Batman: Arkham Asylum - Story Explained

[@LoreDump]

Thanks for being here! The Arkham Lore Dumps will release as follows: Today - Arkham Asylum 12th Feb - Arkham City 1st March - Arkham Origins 11th March - Arkham Blackgate 1st April - Arkham Knight Then we'll be kicking off with Yakuza!

[@Norrabal]

Damn gotta wait till may, that's the end of my senior year in highschool... I'm scared..

[@speedboom9392]

Lore dumps every 2 or 3 weeks as opposed to every month?!?!? COUNT ME IN!!!!

[@slartimus]

Wait, hang on, when are you covering "Gotham Knights", then?! 😛 (Yeah, no, I know, but it needed to be asked. 😁)

[@basketballbeast755]

@@slartimusit’s not part of Arkham. They’d have to cover suicide squad.

[@delmattia96]

Any idea when you will end up covering Alan Wake 2 ? Will you wait for the Lake House and Night Springs DLC? :D

[@Lsd1021]

Chase not liking "sequel-baiting" and loving the Kingdom Hearts series is one of the most hypocritical things he's ever said lol

[@qrowing]

Xigbar: I hope you like long stories... :^)

[@fezzes304]

Truer words have never been uttered

[@Coonami]

I'm sure the childhood nostalgia for KH came before whatever event lead to not like sequel-baiting, or maybe they are one in the same

[@seothian5300]

maybe because Chase is a KH fan triggers some ptsd when it happens, since nomura can't end a game without sequel bating and all

[@somedudewatchintv5297]

It's also funny because his sequel bait alarm went off with Scarecrow but not with Sharpe and the Arkham City name drop.

[@SidPhoenix2211]

I've always maintained that Victor Zsasz would make a GREAT villain/secondary villain for a grounded Batman movie with a strong focus on being a classic thriller/mystery. Would love to see him in a Pattinson Batman movie.

[@QuentinPink]

I think the Matt Reeves Batman is the first one that Zsasz would really work for. He is way to grounded to be a compelling villain in the more fantastical/campy films styles of the past. Nolan probably could have done it, but even he was going for the more out there/bombastic stuff as far as the villains were concerned.

[@BLUEFIRECAPTAIN]

Him and Hush

[@KurganMacLeod]

I do like that everytime Chase says something along the lines of 'Are we to assume that X is just really good at Y' the nature of the DCU means that Monty and Neal can just say 'yep.' Joker's a master chemist, Batman's a brilliant engineer, everyone has a PhD in everything they'd need to have for you to believe they can do whatever they're doing.

[@DiegoSouto-fy9su]

A.K.A. "Because the script needs the plot to happen".

[@nahuel3433]

​@@DiegoSouto-fy9su Eh not really. Considering characters like Batman in concept are basically the physical human peak, best detective in the world and overall tech and stealth genius. That's like the very baseline. Not something that comes up when the script needs it... In fact if anything the script often forgets these facts.

[@SidPhoenix2211]

7:20 had a GOOD laugh over Chase thinking that Arkham Asylum is a place for legitimate rehabilitation lol

[@Jonnyg325]

Many in universe have made the same mistake

[@hehehefunnyname9613]

I love how Monty’s Harley Quinn voice is his Barry wheeler one

[@ShyDoomGuy]

4:01 "No More Football, Only Batman", needs to be on a shirt

[@lizabee484]

It’s the new “A-NY-HOW!” Lol

[@Tresadd]

I love that almost halfway in, Chase did the "Why didn't Batman get help from the Justice League, is he stupid?" and they probably didn't even know the meme

[@speedboom9392]

I didn’t realize how big of comic fans both Monty and Neil are. Lore Dump should have a spin-off called Comic Dump. Same general premise but Monty and Neil are dragging Chase through tons of different comic storylines.

