Killer Croc (Batman Arkham City)

First Appearance: Batman Arkham Asylum

After Killer Croc was transferred to Arkham City, he made his home for a little while in a makeshift room, where he slept on a dirty mattress. He had managed to remove his shcok coller, before leaving the room permanetly and living in the subway maintance access of the sewer. 

Batman finds him in the access after triggering a switch with his remote control batarang. Croc smahes through the wall, roaring that he is not welcome. Batman tells him that he is not here to fight and demands him to let him pass. Croc notices that Batman smells diffrent and of death, sating that he doesn't need to fight him. He promises that he will feed on Batman's corpse when he was dead, before stomping away and diving into a broken pipe.

The Scarecrow's Message (Batman Arkham City)

Throughout Arkham City, Batman picks up three incoming signals on a radio transmission Chanel (700,500), (500,900) and (200,500) which give out a string of letters. 

Batman hacks into the final broadcast, using the password "Scarecrow" to successfully gain access to the third message for decoding.

The letters form the message from Jonathan Crane, stating that he is alive and that he will destroy Gotham and make Batman suffer for his defeat at Arkham Asylum a year before.

The exact message reads: "I will return Batman. You will pay for what you did to me. Fear will tear Gotham City to shreds."

Giovanni Luchese (Batman Arkham Origins)

First Appearance: Batman Arkham Origins

Giovanno Luchese was a high ranking member in the Black Mask's gang and served as Sionis' body double if their was ever any need for him to do so. He is 31 years old with a long history of warrants from the G.C.P.D for assaults both physical and with a weapon.

On Christmas Eve, Black Mask had Luchese present at Lacey Towers when he began feeling paranoid about someone tailing him. In the corridor outside, Sionis gives him a replace mask and tells him to go check out the safe house, while he goes around and gets in via the balacny (whether they were aware of Joker's presence was never specified) to get a drop on anyone if they are there.

The Joker knew that this was not the true Sionis and killed him instantly when he enters the safe house and catches sight of Tiffany Ambrose hanging from the chandelier. His death in enough of a distraction for Sionis to atack Joker. However Joker wins and before dragging Sionis off, covers up the murder with a molotov cocktail so that no DNA could be identified and make it look like the real Black Mask was dead.

A little while later Penguin visits Lacey Towers to gloat about a rival being eliminated, however is furious to discover that their was no pacemaker and realizing Sionis was still alive.

His body is discovered on Christmas Eve, with enough charing to destroy any evidence of identifying the body. However Batman identifies him after hacking into the National Criminal Database.

Tiffany Ambrose (Batman Arkham Origins)

First Appearance: Batman Arkham Origins

Tiffany Ambrose is Roman Sionis' girlfriend, with a prior of drug trafficking. She was murdered by the Joker, several days before Christmas Eve, when he took Black Mask hostage.

Black Mask was paranoid about people tailing him, so he ordered her to wait for him at his safe house in Lacey Towers. She had sent him a frightened text, asking who was the "Joker." He replies that it was no one that mattered and that he would be there as quick as he could.

She had been shopping for groceries on the night of her death and had just put them on the counter and checked her phone again when she is grabbed from behind and has her head slammed hard against it. Joker strings her up from the chandelier like an angel, still alive just unconscious and waits for the real target.

She is awoken by the smell of burning from a Molotov cocktail Joker uses to burn the evidence with  and seeing that Roman was in danger tries to struggle violently to get down. Joker decides he is going to force Roman to kill her, making Sionis shoot the woman he loved.

Her body was discovered on Christmas Eve still hanging from the chandelier.

Mad Hatter (Batman Arkham Origins)

First Appearance: Batman Arkham City

Jervis Tetch was a former neurologist with the theory that the concept of free will was a lie and that it is nothing more than chemicals, that could be taken over and controlled.

From a young age he was obsessed with the works of Lewis Carol and perceived himself to be the living incarnation of the Mad Hatter.

At some point in time he had obtained a hat shop in the Bowery district, where he continued with his work on hypnotic control. His obsession with Alice in Wonderland led him to believe that "his Alice" was out there somewhere and needed to be found. 

His first victim was a young woman called Stephanie Williams, who he had lured her back to his lab, dressed, drugged and eventually killed when he realised she was not "Alice." Over a period of time he had killed several girls, but was still at large on Christmas Eve.

He had perfected his mind controlling technology, forming a gang with technology built into masks. He also kidnapped another girl, who he intended to bring back to Wonderland. He learnt about the Batman and seeing himself at a disadvantage, decided to trap him so he could use his technology to manipulate him to join his side.

On Christmas Eve, Hatter sent a transmission to Batman after a personal invitation to come to a tea party from three of his henchmen, introducing himself as a part time haberdasher. He tells Batman that he has a business proposal for him, but is interrupted by the terrified girl. He silences her, laughing and excusing her actions as she has been through quite a lot, but she will be much better soon.

