OVERTIME

Just when you thought the game was over, we go into sudden death...

Even though Arkham City: End Game completed it's 6 issue (chapter) run in digital form, it's now being collected into a complete 60 page print edition. It's available to pre-order in the current Diamond Previews retailer catalog, that came out this week. It's always important to pre-order books like this that might not be ordered heavily or at all, at your local comic shop, to ensure you get your copy.

What makes this extra special, is that the print version has an all-new wraparound cover by interior artist Jason Shawn Alexander. The current digital two part cover by Patrick Gleason and myself, will be offered as a variant edition. But it's nice to see even more of Jason's moody art now gracing the cover for the regular edition. He did it on a whim, just as a fun piece to give to DC if they wanted it, but they ponied up and paid to use it. Kudos to all around on that one!

You can see half of the colored cover in the Diamond catalog. But here's the full wraparound cover (minus colors) in Jason's glorious black & white art. Incredible stuff!

For those that never played the Arkham games or followed the comics, I still highly suggest giving this story a try. While there are various nods to what happened in the game for the avid gamers out there, I still approached writing "End Game" for any Batman fan to pick up and be able to follow. Anyone with a passing knowledge of Batman, Joker, Harley, Jim Gordon, and Harvey Bullock; should be able to be put through their paces in a psychological battle between two rivals with Gotham caught in the aftermath.

Call it crazy timing that the big "Death Of The Family" Joker event running through the regular DC books is happening at the same time as End Game will be released in print form. So those looking for more Joker to read, don't have far to go.

JUSTICE SERVED #5

With the Beyond: Origins Warkhawk story running as a 2-parter (with the concluding chapter this issue), and this being a month where Justice League Beyond would only have ten pages of story, it turned into one of those odd issues where JLB wasn't featured…even though technically Beyond: Origins falls under the JLB banner.

Anyways here's the rest of my thoughts as this first origin story wrapped up…

As a creative person, I think it's only natural to look back on your work and see the flaws. To see the missed opportunities. I know even as an artist, I usually hate everything as soon as I'm done. And usually only the current work you might be happy with until it's put to bed and forgotten. So I look back on Warhawk's origin many many many months after it was written, and see things I wish I could've fleshed out better.

There definitely needed to be more explanation given to Carter Hall and how he ended  up back on Thanagaria. 

In the show, he sort of ventured out on his own. He'd pop up here or there to maybe assist the League. But he was definitely on his own path.

I always saw him eventually going back to Egypt, unearthing the spaceship that Kator Hol had originally crashed, and using that to pilot back to the Thanagarian homeworld. Even though he was human, his past life would still be drawn back to his people and wanting to reunite with them. His return might even be seen as a vision to his people, that the spirit of Kator Hol had come back to help lead them to retake their world from the Gordanians. But when the Shadow Thief resurfaced, his guilt would make him step forward. To make matters worse, they would see that he wasn't born of them (not true wings but those he made himself). They would destroy those wings and kill him after that trial.

So yeah, we arrive at the same conclusion in the story. But there were a few missing pieces there that would've made it a little more clear. Better planning on my part could've fixed that, but it is what it is.

Without real wings, Carter would need to keep up appearances, wearing them all the time, even when he slept. Plus I think it would just help make him feel more like his people anyways.

The way things were resolved in the show, with Shadow Thief reabsorbed back into Carter's body along with coming to terms with his destiny not being with Shayera and he'd leave her alone…I always felt that was a ticking time bomb. That it's only human nature for past feelings and jealousy to resurface, and no matter how Carter would try to keep his dark desires in check, that the Shadow Thief would eventually break his hold and become free again.

A few thoughts when it comes to the Green Lanterns in the animated universe. This was before Lantern was given his own series, so I was trying to keep things consistent with what was set up in the DC Timm/Dini animated continuity. At this point, aside from Sinestro, we had never seen any of the other colored ring corps in the show. So I did want to hint with John's eyes turning red, the hate and anger starting to surface. Not that he would fully become a Red Lantern. But that the possibilities were there for the other colors across the emotional spectrum. And in the comics, there have always been times where the Guardians released the safeguards to allow the rings to be used to kill in times of war and other extreme measures. But keeping to the Lanterns established in the show, that wouldn't fit here. I wanted to show repercussions for John's act of killing his enemy, even if it wasn't specifically by his ring. The idea was, it still was his frame of mind at the time, and something the Guardians weren't comfortable with him continuing representing the Green Lanterns (it didn't help that his eyes glowed red also…as they'd fear where that was headed).

