The Worst Side Quest in Arkham Knight

Written by ‪@SplinterChalk‬ Get 20% when buying G Fuel: https://www.gfuel.com/THATBOYAQUA My main channel @ThatBoyAqua Happy Monday everyone. When I mention side content in the Arkham series, what do you think of? Good, bad, somewhere in the middle? Well, some immediate reactions come to mind for me, mainly that throughout the series, side content is quite a mixed bag. But for all its faults, Arkham Knight delivers on side content for the most part. And when it comes to the side mission Gunrunner, the mission’s introduction to the player is executed excellently. After Batman is nearly defeated by Scarecrow, the Arkham Knight takes the opportunity to kidnap one of Batman’s closest allies, Oracle. In the search for Oracle, Batman eventually manages to track down the vehicle she was taken in, analyze the crash scene to determine how Oracle tried to escape, and find a clue she left behind. This clue is a scrambler device, which, with the help of Lucius Fox, Batman uses to pinpoint the Arkham Knight’s location in a tunnel under Miagani Island. After an infiltration, short encounter with the Arkham Knight, and a takedown of what he believes to be his personal vehicle, Batman interrogates the militia soldier that was impersonating the Arkham Knight and gets a new lead: North Refrigeration, a company used as a front by the Penguin to smuggle weapons, and one that just so happens to have caught the attention of Nightwing. And this is where Gunrunner is introduced. After requesting Alfred to have Nightwing send any information he has on North Refrigeration, Alfred says that Nightwing insists on meeting him in person, a meeting that opens with Batman immediately scolding Nightwing for coming to Gotham. This is where things start to get really good on a writing level. The conflict in this scenario is a perfect reflection of Batman’s guilt over this entire situation. The guilt Batman feels over Oracle's kidnapping and later fake out death is shown time and time again, mainly by the persistent hallucination that represents all the worst parts of him. And this guilt is exactly why he treats Nightwing the way he does. Because even though he subconsciously realizes that showing some deeper trust may help in these situations (“Still, if you cared about Barbara the way that little sidekick of yours does maybe she wouldn’t have got kidnapped in the first place”), he’s also plagued by the guilt of knowing that this is his fault (“They’re star-crossed, Batsy! Like me and you. Shame they’re being torn apart by your crusade.”), a sentiment clearly shown in literal back-to-back sentences. Not to mention this fear is point blank stated in this very conversation with Nightwing (“C’mon, Bruce. Look, let me help. You can’t do it all on your own.” “It’s too dangerous. I won’t risk losing anyone else. Bludhaven needs you.”) Batman knows that Oracle being kidnapped is his fault and is pushing away others in an attempt to keep them safe. He lies to Robin about Barbara to keep him focused on his current task and out of the field. He tries to prevent Nightwing from coming to Gotham, scolds him for doing so, immediately shuts him down the second Barbara is mentioned, and refuses to let him help due to his fear that Nightwing will die trying. Pairing Batman’s words here with Nightwing’s lack of a strong reaction to them, it creates an excellent understanding of the kind of relationship these two have. Dick knows Bruce. He knows he’s stubborn and overprotective and isolationist. But most importantly, he knows what Batman is like in a situation like this. After all, the titular antagonist is literally a former partner of Batman’s who was kidnapped and then presumably killed. Dick has DEFINITELY seen Bruce go through this exact scenario before.