Top 10 Batman Arkham Series Boss Battles

What better way to start our list then a showdown with the iconic Man-Bat. Okay, so maybe Man-Bat isn’t one of Batman’s more well-known villains, but this encounter in Arkham Knight is awesome because it is so unexpected. We knew this one would be intense right from the opening jump scare, as Batman takes on a mission entitled “Create of the Night”. While Man-Bat isn’t an overly difficult boss, you do need to use your detective skills to trace his origin to create an anecdote for his condition, and having to attack him mid-air is a cool change-up to your average button-masher battle. Sadly … and this might surprise PC gamers this was probably the best boss battle from Arkham Knight.

In the Arkham series, typically Batman is the predator who attacks unsuspecting henchmen and villains. In this boss battle, however, the roles are reversed, as Batman becomes the blind prey amidst Killer Croc’s underground sewer lair. Making things even more difficult was the fact that Croc was able to detect Batman’s movement, requiring the player to move slowly across the wooden planks to avoid attracting attention. Croc would appear at various times, attacking from the front without warning or chasing you down from behind while destroying the wooden planks. Luckily, you don’t have to take the big guy on one-on-one – some well aimed baterangs and ultimately explosive gel was all you needed to dispatch the beast.

Going toe-to-toe with Bane in “Arkham Asylum” was enjoyable, but it didn’t quite compare to the confrontation in “Arkham Origins”. Bane is one of the few villains who is capable of breaking Batman physically, and this is evident during this confrontation, as he throws Batman around like a rag doll before throwing him out of a window. After defeating him, Batman makes the decision to bring Bane back to life. Maybe not the best choice, as Bane takes out his fury on the Dark Knight, forcing the player to result to stealth tactics to defeat him once and for all.

Leave it to Penguin to have more than a few tricks up his sleeve. As Batman chases Penguin through the Cyrus Pinkney National History Institute, the player discovers that Penguin has a secret weapon – and he was born on a Monday. Penguin uses electricity to power the imprisoned Grundy, who snaps into an uncontrollable rage at the site of Batman. Clearly outmatched physically, the player is forced to disable the power source and then wail on Grundy’s head repeatedly while he is stunned.

While many boss fights in the Arkham series force the player to focus on more than just the main villain, none of them quite come at you like Poison Ivy does. In this confrontation, Batman has to focus on three different forms of attack: toxic bubbles, deadly weeds, and Ivy’s henchmen. Ivy is protected by one of her plants, and the player only has a small opening to inflict damage on her. It’s incredibly easy to get caught by one of the weeds or toxic spores while you wait for your opening, making this one of the more difficult battles in the entire series.

Throughout “Arkham City”, the player is led to believe that Joker has recovered from his fatal disease and is the one pulling the strings behind Protocol 10. It was certainly a shock to discover that Joker hadn’t recovered, and that it was actually Clayface who had been masquerading as a healthy Joker throughout the entire game. This battle is awesome for several reasons, but the main reason has to be because you get to use Talia Al Ghul’s katana. This battle also seriously tested the player’s ability to move quickly as Clayface doesn’t let up his attacks throughout the encounter, and even sends an army of clay-men to try and take you down.

He does make a return in Arkham Knight where he ends up (Gets instantly sedated by Batman) Oh come on really? So far, the majority of the villains on this list have been physically superior to Batman – but what about one who has a similar fighting style? Deathstroke has also been trained in martial arts and takes on the Dark Knight in what essentially becomes a 1 on 1 fighting game. This battle required significant patience and concentration from the player, as you slowly break down Deathstroke’s armour and weaponry and eventually defeat him.

Easily one of the most memorable bosses in the entire series, the Scarecrow hallucination sequences in “Arkham Aslyum” are extremely entertaining. The player can really feel Batman’s suffering as Scarecrow tortures his mind with hallucinations. The battles involve avoiding a giant Scarecrow’s gaze while working your way up a broken structure. You eventually use the bat signal to defeat him, but it was only a matter of time before he would show up again. In fact, at one point Scarecrow is even able to trick the player into thinking that the game had frozen and restarted. Now that’s interactive gameplay!

The end of “Arkham City” is full of twists and turns. Near the end of the game, the player discovers that Ra’s Al Ghul is actually the main villain and the true mastermind of Arkham City. Ra’s sends his henchmen to take on Batman in a sand arena before taking on the Bat himself in hand-to-hand combat, forcing the player to rely on a wide array of tactics throughout the battle. The game does an excellent job cutting back and forth between the real world and Ra’s world, where we see his true power.

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honourable mentions:

Penguin
“Batman: Arkham Knight” (2015)

Firefly
“Batman: Arkham Origins” (2013)

One of the best aspects of the Arkham video games is that they really stressed Batman as the detective, incorporating a Predator Mode to allow the player to use stealth to take down enemies, and no battle better showcases this unique feature. Against Mr. Freeze, the player is required to use everything they have learned, as Freeze won’t be fooled by the same trick twice. You are required to incorporate a number of different takedowns and respond to Freeze’s movements, as he becomes aware of your strategies. This fight reveals everything that has made the series so popular and is easily the best boss battle of the entire series.

Do you agree with our list? What is your favourite boss battle in the Batman Arkham series? For more exciting Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.