So I've been thinking about this a lot and i've come to the conclusion that Batman is either completely insane or just shit faced all the time.
 
I'm not even sure Arkham City happened, I'm pretty sure that was just some sick fucking trip of some kind. I mean a city that's been turned into a prison? What?
 
Even disregarding all the multitude of ways in which Batman has suffered physical abuse in the last two games, let's just look at all the shit he has been on:
 

• Took major doses of Scarecrow gas to the face on several occasions
• Talked to fucking ghosts
  
• Massive second hand exposure to Titan throughout both games
• Got injected with Titan at the end of Asylum
• Had the dying Joker's fucking blood injected into him
• Drank some crazy voodoo demon juice so he could go on a spirit quest with Ra's
• Had his mind fucked up so bad by Mad Hatter that he thought he was fighting giant rabbits on a floating clock

© 2009 Arkham Asylum

Or comic books and video games take certain liberties with the rules of reality to make crazy stories.

Man, like... What if Batman doesn't even exist? What if there is no Batman? What if, like, YOU are The Joker and you are seeing everything he would see, but he's so crazy that it's all an illusion!
 
And what happened to all of those destroyed buildings after Protocol 10 went in effect? At first, everything was being destroyed and on fire, and a few minutes later, it's all back to being fine.
 
What if we don't even exist? What we're a video game being played... by Batman? Consequences will never be the same.

I'll accept any theory that has the Joker still alive and scheming his endearingly maniacal crimes. I won't accept his departure. Never. :I

@LordXavierBritish: What if... We are the PS3?

Pretty sure the "it was all a dream" or "you were insane the whole time!" is not going down. If Rocksteady was that dumb/lazy, the game would have ended with that twist. You really think they would market an entire third game with "Yeah, none of that last game actually happened! Cool, right?!" Nope.

Comic books are just dumb. Period.

Game's dope.

Dude the great thing about comics is that  you do shit like kill the Joker, Dr. Strange, and Rha's Al Ghul or turn part of a major city into a prison.  You can either say it is an alternate universe, or yo we totally brought Jason Todd back from the dead so anything is possible, or just blame Doom Bots or their DC equivalent.  

@drhans said:

If Rockstar was that dumb/lazy, the game would have ended with that twist.

You mean Rocksteady...?

@FlyingRat: Haha, yes, I do mean Rocksteady. Good morning!

@N7: What if the Joker is just a manifestation of Batman's grief over his parents and they are actually the same person . So when the Joker died Bruce Wayne accepted the loss of his parents .

@LordXavierBritish: I'll address these point by point.

1. Yes he did, and he eventually got better after his battles with Scarecrow. The drug's effects are potent, essentially a bad acid trip, but they do wear off.

2. That happens because Batman was very near death. People tend to hallucinate that they see a bright light, or that they see dead loved ones beckoning them to the other side. This is real people we're talking about. How could you not expect Batman to see the two people who drive him on his quest to be waiting for him at the finish line?

3. Batman was inoculated in Arkham Asylum. His "second hand exposure" to blowing up the Titan Containers is not exposure at all, considering it has to be injected into the bloodstream.

4. Yes, Joker injected his tainted blood into Batman. I doubt they shared a needle, in case you're wondering if Joker gave Batman AIDS.

5. Ra's al Ghul has always been a supernatural character. He's immortal, so long as a Lazarus Pit is on hand. The "crazy demon juice" was essentially a small dose of Lazarus in liquid form. Really, read up on your Batman lore before calling it bullshit.

6. What's your point? The Mad Hatter got into his head? Batman got through it through sheer force of will, because he's the Goddamn Batman. I fully support ANY psychedelic mind-trip in these Batman games, because it lets Rocksteady really cut loose. I enjoyed the Mad Hatter side quest, same as I enjoyed the Scarecrow segments in Asylum.

To answer your question, no, this game happened in the canonical sense. It follows comic book logic, sure, but what do you expect from a game based on a comic book?

p.s. you can't prove God exists, same way I can't. This is like arguing if there's a flying teapot somewhere in the galaxy. We can argue for and against, but neither of us know. That is a round about way of saying "dude that is the weakest argument ever."

@Nottle said:

Or comic books and video games take certain liberties with the rules of reality to make crazy stories.

this

@left4doof said:

@N7: What if the Joker is just a manifestation of Batman's grief over his parents and they are actually the same person . So when the Joker died Bruce Wayne accepted the loss of his parents.

