Gotham Knights’ Coolest DC Secrets & Easter Eggs
Gotham Knights focuses on the Bat Family protecting Gotham City following the death of Batman, and it should be no surprise that its open world features a raft of Easter eggs and secrets to discover. Many of these references flesh out the Bat Family’s relationship with the Dark Knight; WB Games Montréal had to establish the Bat Family’s relationships with those around them, and include enough references to their mentor to make players truly experience the characters’ grief and feel like they miss Batman throughout Gotham Knights’ story. Others Easter eggs have less story significance, and serve to build upon Gotham Knights’ new world or pay tribute to the real-life heroes that made Batman the legend he is today.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Gotham Knights.]
Due to the Bat Family already being well established within Gotham Knights’ universe by the time its campaign begins, WB Games Montréal created a large amount of its world-building via various Easter eggs and references to other DC characters. Fortunately, given Batman’s 83-year history, WB Games Montréal had decades of lore to pull from when creating its new universe. Whether it’s references to the Bat Family’s other superhero team-ups or to obscure villains, here are some of the coolest Easter Eggs and secrets found within Gotham Knights.
Gotham Knights Easter Eggs – Other DC Heroes Send Their Condolences To The Bat Family
Each character in Gotham Knights has their own email inbox which can be accessed on the rightmost tab of the Batcomputer. These emails contain several Batman and DC Comics Easter eggs and story nuggets as the game’s narrative progresses, but perhaps the main thing the inbox does is show what other DC characters inhabit the world of Gotham Knights. At the beginning of Gotham Knights, many characters from the Bat Family’s other teams, such as Young Justice, the Birds of Prey, The Outlaws, or members of the Justice League – like Black Canary, Roy Harper, and Superman – reach out to the heroes to send their condolences in the wake of Batman’s death. While some heroes reach out to the whole team, individual relationships can be explored further depending on which character players are controlling at the time.
Gotham Knights’ Belfry Is Filled With References To The Bat Family’s Past
Gotham Knights’ Belfry is the Bat Family’s Batcave replacement, and is an absolute goldmine for references to the wider DC universe. Expanding upon the heroes mentioned in the aforementioned emails, various photographs of the Bat Family’s allies and loved ones can be found around the various workstations. These photos include Dick Grayson’s family and circus troupe from Haley’s Circus, Red Hood and Arsenal from their time in the antihero group The Outlaws with Starfire, and Barbara Gordon with her fellow Birds of Prey, one of whom, Black Canary, can also be seen on a poster for her show next to the Belfry’s television.
There are also many adorable photos of the Bat Family’s loyal dog, Ace the Bat-Hound – a hero in DC’s League of Super-Pets – who is also referenced in Bruce’s logs, where the late Batman states that the canine companion had the Bat Family « wrapped around his paw ». Unfortunately, Ace himself is nowhere to be seen in Gotham Knights. The same log entry did explain that Alfred took Ace with him on vacation and was giving him the « best treats money could buy » at the time of Wayne Manor’s destruction, so players can rest easy that although they can’t find and pet the Bat-Hound, he is probably staying comfortably in another Wayne-owned location.
The Monarch Theater Shows Alfred’s Past As An Actor In Gotham Knights
The Monarch Theater is a location many Batman fans are well aware of, as it’s the theater the Wayne family visited on the night of Thomas and Martha Wayne’s murder. In Gotham Knights’ campaign, Harley Quinn has taken the venue over, holding a presentation for her new enhancement implant chips under the stage « Dr Q ». Before a showdown with Harley’s enhanced henchmen, players must sneak through the abandoned theater, and can see several Easter eggs as they do.
In the Monarch, a signed headshot of one of Gotham Knights’ most important characters, Alfred can be found, and players get a glimpse of the Wayne family butler’s past career as an actor. Alfred even says about a secret exit that the heroes can use to sneak in, referring to « trade secrets » after one of the heroes asks him if it was to evade his adoring fans. There are also posters for Batman: The Musical (a joke musical that featured in an episode of Batman Beyond) as well as a poster for the magician Giovanni « John » Zatara, father of the Justice League Dark member and fellow magician Zatanna, who is also referenced elsewhere in Gotham Knights’ open world.
Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge Has Villainous Mementos On Display In Gotham Knights
Throughout the course of the game, the heroes have to interrogate Oswald Cobblepot to find out more about the Court of Owls and their plans for Gotham. To do this, players must visit Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge. When they do, they will see several villains’ mementos on display, from Penguin’s various umbrella weapons equipped with hidden blades and other deadly projectiles, to a boomerang once wielded by The Flash’s foe, Captain Boomerang, and a top hat worn by Clock King, which appears to have one of his clock-themed gadgets still attached. Although none of these foes appear in Gotham Knights, Captain Boomerang will get a starring role in next year’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which takes place in the separate Batman: Arkham continuity.
There aren’t just references to DC’s various villains to be found around the Iceberg Lounge, however, as many DC heroes and Batman allies are referenced too. Black Lightning is referenced on several wooden crates in the club’s kitchen, and Bruce Wayne and his allies SElina Kyle (aka. Catwoman) and journalist Vicki Vale’s names can be spotted exactly where fans would expect from a club run by the Penguin: on the ban list. The list of reasons given is amusing to DC fans who know the characters’ traits, as Bruce is banned for « inappropriate and offensive behavior » (those who complete the Secret Identity side missions can get a glimpse at what this behavior was), Selena for « theft », and Vicki for being a « nuisance ».
Kirk Langstrom’s Lab Alludes to Batman’s Childhood Hero In Gotham Knights
Batman’s final case leads the Bat Family to Dr. Kirk Langstrom’s lab, where the team find that the scientist has been murdered. When investigating the lab, a poster for The Gray Ghost can be seen hanging on the wall. Fans of Batman: The Animated Series will immediately recognize the character as Bruce Wayne’s childhood hero, and the release date for the movie, 4-11-92, is the air date for the character’s first appearance in the Batman: The Animated Series episode Beware the Gray Ghost. For those aware of Langstrom’s comic history, a small poster detailing the study of a bat’s flight cycle can be seen next to the Gray Ghost poster, indicating that the scientist was already working on the serum taken from the glands of bats designed to enhance human senses. This serum would ultimately turn him into the bat/human hybrid known as Man-Bat, although Gotham Knights never reveals whether he underwent this transformation prior to the game’s events, or if his life was ended beforehand.
Gotham Knights Includes A Tribute To Legendary DC Comics Artists
Not all of Gotham Knights’ Batman Easter eggs refer to those who inhabit the DC Universe, and those who explore Gotham Knights’ open world can find tributes to legendary comics artists George Pérez and Neal Adams, who both sadly passed away earlier this year. Both artists are often credited with being behind many iconic images within the most popular franchises of DC Comics. Perez is perhaps most well known for creating one of the first major large-scale crossover stories with the multiversal classic Crisis on Infinite Earths alongside Marv Wolfman, as well as relaunching Wonder Woman, remaking her into a dynamic character with a more original, cohesive backstory rooted in Greek mythology.
Neal Adams, meanwhile, was often praised for helping to revitalize Batman alongside writer Dennis O’Neil, by giving him a darker image that paved the way for many of the modern adaptations of the character that audiences are used to, transforming the Joker – who doesn’t appear in Gotham Knights – from a somewhat silly prankster into the dark menace that became a truly worthy foe to the Dark Knigh. Adams also co-created Ra’s al Ghul, an important figure in Gotham Knights’ story.
