Highlights
- Batman's visual development in the Arkham games was significant, with his suit evolving from basic to elite, but Robin's costume remained largely unchanged.
- Robin's design in Arkham City depicted him as an adult in the brooding Arkham universe, but his look was never developed further in subsequent games.
- The lack of variety in Robin's aesthetic appearances in the Arkham franchise, combined with a discrepancy in the DLC, shows a lack of care and attention compared to Batman.
Because Batman was the obvious lead of his self-titled games in Rocksteady and WB Games Montreal’s Arkham universe, it’s unsurprising that his visual development had so much going for it. Starting from a relatively basic suit in Arkham Asylum before donning a suit that was more padded but still nonresistant to wear-and-tear in Arkham City, Batman finally upgraded to an elite suit in Arkham Knight. Then, wedged oddly as a prequel, Arkham Origins would portray Batman in a bulky suit that he would seemingly abandon for a long time in his crime-fighting career.
It’s arguable that Batman’s personality and behavior failed to develop much over the course of the games, but his default, narrative-specific suits have. Likewise, Batman has always had an abundance of cosmetic suit skins for players to choose from, even if the capes on some of them have felt awkwardly implemented and tend to clip through Batman’s arms and body when gliding. However, Batman was not the only playable character in this franchise, and one of his most prominent sidekicks, Robin, surely got left on the back burner when it came to showing their developmental progression in available costumes.
Arkham City’s Robin Design was Great, But Never Truly Improved Upon
Rocksteady’s Robin debuted in Arkham City with a look that was starkly different from what fans might normally envision of the traditionally colorful Boy Wonder. Instead, Tim Drake was clad in muted red, yellow, and black armor with a cape that always had a hood up over his head. This hood hid the fact that Tim also bore a shaved head, which was perhaps the most defining feature of the reinterpreted look despite not seeing this mature hairstyle with his hood down in-game.
No longer did Robin have the cherubic acrobat tights or swirling bangs, and that helped to establish this Robin as an adult in the more brooding and gloomy Arkham universe. Complete with a retractable staff, ballistic shield, zip-kick grapnel line, and shurikens as his unique gadgets, Robin was presented terrifically. Unfortunately, that design was never iterated in a way that showed development for Tim between games.
Arkham Origins followed Arkham City as Arkham Asylum’s prequel and unceremoniously debuted Dick Grayson’s Robin through its multiplayer mode, where players could finally role-play in cooperation as Batman and Robin’s dynamic duo. This design gave Dick’s Robin dark hair and largely red armor, but because he was only included in a multiplayer mode that has since shut down it is hardly memorable.
Robin was Failed by His Aesthetic Appearances in the Arkham Franchise
Oddly enough and in a way that is an eyesore, Tim’s Robin would then appear in Arkham Knight with almost the exact same look. But because Rocksteady attempted to go with a more hyperrealistic approach to graphical fidelity in Arkham Knight, its character models became weathered and aged in a way that the more stylized approach of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City could avoid.
Tim’s shaved head being constantly on display had a lesser effect than Arkham City’s, where it could be hidden by the hood at all times, and overall it’s fairly disappointing that this Robin didn’t get a drastic makeover like Batman had. Therefore, Arkham Knight’s Robin aesthetic seems like an ill-fated downgrade of Arkham City’s when Rocksteady could have afforded to be more creative with its redesign. The biggest blemish on the development of Tim’s Robin, though, is the fact that he would be reprised later in Arkham Knight’s Matter of Family DLC with the exact same look as in the base game.
Since this DLC is a prequel dating back before even the events of Arkham Asylum, it makes no sense for Tim to look identical to how he does in Arkham Knight, especially given how he looks in Arkham City. This discrepancy, along with Arkham Knight’s general lack of available Robin skins, shows a massive oversight on Tim’s Robin and it’s too bad he has never received the same care and attention that Batman did in Rocksteady’s Arkham games.