Fucking YES!

@altairre said:

@left4doof said:

@N7: What if the Joker is just a manifestation of Batman's grief over his parents and they are actually the same person . So when the Joker died Bruce Wayne accepted the loss of his parents.

Fucking YES!

I second that 'Fucking YES'

@KingWilly said:

@LordXavierBritish: I'll address these point by point.

1. Yes he did, and he eventually got better after his battles with Scarecrow. The drug's effects are potent, essentially a bad acid trip, but they do wear off.

2. That happens because Batman was very near death. People tend to hallucinate that they see a bright light, or that they see dead loved ones beckoning them to the other side. This is real people we're talking about. How could you not expect Batman to see the two people who drive him on his quest to be waiting for him at the finish line?

3. Batman was inoculated in Arkham Asylum. His "second hand exposure" to blowing up the Titan Containers is not exposure at all, considering it has to be injected into the bloodstream.

4. Yes, Joker injected his tainted blood into Batman. I doubt they shared a needle, in case you're wondering if Joker gave Batman AIDS. This and He was injected with the Joker's blood IN ARKHAM CITY!

5. Ra's al Ghul has always been a supernatural character. He's immortal, so long as a Lazarus Pit is on hand. The "crazy demon juice" was essentially a small dose of Lazarus in liquid form. Really, read up on your Batman lore before calling it bullshit.

6. What's your point? The Mad Hatter got into his head? Batman got through it through sheer force of will, because he's the Goddamn Batman. I fully support ANY psychedelic mind-trip in these Batman games, because it lets Rocksteady really cut loose. I enjoyed the Mad Hatter side quest, same as I enjoyed the Scarecrow segments in Asylum.

To answer your question, no, this game happened in the canonical sense. It follows comic book logic, sure, but what do you expect from a game based on a comic book?

p.s. you can't prove God exists, same way I can't. This is like arguing if there's a flying teapot somewhere in the galaxy. We can argue for and against, but neither of us know. That is a round about way of saying "dude that is the weakest argument ever."

Yes.

Batman already has mental issues. I mean what kind of grown-ass man runs around in a halloween costume in a prison? That's just dumb.

@LordXavierBritish said:

@KingWilly: So you're applying logic to an illogical concept.

The Terminator is illogical. Walking Dead is illogical. Almost any piece of science fiction or fantasy (and that includes superheroes) is illogical. The reason we can accept these things, however, is because these stories maintain an internal, logical consistency that can be followed and extrapolated on. If you want to be a party pooper and point out how "illogical" everything is, fine, but there's really no point in it. People inherently understand the difference between real world logic and consistent, fictional logic.

@LordXavierBritish said:

@KingWilly: So you're applying logic to an illogical concept.

The Terminator is illogical. Walking Dead is illogical. Almost any piece of science fiction or fantasy (and that includes superheroes) is illogical. The reason we can accept these things, however, is because these stories maintain an internal, logical consistency that can be followed and extrapolated on. If you want to be a party pooper and point out how "illogical" everything is, fine, but there's really no point in it. People inherently understand the difference between real world logic and consistent, fictional logic.

@LordXavierBritish said:

@KingWilly said:

@LordXavierBritish said:

@KingWilly: So you're applying logic to an illogical concept.

The Terminator is illogical. Walking Dead is illogical. Almost any piece of science fiction or fantasy (and that includes superheroes) is illogical. The reason we can accept these things, however, is because these stories maintain an internal, logical consistency that can be followed and extrapolated on. If you want to be a party pooper and point out how "illogical" everything is, fine, but there's really no point in it. People inherently understand the difference between real world logic and consistent, fictional logic.

Then explain how Quincy Sharp could have been head of Arkham Asylum in 2009 and authorized Arkham City as mayor in 1999 or earlier.

It's funny you bring that up, because I have a thread dedicated to the very fact that Arkham Asylum and Arkham City take place in the 20th century. Also it's not 1999, considering the games follow the cartoon's canonical events. I'd put it closer to 94-96.

Batman Batman Batman

Dude. He's Batman.

@KingWilly: So you're applying logic to an illogical concept.

@KingWilly said:

@LordXavierBritish said:

@KingWilly said:

@LordXavierBritish said:

@KingWilly: So you're applying logic to an illogical concept.

