Arkham Asylum

Arkham Asylum () is a fictional psychiatric hospital appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in stories featuring Batman. It first appeared in ''Batman'' #258 (October 1974), written by Dennis O'Neil with art by Irv Novick. Located in Gotham City, the asylum houses patients who are criminally insane, as well as select prisoners with unusual medical requirements that are beyond a conventional prison's ability to accommodate. Its high-profile patients are often members of Batman's rogues gallery.

History

Located in Gotham City, Arkham Asylum is where Batman's foes who are considered to be mentally ill are brought as patients (other foes are incarcerated at Blackgate Penitentiary). Although it has had numerous administrators, some comic books have featured Jeremiah Arkham. Inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, and in particular his fictional city of Arkham, Massachusetts, the asylum was introduced by Dennis O'Neil and Irv Novick and first appeared in ''Batman'' #258 (October 1974); much of its history was established by Len Wein during the 1980s.

Arkham Asylum has a poor security record and high recidivism rate, at least with regard to the high-profile cases—patients, such as the Joker, 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.

Origins

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. 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 as Mad Dog, kills Amadeus' wife and daughter. Following this, Amadeus kills Hawkins during electroshock therapy and is committed to Arkham, where he eventually dies.

Publication history

In ''Batman'' #258, it is named as Arkham Hospital, although it is not clear what kind of hospital it is. ''Arkham Asylum'' first appeared in another Dennis 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, when ''Batman'' #326 by Len Wein described the asylum's location in the suburbs of Gotham City.

Arkham Asylum has been demolished or destroyed several times in its history, including ''Batman: The Last Arkham'', '' Batman: Knightfall'', and '' Batman Eternal''.

Staff

Wardens

* Amadeus ArkhamThe founder of Arkham Asylum.
* Jeremiah ArkhamThe nephew of Amadeus Arkham. He was the head of Arkham before becoming the second Black Mask.
* Quincy SharpA character created for the '' Batman: Arkham'' series, he is an Arkham warden who possesses a homicidal split personality.
* Hugo StrangeArkham's chief psychiatrist and an early enemy of Batman.

Corrections Officers

* Aaron CashA security guard who sports a hook hand after Killer Croc bit it off. Unlike many of his colleagues, Cash is neither mentally unwell nor corrupt and is a trusted ally of Batman.
* Frank BolesA security guard who patrolled near the cell of Solomon Grundy. He was killed by Emerald Empress.
* Lyle BoltonA ruthless security guard who later becomes the supervillain Lock-Up.

Psychiatrists

* Achilles MiloA mad scientist and enemy of Batman who once became the administrator of Arkham Asylum.
* Alyce SinnerA member of Intergang who works for Jeremiah Arkham.
* Anne CarverA psychiatrist who Jane Doe killed and impersonated.
* Ant CarleyA psychiatrist who was known for his dangerous testing with LSD and trying to get the patients to open their third eye. He was fired after a week due to his test being seen as unsafe.
* Harleen QuinzelA former psychiatric intern who was seduced by the Joker and became his sidekick, Harley Quinn.
* Joan LelandHarleen's therapist and former colleague. She was created for '' Batman: The Animated Series''.
* 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 the Joker, took over in an attempt to get Batman to come to the Asylum. She attempted to cure Two-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.

Patients

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 is also featured in other DC Comics publications, apart from the Batman comic book titles. In Alan Moore's run in ''Swamp Thing'' the Floronic Man is detained there and in '' The Sandman'' by Neil Gaiman, Doctor Destiny escapes the asylum to wreak havoc on both the real and dream worlds. It has also been featured in varying capacities in a number of DC miniseries events, such as ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', ''Identity Crisis'', '' Day of Vengeance'' and ''Countdown to Final Crisis'', among others.

Many DC Comics characters who have been patients at Arkham Asylum are listed below.