I think there was some confusion or mixed feelings towards Vixen's funeral. That it was seen as callous that the village chieftain would basically give his blessing to John and Shayera to "get it on". But that was never my intent. What he says to them is actually based on burial rites and the outlook and meaning of death in the African culture. He said it as a blessing both to Vixen as she journeys into the afterlife, as well as her loved ones that were left behind.  I didn't want them to just hop in the sack immediately. Even with their past history, they would take some time to reflect on everything that had happened to them while they stayed in Africa. And would eventually see it as a place to start a new life together, and retire away from the League.

I think that about wraps it up for the first Origin story in the book, with more still to come. And of course, those that are new to the characters or shows, should track down a couple episodes that tied in with this issue...

Watch List:   Justice League Unlimited "Shadow Of The Hawk" and "Ancient History"

WHO NEEDS EDITTERS

The more you work in comics, the more you realize it's always a volatile industry. Like most entertainment, there's a lot of egos in the room, both from the creative side of the table (the writers, artists, idea generators) and those from the other side that help manage everything (the editorial and office staff all the way up to the executives running the show). Did I mention egos? Those trying to force their will, those trying to be the next big star (or maintain being talked about), and probably the rest of us just trying to do our jobs with as little hassle as possible and hopefully get some enjoyment out of it. Somewhere in there, we hope the reader gets to enjoy it too.

Editing is a thankless job. It's probably right up there with inking and lettering, but even more so. As a reader, there's probably no reason or ability to know good editing on the books you read (if you like the comics, then the writer and penciller are given a parade of hosannahs from the highest geek mountain). But if there's a bad story told, bad art delivered, late books, crummy crossovers, or horrible direction…then the editor gets lumped in with the rest of the accused. And sometimes, gets the lion's share of it, whether purposefully or not.

You won't work in this industry for any length of time without coming across your fair share of bad editors. Those that don't seem to know what they're doing. That dump more of their own job responsibilities on the creative people rather than handling it themselves.  They'll change your words without asking or force their own ideas over yours. Those that can be hard to talk to, hard to track down, and hard to get answers from (of course they get their fair share too trying to track down missing creators or late blown deadlines). And the worst I always feel…changing something for the SAKE of changing it. Not because of any specific reason. Almost like they're trying to throw their weight around or to make themselves "useful" in their jobs. And some of those times, even after arguing against it and making changes…they'll end up not using them or forgetting about them, and just going with what was turned in originally. Like it's some weird mindscrew for you to hop when they ask you to jump.

At the same time, I've had some fantastic editors, and you tend to want to hold onto them like a life preserver. These are the ones that show enthusiasm for your work, becoming the biggest cheerleader for your creativity. They can be a perfect muse in that way, asking just the right questions or giving just the right recommendation of something to add or take out. But still leaving the decision up to you. And of course, the old notion of them just getting out of the way so that the writer and artist can create. Seems weird that can't happen more often, but it's not always the case on every project and every editor.

And ultimately, you work long enough in the industry, and you see job turnover. I think editing, more than any other job in the comics industry, is in a constant state of flux. Editors come and go. They can work their way up, switch offices (and production jobs), hop to different companies, or just burn out and jump to a different industry altogether. Some even decide they want to sit on the other side of the desk and do the creating themselves (as was the case with one of my early editors now superstar-writer, John Layman). Editors can help find the talent (find ways to employ you), listen to your needs, guide you, and when they move on…you find yourself having to adjust to all new "bosses". Having to meet new people and network all over again. Some editors, you end up sending email inquiries for years with no luck, only to end up working for them many years later with them remembering you (Mike Marts…classy guy!)

Once again I'm rambling long.

Tomorrow is the last day I'll be edited by Ben Abernathy at DC Comics, although really the day will be spent for him saying goodbye to everyone at the office I'm sure. Technically all this week was spent setting things up for who his replacements will be on projects I'm working on, to hand off to the next crew (some of whom I've worked with before). But already I'm missing Ben. How he'd get into the office early in the morning and get caught up on emails (usually when I was ready to end my day he was just beginning). How he'd ask a question about story ideas, and then get excited as we started to toss info back and forth. And also the few times I'd get a chance to grab a meal with him and Dustin at a con and just chat about work and everything outside of it. Plus he was great at just looking super serious when really he was pulling your leg the whole time, just waiting for you to dig your own grave with your words, until he'd crack and laugh it off.

