Amazon UK have accidentally given spoilerific spoilers that spoil with the collectors edition of Batman Arkham Knight – WARNING: SPOILERS
OR at least…. they may have.
The limited edition version of Batman: Arkham Knight comes with a steelbook case, artbook, comic book, character skins pack and a statue of Batman.
On the official press releases from Warner Bros Interactive and Rocksteady, the Statue of Batman has an inscribed plaque that simply has the classic BatSymbol (TM… probably) and the words “The Gotham Knight”.
However, on the content pic that Amazon have put together, that plaque is a little different. Inscribed on the base of the statue in THOSE pictures are the words “From a Grateful City in Memory of the Gotham Knight”.
The wording alone suggests that our emo protagonist will be killed in the game. The fact that it doesn’t appear on the official pictures makes it seem like this is also a pretty big plot point they don’t want to give away too early.
Does this mean that the statue has been altered since Amazon got its photos? …or have WB just photoshopped out the offending wording for the press pics, meaning they still appear on the final versions of the statue?
This brings up a lot of different questions about the story and the series as a whole. On the one hand, it would seem like a fitting way to end a great series, and I think we can safely assume such a death would be a grandiose heroic sacrifice (rather than, say, crossing the road to get the morning paper). On the flip side, would Rockseady dare (or even be given permission) to write off one of the most beloved hero’s ever set to comic? It doesn’t seem like something DC would sign off on lightly.
Of course, fan theories are already all over the web. The first is that it is a different spin on the ending of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight movie trilogy which saw Bruce Wayne fake his death as Batman in order to retire. One of the most credible is that the ‘death’ of Batman is actually something that happens very early in the game, maybe even as a prologue. It may be that he fakes his death to retire, but has to come back to face the new threat of the ‘Arkham Knight’ who has come to take his place.
Alternatively maybe in a big plot twist Bats and the Arkham Knight end up becoming friends, and Bruce Wayne’s batman DOES die in the game, to have the cowel taken over by the new Knight on the scene.
What do you guys think? Got an even better theory up your sleeve? share it in the comments!
Batman: Arkham Knight is coming to Xbox One (as well as PS4 and PC) on 2nd June 2015.
^HooksaN (@HooksaN)
David Hook (HooksaN) contributed 26 articles to ICXM between 2014–2015, covering game reviews, and Xbox news with a focus on hands-on impressions and verified-source reporting. Their bylines on the site span the Xbox One’s first full year of post-launch coverage, including the early days of Backwards Compatibility and Windows 10 gaming. They post on X as @Hooksan.