Batman: Arkham Knight - 10 Ways The Season Of Infamy Is A Mixed Bag
5. Batman Still Sounds Disinterested
If you're purchasing the Season of Infamy with the hope that Batman would be getting fantastic lines and dialogue with villains, well, you'll be rather disappointed. For the entire three hour running time of the DLC Batman is reduced to a lone actor devoid of emotion, commenting with apathy as events unfurl around him with a distinct monotone expression. My sympathies also lie with Kevin Conroy, as these awful lines hurt delivery to the point where it is notably boorish and disinterested. This speaks more for the bum-lines Conroy is being forced to work with, but it's a disappointing end for a series where Bruce once offered thoughtful commentary and retort as past stories advanced. Here? He merely serves as an in-game narrator. We don't see the internal conflict visible in Arkham Origins and Bruce rarely gets the chance to interact with his supporting cast. It's a huge shame, as part of the joy of seeing Batman is exploring his interactions with those around him. Take that element away and you're left with a dull caricature indiscernible from other heroes in the genre, and when you remember that Rocksteady is adapting someone so unique and iconic as The Dark Knight himself, you know that's an issue.
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.