I knew OF Ben for many years before I ever got the chance to work for him. During the time I spent working away from Wildstorm and DC, at Marvel and Dark Horse and any number of places. But with Dustin still exclusive and doing a lot of work with him, I'd always heard how good he was. And he was always someone I looked the most forward to working with sometime in my career. So it was fun that he would be the one to edit the Beyond comics. He got to see Dustin and my ideas for Justice League Beyond at their infancy, as well as all sorts of ideas still yet to come. He got to see how excited we were to sort of control our own destiny on the Beyond comic, writing as well as handling the art, and to see its success. He was as much a fan of sitting back and watching what we'd do, as he was editing over it. For all the bad press you hear about company controlled big media books, Justice League Beyond is one of the easiest jobs I've ever worked on. And that's a huge part thanks to Ben!

I look forward to what he does next as well as getting to work with the new crew helping to steer the Beyond stories (and other projects). But I definitely am always sad to have another editor leave. So many of the nice people I've worked with at Marvel, Dark Horse, Wildstorm, and now DC, have moved on. Some have stayed. It's just the natural part of life and work. Nothing stays the same, or lasts forever. You just try to enjoy as much of it in the moment while you can.

Thanks again Ben!  (And to all my great editors in the past who have moved onto other companies and projects).

UNHINGING #5

Writing Arkham Unhinged is very much a give-and-take situation. There are certain stories that Rocksteady and DC wanted to flesh out better. And then there were stories where I'd get to randomly come up with ideas wholecloth on my own. For this issue, I believe it was more of the former.

The Abramovichi twins were henchmen created in the game, serving two different rival bosses. There was some backstory for them provided in the game bios. But they were interested in doing a story that retold their origin and how each of them ended up working for opposite rivals.

Not Hush quite yet!

I was always looking for a chance to have more connections to characters throughout the game, even if it was never implied or discussed. And since the twins would be surgically separated before Arkham City took place, it was a chance to show how that happened and who did the operation. And it was a chance to tie it in with Hush, or in this case, Thomas Elliot. This would be before Tommy adopted the Hush moniker, back when he was still a doctor. And having come from working on two Dini written Hush projects (Detective Comics "Heart Of Hush" and Streets Of Gotham "House Of Hush"), his character was still very fresh in my mind. That the first Arkham Asylum game even had the easter egg in there with Tommy's name on staff at Arkham was a nice way to work him into the timeline of this story. If anybody would be able to do the operation to separate the twins, it would be him…willingly or forced.

Hush also got a tiny cameo in our previous "Surgeon's General" story as well, for those who happened to spot him. Hush was always tough to find a way to use in any story, since his appearance in the game was in such a small time frame. Batman never saw him until he was able to track him down. And once found, Hush made his escape and Batman would have other matters to attend to and would deal with him later.

 

Zsasz would also prove to be a hard character to work into stories, due to the subject matter involved. So he was always limited to cameo appearances like in this story, where Joker was involved with seeking a surgeon to perform the operation on the twins. Zsasz wasn't the type to work well with others.

Seeing Juan draw him in a fine shirt and tie gives off an even creepier vibe, since we're not used to seeing him in such formal clothes. He's usually only ever portrayed, especially in the games, in very limited prison wear to show off all those self-inflicted scars on his body.

Also this story would give me a chance to use Nightwing. It was always tough trying to find ways to use Nightwing and Robin, just due to the limitations of Arkham City itself. The game takes place over one long night with Batman locked inside. And aside from Robin making his brief appearance in the game…for the most part, those two characters were confined to being locked out of Arkham City and stuck in Gotham on their own.

As much as I wanted to try to do stories outside the walls of Arkham City, the focus for Unhinged would always try to work its way back to Batman and the villains inside the walls. Of course, it just meant trying to be more clever in how we could work Nightwing and Robin into stories when it called for it. Sometimes in flashback. And other ways still to come.

Since the Abramovichi twins come from a sideshow background, it only made sense to bring in Nightwing with Dick Grayson's own background growing up in the circus. He would've heard stories or come across them at some point in his previous life.

There was always some confusion or question on why Harley would just give one of the twins to their rival, the Penguin. But I always saw it as Harley is well known for not always thinking things out. When Joker left it up to her to dispose of the body any way she saw fit, she thought it a lark to dump him on Penguin's doorstep at the Iceberg Lounge. It would be another way to humiliate him in front of his clientele, probably thinking the twin was as good as dead…never thinking it would actually work against them when the twin survived to become Penguin's new henchman.
 

