WB Games Montreal’s Gotham Knights, which finally launched on October 21st, follows the adventures of Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl and Robin after the death of Batman. This bold move sets in motion an unpredictable plot that ultimately centers around two secret societies that want Gotham for themselves.
While the game’s middling reception and a slew of performance issues may keep you from picking up the game, Batman fans may still want to know its entertaining story. As such, here’s a rundown of what happens in Gotham Knights and how it all comes to a head in its thrilling finale.
How does Batman die in Gotham Knights?
Gotham Knights begins by showing you exactly how Batman died. Ra’s Al Ghul ambushes Bruce Wayne in the Batcave, leading to an entertaining brawl throughout Batman’s iconic base of operations. Batman sends out a call to his companions, but none of them are close enough to help him in time. When it becomes clear that the only way to defeat Ra’s Al Ghul is to blow up the Batcave, Batman does so and also kills himself in the process.
Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl and Robin arrive on the scene soon after and find Bruce’s dead body. We then see his funeral, where the CEO of Kane Industries and Bruce Wayne’s uncle, Jacob Kane, gives a speech about how Bruce Wayne served Gotham City well. The former teammates quickly realize that they must now defend Gotham City and decide to investigate Batman’s final case. Their efforts lead them to the scene of Dr. Kirk Langstrom’s murder, where they learn they need to infiltrate the GCPD to retrieve a biometric key from his body.
There, they encounter Talia Al Ghul, who is burning Ra’s body and claims that she is no longer in charge of the League of Shadows. From there, the case continues as the crew sets up a base of operations in Gotham City’s bell tower and confronts the likes of Harley Quinn and the Penguin, who is now reformed but aware of Gotham’s secret society.
The Secrets of the Court of Owls in Gotham Knights
Penguin leads the Bat-Family at The Powers Club, an old gentlemen’s club in Gotham City. There, they find an entrance to a network of underground caves and the Court of Owls, a secret society thought to be just an urban legend, even by Batman. They are led by The Voice of the Court, who eventually catches the heroes and throws them into a pit of death. The heroes escape and get a key in the process.
With this key, they find information about how the Court of Owls murdered Judge Elena Moreno’s brother while trying to stop construction on Gotham City’s Chelsea Tunnel. Sneaking into this construction site, the Bat-Family encounters wild zombified creatures called Talons, which the Court of Owls revived with an element called Dionesus. After escaping the tunnel, Talia reveals that Dinoseum has the same properties as Lazurus Well, causing the League of Shadows to declare war on Gotham.
She asks the heroes to take down the Voice of the Court to stop the conflict, and they comply. After investigating further, they learn that Bruce’s uncle, Jacob Kane, is the voice of the court and knows that Bruce was Batman. He escapes into the chaos of the League of Shadows, murdering many members of the Court of Owls in a masquerade. The Penguin then calls, asking for the heroes’ help, but it turns out to be a trap, and whoever you play as is sedated and taken to the Labyrinth of the Court of Owls.
The Labyrinth is a massive mechanical stage that, combined with toxic gas, causes the captured hero to hallucinate and question whether Batman was actually looking after them. Eventually, the captive hero emerges from the illusion, but the Court of Owls begins attacking Gotham City more publicly. The Bat Family decides it’s time to take out Jacob Kane and work with Renee Montoya and Judge Moreno to get an arrest warrant.
After that, there’s a long siege at Kane Industries so the heroes can take Jacob Kane out into the open and arrest them for the murders of Kirk Langstrom and more. He is finally arrested, but just as he is about to be put into a police car, Talia murders him. After a chase, he reveals that he has always been in charge of the League of Shadows and plans a massive attack on Gotham City.
End of Gotham Knights
After saving some of their allies from being attacked by the League of Shadows around Gotham City, the Bat-Family tracks Talia down to Arkham Asylum. There, they discover that he has taken the Dionesium used by the Court of Owls and combined it with an actual Lazurus pit located in Gotham to create more powerful creatures: Man-Bats. After nearly dying by taking one down, the heroes battle more Man-Bats terrorizing Gotham City.
Eventually, the heroes discover that the Lazarus Well is near the now-destroyed Batcave and confront Talia there. That’s when her plan becomes clear: she’s resurrecting Bruce Wayne in the Lazarus Pit and plans to brainwash him into killing and controlling Gotham City with her. Their plan works and Bruce Wayne revives and becomes loyal to Talia. A boss fight ensues, with the guardians confronting their mentor.
Bruce Wayne finally comes to his senses and learns what is happening in Gotham, but is mortally wounded again when a punch intended for the player hits Bruce. Here, the final fight against Talia takes place. The Court of Owls even reappears during the battle with a new unnamed Court Voice, and they make it clear that they intend to claim this Lazarus pit as their own. Talia activates to attack some of them and then returns to fight the player. When the fight ends in a stalemate, and it’s clear she won’t win, Talia teleports away.
The Court of Owls is still there and tries to use Lazarus’ pit. Recognizing this, Bruce tells his former partner to run as he climbs into the Batwing, still hanging from the wreckage of the Batman. As the player escapes, Batman denounces the Court of Owls and anyone else who uses their wealth or power to control and harm others before crashing the Batwing into the Lazarus Well. This defeats the Court of Owls and destroys the Lazarus Well, but costs Batman his life…again.
Knowing that Batman is now truly dead, the hero who defeated Talia dons a new suit and vows to protect Gotham City in his own way. Back at the belfry, the heroes watch a video of when they interrupted Bruce as he was recording the Code: Black message he sent them when he died. After telling him not to worry about it and to come have dinner with them, Batman ends the recording by saying, “You’re always looking out for me,” before the BatFamily who have been watching leave.