Robin readied for Arkham Asylum II?

By Robert Purchese Published 9 March, 2010

Warner not ruling him out.

Warner has avoided confirming whether Robin will be in Batman: Arkham Asylum II.

When presented with evidence from IMDB - where the Batman: Arkham Asylum II listing casts Vincent Marbella as Robin - Warner shrugged, telling Kotaku that, "To our knowledge, what you asked about is inaccurate information. We are not yet discussing details for the sequel."

Last July, Batman: Arkham Asylum game director Sefton Hill told Eurogamer he "loves" Robin, but that the timeline of the first game pre-dated the Dynamic Duo. "A lot of people who don't read the comics don't know how cool Robin can be," he said.

When pressed on the addition of Robin and co-op, Sefton added that there were "lots of exciting ideas", although no immediate plans for friends to play together.

Details of Batman: Arkham Asylum II are scarce. The game is confirmed as in development at Rocksteady Studios - now owned by Warner - but no platforms or dates have been mentioned.

Batman: Arkham Asylum was released last year and breathed new life not only into the Batman IP, but into superhero adaptations in general.

Our Batman: Arkham Asylum review tells the full story.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (51) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • bad09 #1 2 years ago

    Holy unhealthy relationship with a young boy Batman!

    No. Just no. Bats works alone these days and I like that.

  • matrim83 #2 2 years ago

    ^^
    :D

  • MiniAmin #3 2 years ago

    This is how they'll segue multiplayer into the game - a co-op mode with Robin. Why?

    Because every potential great single-player game these days must contain a rubbish multiplayer mode you can play online.

  • menage #4 2 years ago

    Ugh

    Oh noes

  • photoboy #5 2 years ago

    It's funny they say Arkham pre-dates Robin, I'm certain one of the profiles you can unlock talks about Robin working with Batman on a case. Maybe the profiles also talk about events in the comics that happen after the game?

  • LazyNinjaUk #6 2 years ago

    As long as its done right, it can have the potential to be good. The further away it is from being associated with Chris o' Donnel's hammy performance the better.

  • Ryboy #7 2 years ago

    I bet your bollocks to a barn dance that it'll be a split game thing. Like you play Bats for one bit, then Robin for another. Then Robin's mum. Then Bat's dad.

    Oh, wait...

  • dudefella #8 2 years ago

    "Timeline pre-dates Robin" is totallll rubbish. If you don't want him in the game, Sefton Hill, just say so! It's fine, I'm not mad. But Bane is in the game. And Bane is most definitely not pre-Robin. So that's a load of bull, tbh.

  • JahB #9 2 years ago

    oh hells no. Robin sucked in the TV series, Robin sucked in the movies, so please keep this crap out of the sequel to my most beloved 2009 game.

  • Sunyavadin #10 2 years ago

    Random crap some bloke tagged on imdb is considered newsworthy and reliable now?
    Edited by 1 at 09/03/10 @ 09:49

  • Stepharneo #11 2 years ago

    Hopefully they said robin and meant nightwing....the less campy of the robins. While I can think of ways that this would work, just like lego batman, it will be a mad fight over who gets to be player 1.

  • Razorus #12 2 years ago

    Nightwing maybe. But I ain't wearing no green hot pants and boots.

  • Shikasama #13 2 years ago

    I bought BAA last week and so far I've enjoyed it immensely. Some of those Riddler puzzles are dicks though.

    What's wrong with having Robin in the game? People don't assume that when they say Batman they are making a Batman game based on Adam West so what possible reason is there for thinking they'd do the same with Robin?

    People are seriously stupid

  • Kikizosan #14 2 years ago

    If he is included, I hope that means co-op. A good game + good co-op = win, and from the quality of Arkham, we should have faith they'll do as well with a sequel.

  • Spanky #15 2 years ago

    It's because the fanboys find their lust diluted when a sexy young boy in green panties is present, it just makes them look like the chubby little spotty spot spot sausage bodies they are ;) They only have eyes for the batman, big and strong and able to overpower them "Do as you please... just.. just don't hurt me + wink".

  • WinterSnowblind #16 2 years ago

    They done a decent job of making Robin "cool" for the Lego game, I'm quite sure these guys could do the same. And if it's being done for the purposes of co-op, then I'm all for it. But I still think they could have done it classic beat 'em up style, and just had a second, different coloured Batman :p

  • TeaFiend #17 2 years ago

    Wasn't there a Jason Todd reference in AA?

