Having already explored the enemies and the gadgets of Batman: Arkham Asylum, this latest and possibly last trailer provides some background on the asylum itself.

Borrowing from Grant Morrison and Dave McKean’s 1989 graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth, we are treated to the increasingly insane journal entries of the asylum’s founder, Amadeus Arkham, who became a psychiatrist to treat his mother’s mental illness. Did I mention she suffered from hallucinations of a gigantic, demonic bat? Or that Amadeus slits her throat with a straight razor? And puts on her wedding dress? And gets his own room at the asylum he helped create? If you haven’t read the book, know that it’s a symbology-laden classic worthy of both your cash and time.

I love that Rocksteady has seriously studied up on their Batman canon, incorporating the mythology of the comics and graphic novels into every element of the game. Sure, there have been other Batman games, but this is the first to draw so heavily on comics, from Frank Miller to Jeph Loeb to Alan Moore, cherry-picking the best elements to create. The game makers clearly respect the franchise and the fanbase, and I have high hopes that the feeling will be mutual once we don the cape and cowl this Tuesday.