Batman Arkham City Sequel: Where Do We Go From Here?

As I completed Batman: Arkham City and the epilogue DLC Harley Quinn's Revenge, I thought about where the series could go from here. What could possibly out-do what Arkham City did? A third game would present several challenges. Of all the villains in Batman's rogues gallery, who was a greater primary villain than the Joker? When faced with the task of having to replace him, who could truly stand in his place? We can all agree that Batman has some of the greatest villains of all time, but when you dumb them down, many are built around a single specific quirk which is often revealed by their name. Which is one of the reasons they're so great. Two-Face for example, split personalities. The Riddler, all his crimes are devoted to outsmarting the Batman. Mr. Freeze really only wants to cure his wife. The Joker is one of the few villains, despite his name, to have truly bonded with Batman. Much of the Dark Knight's brooding in the epilogue DLC was hinted by Gordon to be a sense of responsibility. But Batman clearly knows he was not responsible right? I mean he was there. I think Batman feels that way many of us feel about the Joker's death. A sense of loss. A sort of, "What will I do now?" So what do we do? We still have to have our sequel, the world demands it. We'll knock some easy parts out first and build off of them. Considering the consistency of the titles, Arkham Asylum followed by Arkham City, one would think Arkham World (which was referenced by a thug in the game). You could also go the route of Gotham City being the title, hinting at the scope of the game covering all of Gotham. But given the state of things following the Asylum uprising and the Protocol 10 catastrophe, I think Gotham is going to be a little on edge and perhaps more cautious about extremist ideas like Quincy Sharpe's Arkham City. So what major event could rival Batman being trapped in Arkham City, but span all of Gotham? How about the Scarecrow? If you'll recall the easter egg that required the Cryptographic Sequencer password CITYOFTERROR to access the boat, I think Jonathan Crane has some serious plans. Perhaps if he released his fear toxin throughout the city, driving everyone mad, the entire city would become a sort of insane asylum, providing the title, Gotham Asylum. The city would of course be sealed off providing the in game excuse for not being able to cross bridges etc. Azrael references Gotham being destroyed. What would be more destructive than the entire city being full of insane denizens? Many, if not all, of the villains from Batmans rogues gallery would surely expose this opportunity to break free and run rampant though the streets. Some could even be affected by the toxin, adding a new level of intrigue to their personalities. How would they act under extreme fear? Or perhaps they're not affected. The Penguin is a well known trader on the black market. I'm sure he could gain plenty of leverage over Two-Face and the Riddler by providing them with an antidote or vaccine. Instead of all the villains in Arkham City working alone for their own little piece of the city, they could all be working together with the sole purpose of stopping Batman, and getting out of the city. Any one of these ideas could be expanded on and lead to subplots or side quests, but the big picture? The League of Assassins. Ra's Al Ghul surely wouldn't put all of his eggs in one basket with Hugo Strange. His goal is much larger. He could have been aiding the Scarecrow just as easily as he was aiding Strange. Ra's is an intersting villain because part of us agrees with his goal. It's his methods that are questionable. With Batman in such a predicament he would surely need the help of Robin and Nightwing. Like Catwoman, they could both have their own stories, goals, and motives. What new gameplay mechanics would this enable? What post-game adventures could you go on? Once the main story ends does the game have to be over? Play with these ideas in your head and see what you can come up with.