Originally seen as a potential disaster, Batman: Arkham Origins is quickly becoming one of the most sought after games for the holidays. The premise to the game is simple yet surprisingly complex: In addition to fighting the mafia and the psychopaths that are suddenly appearing in Gotham City, a very young Batman (only two years in as a costumed vigilante) has to contend with 8 of the world’s best assassins who’ve come to collect a $50 million bounty on his head. With Firefly just recently added to that list, there are now 3 spots left to fill. I doubt there will be any more reveals this close to the release date,  so I’ve singled out a few contract killers who I think would be perfect for the new game.

LADY SHIVA

Arguably the great martial artist on Earth in the DC universe, Batman has stated multiple times that Shiva is one the few people capable of beating him in hand to hand combat. This sets her apart from the rest of the assassins we’ve seen, which makes her an extremely deadly and interesting opponent. No swords, guns, poison, or Venom (sorry but a super steroid counts as a weapon to me) are needed for Lady Shiva to eliminate her target. Her pathological need to find a fighter skilled enough to kill her not only makes her suitable for the grim world outlook of the ‘Arkhamverse’, but makes it easily understandable why she would take Black Mask’s offer and seek out Batman. Honor would motivate her, not money, which is another distinction between her and the rest of the assassins. Warner Bros Games Montreal (WBGM) has made a point to mention that they wanted more female characters in their game, which is why Copperhead was remade into a woman. If that’s true, then why not add one of the deadliest women alive to test their titular hero???

KGBEAST

Trained by Russia’s KGB division, Anatoli Knyazev – known as KGBeast to his enemies – is as deadly as they come. Given the KGB’s knack for covert assassinations, taking out a stealthy person like Batman should be right up his alley. As shown with Firefly and Copperhead, WBGM seems to be taking a Beware the Batman approach, using some of the Dark Knight’s lesser known villains and remaking them into criminals just as threatening as the ones we’re all familiar with. Even if they don’t give him his prosthetic gun, KGBeast still has enhanced strength, has no regard for human life, and has been known to take extreme measures to complete a mission. But for all the strength and size, it’s his determination that is most terrifying. During their first encounter in the comics, he cut off his own hand to avoid being captured by Batman. It would be nice to see those events unfold in the game.

 TALIA (AND POSSIBLY R’AS) AL GHUL

You can’t have a Batman game that focuses on assassins without including the League of Assassins. The group is usually run by R’as Al Ghul (aka The Demon’s Head) and/or his daughter Talia, who have been very important characters in Batman’s life since their introduction. One of the taglines for the game is “identities will be formed and relationships will be forged”. Next to his ‘Bat-Family’, there’s no more complex of a relationship to Bruce Wayne than the one between Talia and her father. This would fit into the tagline and fulfill the need for more female characters that WBGM wants. I was highly skeptical about this claim at first. But a recent photo release (shown below) gives players a glimpse of Deathstroke’s gameplay in the challenge maps. On the right side, a member of the League is shown to be an opponent. That character is the spitting image of a member of Talia’s elite guards shown in Batman: Arkham City. That image alone supports my belief that either Talia or her somewhat immortal father will meet Batman for the first time in this game.

Do you think these asassins will make it into the game? Do you think other characters might make it instead? Leave a comment.