We were lucky to get Juan Jose Ryp as artist on this story. I first recall coming across his work, mainly from his runs at Avatar Press (Robocop and Black Summer). Definitely wearing his Geof Darrow influences on his sleeve with his incredibly detailed style. He'd just completed a run of Marvel work and was briefly available to work on this story before moving onto his upcoming creator owned work. So the timing worked out great to have him draw this, and I enjoyed seeing his Joker among other interpretations. Also noted, Dave Wilkins continues his run of supplying us with great covers!

JUSTICE SERVED #4

And this is the issue where things got a little crowded!

When Batman Beyond Unlimited was finally conceived, it would be a split book of stories between Batman Beyond and Justice League Beyond. Superman Beyond also got added. But with this issue comes the "Beyond: Origins" stories. These origins are actually a part of Justice League Beyond, and it's probably easier to think of them that way rather than a fourth title added into the mix. The idea was to have a way to introduce (or reintroduce) the members of the future Justice League. At this point, many of them had only been seen in a couple tv episodes and didn't have much of a backstory. So this was a chance to flesh them out.

Also the way the title is published now, there will always be a 20 page main story (which rotates each issue) followed by two 10 page stories. Since the "Origins" are part of the Justice League Beyond section, and this issue JLB would be the feature story…it was just odd timing that they would come out together. So you'd end up having four 10 page stories this issue. It won't always be this way, but it will happen again as we go along.

And just to stop any assumptions fans might have, that these Origins are placed into the comics as a way to buy time or help out slow artists…it's not the case here. Dustin was finished drawing the entire JLB story before the first issue saw print. That's 120 pages completed, and he was already moving onto other projects (our stint on Batwing for a couple issues, the American Vampire mini, and other work). But the Origins will be a fun way to get to know these characters, and see guest artists draw them.

Now let's get into the stories themselves...


JUSTICE LEAGUE BEYOND

PAGE 3

One of the early discussions that Dustin and I had when we started on the book, was what we could bring to make it our own. Not only honor the past of the shows, but also put a little cool visual stamp on it. So having a new batsuit was one of the things we talked about. Dustin wanted a cape, so it happened. Then it was up to me to find a way to work it into the story. Terry's current Beyond suit had to be damaged, and taking awhile to repair, for him to borrow an earlier version of the suit.


PAGE 4 

We sort of relegated Aquagirl to being the team dispatcher, earlier in the story. That a lot of times, she would take that role and work from the Watchtower, to provide intel for the other members. Part of the juggle of team books, is finding a way or a purpose to use every character in the limited space you have for the story. Not everyone will go into battle or be in every issue. That's how it is in most team books and would be the same here. But we were looking for a reason to have Aquagirl  join the team away from home base when the situation called for it. Of course, this gave us another excuse to redesign the look of a character. We didn't want to just have her in her usual swimsuit. Expand the design of her uniform and toss a trident in her hand, and Aquagirl was ready to go!

With Waller recovering along with Micron in his containment tube, who would be left to monitor the Watchtower when the team leave? Why, "Superman's Pal"…Jimmy Olsen. Even in his older years, Jimmy is one of Superman's last remaining ties to the past and could be counted on to help out in a pinch.


PAGES 7 & 8 

It's no secret my love for Kirby. And some of the best episodes of Superman:TAS and the Justice League shows featured the New Gods and Apokolips. So I wanted a large enough story that we could tap into those characters, even in the Beyond future timeline. The gods are ageless and would still be around, but in what capacity. And it was a chance to see Dustin draw just about every Kirby DC character I could toss in. Like all these animated stories in comics, I always hear the actors in my mind while writing it. The next few issues would be very "Michael Ironside" centric.



BEYOND ORIGIN: WARHAWK chapter 1

Once we found out we'd be telling the backstories for the future Justice League members, the first story that came to mind was the one that fans of the show have talked about the longest, ever since it was hinted at that Warhawk was the son of John Stewart and Shayera Hol. It would also prove to be the most contested story due to the subject matter.

