain underground whilst Two-Face terrorizes the city with his Enforcers. One of their members is captured by Two-Face's men and held hostage in Wayne Manor, where he plans to execute him. After Bruce Wayne manages to stop Two-Face down, the member attacks him and is gunned down by the police. In his dying words, he assures Bruce that Lady Arkham has not forgotten him and will take revenge on his family.
- Knowing the new tech is effective against Batman, Penguin and other members set up a trap for the vigilante in Cobblepot Park. Holding off GCPD officers, they use drones to patrol the area and take multiple officers hostage. With help from Bruce Wayne, the GCPD are able to disable the transmitter, disabling the drones and other devices in the Park. Following this, Cobblepot is subdued after an attempt on Bruce's life and is arrested by the GCPD, cutting off the Children of Arkham's access to the GCPD.
Whilst Bruce was distracted by Selina, the Children of Arkham attacked Wayne Manor and kidnapped his butler Alfred, hoping to kill him in retribution for Thomas' crimes. Taking him to the Vale house, they filmed a video for Bruce and forced him to suffer the same abuse the Vales had put Vicki through. Following this, they infiltrated Arkham Asylum and prepared to release the inmates.
Having followed clues left by Alfred, Batman tracked the group down and confronted Lady Arkham. Refusing to stop, the Children released the inmates of the asylum and lead the riots, promising the inmates freedom if they killed Batman. Having been informed by the vigilante, the GCPD arrived and brought the rioting under control. With the other members being arrested, Lady Arkham fled to the catacombs of the asylum, where she was defeated by Batman. Following her presumed death, the Children of Arkham's leadership dissolved and the group was officially disbanded.
Legacy[]
Though disbanded, the Children of Arkham's legacy affected Gotham, mostly a void in the criminal underworld from Falcone's death. This initiated a gang war between the Maroni and Zucco families, which was eventually ended by Batman, and gave Rumi Mori control of the arms dealing operations in the city. The Children of Arkham's actions also inspired Floyd Lawton to attack former staff members of Arkham Asylum and Wayne Enterprises involved in his parents' release. Alfred Pennyworth would suffer from post-traumatic stress following his kidnapping, which was initially thought to be related to the incident.
Members[]
- Lady Arkham (leader; presumed deceased)
- The Penguin (second-in-command; incarcerated at Blackgate Prison)
- Blockbuster (incarcerated at Arkham Asylum)
- City Hall Mercenary Leader (arrested)
- Eastside Docks Sniper
Allies[]
- Catwoman (hired thief; partnership dissolved)
- Hamilton Hill (political associate; betrayed and murdered by Penguin)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Children of Arkham seem similar to the League of Assassins, a terrorist organization lead by Ra's al Ghul. Some fans have speculated there could be a link between the two groups, possibly through Lady Arkham.
- In Realm of Shadows, while investigating the docks, Batman can find a book of matches from the Skyline Club in a dead Children of Arkham mercenary's pocket. This opens up the possibility that the Children of Arkham had spies within Falcone's organization.
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Villains | ||
Gotham Criminal Triumvirate Children of Arkham The Pact The Agency Joker's Gang Others |