[@MrAlienated]

1:52:40 "Did you book your evil scheme on the google spreadsheet?" "Ah I was going too but then I got slightly distracted building like 100 of these fucking question marks"

[@Sapphykins]

Batman's rogues might legitimately be the worst people in all of fiction and reality to try and work out a schedule with. I'm picturing trying to explain to Mad Hatter why he can't just delete other people's appointments if they conflict with his stuff, and it's agonising.

[@calemr]

"Hey, Twoface, I was planning something on Tuesday, and you've double booked the same bank robbery. You gonna hit it twice?" "I'm going to flip a coin on the day, to see which time I go with." "OK, but some of us Also want to get something done that day."

[@calemr]

Minor thing that wasn't mentioned: When Joker shoots Batman in the last hallucination sequence, it doesn't just cut to Batman crawling out of his grave. It gives you a fake game over, displaying Batman's tombstone, with a tip on the screen: "Use the middle stick to dodge Joker's bullet.", and when you hit continue, That's when Batman crawls out of the grave. Also, it tells you you can skip the cutscene by pressing the purple J button. Another neat thing, it's been stated by the devs that when Scarecrow asks "What are you!?", they left in a pause so you, the player, can say "I'm Batman!" In response, if you wish.

[@EmeraldLavigne]

Fuckin of course they did - I love it.

[@siranonymous6059]

How I miss old Rock Steady.

[@SidPhoenix2211]

"so far, this joker has BIG 'Lore Dump Chase' energy" 💀💀💀

[@VaryaTheVillain]

"we're just both... whores" 😂

[@MrAlienated]

technically in the game Batman tells Jim to go back to the city because the public will lose their mind when the bomb threat breaks out and he needs to manage it it's not because he wants Jim to go defuse them.

[@EmeraldLavigne]

Aww, I didn't know that about Mark Hamill saying he won't do his Joker again since Kevin Conroy died. That made me tear up a little bit - Conroy was such a beautiful soul. He wrote a deeply heartfelt short comic about his life experiences that led him to play our Batman a couple years before he died. Matt Baume here on YT made a really good video about him and his life, too.

[@daxratbone1548]

His decision kind of makes sense with accordance to the Batman/Joker relationship itself. Without Batman, there is no point to the Joker or his schemes, and without Joker vice verse

[@jonasrichter2306]

"Do you know Mr. Freeze?" - "I know he is Arnold Schwarzenegger." At This moment I knew this would be a hell of a fun episode!

[@Ancor_Vantian]

"What killed the dinosaurs?"

[@jonasrichter2306]

@@Ancor_Vantian I dont know! Tell me. Was it the ice age?

[@cdman2021]

I'm glad everyone is having fun with this series so far. With Chase not being a superhero kind of person I was worried they'd totally check out during the dump, but of course they just chaos goblin'd all over the place.

[@DarkKnight6six6]

"No more football, only Batman" should be the catchphrase of nerds everywhere.

[@TimPoultney]

1:21:10 -- In terms of patients, there's one arguably good guy. Humpty Dumpty. He's an idiot savant engineer who's obsessed with nursery rhymes. He's in Arkham because he sabotaged Gotham infrastructure in an attempt to "fix things" when they went wrong for him and caused a lot of catastrophic accidents. He also tried to "fix" his abusive grandmother, thinking there must be something broken in her. Humphrey Dumpler is described as a model resident, getting jobs and perks for helping fix parts of the asylum, but he's easily lead by those who know how to manipulate him. The only person who does this also does so for Humpty's own safety, The Great White Shark. Shark, Humpty and Aaron Cash all debuted in the same book -- "Arkham Asylum: Living Hell" -- it's a fun Batman-less story that follows a corrupt businessman who pleads insanity to escape jail... And gets sent to Arkham. It's a great example of a Batman villain creating themselves, rather than being made by the asylum or the bat himself.

[@Shadymiroku]

YOU'RE RIDDLES GETTING TESTED LIKE THAT IS HILARIOUS.

[@blackmageLightningX]

I always assumed that the list Batman takes from Harley was who cooperated with Joker's plan and who didn't.

