Gotham Knights: 10 Villains We Need To Face In The Game

The big new DC Comics videogame from the creators of Batman: Arkham Origins is Gotham Knights. Although it’s set in Gotham City, it’ll be focused on the other members of the Bat-family instead. The game’s due to be released this year, 2021, but the developers haven’t revealed much about it since the DC Fandome event last year.

Despite having access to the best rogues gallery in comics, only a few Batman villains have been revealed in Gotham Knights so far, namely Mr. Freeze and the Court of Owls. However, there are still plenty to choose from, and many who will be perfect to face off against in the game.

10 Two-Face

When Gotham Knights was being teased prior to its imminent reveal last year, Warner Bros. set up a website called “R3DAKT3D” where fans could input codes to get further clues. One of those clues was the phrase “Face Two-Face,” which heavily implies that the villain previously known as Harvey Dent will make an appearance in the game.

In comics such as No Man’s Land, Batman Arkham City, and even the recent season of Harley Quinn, Two-Face attempts to take over Gotham in Batman’s absence, so he could very well try the same in Gotham Knights.

9 Poison Ivy

On Christmas Day, the Gotham Knights Twitter feed posted a festive image of gifts and training gear. However, at the center of the picture was a tease of both a possible July release date and of the location Robinson Park.

While it never appeared in the Arkham games, Robinson Park has often been used in the comics as a hideout of Poison Ivy, including the Gotham TV show. As one of the greenest areas of Gotham City, it would be a natural home for the plant-based villain, especially as she was present in the Arkham trilogy.

8 Black Mask & The False Face Society

The villainous Black Mask, otherwise known as Roman Sionis, has never been a top-tier Batman villain but has had a fantastic run of late. He was the central villain of the Birds of Prey movie last year (played by Ewan McGregor) and this year he’ll be playing a sizeable role as one of the big villains in Batwoman Season 2.

He was also the lead villain of WB Montreal’s last DC game Batman: Arkham Origins, so it would make sense if Black Mask and his False Face Society were back in Gotham Knights.

7 Phantasm

Sometimes it’s the characters with the fewest appearances who make the biggest impression. This goes for the titular villain of the 1993 Batman: The Animated Series movie Mask of the Phantasm, who barely appeared again until the Batman/Catwoman comic going on right now.

Andrea Beaumont was Bruce Wayne’s first love, but after her father was brutally murdered by gangsters she created the Phantasm to avenge his death. A ghostly Angel of Death stalking the heroes of Gotham Knights, killing enemies before the Bat-family could take them down, would be awesome.

6 Ra’s Al Ghul & The League Of Assassins

One of the first things teased for Gotham Knights, even before it had its title, was a series of symbols that fans assumed were connected to the various groups in the game. Most were unclear but one distinctly showed a demon’s head, clearly indicating one of Batman’s most powerful enemies: Ra’s Al Ghul and his League of Assassins.

In the more recent version of Red Hood’s origin, after being killed by the Joker, he was revived by one of Ra’s Al Ghul’s life-giving Lazarus Pits. So with that direct connection and the fact that an army of ninjas would be great antagonists to fight, expect to see the League operating in Gotham Knights.

5 Prometheus / The Wrath

With Batman either dead or missing, there can be no greater threat to the rest of the Bat-family than an enemy who opposes everything he stands for. There have been several anti-Batmen in the comics, but Gotham Knights would do well to choose either Prometheus or The Wrath.

The Wrath is considered Bruce Wayne’s opposite, a man who wages war on lawgivers the same way Batman battles criminals. Prometheus has undergone the same type of physical training as Batman and similarly has a range of technology and equipment that he uses to fight the likes of the Justice League. Prometheus had been teased several times in the Arkham games but never showed up so it may be his time to shine in Gotham Knights. Either Prometheus or Wrath would make formidable opponents for the Bat-family team.

4 The Riddler

One of Batman’s most famous adversaries, Edward Nygma a.k.a. the Riddler is the bane of all Batman Arkham game completionists. With every game covered in hundreds of Riddle Trophies, the player needs to collect if they want to defeat Nygma and see the proper ending.

Nevertheless, with fewer trophies and more actual riddles, Nygma could be a fantastic addition to Gotham Knights as a more thoughtful adversary. Plus, Riddler’s soon to be the main villain in The Batman movie coming next year, so the hype alone guarantees him a place in the game too.

3 The GCPD

One of the symbols released to tease Gotham Knights prior to its unveiling was a shield that seemed to indicate the GCPD was a faction in the game. That suggests the police will probably have a bigger presence in the game than the Arkham series, but it’s possible that it might not be a friendly one.

The game’s trailer states that the Bat-family has gone from crimefighters to vigilantes, which indicates they’re no longer on the side of the law. With the death of Commissioner Gordon, the GCPD may now be hunting the heroes instead of helping them.

2 Bane

Batman’s ultimate nemesis is Bane, a villain with strategic intelligence, ruthlessness, and strength. He is also the only man to take on Batman directly and win.

Bane was somewhat underutilized in Rocksteady’s Arkham games, but WB Montreal used him well as the surprise main villain of Arkham Origins. While he would be more than a match for any of the heroes in Gotham Knights, he would work well in co-op as an enemy the players have to work together to defeat.

1 The Joker

The inclusion of The Joker in Gotham Knights depends on several facts. For starters, when Batman died, did he take Joker with him? And is Joker in this universe linked to Batman, the way they are in the comics?

In both The Dark Knight Returns and Death In The Family, the Joker basically shuts down when Batman isn’t around. But in Batman Beyond Joker is overjoyed to no longer have to deal with the “proper” Batman.

Nevertheless, all the Bat-family have various degrees of connection to Joker (Red Hood was killed by him, Batgirl was paralyzed by him), so it would be fantastic to have them be forced to face him without Batman to back them up.