Arkham Asylum

Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane is a fictional mental hospital near Gotham City in the DC Universe, where many of Batman's foes (most famously the Joker) wind up after they are captured.

Arkham in other media

Arkham has appeared beyond the pages of the comics in numerous guises and designs. Its appearances include:

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• Batman Forever: Arkham is seen at the end of the film, and is shown to be a dark, towering castle-like structure. The Riddler is incarcerated in a large padded cell. The psychologist seen is called Dr. Burton, a reference to Tim Burton. There was a more in-depth sequence involving Two-Face escaping from Arkham at the beginning of the film, but it was cut for time reasons.
• Batman and Robin: Arkham appears a number of times in this film. First when Mr. Freeze is taken there midway through the film, and later at the end when both he and Poison Ivy are shown as cellmates.
• Batman Begins: Arkham plays a much larger role than a simple jail in this film, with Jonathan Crane (a.k.a. the Scarecrow) being either the administrator or at least a high ranking doctor at the Asylum, and using it to conduct experiments with his fear gas. He also uses the pipes under the Asylum to empty his toxin into the Gotham water supply. One notable change in this version of Arkham from the comics is the location. While the location has varied in the comics, it is generally located some distance outside of Gotham City, often in a rural or forested location. However, Batman Begins has it in the middle of Gotham City, located in the slum-like region known as the Narrows.
• ': Arkham has appeared frequently in the series. It is depicted as generally dark and gloomy, and the cells are similar to those in the comics, being primarily closed via glass doors. Much of the rest of the asylum resembles a prison more than a mental hospital, however; in one episode, it is explained that all criminals apprehended by the Batman are sent to Arkham rather than jail. In the series, neither Jeremiah or Amadeus Arkham are shown or mentioned, but the episode "Dreams in Darkness" features a character who is obviously modeled on Jeremiah, but toned down to a more compassionate persona.
• Batman Forever (SNES game): The video game adaption of the film features Arkham as its first stage. While the film shows Arkham as being in a remote forested area, the backgrounds in the game seem to place it directly in Gotham.
• The Batman: Only occasionally shown so far in the series, Arkham is reminiscent of a true jail, but with padded cells. It is worth noting that, like the original Arkham, only the truly insane end up here (Joker and Clayface) while the others end up in jail (Penguin and Firefly)
• ': Unrelated to the DC Universe, a place called Arkham University is a destination for the heroes in this video game. Nods to the Batman comic books include a shady researcher named Gilbert who resembles The Penguin more than a little bit, and the "Arkham Underground" underneath the University.