At DC Fandome, Warner Bros Montreal revealed a teaser for their upcoming DC game, Gotham Knights. While the gameplay feels a bit like the Arkham series, it is a stand-alone co-op featuring the other vigilantes from Gotham. My knowledge of DC is less extensive than Marvel, however, I’m excited about this new game because I’m much more a fan of the Batfamily than Batman himself (I hope this doesn’t get me cancelled). My main worry is whether the other vigilantes will be overshadowed by the legend that is the Dark Knight. A key problem when you introduce any character to take over the role of a well-known character is that the two characters will always be compared. The creators have already done a lot to separate this story from Arkham but even with Batman dead, will these new characters be able to step out of his shadow?

Here’s what we know about the game so far. Batman is seemingly dead and has initiated ‘Code: Black’ which means destroying his hideout, the Batcave, and telling Robin, Nightwing, Red Hood and Batgirl to look after his city for him. The gang will be taking on Batman villains while also trying to keep away from the GCPD who seem to no longer be sided with Vigilantes.

Gotham Knights bring four DC characters to the forefront, each related to Batman in some way. First, we have the original Robin, Dick Grayson, who now goes by the name Nightwing. It is likely, as the oldest member of the Batfamily (duration not age) excluding Batman and Alfred, he will probably be leading this rag-tag team. In the comics after years of being under Batman’s shadow, Dick eventually decided to go it alone and become his own hero away from Batman. He even moved cities but he was never too far away to help Bruce out despite their estranged relationship.

*Editors note: he also was Batman for a while in a run of the comics

Second in Command will probably be Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl. Barbara is the daughter of the GCPD Commissioner Gordon, who is also dead in this game (*editors note: Gordon was also Batman for a while which was a bit weird). The character is more known in the comics as the Oracle, an excellent hacker and tech backup for heroes. A key aspect of Barbara’s character was her paralysis after being attacked by the Joker, meaning she could no longer go out to fight crime. Looking at Barbara’s moves in the teaser, this could be either before she was paralysed or after her recovery. In my opinion, the latter will prove to make a more interesting character, someone who has been powerless, had to work out a new way to help people and then regains what she lost later. It would also make Barbara a much more wary character which would clash with the possibly more reckless Red Hood and Robin.

*Editors note: I think it’s probably after because the Joker breaks her back in the same story arc that he kills Jason Todd leading to him eventually becoming Red Hood who is in this game

Speaking about Robin, while there have been several characters to don the title, the Robin in this game is no other than Tim Drake who was the third Robin. The first Robin (Dick) was acrobatic, the second (Jason Todd) had anger issues, whereas Tim’s skill was his intelligence. He actually worked out Batman and Robin’s (Dick’s) true identities and when Batman needed help after the death of Jason Todd, decided to take on the mantle to help the hero. As the youngest of the team, Tim will probably be wanting to prove himself the most, especially with Bruce gone.

*Editors note: GUESS WHO WAS BATMAN FOR A WHILE? In a spin-off comic during the new 52 Tim took on the mantle of Batman in a Batman Beyond reboot after Terry dies during a big event I never actually read

Finally we have the Red Hood aka Jason Todd. After Jason Todd was killed by Batman’s arch-nemesis the Joker, he was eventually revived and back with the vengeance. While he was Robin, Jason was aggressive and fuelled a lot by anger. As Red Hood, he no longer had Batman to hold him back meaning he is the only member of the Batfamily to use guns. Red Hood is not so much a team player after his resurrection which means he probably will clash a lot with the other heroes which will be an interesting dynamic. In addition, we do not know exactly the relationship between Bruce and Jason in this game world. Of course, Bruce trusted him enough to look after the city but does that mean the two were on good terms yet?

You’ll get to play all four of these characters in the game which means like the Avengers game, you’ll have to learn each character’s nuances. As for the villains, we will probably get most of the run of the mill Gotham villains. Mr Freeze (*editors note: why is he Mr Freeze when he has a doctorate?) was already shown in the teaser. However, the teaser alluded that the Court of Owls will be part of this story which would be interesting to see and could be related to Batman apparent ‘demise’.

The Court of Owls is a secret society of fanatics within Gotham that basically try to control and rule the city from the shadows. They have their own group of highly trained bodyguards/assassins called Talons and all wear creepy masks. I don’t think they will be the main boss because this is only a teaser and to reveal that so early would be unusual however they will be an interesting set of villains to go up against especially due to their hooks within all parts of Gotham society. (Editor’s note: during the new 52 one Talon who tried to kill Bruce claimed to be his secret biological brother but we never found out if it was true or not)

I am looking forward to what the end product of Gotham Knights will be. The characters they chose were the most popular of the Batfamily characters so I hope we might see some of the more niche characters, even as just a cameo. As for Batman himself, we all know he’s not really dead but I hope the reveal is actually interesting.

(Editors note: I wanna see, Bluebird, Spoiler, Huntress, Duke’s robin, Damien’s Robin, Terry McGinnis is some stupid time travel plot, batwing, any of the ridiculous batman characters from the batman incorporated new 52 comics, will these happen probably not but it doesn’t stop me from wanting it)