Arkham Asylum () is a fictional psychiatric hospital appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in stories featuring Batman. It first appeared in Batman #258 (October 1974), written by Dennis O'Neil with art by Irv Novick. Located in Gotham City, the asylum houses patients who are criminally insane, as well as select prisoners with unusual medical requirements that are beyond a conventional prison's ability to accommodate. Its high-profile patients are often members of Batman's rogues gallery.
History Located in Gotham City, Arkham Asylum is where Batman's foes who are considered mentally ill are brought as patients (other foes are incarcerated at Blackgate Penitentiary). Although it has had numerous administrators, some comic books have featured Jeremiah Arkham. Inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, and in particular his fictional city of Arkham, Massachusetts, the asylum was introduced by Dennis O'Neil and Irv Novick and first appeared in Batman #258 (October 1974); much of its history was established by Len Wein during the 1980s.
Arkham Asylum has a poor security record and high recidivism rate, at least with regard to the high-profile cases—patients, such as the Joker, are frequently shown escaping at will—and those who are considered to no longer be mentally unwell and discharged tend to re-offend. Several of its staff are corrupt or insane.
Originally, Arkham Asylum was used only to house genuinely mentally ill patients having no connection to Batman, but over the course of the 1980s, a trend was established in having the majority of Batman's adversaries end up at Arkham. Gotham criminals deemed "criminally insane" or "mentally unfit" by the court of law are sometimes treated at Williams Medical Center before being deemed dangerous enough to be sent to Arkham Asylum.Batman: The Man Who Laughs (February 2005)
Origins
Serving as a Gotham City psychiatric hospital, Arkham Asylum has a long and brutal history, beginning when its own architect became mentally unwell and hacked his workers to death with an axe. He was convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in the same asylum he had been building. The one-shot graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth establishes that the asylum was named after Elizabeth Arkham, the mother of founder Amadeus Arkham. The original name of the asylum was "Arkham Hospital". Its dark history began in the early 1900s when Arkham's mother, having suffered from mental illness most of her life, committed suicide. However, it was later revealed that her son had actually euthanized her and repressed the memory. As the sole heir to the Arkham estate, Amadeus decided to remodel his family home to properly treat the mentally ill, so others might not suffer the same fate as his mother.
Prior to the period of the hospital's remodeling, Amadeus Arkham treated patients at the State Psychiatric Hospital in Metropolis, where he, his wife Constance and his daughter Harriet had been living for quite some time. Upon his telling his family of his plans, they moved back to his family home to oversee the remodeling. While there, Amadeus Arkham received a call from the police notifying him that Martin Hawkins, a serial killer, had escaped from prison and sought his considered opinion on the murderer's state of mind. Shortly afterward, Amadeus Arkham returned to his home to find his front door wide open. Inside, he discovered the raped and mutilated corpses of his wife and daughter in an upstairs room, with Mad Dog's alias carved on Harriet's body. Despite this family tragedy, the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane officially opened that November.
With his sanity in tatters, Amadeus designed a floor plan that evoked occult runes, believing that the pattern would drive away the mysterious bat that haunted his dreams.Batman: The World of the Dark Knight One of its first patients was Mad Dog, whom Amadeus Arkham insisted on treating personally. After treating Mad Dog for six months, Amadeus strapped him to an electroshock couch, then deliberately and purposefully electrocuted him. The staff treated the death as an accident, but it contributed to Amadeus's gradual descent into mental illness, which he began to believe was his birthright. In 1929, Amadeus was taken into a patient in his own asylum after he tried to kill his stockbroker; Amadeus ultimately died while in prison.
Publication history Arkham Asylum first appeared in October 1974 in Batman #258, written by Dennis O'Neil and drawn by Irv Novick. In this story, it is named as "Arkham Hospital", although it is not clear what kind of hospital it is. "Arkham Asylum" first appeared in another O'Neil story the following year, but it was not until 1979 that "Arkham Asylum" completely replaced "Arkham Hospital", and the occasional "Arkham Sanitarium", as the institution's name. Also in 1979, the move to have the asylum closer to Gotham had begun; that was completed in 1980, when Batman #326 by Len Wein described the asylum's location "deep in the suburbs of Gotham City".
Arkham Asylum has been demolished or destroyed several times in its history, notably during the events of Batman: The Last Arkham (see below). It is also seriously damaged at the beginning of the Knightfall storyline, when Bane uses stolen munitions to blow up the facility and release all the patients. After these events, the asylum is relocated to a large mansion known as "Mercey Mansion". At the beginning of the No Man's Land storyline, the asylum is closed down and all its patients discharged.
