by WB Games Montreal Gotham Knights, which finally launched on October 21, follows the adventures of Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl and Robin after the death of Batman. This bold move sets off an unpredictable plot that ultimately centers on two secret societies who want Gotham for themselves.
Although the game’s lackluster reception and a plethora of performance issues might keep you from picking up the game, Batman fans might still want to know more about its entertaining story. As such, here’s a recap of what’s going on in Gotham Knights and how it all comes to a head in its thrilling ending.
How does Batman die in Gotham Knights?
Gotham Knights kicks off by showing you exactly how Batman died. Ra’s Al Ghul ambushes Bruce Wayne in the Batcave, resulting in an entertaining brawl at Batman’s iconic base of operations. Batman sends out a call to his sidekicks, but none of them are close enough to help him in time. When it becomes clear that the only way to defeat Ra’s Al Ghul is to blow up the Batcave, Batman does so and also kills himself in the process.
Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, and Robin arrive on the scene soon after and find Bruce’s corpse. We then attend his funeral, where the CEO of Kane Industries and Bruce Wayne’s uncle, Jacob Kane, give a speech about how well Bruce Wayne served Gotham City. The former sidekicks quickly realize they must now defend Gotham City and decide to investigate Batman’s latest case. Their efforts lead them to the scene of Dr. Kirk Langstrom’s murder, where they learn they must infiltrate the GCPD to obtain a biometric key from his body.
There they encounter Talia Al Ghul, who burns Ra’s body and claims she is no longer in charge of the League of Shadows. From there, the case continues as the crew sets up a base of operations at the Belfry of Gotham City and confronts Harley Quinn and the Penguin, who is now reformed but knows about Gotham’s Secret Society.
Secrets of the Court of Owls in Gotham Knights
Penguin directs the Bat Family to The Powers Club, a former Gentleman’s Club in Gotham City. There they find an entrance to a network of underground caves and the Court of Owls, a secret society considered an urban legend, even by Batman. They are led by The Voice of the Court, who eventually grabs the heroes and throws them into a pit of death. The heroes escape and get a key in the process.
Using this key, they find information about how the Court of Owls murdered Judge Elena Moreno’s brother while trying to stop construction of Gotham City’s Chelsea Tunnel. While sneaking into this construction site, the Bat Family encounter feral zombified creatures called Talons, which the Court of Owls revived with an element called Dionesium. After escaping the tunnel, Talia reveals that Dinoseum has the same properties as the Lazurus Pit, causing the League of Shadows to declare war on Gotham.
She asks the heroes to suppress the Voice of the Court to end the conflict, and they comply. After further investigation, they learn that Bruce’s uncle, Jacob Kane, is the voice of the court and knows that Bruce was Batman. He escapes into the chaos of the League of Shadows, murdering many members of Court of Owls in a masquerade. Penguin then calls, asking the heroes for help, but it turns out to be a trick, and whoever you’re playing with is sedated and brought to the Labyrinth in the Court of Owls.
The maze is a massive mechanical stage which, combined with poison gas, causes the captured hero to hallucinate and wonder if Batman actually cared for them. Eventually, the captive hero emerges from the illusion, but the Court of Owls begin attacking Gotham City more publicly. The Bat family decides it’s time to take down Jacob Kane and work with Renee Montoya and Judge Moreno to get a warrant for his arrest.
After that, there’s a long siege of Kane Industries so the heroes can bring Jacob Kane out into the open and arrest him for the Kirk Langstrom murders and more. They eventually arrest him, but just as he is about to be put in a police car, Talia murders him. After a chase, she reveals that she has always been in charge of the League of Shadows and is planning a massive attack on Gotham City.
The end of Gotham Knights
After saving some of their allies from being attacked by the League of Shadows around Gotham City, the Bat Family tracks Talia to Arkham Asylum. There, they discover that she has taken the Dionesium used by the Court of Owls and combined it with a real Lazurus Pit located in Gotham to create more powerful creatures: the Batmen. After nearly dying while shooting one down, the heroes battle other Man-Bats who are terrorizing Gotham City.
Eventually, the heroes discover that the Lazarus Pit is near the now-destroyed Batcave and confront Talia there. That’s when her plan becomes clear: she revives Bruce Wayne in the Lazarus pit and plans to brainwash him into killing and controlling Gotham City with her. His plan works and Bruce Wayne is revived and becomes loyal to Talia. A boss fight ensues, with the mentees standing up to their mentor.
Bruce Wayne eventually comes to his senses and learns what is going on in Gotham, but is mortally wounded again when a strike intended for the player hits Bruce instead. Here, the final boss fight ensues against Talia. The Court of Owls even reappear during battle with a new, unnamed Voice of the Court, and they make it clear that they intend to claim this Lazarus Pit as their own. Talia powers up to attack some of them, then starts fighting the player again. When the fight ends in a stalemate and it becomes clear that she won’t win, Talia teleports away.
The Court of Owls are still there and intend to use the Lazarus Pit. Recognizing this, Bruce tells his former sidekick to run as he climbs into the Batwing, still hanging in the wreckage of the Batman. As the player escapes, Batman denounces the Court of Owls and anyone else who uses their wealth or power to control and harm others before crushing the Batwing into the Lazarus Pit. This defeats the Court of Owls and destroys the Lazarus Pit, but comes at the cost of Batman’s life…again.
Knowing that Batman is now dead for real, the hero who defeated Talia dons a new costume and swears to protect Gotham City in his own way. Back at the Belfry, the heroes watch a video of when they interrupted Bruce while he was recording the Code:Black message sent to them upon his death. After telling him not to worry about it and to come have dinner with them, Batman ends the recording by saying, “You’re still watching over me”, before the watching Bat Family leaves.
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