With all the Origins stories, I wanted to keep a few things in mind. I wanted each of the stories to be narrated by the person it was about. To get their perspective of where they came from and the people they came to be. It would also be a chance to tie-in with the history and continuity of the shows themselves. It was a fine line to walk, as you want to nod back to certain episodes without just spending the entire time recapping what people have already seen. Also a familiar theme of these Origins is telling the story about their parents, as much as it is about their offspring.

There was a lot of ground to cover for Warhawk and his parents, and probably could've used even more space to do the telling of it. But it's the only Origin that gets 2 chapters to tell it. The other Origins will be 1 chapter long.

The relationships between John Stewart, Shayera Hol, and Vixen, were such a huge crux over the course of Justice League shows. And would prove so in this story. Teammates that grew into lovers only to be torn apart by secret agendas and an invasion. I always admired that even for a "kids show", the relationships were handled in a very adult way. People grow, change, move on, but still have conflictions and feelings and history with the people they've been with in their lives. And even though John was now in a relationship with Vixen, and fighting off all talk about possible futures and fate's intervention; you can tell there was still a lot of unresolved feelings towards Shayera. It's the stuff that all good dramas and soap operas engage in.

Watch List:  Justice League "Starcrossed parts 1-3"
 

Of course we all found out who Warkhawk's parents were when it was introduced in "The Once and Future Thing" episodes. So it had to be brought up here as well. Interestingly the other most requested thing I've found talking to fans, is the inclusion of Static. If he'll be brought into Justice League Beyond, since he was featured in these episodes as well as an episode of Static Shock. I always have to mention that those episodes were possible futures within the shows, since time travel was involved and then changed once the characters restored order and returned to their timelines. So at this point in Justice League Beyond, we haven't seen Static yet. If he'll join the team, or if he's out there on his own…remains to be seen.

Watch List:  Justice League Unlimited "The Once and Future Thing parts 1 & 2" 

When it comes to killing a character, beloved or not, it shouldn't be an easy decision. There will always be shock value attributed to it by the fans, justified or not, or the excuse of it being used to get attention and boost sales. The talk of "fridging" in comics is always a hot button issue relating to deaths of women as a plot device, yet never if a guy is killed in the story. But none of that was in my mind when dealing with the death of Vixen.

Truth be told, as much as I liked the past relationship of John and Shayera, I liked the growing relationship between John and Vixen equally and maybe even more. I loved the fact that Vixen outwardly wasn't fazed or bothered by John's past relationship to Hawkgirl. That she almost relished an open challenge by Shayera for John's affection. That the two girls were teammates and even a sisterly or friendly rivalry between the two. That ultimately, Vixen wasn't threatened that Shayera was still in the picture, because she was comfortable knowing she was currently with John and didn't think Shayera would or could ever get him back. She was well written in the show. The girl's got moxy!

And knowing that John would have to get back together with Shayera for Warhawk to be born, was a lingering doom that would have to be addressed. In life, there could be a nasty break-up, cheating…any number of ways people fall back to past loves. Even an acceptance of characters growing apart and past feelings still lingering could all be used. But I felt for this story, it just wouldn't impact these characters enough. It wouldn't resonate.

Instead, I wanted to go against those notions that he would go back to Shayera willingly. That he actually was steadfast to his notion of thumbing his nose in the face of fate. That he was sticking it out with Vixen not out of spite but out of love. To the point of proposal for marriage. That it was going to happen until she was fatally taken from him.

It's hard to argue that her death on the night she's proposed to doesn't have a very soap operatic or cliched vibe to it. But I never wrote or chose for it to be seen that way. It was always the more tragic focus of what could've been if their lives had continued. And maybe Warhawk would've never been.

UNHINGING #4

There are three stories collected into this print issue, which is a bit unconventional for this title. Usually all the stories in Unhinged are three chapters long when split up and released digitally. Each chapter is 10 pages so each story comes out to 30 pages total. But as the story ideas were being planned at the time, I had found out that a couple earlier Digital Exclusive stories I had worked on with Paul Dini, had gotten left out of the hardcover that collected the Arkham City mini-series that Paul wrote. The readers would no doubt be wondering what happened to those stories. And just the completist fan in me wanted to see those two stories get collected. So I thought it might work out to have them be reprinted in Arkham Unhinged (the print comic as well as any TPB release of stories from Unhinged). With that it mind, it was just a matter of coming up with a short one chapter story for Unhinged that could get collected with those other two Arkham City stories.