The Terminator is illogical. Walking Dead is illogical. Almost any piece of science fiction or fantasy (and that includes superheroes) is illogical. The reason we can accept these things, however, is because these stories maintain an internal, logical consistency that can be followed and extrapolated on. If you want to be a party pooper and point out how "illogical" everything is, fine, but there's really no point in it. People inherently understand the difference between real world logic and consistent, fictional logic.

Then explain how Quincy Sharp could have been head of Arkham Asylum in 2009 and authorized Arkham City as mayor in 1999 or earlier.

It's funny you bring that up, because I have a thread dedicated to the very fact that Arkham Asylum and Arkham City take place in the 20th century. Also it's not 1999, considering the games follow the cartoon's canonical events. I'd put it closer to 94-96.

All we have to go on is that plaque on the wall. But I second KingWillys statement that within the Batman universe it all makes sense and fit together. They have not have created this story with a basis on that it's all in Bruce Waynes/Batmans head because of some Scarecrow gas (which Bat processes like hes got a supply of steam cells). It's a fun theory, but an illogical one.

He's the goddamn Batman.

He doesn't give a fuck.

I lol'd

@JDW519 said:

@altairre said:

@left4doof said:

@N7: What if the Joker is just a manifestation of Batman's grief over his parents and they are actually the same person . So when the Joker died Bruce Wayne accepted the loss of his parents.

Fucking YES!

I second that 'Fucking YES'

I third it.

@N7 said:

Man, like... What if Batman doesn't even exist? What if there is no Batman? What if, like, YOU are The Joker and you are seeing everything he would see, but he's so crazy that it's all an illusion! And what happened to all of those destroyed buildings after Protocol 10 went in effect? At first, everything was being destroyed and on fire, and a few minutes later, it's all back to being fine. What if we don't even exist? What we're a video game being played... by Batman? Consequences will never be the same.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! Well played, sir.

back on topic: what is this I don't even

@LordXavierBritish said:

@KingWilly said:

@LordXavierBritish said:

@KingWilly: So you're applying logic to an illogical concept.

The Terminator is illogical. Walking Dead is illogical. Almost any piece of science fiction or fantasy (and that includes superheroes) is illogical. The reason we can accept these things, however, is because these stories maintain an internal, logical consistency that can be followed and extrapolated on. If you want to be a party pooper and point out how "illogical" everything is, fine, but there's really no point in it. People inherently understand the difference between real world logic and consistent, fictional logic.

Then explain how Quincy Sharp could have been head of Arkham Asylum in 2009 and authorized Arkham City as mayor in 1999 or earlier.

When does it say that the game took place in 1999? When it said 2009 they could just be saying when that character was invented but have that character set at a different point in time.

@LordXavierBritish: I'll address these point by point.

1. Yes he did, and he eventually got better after his battles with Scarecrow. The drug's effects are potent, essentially a bad acid trip, but they do wear off.

2. That happens because Batman was very near death. People tend to hallucinate that they see a bright light, or that they see dead loved ones beckoning them to the other side. This is real people we're talking about. How could you not expect Batman to see the two people who drive him on his quest to be waiting for him at the finish line?

3. Batman was inoculated in Arkham Asylum. His "second hand exposure" to blowing up the Titan Containers is not exposure at all, considering it has to be injected into the bloodstream.

4. Yes, Joker injected his tainted blood into Batman. I doubt they shared a needle, in case you're wondering if Joker gave Batman AIDS.

5. Ra's al Ghul has always been a supernatural character. He's immortal, so long as a Lazarus Pit is on hand. The "crazy demon juice" was essentially a small dose of Lazarus in liquid form. Really, read up on your Batman lore before calling it bullshit.

6. What's your point? The Mad Hatter got into his head? Batman got through it through sheer force of will, because he's the Goddamn Batman. I fully support ANY psychedelic mind-trip in these Batman games, because it lets Rocksteady really cut loose. I enjoyed the Mad Hatter side quest, same as I enjoyed the Scarecrow segments in Asylum.

To answer your question, no, this game happened in the canonical sense. It follows comic book logic, sure, but what do you expect from a game based on a comic book?

p.s. you can't prove God exists, same way I can't. This is like arguing if there's a flying teapot somewhere in the galaxy. We can argue for and against, but neither of us know. That is a round about way of saying "dude that is the weakest argument ever."