Arkham Knight's Boss Fights Weren't As Good As Arkham Origins
While Batman: Arkham Origins is arguably inferior to Batman: Arkham Knight, the prequel game features exemplary boss fights throughout the story.
Batman: Arkham Knight is considered one of the best Batman games, but its boss fights are disappointing compared to Batman: Arkham Origins. As an action-adventure fighting game, Batman: Arkham thrives on letting players face impossible odds and come out on top. While Batman is often outmatched by his opponents, whether by numbers or brute strength, his cunning and gadgets allow him to pull off impressive feats. The quality of boss fights is often representative of a game's overall quality, but Batman fans preferred Batman: Arkham Knight over Batman: Arkham Origins, making both games an interesting enigma in the franchise. Several characters and mechanics existed to make Arkham Origins far superior to Arkham Knight's boss fights, which unfortunately couldn't elevate the game to higher ratings.
Batman: Arkham Origins takes place on Christmas night after Black Mask puts a $50 million bounty on Batman's head. Firefly, Copperhead, Bane, Deathstroke, Electrocutioner, Deadshot, Killer Croc, and Lady Shiva appear as boss fights throughout the game, battling Batman and each other for their reward. Batman: Arkham Origins explores a younger Batman whose abilities and instincts are still being honed, with the deadly, wintery hunt becoming one of his first significant wars against crime. The game also explores Joker's first confrontations against Batman and details how their rivalry culminated into the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. However, Arkham Origins' greatest boss fights and triumphs Arkham Knight doesn't even include Joker, speaking to the combat gameplay's overall quality.
The quality of villain boss fights in Batman: Arkham series is irregular within different character continuities. In addition, the appearances of various characters also change between games alongside their combat proficiencies. While it's understandable that Rocksteady and WB Montreal needed to diversify boss battles between the same characters, Batman: Arkham Knight's consistent failures to deliver exhilarating boss fights is a highly disappointing feature in an otherwise remarkable game. Meanwhile, Arkham Origins provides high-profile Batman villains with glorious fights and mechanics for players to utilize in battle.
Batman: Arkham Knight's Deathstroke boss fight was possibly its biggest disappointment. Deathstroke is one of the deadliest adversaries Batman has ever faced, with each warrior mastering dozens of hand-to-hand combat maneuvers and Deathstroke's metahuman healing abilities drawing out their encounters to dangerous lengths. Both men are extremely intelligent, though Deathstroke's pride and obsession with defeating Batman often lead to his downfall. Rocksteady failed to give Deathstroke a satisfying battle, trapping the skilled warrior in a tank and forcing players to utilize stealth mechanics in Batman: Arkham Knight's Batmobile. Since the game depended far too much on the Batmobile already, Rocksteady frustrated many players by separating the most adept hand-to-hand warriors from one another.
Batman: Arkham Origins placed Deathstroke in his element, giving the mercenary a large reward for hunting his most valued adversary. The Batman: Arkham Origins cinematic trailer showcased Deathstroke and Deadshot fighting against the Dark Knight, with Black Mask making a brief cameo near its conclusion. However, players actually face Deathstroke on Penguin's ship and battle in hand-to-hand combat with timed counters and dodges. The assassin's bo staff and brutal attacks make players feel like they're battling another Batman, making the boss battle extremely exciting and realistic compared to other supervillains. The dialogue exchanged throughout the match also sets Deathstroke aside from his fellow assassins, with Batman: Arkham Origins' villains mainly comprised of psychopaths and not honorable warriors.
The unfortunate side effect of creating a Batman game is the struggle developers face when creating real stakes in battles or plots. Since the Batman: Arkham series was so lucrative, there wasn't a risk for Batman to die. While characters like Talia Al Ghul suffered in Batman: Arkham games, Batman never experienced many truly life-threatening situations. With a single cut, Copperhead nearly kills Batman and leaves him stumbling to find a cure. Once players stabilize Batman's body, they face dozens of Copperheads in a room filled with gas. Players must rely on mastering the game's attack combos, counters, and abilities to defeat her doubles.
Each strike sends Batman further into his drug-addled haze, with Copperhead adopting new strategies as the battle continues. Unlike other villains in Batman: Arkham, Copperhead is exceptionally agile, forcing players to adapt quickly or risk suffering a swift, brutal defeat. Batman's ability to overcome the poison speaks to his unique constitution and power, making this boss battle advance the story and develop Batman's physical prowess.
The Batman: Arkham series has many high-profile villains throughout the franchise, pitting Batman against the deadliest enemies in the Gotham Rogues gallery. Perhaps the most dangerous is Bane, who's defeated Batman many times in one-on-one battles. Batman: Arkham Origins pits players against Bane in several boss fights, with the villain-turned-contract killer using the powerful TN-1 compound in their final confrontation. The most impactful battle is when Bane forces Batman to stop his heart to claim victory, forcing the Dark Knight to try and find a way around his nonlethal rule. While Batman can resuscitate Bane with Electrocutioner's gloves, the battle is one of the tensest confrontations in the Batman: Arkham series.
Unlike Origins, Batman: Arkham Knight's Bane only appears in an Easter egg, where players can find his equipment stored in a shipping crate by the Gotham docks. This suggests that Bane may have retired from Venom and Titan's effects on his body. While this fate is a common conclusion for Bane after his lengthy abuse of the harmful substance, it's disappointing that Batman: Arkham Knight couldn't give Batman a final showdown with one of his deadliest foes. Bane is most well-known for breaking Batman's back and putting him out of action for months at a time throughout various continuities. Thankfully, Batman: Arkham Knight features other boss battles with villains like Killer Croc, but Bane's absence is certainly felt. It's unknown if Bane could return as a villain in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, especially considering previous attachments to the group, but the remnants of his supervillain outfit is a worrying outlook for his future.
While Batman: Arkham Origins isn't the most loved game in the franchise, its boss fights frequently offer better confrontations than Batman: Arkham Knight. Even the Arkham Knight's final combat turns into a stealth level more reminiscent of Two-Face's bank heists or Deadshot's fights. While some fans lamented Batman: Arkham Origins' glitches, graphics, and questionable progression, the game still has several features that make it an enjoyable addition to the series. While the Batman: Arkham series technically ended with Batman: Arkham Knight back in 2015, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will continue to develop its universe and characters.