Now that you know that backstory, let's get into each of the stories themselves…


"SURGEON'S GENERAL"

This was an instance where the game directly inspired the story. Keeping in mind that the game hadn't come out yet when I was writing this one, as news continued to break on all the new features for Arkham City, one thing was gaining a lot of momentum…all the various "skins" in the game (the various suits that Batman could wear). Aside from the traditional one that came standard in the game, players could download or purchase additional skins based off of popular versions of the character throughout the years. So I thought, what better way to tie-in with that, than to do a story that examined how those versions of Batman could all be inside Arkham City. That all the various inmates would have stories relating to the Batman that they saw or fought.

Of course, this isn't a new theme, especially for Batman. In the comics, the title of Legends Of The Dark Knight would become well known for having different interpretations of the character. The same could be said for Elseworlds stories related to Batman. And it's happened in animation a couple of times. An episode for The New Batman Adventures  was appropriately titled "Legends Of The Dark Knight", featuring a group of kids exchanging stories of who Batman is. And the direct-to-dvd film Batman: Gotham Knight had a story that retreaded that same ground.

Call it a guilty pleasure, but it gave me free reign to have a "Dark Knight Returns" Batman as envisioned in Arkham City. The place where the inmates would gather would be a nod ("Miller's Junkyard") as well as plenty of iconic shots as a nice callback to Frank's famous story. Also tried my best to write this section in Frank's voice. Pure fanboy fun! A lot of times, you never know who the artist will be to draw your script after you turn it in. I lucked out having artist Pete Woods draw this story. He was able to capture all the styles of Batman that were in the story and turned in a great performance.

artist Pete Woods doing his best Frank Miller

This story is also the one I always recommend to people wanting to try Arkham Unhinged or digital for the first time. It's a short done-in-one story that gives an idea of what's going on in the game. And for 99 cents, ya can't beat that.


"THREE'S A CROWD"

The next two were the Digital Exclusives that came out during the Arkham City mini-series. It was a chance to work again with Paul Dini. He was plotting these stories and I'd be scripting them, much in the same way I had done on Batman: Streets Of Gotham issues #12 and #13.

For the longest time, I was just a huge fan of his work from the animated shows, devouring all the episodes, and listening to all the commentaries. Then having the chance to ink solid runs of comics that he wrote, on Detective Comics and Streets Of Gotham. But to script off of Dini's plots is a mixed blessing. You pinch yourself that you get to work with him, but then you don't want to drop the ball in the collaboration.

Paul always turned in very complete plots. There was always just enough there to know what the story was about or what the characters were thinking. And then it was a matter of pacing it all out and adding in their voices. And for something like this, I always wanted to be as true to Paul's voice as well as whatever I could add to it. But most importantly, being true to the characters.

Here's a sample to show some of the description that Paul would give in the plot:

Scarface is condescending to Harley, not insulting her, but treating her like hired help.  (“Hey, there she is.  Run and gets us a drink, will ya, doll-face.”)  Harley coldly says Mr. J. isn’t well and shouldn’t drink (or something like that, some indication that he’s still reeling from the Titan sickness.) Scarface tells Harley to make herself scarce, he’s got some ideas to go over with Joker about running things in Arkham City.  When Harley snaps at the Joker for using the puppet to insult her, Joker laughs and says it’s just a gag.  He knocks the puppet  around to show he’s not serious.

drawn by Al Barrionuevo

I also like that Paul got into the history of Scarface, how it's changed hands from Wesker, to Sugar, to Penguin, and to Joker. It was nice that he worked Sugar into the flashback, since those were some of the issues I had worked on during our Detective run. And always fun to see the Dini-verse continue from the comics and into the games.


"GLACIAL SPEED"

drawn by  Jimbo Salgado

I think the thing I remember most from working on this story, was even at that time, how in the dark I was about the game. It was still many months before the game would be coming out. I hadn't played it or seen much of it at this point (no more than what any person had seen online). But here was a story with Mr.Freeze, who hadn't even been revealed yet to the public. I'd get notes explaining his situation in the game and how he would be set up in the GCPD building to work on his cure. But outside of that, not much was revealed just yet.

I remember wanting to show the vehicle that Freeze escapes in from Arkham Asylum. That in the back of the vehicle it would have special things set up to transport the various prisoners to the facility. I thought it might be fun to show a containment pod that could be used to bring Clayface, not yet knowing how his involvement in the game might be. Of course, once they mentioned he would be unannounced and a surprise to anyone once they finally got to play the ending to the game…that made it easy to drop any reference to Clayface at this point.