Arkham City Writer Compares Batman Stories to Fairy Tales

Logan Westbrook

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Feb 21, 2008
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Arkham City Writer Compares Batman Stories to Fairy Tales

Batman stories can embrace fantasy and whimsy, but they have to have some bite as well.

Paul Dini, the writer of Arkham City, thinks that Batman stories work for the same reason that fairy tales do: they combine whimsical elements with a truly credible threat. Dini can be considered something of a Batman expert, having worked on award-winning projects like Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond.

Dini said that a real threat of danger was crucial, as without it the story would fall flat; indeed, without a fearsome ogre or a deadly dragon, you didn't really have much of a story at all. "You can have villains like the Penguin, who struts around in a tuxedo with an umbrella," he said, "and Poison Ivy and all of the fantastic stuff she does, but unless there's a bit of a human in there and unless there's a credible threat, then Batman himself doesn't work."

Fortunately for Batman fans, there 's no shortage of credible threat in Arkham City, with lunatics and criminals of all stripes roaming the streets of the urban prison and carving out little kingdoms for themselves. Beyond the immediate dangers, there is the threat of Quincy Sharp, the former Arkham Asylum warden, and the current mayor of Gotham - whose story will be a big part of what pushes Arkham City forward - and Hugo Strange, who is pulling the strings from the shadows.

Batman's rogue gallery is a pretty fantastical bunch, made up on the aforementioned hardened criminals and lunatics. With that in mind, treating Batman stories like fairy tales sounds like a pretty good way to handle the character. There are differences, of course - Batman tends to play a much more active role in his stories than Snow White or Cinderella - but that core of fantasy and danger remains the same in both.

Batman: Arkham City comes out for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on October 18th.

Source: Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/26/rocksteady-and-paul-dini-on-the-storytelling-in-batman-arkham-c/]



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DefinitelyPsychotic

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Apr 21, 2011
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I can't take it anymore! With every Batman Arkham City article that is released on this site, it just makes me want the game even more!
 

Fensfield

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uguito-93 said:
It takes a batman writer to make fairy tales sound badass
... Seriously? People getting their feet hacked off to save them from their own foolishness, or getting punished for mistreating their adoptive children by having molten iron moulded around their feet, Satan-spawn getting dismembered bare-handed then fighting the monster's mother underwater.. and you need a dude dressed as a flying rat to make them badass? >.>

Not that I don't agree with the article, though; although making a clear distinction between the superhero genre and fairy tales at all is a mistake anyway if you ask me.
 

Jaebird

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Fensfield said:
... Seriously? People getting their feet hacked off to save them from their own foolishness, or getting punished for mistreating their adoptive children by having molten iron moulded around their feet, Satan-spawn getting dismembered bare-handed then fighting the monster's mother underwater.. and you need a dude dressed as a flying rat to make them badass? >.>

Not that I don't agree with the article, though; although making a clear distinction between the superhero genre and fairy tales at all is a mistake anyway if you ask me.
All of that sounds like the result of something Grant Morrison wrote.

What I'm taking from this is that even Batman can have some whimsy. Mad Love is a perfect example of this.
 

uguito-93

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Jul 16, 2009
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Fensfield said:
uguito-93 said:
It takes a batman writer to make fairy tales sound badass
... Seriously? People getting their feet hacked off to save them from their own foolishness, or getting punished for mistreating their adoptive children by having molten iron moulded around their feet, Satan-spawn getting dismembered bare-handed then fighting the monster's mother underwater.. and you need a dude dressed as a flying rat to make them badass? >.>
Okay i can honestly say that I am not at all familiar with the stuff you've grown up with, which kinda sounds like it belongs in a Clive Barker novel, but then again my childhood was filled with the vomit inducing "and they lived happily ever after" kind of fairy tales. Personally I blame disney like I do with most things.

Although on an educated guess you've probably just mentioned the Brothers' Grimm versions which sounds like it would have lead to a more interesting bedtime.
 

AsurasFinest

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The guy who worked on Batman Beyond is on this? I'm sold
Especially since this story is looking to top Return of the Joker in how good it is and thats quite a feat
 

Moeez

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Fensfield said:
uguito-93 said:
It takes a batman writer to make fairy tales sound badass
... Seriously? People getting their feet hacked off to save them from their own foolishness, or getting punished for mistreating their adoptive children by having molten iron moulded around their feet, Satan-spawn getting dismembered bare-handed then fighting the monster's mother underwater.. and you need a dude dressed as a flying rat to make them badass? >.>

Not that I don't agree with the article, though; although making a clear distinction between the superhero genre and fairy tales at all is a mistake anyway if you ask me.
Ok, what fairy tales are these?!
 

4173

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Moeez said:
Fensfield said:
uguito-93 said:
It takes a batman writer to make fairy tales sound badass
... Seriously? People getting their feet hacked off to save them from their own foolishness, or getting punished for mistreating their adoptive children by having molten iron moulded around their feet, Satan-spawn getting dismembered bare-handed then fighting the monster's mother underwater.. and you need a dude dressed as a flying rat to make them badass? >.>

Not that I don't agree with the article, though; although making a clear distinction between the superhero genre and fairy tales at all is a mistake anyway if you ask me.
Ok, what fairy tales are these?!
The third one is Beowulf. Second is Snow White. Not sure about the first one.
 

Fensfield

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4173 said:
Moeez said:
Ok, what fairy tales are these?!
The third one is Beowulf. Second is Snow White. Not sure about the first one.
The first one is 'The Red Shoes', referencing Hans Anderson's version. Nice catch on Beowulf.. and, really? I'm pretty sure it was Cinderella's stepmother ended up with the iron shoes, actually.. oh well.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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DefinitelyPsychotic said:
I can't take it anymore! With every Batman Arkham City article that is released on this site, it just makes me want the game even more!
Funny, I'm completely the reverse. No Arleen Sorkin, Harley and Catwoman go whoretastic, Penguin goes cockney...I'm turning away from this quicker than Duke Nukem.