12 Reasons You Were Wrong About Batman: Arkham Origins

12. It's A Truly Character-Driven Tale

Whilst Paul Dini's stint as Arkhamverse writer was mostly wonderful, the plot in Arkham City left much to be desired.

Though we were gifted with some truly ground-breaking story-telling, elements of the narrative felt disjointed and even too urgent as well. Dini definitely left the series on a high-note, but veteran writers Corey May, Dooma Wendschuh and Ryan Galletta's script manages to surpass Dini's in many ways. It was both refreshing and emotional, with the team taking a resoundingly character-driven approach previously on the back-burner.

Focussing on the relationships that came to define Batman's character allowed Origins to deliver some really emotional moments, both cinematic and subtle. Not only that, but the title created a sense of mystery that even managed to surpass Arkham Asylum's, delivering an amazing plot-twist that no one saw coming.

Whilst said twist was divisive, there is plenty to love about the rest regardless - whether that be the formation of Batman's relationship with The Joker or Bane being given the treatment he sorely deserves. Whatever your taste in Batman, there's bound to be something you'll love here.

No wonder the prequel's script was nominated for a Writer's Guild Award.

Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.