Batman’s city of origin Gotham City has long been synonymous with crime and corruption. Gotham is perhaps as well known for its catalog of supervillains that strive for the conquest of the crooked government and police forces within. It should be of no surprise that Gotham also houses a sanatorium to contain the malevolent forces abound. The name of the notorious asylum was taken from the Cthulu Mythos, a fictional universe inspired by the gothic horror works of H.P. Lovecraft.

The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, as it was originally known, was founded by psychiatrist Amadeus Arkham and named after his ailing mother, who herself suffered from dementia. Amadeus was a promising student and believed in the possibility of criminal rehabilitation. With the support of Bruce Wayne’s ancestor Judge Solomon Wayne, Amadeus set to construct what we now know as Arkham Asylum on his family’s historical grounds. Arkham Asylum has since housed some of the most notorious criminal masterminds of the comic book and movie franchises, including Joker, Penguin, Bane, The Riddler, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, and Scarecrow, amongst others. The question remains: what is the story behind the infamous Arkham Asylum?

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What is the Point of Arkham Asylum?

Arkham Asylum is a fictional psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane, which was originally devoted to patients suffering from severe mental illness. Its founder Amadeus Arkham had watched his mother Elizabeth Arkham suffer from mental illness, which devoted him to finding a cure. Amadeus, we come to find out, had euthanized his mother to “treat” her dementia, but repressed the memory. Originally intended to rehabilitate criminals and treat mental illness, Arkham Asylum eventually devolved into a prison with a high rate of recidivism and poor security protocols, where ironically, they incarcerate Batman’s most notorious villains. Furthermore, as Arkham is technically a hospital, they are better equipped to handle patients/inmates with special needs, such as Mr. Freeze who requires a refrigerated cell. Gotham’s central hero Batman has also been known to work undercover to infiltrate the bad guys. In one such instance, after the asylum was destroyed and relocated to Wayne Manor, Batman goes undercover as patient Jack Shaw to investigate a series of murders within the institution.

Is Arkham Asylum Evil?

Arkham Asylum has earned a notorious reputation as evil, and there is some history to back up these claims. The Arkham Mansion, which would one day serve as the Asylum, was originally owned by fellow DC character Jason Blood, a powerful occult practitioner who performed exorcisms in the home and trapped the lost souls in his basement using blood magic. This might explain why Amadeus Arkham himself also fell into madness and murder. As told in the graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, Amadeus Arkham slit his own mother’s throat in a bid to rid her of her ailment ,which he envisioned as a bat-like presence. He repressed the memory for years, convincing himself that his mother had taken her own life. Later still, escaped serial killer Martin ‘Mad Dog’ Hawkins brutally murdered Amadeus’ wife and daughter. When Mad Dog was admitted into Arkham Asylum, society praised Amadeus for his compassion in treating him given the circumstances. Arkham, however, electrocuted Mad Dog to death under the guise of electroshock therapy treatments. Shortly thereafter, his sanity began to slip away from him. He began designing the floor plan of Arkham around occult runes that he believed would drive away the mysterious bat specter that was relentlessly taunting him. In addition to Amadeus Arkham, several others under the employ of the Asylum have also been known to experience madness, including Amadeus’ nephew Jeremiah Arkham, Dr. Harleen Quinzel a.k.a. Harley Quinn, Lyle Bolton, Dr. Jonathan Crane a.k.a. The Scarecrow, and Professor Hugo Strange.


Related: The Batman Director Matt Reeves Teases an Arkham Asylum Spinoff Series at HBO Max

Arkham Asylum Representation in TV and Film

Arkham Asylum is not only featured in the comic books, but also throughout the DC universe movie and TV franchises. Most notably in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins in which current administrator Dr. Jonathan Crane conducts atrocious experiments on his patients, exposing them to an experimental hallucinogenic toxin that induces terror and panic. The notorious institution is also featured in James Gunn’s Suicide Squad in the origin story between Harley Quinn and the Joker, and again in the escape sequence at the end of the movie. You can also catch glimpses of Arkham Asylum in Todd Phillips Joker as Arkham State Hospital and in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever when Dr. Chase Meridian visits Edward Nygma who would later become Riddler. In addition, the Fox drama Gotham has also featured Arkham Asylum in several episodes utilizing Staten Island’s Bayley Seton Hospital. The real-world hospital underwent a few upgrades of course including additional stories, a new roof, and the addition of searchlights. Most recently, The Batman offered a grittier take on Arkham Asylum, even bringing together Paul Dano’s The Riddler and Barry Keoghan’s The Joker at the very end of the film, possibly setting up future storylines for the franchise.

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