Located inGotham City, Arkham Asylum is where Batman's foes who are considered to be mentally ill are brought as patients (other foes are incarcerated atBlackgate Penitentiary). Although it has had numerous administrators, some comic books have featuredJeremiah Arkham. Inspired by the works ofH. P. Lovecraft, and in particular his fictional city ofArkham, Massachusetts,[2][3] the asylum was introduced byDennis O'Neil andIrv Novick and first appeared inBatman #258 (October 1974); much of its history was established byLen Wein during the 1980s.
Arkham Asylum has a poor security record and highrecidivism rate, at least with regard to the high-profile cases—patients, such as theJoker, are frequently shown escaping at will—and those who are considered to no longer be mentally unwell and discharged tend to re-offend. Several of its staff are corrupt or insane.
Gotham criminals deemed "criminally insane" or "mentally unfit" by the court of law are treated at Williams Medical Center before being assessed if they are dangerous enough to be committed to Arkham Asylum.[4]
Arkham Asylum inDetective Comics (vol. 2) #14 (January 2013). Art by Jason Fabok.
Arkham Asylum has a long and brutal history, beginning when its architect became mentally unwell, killed several workers with an axe, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in Arkham.[4] Arkham's founder, Amadeus Arkham, previously killed his mother due to her mental illness and suppressed the memory, believing her death to be a suicide. Later, serial killer Martin Hawkins, also known asMad Dog, kills Amadeus' wife and daughter. Following this, Amadeus kills Hawkins duringelectroshock therapy and is committed to Arkham, where he eventually dies.[5][1]
InBatman #258, it is named as Arkham Hospital, although it is not clear what kind of hospital it is.Arkham Asylum first appeared in anotherDennis O'Neil story the following year, but it was not until 1979 that Arkham Asylum completely replaced Arkham Hospital, and the occasional Arkham Sanitarium, as the institution's name. Also in 1979, the move to have the asylum closer to Gotham had begun; that was completed in 1980, whenBatman #326 byLen Wein described the asylum's location in thesuburbs of Gotham City.
Arkham Asylum has been demolished or destroyed several times in its history, includingBatman: The Last Arkham,Batman: Knightfall, andBatman Eternal.[6]
Aaron Cash – A security guard who sports a hook hand afterKiller Croc bit it off.[7] Unlike many of his colleagues, Cash is neither mentally unwell nor corrupt and is a trusted ally ofBatman.
Achilles Milo – A mad scientist and enemy of Batman who once became the administrator of Arkham Asylum.[10]
Alyce Sinner – A member ofIntergang who works for Jeremiah Arkham.
Anne Carver – A psychiatrist whoJane Doe killed and impersonated.[11]
Ant Carley – A psychiatrist who was known for his dangerous testing withLSD and trying to get the patients to open theirthird eye. He was fired after a week due to his test being seen as unsafe.
Harleen Quinzel – A former psychiatric intern who was seduced by the Joker and became his sidekick, Harley Quinn.[12]
Jonathan Crane – A former psychologist who performed fear-inducing experiments on his patients before becoming the supervillain Scarecrow.
Ruth Adams – She was taken hostage after the patients of the facility, led by theJoker, took over in an attempt to get Batman to come to the Asylum. She attempted to cureTwo-Face of his inability to make choices on his own by introducing him to other objects such as a six-sided die, and a tarot deck.[1]
Originally, Arkham Asylum was used only to house genuinely mentally ill patients having no connection to Batman, but over the course of the 1980s, a trend was established in having the majority of Batman's adversaries end up at Arkham.
Arkham Asylum appears in theBatman: Arkham series. This version is an island-based prison akin to Alcatraz. After Arkham is badly damaged during the events of thefirst game, its prisoners are moved to the mainland and placed in Arkham City, a massive prison-city.
Arkham Asylum appears as a stage in theInjustice series.
Arkham Asylum appears inGotham Knights. This version is a mansion that was later converted into a hospital. Years prior to the game's events, Arkham was condemned due to structural integrity flaws and its inmates were transferred toBlackgate Penitentiary.
^Moench and Breyfogle were the writer and artist, respectively, ofBatman #492, which started theKnightfall storyline; they can be seen on a list of escaped Arkham inmates on theBatcave computer.[33]
Batman: No Man's Land Secret Files and Origins #1 (December 1999)
Batman: Battle for the Cowl #1 (May 2009)
Arkham Reborn #1–3 (October - December 2009)
Arkham Manor #1 - 6 (December 2014 - May 2015)
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