[@antoinerougier3083]

Absolutely gem of a game, I'm French and in the French version of the game they actually brought back the original french dub of the batman anime series and they all did an amazing job at translating and put the same vibe, it's one of those games where the french dub is as perfect as the original version

[@reedthegr8andpowerfullm797]

Batman’s mark is Zasz’s forehead. Notice there are only four tallys.

[@speedboom9392]

25:52 Yeah Neil thinks the same way I do. It’s always like kill them or let them escape but no one ever goes “just shoot ‘em in the leg!”

[@SciontheDark]

In real life, extremities are hard to accurately aim at.

[@speedboom9392]

@@SciontheDark Yeah but the situations I usually see in media are either they are very up close or in this scenario, IT’S BATMAN! I definitely think he could knock Joker off his feet with a batarang easily.

[@jormungandr147]

They forgot that in that scene joker is standing on a cage hovering over a literal chasm hitting joker even in the leg would make him fall over and likely die

[@NuclearPoweredGinger]

If you don’t continue the RIDDLE ME THIS sections I’m rioting.

[@SidPhoenix2211]

Appreciate the "A Serious House on a Serious Earth" mention. I knew about it years ago, saw some of the cool art but i never read it. Got to know rhe story through your Arkham videos, Monty. And the moments with Two Face were sad as hell and, in the end, oddly beautiful.

[@Riggs_The_Roadie]

Hearing Monty do the voices for the characters is endearing. Chase's comment about Frank's drink was fucking hilarious.

[@BLUEFIRECAPTAIN]

My dad died a few years ago. These were our favorite games to play. We'd trade off on challenge modes.

[@rover_libra]

My favourite part about that hidden room with the blueprints for Arkham City is the fact that the room itself wasn't found until years after Asylum was released, if i remember correctly.

[@mrfreddorenton]

The devs actually had to tweet it out because nobody reported it

[@jormungandr147]

The only thing i wanna comment on is banes venom has always been a temporary transformation thats why he shoots up with it every time and titan being based on it would logically also be temporary hince joker reverting back but still having remnants in his system

[@jormungandr147]

Ok i lied one more thing i wanna comment on (This will be longwinded so bare with me) for chase specifically since he's not into comics but its not that arkhams security is shit but that gothem the city and its people are insanely corrupt (controversial but it was revealed in recent comics that the city is literally fucking cursed so bad that several magical members of the leauge can't remove it) in Gotham there's always someone you can either bribe or threaten all you have to do is Wait and watch its basically what are you an underpaid and stressed guard/doctor gonna do when the fucking joker approaches you with the choice of take this bribe and leave my cell unlocked at midnight OR I have my goon on the outside do unspeakable things to your loved ones immediately followed with their addresses you see this in the recordings monty read some taking place weeks and months apart take the harly one for example ( i admit this is pure speculation on my part but it makes sense) i don't think it was a coincidence or incompetence that the new stary eyed counselor that romanticizes the glamor of super criminals was offered up on a plater to the most glamorous criminal in the asylum likely she was offered up to him by someone either bribed or under threat of the joker specifically for him to manipulate notice when they talk he IMMEDIATELY started flirting almost as if he already knew she was weak to it (and as to why he would do this instead of having the person just break him out having a pawn on the inside ready to help him when he gets caught again is better then having to wait to find a new one the next go round) most of these escapes are planned out months in advance not spontaneously

[@rruhland]

Monty doing the Joker voice is reminding me of Monty doing the Barry Wheeler mixed with Mr Scratch

[@brysondiehm6015]

I think it’s explained in Arkham city that the tally Victor Zsasz is saving for Batman is the fifth tally mark on his forehead

[@yourfavouritehumbug7644]

May i say that Neil's "Good Morning" jingle is both heartwarming and a huge earworm. I've been singing it to myself quietly during the days since I heard it

[@dgamer0949]

Wow! I just want to say great job on the voices and the lore dumping Monty, these are some of my all-time favourite games so I’ve been dying to hear these and I can’t wait to hear Chase’s reactions to all the crazy turns in the series!

