BATMAN ARKHAM CITY Sequel: What’s The Next Step?

The Revenge Of Harley Quinn

Despite all the twisted things she did throughout these two games, you can€™t help but feel sorry for Harley Quinn when she saw he beloved Puddin€™ lying dead in the arms of their nemesis, Batman. Just for a brief moment all of the psychosis and violence fell from her and we saw Harley as a vulnerable broken woman, the only thing in her life that ever mattered now taken from her. Though the only trace we see (or rather, hear) of Harley after the final cutscene is the sound of her sobbing over the Sionis steel mill intercom, I sincerely doubt that is the last we see from the former Arkham Asylum doctor. Take for example the lengths she went to in order to try and find a cure for The Joker during the course of the game. She rounded up any and every medic and nurse found on site in the open prison and demanded they worked day and night to fix her Mr. J, When it became clear that there was nothing they could do to reverse the terminal complications brought on by the Titan overdose, they were promptly executed. If that is how she treated and used random members of the public while Joker was still alive, what in the world will she do now that he€™s gone? And what of her nemesis, Batman? Though Joker€™s demise was his own doing even to the last, there is no way Harley would ever see it that way. Surely there was more Batman could have done? Doesn€™t he have a €˜no kill€™ policy? For Harley the Joker€™s demise will have been the fault of Batman and Batman alone, and I would bet Wayne Tower on Harley vowing vengeance on The Dark Knight a la Kill Bill€™s The Bride. That€™s not to suggest there will be a sequence where Miss Quinzel wreaks havoc with a Samurai sword, but there is nothing to suggest Harley will resign herself to sitting in a dark cell for the rest of her days. The Arkham series has seen Harley graduate from court jester hanger-on to fully fledged psychotic companion and with Joker now deceased, maybe her already badly damaged psyche will break and see her taking control of his gang and going off on a killing spree in search of Batman. And then we have Harley and Joker€™s child. Yes, you read that correctly: Harley and Joker€™s child. On the floor of the Sionis head office, next to her costume from Arkham Asylum, is a pregnancy test. And it€™s positive. While you shake off that almightily horrible image, consider the possibilities of this child. Would they carry with them Joker€™s (and, for that matter, Harley€™s) damaged mental health and genocidal tendencies? Is this simply a means of having post-Mark Hamil while still respecting his contributions? And if this child was conceived during the six months between the end of Arkham Asylum and the beginning of Arkham City, will they too be infected with the Titan formula? If that is the case, just imagine the lengths Harley will go to for a cure this time. Click "next" below to read part 3..
Contributor
Contributor

Alex McKay is a Hertfordshire based theatre actor with a passion for music, movies and comic books. A one time radio presenter, he co-hosts WhatCulture's Comic Box podcast with fellow WhatCulture scribe Jamie Slough. He can always be found spouting opinions and observations on Twitter at @aemckay.