  • LiamK #18 2 years ago

    Of course, Robin hasn't worn the small green pants for at least 20 years. But like headlines saying "holy headline, Batman", it's something that we will be stuck with til the end of time.

  • LiamK #19 2 years ago

    And yes, the timeline argument makes no sense. We have Bane, Harley Quinn, freaking Oracle. Unless we're living in a crazy world where Batgirl predates Robin (I'm looking at you, The Batman cartoon series) then clearly Robin should be there. Which Robin is more open.

    (And their relationship is father and son. Granted, it's weird, but we are talking about a guy who dresses up as a bat. He's clearly flipping insane.)

  • Boomerang #20 2 years ago

    "Bats works alone these days and I like that"
    Based on the last two movies maybe. I think we all know that Rocksteady are looking more to the comics for their inspiration (i haven't read any i must say).

    I don't care who they have in the second, as long as it's more of the same. Batman: AA is easily one of the best games i've ever played - i rank it up there with Half-Life 2, X-Com and Deus Ex. (Disclaimer: all that is IMO, of course, before the petty argueing starts)

  • Joco84 #21 2 years ago

    Robin boo! Nightwing yey!

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #22 2 years ago

    I get very fanboy-y about Robin, so I'll try to restrain myself. Robin is far from essential to Batman, but personally speaking, I MUCH prefer Robin to no-Robin. Dick Grayson, for a start, is my favourite fictional character of all time (beating several Transformers, too), and the dynamic between B&R is a great one for fiction. Gameplay-wise, it offers the possibility of teamwork, co-op, or at the very least a second playthrough with a different character. B:AA is NOT the gritty uber-reality of Nolan's Batverse; Robin would work very well alongside Killer Croc, The Creeper, Oracle, Bane, and other characters in the game (which, incidentally, I've not finished yet).

    So, in conclusion: Robin (or Nightwing, even!) is A Good Thing. And the current Batman & Robin comic is my favourite comic of all time.

  • lexxx #23 2 years ago

    tend to agree with the anti-robin comments... the atmosphere in AA was particularly effective and i think a sidekick could mess with that

  • schnide #24 2 years ago

    Well I used to read the comics, and I still don't know how cool Robin can be either.

  • dsmx #25 2 years ago

    Well if robin was in it you could have co-op and that opens up a whole new range of possibilities in approaching every situation.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #26 2 years ago

    @ schnide

    Robin can be a touch of light-heartedness in a grim narrative; a sounding board; a humanising aspect to a grim n gritty Bats; a partner, enabling tactics requiring two people; an opportunity to explore storylines outside of "reclusive billionaire philanthropist playboy"; a way of discussing mortality, legacies, and the future.

    In games? Co-op, partnerships, different player models, etc...
    Edited by 1 at 09/03/10 @ 11:57

  • zuljin #27 2 years ago

    I read this and I couldn't help but think of the recent Christian Bale quote (on the movies however):

    "If Robin crops up in one of the new Batman films, I’ll be chaining myself up somewhere and refusing to go to work."

  • Pastici #28 2 years ago

    That could be more to do with his ego rather than a hatred for Robin

  • chukcyQ #29 2 years ago

    Batman doesn't need Robin. He needs some love from PussyWoman.

  • dudefella #30 2 years ago

    Robin's image has been hurt by Joel Silver's horrible atrocities and the Adam West series, but he honestly has something compelling to bring to Batman's table. You guys have to trust Rocksteady on this, they wouldn't include him (assuming they even will) if they didn't think it made sense.

  • icematt12 #31 2 years ago

    I personally believe Robin was referred to twice in the first game by the Joker. Once near the end of Medical where you can see Harley through the glass and in one of the speeches at the visiting room. Joker even suggests having Harley as a new partner.

  • Lee_Morris #32 2 years ago

    If the sequel follows on directly from the ending of the first game I can't see any way they can crowbar him into the story. I hope this info is wrong.