[@stancal9249]

Not sure if it gets answered later in the video, but when Batman takes the party guest list from Harley's cleavage, the smiley faces are guests who RSVPd for the party (ie villains present in Alysum) and the scratched out ones with the frownie faces arent coming (ie villains that show up later in the series). The exception to this is Luke Oliver, who was the real life winner of a fan contest. EDIT: God damnit, i could have just waited 30 extra seconds lol

[@rover_libra]

One of my favourite little things about this game is when you get shot in the Scarecrow, the game over screen tells you to use the middle stick to avoid the gunshot.

[@wannaberocker2]

Love the voices, Monty. However, having followed Lore Dump for a while now, I can't stop picturing Harley Quinn as Barry Wheeler in drag 😂😂😂

[@speedboom9392]

Oh wow. Chase thinks Arkham focuses on Rehabilitation. That’s cute. The town of Arkham is a lovely place by the way.

[@EmeraldLavigne]

Internationally-recognized university, too...

[@333hunnit8]

22:55 In Arkham asylum it’s explained in game thru the conversation how they joined there one example was where one of the thugs talked about he joined joker convinced him to kill his sister that he said he never liked and another one added on how he joined he asked the same thing but he didn’t have a sister so he ran over some random lady in the streets the thugs in this game are really vile

[@PowerJusho]

I think it should've been mentioned that the post credit scene could change between scarecrow, bane, and croc

[@jaycolus3893]

There was a pause before he said Scarecrow, so he might have spun a wheel or something to see which one they got.

[@qrowing]

"We are NOT doing Suicide Squad" I couldn't imagine why... Jokes aside, I'm incredibly hyped for this Arkham period of Lore Dump! Enter the Looney Bin!

[@mrl2h2]

So hyped for this, been a huge Batman fan for all my life and have probably played these games the whole way through atleast four times, probably five or six for Asylum and City. Got them when I was young and became completely obsessed. Can’t think of a better narrator to tell these stories!

[@nicktoons125]

Time to check back in with a series I love.... despite issues I have with later games. Excited to listen to these guys! Love your content.

[@Shadymiroku]

Chase solving the riddles are hilarious.

[@christophermcbride2522]

I'm glad that this lore dump has finally started. Monty, I've loved your critiques of this series. I ended up downloading them and converting them to mp3s with the thumbnails as coverart, just as I did with the Lore Dump series. I'm not familiar with Yakuza, so I'll sadly likely skip it. I hope that you eventually do franchises like God of War, Oddworld, Devil May Cry (for the Dante Alighieri parallels as well as the story), Portal 1and 2 as one video, etc.

[@speedboom9392]

Okay I’m sorry I’m commenting so much but Chase’s quiet screaming in the background as Harley is introduced is killing me!!!

[@speedboom9392]

I am quite frankly disturbed by how good Monty’s Harley Quinn impression is.

[@Margles349]

The “cause he LOVES HIM” in the background killed me xD

[@slartimus]

I love how the way Rocksteady did the Arkham games means that you basically have to do an incidental Lore Dump of at least the Bat-franchise, if not the DCU as a whole. (And actually, come to think of it, Jack Ryder gets mentioned a couple of times and I know he shows up in person during City, but I forget, do they ever confirm his alter ego being a thing in this version of the DCU, even if he never changes over?)

[@daxratbone1548]

His alter ego is confirmed within his character bio in all Arkham games

[@TheSkarekrow04]

God, that Riddler tape is the best one in the game, if not the best audio log in the whole series.

[@kal-eldritch]

To touch on the Batman seeing a therapist thing, I think Monty forgot about Leslie Thompkins

[@thomasminko6686]

😂😂😂😂 Only 35 mins in already one of my favorite episodes this is so good great work like always love this show and a huge fan of both channels

[@AGhastlyGengar]

Just found you guys less than 2 weeks ago. Perfect timing

[@mizzpearlgearl]

I've been looking forward to these! Thanks, you goofballs!