Others

Graphic novels featuring Arkham Asylum

Arkham Asylum is featured in the graphic novels '' Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth'', '' Batman: The Last Arkham'', ''Arkham Asylum: Living Hell'', '' Black Orchid'', ''Arkham Reborn'', and '' Batman: The Man Who Laughs''. ''A Serious House on Serious Earth'' has been critically acclaimed, having been called "one of the finest superhero books to ever grace a bookshelf." IGN ranked it as number four in a list of the 25 greatest Batman graphic novels, behind '' The Killing Joke'', ''The Dark Knight Returns'', and ''Year One'', whilst Forbidden Planet named it number eight in their "50 Best of the Best Graphic Novels" list.

Other versions

* An alternate future version of Arkham Asylum appears in ''The Dark Knight Returns''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' JLA: The Nail'', where it is destroyed during a battle between Batman and the Joker.
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' Batman: Crimson Mist'', where a vampiric Batman kills most of its inmates.

In other media

Television

Live-action

* Arkham Asylum appears in ''Birds of Prey''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' Gotham''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in television series set in the Arrowverse.
* Arkham Asylum appears in ''Titans.''
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' The Sandman''. This version is located in Buffalo, New York.
* Arkham Asylum appears in ''The Penguin''.

Animation

* Arkham Asylum appears in the DC Animated Universe series '' Batman: The Animated Series'', while an alternate universe variant overseen by the Justice Lords appears in the ''Justice League'' episode "A Better World".
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' The Batman'' (2004).
* Arkham Asylum appears in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode " Mayhem of the Music Meister!".
* Arkham Asylum appears in ''Harley Quinn''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in the ''Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?'' episode "What a Night, For a Dark Knight!".
* Arkham Asylum appears in the '' DC Super Hero Girls'' episode "#NightmareInGotham".

Films

Live-action

* Arkham Asylum appears in ''Batman Forever'' and '' Batman & Robin''.

* Arkham Asylum appears in ''Batman Begins'', portrayed by the National Institute for Medical Research.
* Arkham Asylum appears in films set in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).
* Arkham Asylum, renamed Arkham State Hospital, appears in '' Joker'' and '' Joker: Folie à Deux''.

* Arkham Asylum appears in '' The Batman'' (2022).

Animation

* Arkham Asylum appears in '' Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in the '' Batman: Gotham Knight'' segment "Crossfire".
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' Batman: Assault on Arkham''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in the '' Batman: Unlimited'' film series.
* Arkham Asylum appears in ''The Lego Batman Movie''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' Justice League vs. the Fatal Five''.

Video games

* Arkham Asylum appears as a stage in the ''Batman Forever'' tie-in game.
* Arkham Asylum appears in ''Batman: Toxic Chill''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' Batman: Dark Tomorrow''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in the ''Batman Begins'' tie-in game.
* Arkham Asylum appears in ''DC Universe Online''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in the ''Lego Batman'' series and '' Lego DC Super-Villains''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in the '' Batman: Arkham'' series. This version is an island-based prison akin to Alcatraz. After Arkham is badly damaged during the events of the first game, its prisoners are moved to the mainland and placed in Arkham City, a massive prison-city.
* Arkham Asylum appears as a stage in the ''Injustice'' series.
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' Batman: The Telltale Series''.
* Arkham Asylum appears in '' Gotham 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 to Blackgate Penitentiary.

See also

* Blackgate Penitentiary – A similar prison in Gotham City, used to hold non-powered supervillains such as crime lords and mob bosses.
* Iron Heights Penitentiary – A similar prison in Central City.
* Stryker's Island – A similar prison in Metropolis
* Ravencroft – A similar institute appearing in Marvel Comics, typically appearing in association with Spider-Man.

Notes

References

External links

Arkham Care


BOF's review of Arkham Asylum, A Serious House on a Serious Earth

Official Videogame Website

{{Batman

Batman
DC Comics locations
Fictional elements introduced in 1974
Fictional buildings and structures originating in comic books
Fictional hospitals
Fictional prisons
Gotham City
Psychiatric hospitals in fiction
Psychiatry in the United States in fiction