Ever since the unveiling of Arkham Knight's Collector's Edition, fan speculation has run wild at the prospect of Batman meeting his end in the finale to Rocksteady's Arkham trilogy. This is due solely to the presence of a Batman 'memorial statue', very much reminiscent of the one unveiled in the final frames of The Dark Knight Rises. Though Bruce Wayne may not have necessarily bitten the bullet at the end of Nolan's final bat-flick (irrespective of critical interpretation), there is a very real chance that the Caped Crusader may meet an untimely demise in the annals of Gotham City - something that is bound to polarise the fanbase. However, this wouldn't be the first time Bats has been 'killed' in one of his multiple incarnations. In fact, it's become sort of a recurring theme with the character. The demise of the cowl and those who take it on raises multiple questions about just who or what exactly Batman is, and this has resulted in some of the finest Batman tales in the comic medium. It goes without saying then that letting go of Bruce in Knight may make as much narrative sense as it does monetary, as it would do wonders to push the franchise in a new and exciting direction - much like Joker's death did in Arkham City's explosive third act. The writing may not be on the wall for Gotham's favourite vigilante, but if Rocksteady do indeed decide to end Bruce's tenure under the cowl, they must do so with great care.
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.