[@MacDuck1997]

Dr Cassidy Survived her encounter with Zsasz. She’s the red headed doctor you save in the Medical Center

[@soulbro55]

Neil and Chase immediately solving Monty riddles were so funny, especially the Cowboy-Friday riddle. 1:25:40

[@speedboom9392]

Neil calling Chase a smart cookie like a 4 year old when he figures out the Scarecrow thing might be the highlight so far.

[@BlueWaffle3]

One of your best yet. Hilarious banter and i loved how it feels like all 3 of u were doing the story together and not just a narrator and audience. Fucking love it😊

[@rngwrldngnr]

For anyone wanting more of a deep dive about the treatment of Arkham as a mental health facility in this game, I **Strongly** recommend the video "Arkham Asylum is over" (thumbnail title "Ex Infernis").

[@coolgamer122]

so i know Chase is doing the Joker voice, but I hear the Xeanort voice from the lore dump. So I'm imagining Him inviting Sora to smoke Weed and play mario cart while calling dibs on Yoshi

[@SidPhoenix2211]

Oh wow. Can't wait for all of these Arkham lore dumps to come out within the week so i watch em immediately and then I have nothing to watch until April's end! Lol

[@7littl3man]

Why didnt he mentions the twist that is the joke mannequin with the tv head we go to throughout the game and it turns out hes sitting there the whole time

[@SciontheDark]

Wayne, put away yuh batarangs, Wayne. Im not gonna catch the Jokuh with yuh Wayne.

[@Ellis-df7sg]

A Klopp reference was the LAST thing I was expecting from this video but learning that Neil is a fellow Red has solidified him as my favourite person on the show now

[@kal-eldritch]

Neil calling out Jim for calling Harley a bitch is interesting, I can't wait to see how he reacts to how much they say "bitch" in Arkham City. I replayed it last year, they say it WAY WAY more often than I remembered.

[@airsoftkid112]

Garth marenghi’s dark place joke received!

[@Xehanort10]

1:43:38 Penguin's name's crossed out because as we learn in Arkham City him and Joker hate each other.

[@broston_]

chase NEEDS to watch the lego batman movie (aka the best batman movie)

[@piefish1000]

Playing Arkham Asylum with like zero Batman knowledge was what got me into superheroes and stuff lol

[@nahuel3433]

I'm super late to this but since no one mentioned it. Ivy (probably) wasn't given the cure because her plants phisiology makes her highly resistant if not immune to most toxins and such, with Knight having a scene making this clear. So presumable Batman judged she didn't need it.

[@mrl2h2]

The Harley voice is so similar to Barry Wheeler and I’m now imagining Barry in a sexy nurse outfit

[@JC_-ol1xo]

You weren't doing that already? Shame!

[@speedboom9392]

27:46 I’m laughing as much as Neil right now!!! Chase never change.

[@Negi-Kitsu]

I hope they do something for Riddler Trophies for Arkham Knight where they replicate the repetitiveness of the driving sequence lol

[@k1a2r3n4]

This ep was kind of an interesting experience cuz most of the games they talk about I've never played or I've played once before/after they put out an episode, but both batman and spidey games I've played to 100%completion multiple times so I actually know the every detail. It's fun knowing exactly what's gonna be brought up etc

[@luisguilherme4708]

Monty is so good with the voices. It feels just like the cutscenes in the game

[@Kaustic26]

1:05:52 this is a fantastic point, I’ve never considered how ridiculously rich the characters in the Batman lore are

[@yoogrldude]

To be fair, metropolis and Gotham are different cities. Chicago PD doesn’t come help the NYPD etc.