In the Hat Shop, the Mad Hatter is just putting the final tweaks onto his technology, pleased that it is working with the exception of the henchman being controlled not addressing him as "sir." After Batman arrives, he shoves him against the clock demanding to know where "Alice" is. However a brief exchange, Hatter expresses his disappointment at them not seeing "eye to eye", tricking Batman to stare directly into the clock face and warping his mind into Wonderland.

Batman overcomes this manipulation, finding the Hatter has "Alice" and has a knife ready to slit her throat if he doesn't leave. Batman knocks him down with a reverse Batarang, before smashing him unconscious and leaving him for the G.C.P.D with evidence against him 

Pride (2014) Movie Review

This movie is just breathtaking and a brillaint example of cinema and film experience.

Set during the days of the 1984 Miner's Strike, the story follows the relationship between a Welsh minning community in and the L.G.S.M (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners), who are campaigning to help raise money for striking miners. 

I had not heard about this before watching the trailer and reading about the film in Attitude, so it was great to go into the film to learn about a new topic in British history. It has a very classic feel, similar to movies such as Billy Elliot, the Full Monty and Brassed Off, withthe gritty realism of the same time period and the warmth and laughter to mark some scenes more jarring.

The cast is just fanominal with a group of characters that you can relate to and can have an emotinal attachment with. Scenes between Bill Nighy and Imelda Stauton are just so tenderly done and Staunton also steals multiple scenes she is in. Andrew Scott gives a powerful and spellbinding perfomance and Jessica Gunning plays a young Siân James (the first woman to represent Swansea East in polotics) with a fiesty and amazing prowess. But I think it is Ben Schnetzer and George MacKay, who are stand out in a cast that is so flawless. Schnetzer plays the main protaganist, Mark Ashton (socialist and gay rights actavist) with real beauty, while MacKay plays an original character so perfectly you could hardly tell he was fictional. The addition to a made up character gives us an  additionl gateway and makes you feel you are there in the film.

The soundtrack was a blast back to the classics and give way to very impressive dance scene with Dominic West.

Overall I love this movie and think it is a must see movie for all, as it is a genearl feel good film with a great script and real emotion.

Titan Antidote (Batman Arkham Asylum)

First Appearance: Batman Arkham Asylum

The antidote is a plant spore that grows deep beneath Arkham Island, within Killer Croc's lair, which Poison Ivy says that is the only way to reverse the affect of the Titan Strain.

Batman retrieves the spores from Croc's Lair and takes them to the Arkham Batcave to try and reverse manufacture the cure. However he is only able to make one dose of the anti- compound partly due to the speed it takes, as the process takes a long time and partly as the spores he collected wasn't enough. Poison Ivy's plants also smash through the Batcave, destroying the Batcomputer and every other way of manufacturing the cure.

Later Batman uses the antidote on himself, after jumping in front of a Titan dart that was meant for Gordon, forcing him to find a different way to stop the Joker, who injected himself with Titan.

Venom (Batman Arkham Origins)

First Appearance:Batman Arkham Origins
First Mentioned: Batman Arkham Asylum

Venom is an addictive, steroidal compound which gives the user of the drug increased strength.

Bane came to Gotham to kill Batman in the one night only competition between the eight assassins, while he was also selling and experimenting on the "street drug." The experimentation was to develop a stronger venom that did not have the side affect of being addictive as Bane depends on venom, producing the prototype TN-1, which is a modified version.

Smilex (Batman Arkham Origins)

First Appearance: Batman Arkham Asylum

Smilex or "Joker Toxin\ Happy Gas" is a chemical developed by the Joker, which he used as a weapon in his first attack on Gotham, using it to poison the manager of the Gotham Merchant's Bank.

The toxin is airbourne and it caused her great pain, foricng her to laugh. The laughter was actually the sound of her dying and the more hysterically she laughed, the closer she was to death.

The toxin left her with a permanent Joker grin on it's victim's face. She was either the first or the first recorded fatality of the gas.

The Bank Manager (Batman Arkham Origins)

First Appearance: Batman Arkham Origins

The Bank Manager was head of the Gotham Merchants Bank.

Black Mask (Joker) takes her hostage inside the vault with Sionis, while his thugs collect the money. At some point prior to Batman's arrival she is infected by Joker Toxin (smilex) and she is succumbing to the poison

Batman arrives and tries to warn Black Mask about the Joker, which the bank manager snickers at and says "the who..." when "Sionis" asks her if she had ever heard of the name. She laughs hysterically when Joker reveal himself, calling him insane while he beats Sionis for not being able to play along.Joker tells Batman to have a laugh on him after failing to shoot him, throwing the manager towards him. She is tottering and howling with glee, until he triggers the vault to explode. When Batman comes round, he finds her dead body with a jokeresk smile on her face. After scanning her, he discovers that she had been infected and that the laughter was the sound of her dying.

Later Batman hallucinates her in the elevator of the Sionis Steel Mill after being infected by an acute neurotoxin by Copperhead. She yells that he is the reason Gotham is being destroyed, stating that he should go as they would be better off with out him... "I would be alive without you."