Arkham Asylum

From DC Database

Contents 1 History 2 Residents 3 Notes 4 Trivia 5 Recommended Reading 6 See Also 7 Links and References

History

Arkham Asylum is located on the outskirts of Gotham City, and is where those of Batman's foes considered to be legally insane are incarcerated (other foes are incarcerated at Blackgate Penitentiary). Although it has had numerous administrators, its current head is Jeremiah Arkham. The Asylum does not have a good record, at least with regard to the high profile cases; escapes are frequent (on at least one occasion, an obsessive-compulsive multiple murderer was signed out of Arkham into the care of an incontinent, alcoholic vagrant, on the grounds that he "looked like a responsible citizen"), and those who are 'cured' and released tend to re-offend. Furthermore, several staff members, including at least one director, have ended up as residents, notably Dr. Harleen Quinzel, Lyle Bolton and, in some incarnations, Drs. Jonathan Crane and Hugo Strange.

Years ago, the original Arkham Asylum suffered massive structural damage when the criminal Bane orchestrated a large-scale break-out, setting dozens of patients free. ^[1] As a result, Jeremiah Arkham was forced to close its doors and relocate. He established a new Arkham Asylum at the site of the abandoned estate of Eric Mercey on Mercey Island.

Residents

Although nobody actually lives in Arkham permanently, it being an asylum, it has an infamous list of frequent residents. It's most notorious inmates throughout the years include:

• Abattoir
• Alberto Falcone
• Amadeus Arkham
• Amygdala
• Black Mask
• Calendar Man
• Cavalier
• Charlatan
• Clayface
• Cornelius Stirk
• Crazy Quilt
• Death Rattle
• Doctor Destiny
• Doctor Double X
• Doctor Phosphorus
• Doodlebug
• Film Freak
• Firefly
• Harley Quinn
• Hugo Strange
• Humpty Dumpty
• Hush
• Jane Doe
• Jean Loring
• Joker
• Killer Croc
• Killer Moth
• Lock-Up
• Mad Hatter
• Magpie
• Maxie Zeus
• Mister Freeze
• Penguin
• Poison Ivy
• Psycho-Pirate
• Riddler
• Scarecrow
• Tweedledum and Tweedledee
• Two-Face
• Ventriloquist
• Great White Shark
• Mister Zsasz

Notes

• The first appearance of Arkham Asylum is often mis-credited as Batman #326. This was actually the first issue where it was referred to as Arkham Asylum. In previous appearances, it was known as Arkham Hospital.
• According to Bob Rozakis:

Actually, Denny O'Neil introduced the asylum in 1974's BATMAN #258, which established the Joker and Two-Face as residents. Here and in #260, it was referred to as Arkham Hospital, "a polite name for an asylum which houses the criminally insane." These early stories also placed the building in Arkham, New England, NOT Gotham City.^[2]

Trivia

• No trivia.
  
  

Recommended Reading

• Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
• Batman: Knightfall
• Batman: The Last Arkham
• Arkham Asylum: Living Hell
• The Joker's Asylum

See Also

• Appearances of Arkham Asylum (Chronological)
• Appearances of Arkham Asylum (Unordered)
• Location Gallery: Arkham Asylum
• Fan-Art Gallery: Arkham Asylum

Links and References

• Arkham Asylum at Wikipedia
• Arkham Asylum article by Bob Rozakis

Arkham Asylum
Stories	Batman: Arkham Asylum | Arkham Asylum: Living Hell | Batman: The Last Arkham | The Joker's Asylum
Asylum Inmates	The Joker | Two-Face | The Riddler | The Mad Hatter | The Ventriloquist | Scarecrow | Harley Quinn | Poison Ivy | Killer Croc | Zsasz
Other Comics	Underworld Unleashed: Devil's Asylum #1 | Showcase '94 | Batman: Mad Love | The Batman of Arkham | Arkham Asylum: Tales of Madness
Other Characters	Batman | The Batman Family | Jeremiah Arkham | The GCPD
See Also	Arkham Asylum Images | Arkham Asylum Appearances | Gotham City | Gotham City Locales | Batman Villains
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