[@lakai_path]

great timing - i’ve just finished this series for the first time edit - Neil’s pain about getting the platinum for Arkham City is real

[@chachisvase765]

Do you know who Mr Freeze is? He's Arnold Schwarzenegger. ...... This is gonna be great

[@QuentinPink]

I cannot express how jacked I am to wake up to this video this morning. You guys are absolute gems. Please don't stop being awesome.

[@QuentinPink]

Small edit: Rehabilitation over simply imprisonment --> I'm crying lol

[@lkotro21]

The longer Monty does Joker's voice, the more he sounds like Troy Baker doing Joker's voice in Origin. Which is wicked =)

[@yohohoho971]

Dr Cassidy actually does not get killed. There is a tie in comic where she is rescued by Batman. She even goes back to work at the asylum I think

[@ViridianRose5996]

Yes, she is one of the doctors you rescue in the Medical building

[@thomascorrick5122]

2:30:16 Chase doesn't like sequel baiting in post credit scenes... KH anyone? 😂

[@CrimbusDaJimbus]

I'm one of the hopefully more than two Garth Marenghi's Darkplace fans here for that ref

[@christiawn]

Monty's voice acting continues to be a highlight of the series 😂 great job

[@dappercyborg7697]

Neil has a lovely singing voice

[@thegamedevcave]

I'm batman! (just commenting right away for engagement boost!)

[@DonNinja05]

*Spoilers for Arkham Knight* I'm so excited to hear Monty sing Joker's song when they release the video for Arkham Knight.

[@scitchmunkey5587]

Pretty sure Gollum did call Bilbo on his 'riddle'

[@blitzinark6337]

LETS GO NEW LORE DUMP FOR ANOTHER ONE OF MY FAV FRANCHISES !!!!!

[@malikbrewster6730]

Not sure if Monty told Chase, but there is another Easter egg for the sequel locked away in the Mayor’s Office.

[@spooknukem1177]

Just here to say fuck I can't wait to watch this like four times in 8 ish hours

[@stancal9249]

A quick note, because I'm going back into these games because of the nostalgia. Dr. Penelope Young isn't being a dumb chemist by thinking that a Venom steroid derivative will be a cure for Joker's psychopathy. The truth is markedly darker. In some of the environmental storytelling via some ambient PR/marketing bits that play over the TVs and speakers, Dr. Young explains that the goal of the Titan program is to provide physical support for weaker subjects who aren't up to the rigors of Arkham's more vigorous and demanding procedures. Which is just lipstick on the fact that some of their physical and mental torture would legitimately kill some patients, so rather than be less draconian and abusive, they're trying to develop a steroid so that the weak patients are strong enough to get tortured. "Man, we tried electroshock therapy using 750 volts, but the patients keep dying. Hmm.... We'll have to try something else...." "Umm....Yeah..... Well, now that we've tried THAT.... Maybe a series of mood stabilizers and therapy.... engaging in social activities..... Or even..." "...what?? NO. Someone, start working on steroids to inject them with first, so we can keep zapping these bastards without crowding up the morgue." ".....wait..... Our psychiatric facility has a morgue?? WHY??" "Because of all the patients we've electrocuted to death, silly! Now, on to the next patient! I believe we are scheduled to put a Clockwork Orange device on their head and force them to watch the SAW franchise while we beat their torso with a baseball bat!" "......WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!?"

[@Shadymiroku]

THOSE VOCALS NEIL 😊🎵🎶

[@Henez89]

You Never Walk Alone 😢

[@Rattafix]

Don't worry Niel, we got that reference 😂1:34.46

[@Newby1]

Oh damn that serenade at the beginning, hope y'alls year is going good lads. Glad to have another dump to add to the collection.

[@thomascorrick5122]

Really looking forward to this one. Loving your work

[@Nilnot]

In the post-credits, the hand grabbing the titan can also be Bane’s or Croc’s. No clue what causes the variation.

[@matthewlugo2417]

I believe its the difficulty setting

[@cottoncandysamurai2791]

Secrete is good. I thought it was "time"

[@poliyhurt]

Another great episode. So good to hear the boys laughing and having fun.