In the Battle for the Cowl one-shot, Dr. Jeremiah Arkham wanders among the remains of the asylum as he muses on his life. He reveals that he has discovered blueprints created by his uncle, Amadeus Arkham, for a new Arkham Asylum. He also contemplates the fates of his own nonviolent "special" patients: an artist with almost no facial features who must paint facial expressions onto his almost blank face to express himself; a man obsessed with his own reflection in a series of mirrors in his room; and a woman supposedly so ugly, one glance at her face would cause anyone to become mentally ill. Upon discovering his "special" patients (unharmed from the destruction thanks to their secluded cells), Arkham resolves to rebuild the facility according to his ancestor's vision, but to serve as a literal asylum for mentally ill patients in order to shelter them from the outside world. However, when told to be happy with the new development, the artist secretly paints his face white with a hideous grin, reminiscent of the Joker; it is implied that the "special" patients, as well as Arkham himself, have given in to mental illness.
In the Arkham Reborn miniseries, Arkham Asylum is rebuilt and financed by Dr. Arkham.Arkham Reborn #1 - #3 (October - December 2009) But in Batman #697, Arkham is revealed to be the new Black Mask and is a patient in his own asylum. It was also revealed during Arkham Reborn, that as both Arkham and Black Mask, he had begun to manipulate patients, a plotline that culminated in Detective Comics with Alyce Sinner becoming the new head of the facility, but secretly working with Arkham/Black Mask. It was also revealed that the "special" patients were figments of Arkham's imagination.
During Batman Eternal, Arkham Asylum is destroyed as part of the villains' assault on Batman, with Bruce Wayne also being declared bankrupt after Wayne Enterprises loses most of its assets following Hush detonating some of Batman's hidden weapons caches around the city. As a result, Wayne Manor is repossessed by the city and turned into the new Arkham Asylum,Arkham Manor #1 (December 2014) but Bruce decides to accept the situation on the grounds that he can now keep a closer eye on his foes in the asylum due to his intimate knowledge of the manor's entrances and exits (after sealing off the entrance to the Batcave from the manor).Arkham Manor #6 (May 2015)
In Batman #258, it is named as Arkham Hospital, although it is not clear what kind of hospital it is. Arkham Asylum first appeared in another Dennis O'Neil story the following year, but it was not until 1979 that Arkham Asylum completely replaced Arkham Hospital, and the occasional Arkham Sanitarium, as the institution's name.
Staff
Wardens Dr. Amadeus ArkhamThe founder of the asylum, Amadeus named the institution after his deceased mother Elizabeth. Dr. Jeremiah ArkhamThe nephew of Amadeus Arkham. Jeremiah was the head of the asylum until he became mentally unwell and assumed the mantle of Black Mask. Quincy SharpSharp is the warden of Arkham Asylum in the Batman: Arkham series. He possesses a murderous split personality and devoted himself to "curing" Gotham City. Dr. Hugo StrangeA psychiatrist who later came to Gotham City after deducing the true identity of Batman. He later became chief psychiatrist of Arkham.
Corrections officers Aaron CashOne of Arkham's most respected security guards. His hand was bitten off by Killer CrocArkham Asylum: Living Hell #4 (October 2003) and he sports a prosthetic hook in its place. Unlike many of his colleagues, Cash is neither mentally unwell nor corrupt and is a trusted ally of Batman. Frank BolesA security guard who patrolled near the cell of Solomon Grundy. He was killed by the Emerald Empress.Supergirl (vol. 7) #12 (October 2017) Lyle BoltonA former decorated Arkham guard who was so ruthless in how he handled inmates that he was later fired and became Lock-Up to continue his agenda.Detective Comics #697 (June 1996)
Psychiatrists Dr. Achilles MiloHe became the administrator of Arkham Asylum for a time and tried to drive Batman mad after putting him into a straitjacket. He was later exposed to chemicals that drove him insane.Batman #327 (September 1980) Dr. Alyce SinnerChosen by Jeremiah Arkham as his second-in-command and briefly committed under Arkham's orders. Sinner became head of the asylum after Arkham was revealed as Black Mask. She is secretly a member of Intergang working with Black Mask. Dr. Anne CarverShe was a psychiatrist who was murdered by Jane Doe. She stole her identity and took her role and hoped to extort Warren White out of millions and steal his identity.Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #1 (July 2003) Dr. Ant CarleyHe was a psychiatrist who was known for his dangerous testing with LSD and trying to get the patients to open their third eye. Carley was fired after a week due to his test being seen as unsafe. Harleen QuinzelA former psychiatric intern who was seduced by the Joker and became his sidekick, Harley Quinn.The Batman Adventures: Mad Love (February 1994) Joan LelandHarleen's therapist and former colleague. She was created for Batman: The Animated Series. Jonathan Crane A former psychologist who performed fear-inducing experiments on his patients before becoming the supervillain Scarecrow. Dr. Ruth Adams She was taken hostage after the patients of the facility, led by the Joker, took over in an attempt to get Batman to come to the Asylum. She attempted to cure Two-Face of his inability to make choices on his own by introducing him to other objects such as a six-sided die, and a tarot deck.
Graphic novels featuring Arkham Asylum Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is a graphic novel written by Grant Morrison and painted by Dave McKean. It was published by DC in 1989. It made reference to the treatment of several of the patients, such as the attempt to wean Two-Face away from dependence on his coin for decision making, first with a die and then a deck of cards. It once again portrays the asylum as having been taken over by its patients.