I like to think that I saw everything Batman did in Batman: Arkham City from the moment Bruce Wayne was abducted until Batman brushed past Gordon without saying a word. I believe that I did see everything because I was Batman. The only moments of lost time I had during my tenure as the Dark Knight was when a pile of rubble fell on me and it was up to Catwoman to come to my rescue. Issue #7 of Arkham Unhinged, however has a different take on things. It says that I, Batman, was tricked by Harley Quinn and held captive by Poison Ivy at some point between getting hauled out of the rubble and confronting the Joker. I’m Batman. I don’t forget. I know that didn’t happen.
There are a lot of characters in Arkham City and a lot of stories that could be told. Why Derek Fridolfs chose to make one up that contradicts the events of the actual game is beyond me. The game and the comics are supposed to exist in the same universe yet this story could not happen. Harley Quinn is trying to cure the Joker with Poison Ivy’s help, Batman would’ve already dealt with that situation. And when this book ends Batman doesn’t seem interested at all in stopping Harley Quinn or concerned with the helicopters that should be leveling Arkham City at that very moment.
It doesn’t fit. It’s also not very entertaining. The first half is some awkward heist that involves the Gotham City Sirens and then we get into the whole “You didn’t water my plants” thing again and…it just isn’t very interesting. The art is quite inconsistent as well. Artist Mike S. Miller is perfectly capable of drawing some overly sexualized female bodies, but the faces of these girls are constantly changing. There’s also a shot at the end where Catwoman sprays explosive gel and blows up a wall so she, Batman, and Harley Quinn can escape, however in the following panel we see the three of them jumping to freedom as the explosion occurs behind them. It didn’t really add up given the nature of how the explosive gel gadget works.
At this point I’m ready for this series to wrap up and I’m very curious about the new digital series called Arkham City: End Game that takes place after the events of the video game. Arkham Unhinged is proving to be too constricting of Fridolfs’ creativity and when the stories he creates start conflicting with the events of the video game it’s time to call it quits and move on.
SCORE: 3.5/10
