Gotham Knights is here and it will have you traversing the rooftops of Gotham and taking down the many thugs that linger within its walls. This time, however, Batman will be absent from the picture. The mantle will be picked up by four of DC’s iconic sidekicks, best known for their supporting roles alongside the caped crusader – Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin, and Red Hood. They are all going to be taking centre stage and protecting Gotham. So, let’s take a closer look at the Gotham Knights characters who has been revealed so far. Alongside those four heroes, there are some interesting villains popping up, including – Mr Freeze, Clayface, and the main antagonists The Court of Owls. Be warned there are spoilers below.
Gotham Knights characters
The full list of Gotham Knights characters is as follows:
- Batgirl – Barbara Gorden
- Robin – Tim Drake
- Nightwing – Dick Grayson
- Red Hood – Jason Todd
- Batman – Bruce Wayne
- Mr. Freeze – Victor Fries
- Penguin – Oswald Cobblepot
- Clayface – Basil Karlo
- Harley Quinn – Harleen Quinzel
- The Court of Owls
- Ra’s al Ghul
- Talia Ghul
Batgirl – Barbara Gordon
Batgirl, formerly known as Oracle is one of the four main playable characters. She is the daughter of now-deceased GCPD Commissioner Jim Gordon, who has died within this universe. Batgirl is a tech guru, highlighted by her past as Oracle where she helped Batman countless times by using her skills when it comes to hacking or coding in computers, and when digging through technological systems for information.
Batgirl comes equipped with her recognisable tonfa, which she can utilise to take down the many enemies she will come across. The tonfa also expands and contracts, allowing Batgirl to hit enemies slightly further away from her. Batgirl has a grapple that she can use to attach to the sides of buildings to allow herself to climb.
Robin – Tim Drake
Robin is the youngest of the four playable characters – he is also the third iteration to take up the Robin mantle. Don’t let his youth fool you, Tim is a highly capable combatant, making smart use of all his gadgets and weaponry.
Robin comes kitted out with a collapsible quarterstaff that he uses to take down his foes; he can also choke them out with the staff if he is able to quietly get behind them. Robin has a plethora of gadgets at his disposal that he can use to sneak around the battlefield and take down his enemies.
Nightwing – Dick Grayson
Nightwing also joins the roster of playable characters you can utilise on missions around Gotham. Dick Grayson is known for being the first-ever iteration of Robin – he has taken those experiences with Batman and turned himself into one of the great vigilantes of Gotham. Nightwing comes equipped with his iconic escrima sticks that he can use to pummel his enemies into the ground – or off of buildings. Nightwing is also the most agile of all the playable characters, seemingly able to ping-pong himself around the streets and rooftops with style and ease.
Nightwing also has plenty of gizmos at his disposal like everyone else, he can shoot projectiles from his wrists that resemble flashbangs, allowing him to take a breather in the midst of battle and focus his attention elsewhere. His escrima sticks can also emit elemental shockwaves that can inflict elemental status effects.
Red Hood – Jason Todd
The last playable character in Gotham Knights is none other than the Red Hood. Jason Todd has had an interesting trajectory in the DC universe, from being the second person to pick up the Robin mantle, to receiving a vicious beating and being killed at the hands of the Joker. Jason Todd’s story clearly doesn’t end there though in Gotham Knights, as he is eventually resurrected, where he takes up the mantle of the Red Hood.
Red Hood starts his life out as a major anti-hero, butting heads with the Bat Family on numerous occasions. Although Red Hood’s intentions are good, Batman and co could never approve of murder – something Red Hood didn’t agree with for quite some time.
Red Hood uses twin pistols that shoot rounds designed to incapacitate, but not kill. Players who enjoy a ranged approach to combat will most likely find Red Hood’s combat style quite enticing, as Red Hood blossoms best on the battlefield using his twin pistols from afar. For up-close encounters, Red Hood can use his brute strength to take down foes, although attacks are very slow compared to the rest of the roster. Like the other members of the team, Red Hood has his own abilities to navigate the rooftops as well – his being far more unorthodox than the other three team members, with Red Hood harnessing his soul energy to mystical leap around the skies. Interesting.
Batman – Bruce Wayne
Bruce Wayne, best known as the caped crusader, Batman, is going to be absent from Gotham Knights, as he dies before the game even begins. Batman asks his Bat Family to keep fighting the good fight and protect Gotham from those that wish it harm.
A game focusing on Batman’s protégés and not him will be a very different pace, after all, Batman is one of the main faces when you think of DC. Despite it looking bleak for Batman’s chances of coming back initially, a lot of fans speculate that he might not actually be dead. It would be a bold move on WB’s part to kill off such an iconic character. Fans have been speculating about a variety of possible outcomes for The Dark Knight – from his kidnapping at the hands of The Court of Owls to him being turned into one of the Talons.
Mr Freeze – Victor Fries
Mr Freeze is set to be one of the antagonists for Gotham Knights. Mr Freeze is a side antagonist who pops up here and there to cause you some problems in a Case File.
Mr Freeze is being a menace to society once more, utilising some form of weaponry that is causing thunderstorms and ice to sweep across the streets of Gotham. Carnage and chaos ensue as you could imagine and it’s up to the Bat Family to put a stop to his out-of-control scheming.
Penguin – Oswald Cobblepot
Another iconic and notorious villain that makes an appearance is none other than Oswald Cobblepot, better known as the Penguin.
The Penguin appears to be offering helpful information to our four protagonists more than acting as a threat. On one hand, we know Penguin to be nothing more than a menace to Batman, causing chaos and trouble wherever he goes – but he knows more about the Court of Owls than almost anyone else in Gotham.
Clayface – Basil Karlo
Basil Karlo is one of the supervillains operating in Gotham City. He appears to be assisting Harley Quinn in her plot to cause mayhem and run riot around Gotham City upon learning of Batman’s Death.
We don’t quite know how big his role is in the game, but we will update this article with more information once we see more from Clayface.
Harley Quinn – Harleen Quinzel
Harley Quinn appears to be the top mastermind of all the havoc occuring in Gotham, beyond the Court of Owls, and she is making the most of the news of Batman’s Death. Leading a bunch of groups around the city to cause damage and threats, she sets her sights on the bat family.
We don’t yet know how big her role is in the game or any twists her character might have, but we will update this guide once we go hands-on with Gotham Knights.
The Court of Owls
The other main antagonists, set to stalk the streets of Gotham and cause issue after issue for our Gotham Knights are The Court of Owls organisation. The Court are everywhere, always watching, always scheming. Penguin tells our heroes that the Court of Owls pull all the strings in Gotham and that Batman never had control over the city – we can also speculate that the Court of Owls is the key to Batman’s supposed “death”.
The Court of Owls was first introduced to the DC universe in 2011, in The New 52 comic series. The Court of Owls is a group of wealthy socialites that have controlled Gotham since colonial times.
Ra’s al Ghul
Ra’s can be seen in the opening of the game and runs the League of Shadows. He dies during the Batcave explosion so we only get to see him briefly, but he has a long history within DC comics. He is the cause of how Batman died in Gotham Knights.
Talia al Ghul
Talia is the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul and takes over from Ra’s’ running of the League of Shadows after his death at the end of the game. Talia’s goal is to overthrow Gotham, destroy it and build it anew.
That’s the Gotham Knights character list so far and as more characters are unveiled we will update this guide accordingly. Why not check out this guide on the Gotham Knights co-op multiplayer details and features, to see how you can play as these characters or take down some of these villains.