  • Shrike #33 2 years ago

    Yeah, his timeline comment is way off the mark, but his point about (the) Robin(s) being (a) very cool (near essential) character(s) in the comics is spot on. Batman:AA feels very much like late-90s Batman in a lot of ways, which leaves the door open for both Tim as Robin and Dick as Nightwing, both of which I'd like to see. Much as he sucks (most of the time) in the comics, Hush would be a cool videogame villain.. Asylum 2's Revolver Ocelot, maybe.

    If they do proper Batman & Robin co-op including join takedowns and cooperative melee moves, I will have a Batgasm.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #34 2 years ago

    @ designerheadache

    A campy outdated 60s idea that they had in 1940? Wow, forward thinking there.

    Originally Robin was designed so that Batman a) had someone to talk to (this was pre-Alfred) and b) to appeal to younger kids. The character is as campy as you want to make it, and the idea of a single man adopting an orphan as realistic as you wish to pursue it.

  • Bartacus #35 2 years ago

    Holy queer boy Batman Robin will be crap, be better to have commissioner Gordon the pensioner.

  • geordiek #36 2 years ago

    I could'nt give a toss, as long as they don't make the game so fucking easy like the first one.
    Edited by 1 at 09/03/10 @ 14:21

  • SpaceMonkey77 #37 2 years ago

    The inclusion of Robin will be good for the game, and as obviously pointed out by some of the negative reactions on here, many don't know of Robin beyond that lame 60's tv series. Take it from one who's sample comics to know better. I could drop spoilers all over this post, but that be telling and the net is full of information.

    One way to go is to skip Dick Grayson (the Robin many know), and move onto Jason Todd which would make for a much more compelling tale, especially for a game.

    And for those still moaning about co-op and multiplayer, it won't be in every game, but its here to stay, get used to it. Judge each game that uses such options on their own merits. There's a reason why very few console games are multiplayer only, and if all single player games were going to disappear tomorrow, you'd have a point.

    Whatever they do, I'll look forward to BAA2.

    Edited by 1 at 09/03/10 @ 15:28

  • Shikasama #38 2 years ago

    Spanky I nearly choked on my Drumstick. Prick :D

  • Deckard1 #39 2 years ago

    robin is even gayer than superman. I wouldn't mind coop (think splinter cell coop) but robin and his little green underpants can fuck off out of this game please.

  • rosshuts #40 2 years ago

    Hmmm, am I the only one that thinks Tim Drake (third Robin) freakin Rocks??!?!?!?

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #41 2 years ago

    @ Deckard1

    Robin hasn't worn green underpants in decades. His current costume is all black with a red "bodywarmer" style vest. Before that he basically wore a Batman costume but red instead of grey, and before THAT his underpants were red, over the top of full-length green trousers.

    That a help?

  • Runcle #42 2 years ago

    I'm sure Joker says Robin's dead in one of his lines over the tannoy.

  • Deckard1 #43 2 years ago

    @Britesparc

    Reading between the lines here but..... you miss the green underpants don't you.

  • organica #44 2 years ago

    While I wouldn't mind Robin if done well (he's a good character but easy to write badly - and my vote would be for Tim Drake), Nightwing would probably work better.

  • Retroid #45 2 years ago

    Plot of Arkham Asylum 2 revealed!

    Or not ;)

  • WJF #46 2 years ago

    I don't care if they have Robin, Nightwing or whoever.*

    As long as the game's as good as the first one I'll be happy.


    *Well, I'll be a little annoyed if it didn't have Batman in it

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #47 2 years ago

    @ Deckard1

    No, but that was a slightly disturbing post I made. ;-)

    My favourite costume is probably the current one, although I prefer the black-cape-with-yellow-lining of the Tim Drake years: http://im age3.examiner.com/images/blog/E...

  • DAN.E.B #48 2 years ago

    robin? nooooooooooooooooooo!

  • smelly #49 2 years ago

    >Holy unhealthy relationship with a young boy Batman!

    Well in some versions of the story (like the dark knight returns) robin is a young girl...

  • polar #50 2 years ago

    Nooooooooooo! Robin is shit.

  • azazel_fallenangel #51 2 years ago

    Robin(all three) does/do have some decent stories, always bothereed me though, the fact that Batman would put a teenager into such obvious danger. Bruce trained all his teenage years, before fighting crime, and these lot are at it about 13~ish. Make him a bit older, especially considering censors, and maybe bring in nightwing. The whole of gotham is now under attack, not just arkham, Bats may need the help...