Batman: Arkham Origins - CATMAN

It was a snowy night, my parents were out shopping late, and I decided to play Batman: Arkham Origins on my Xbox 360. The game console flickered to life as I gripped the controller, ready to fight some bad guys. The snow storm was surging outside as the wind howled, I flicked my eyes to the window and said, "Hasn't stormed like this in a while."

Coincidently, a similar storm was going on in the Batman game; snow and howling winds surrounding the Dark Knight. After beating Anarky in the courthouse, I decided to go to Sheldon Park (where it then became Wonder Tower in Arkham City) and defeat Shiva. But, as I was gliding in the air (as usual in the Arkham Series) towards Sheldon Park, I get a call from Commissioner Gordan saying something about Catman being spotted in the Subways under Jezebel Center. Then a side mission pops up, "Cat's Cradle". I was surprised, yet confused...Did I unlock something? Never did the game have a side mission titled "Cat's Cradle". I didn't go to a certain area or find something unusual, this just came out of the blue which seemed unnecessary, yet I was thrilled due to the fact that I finally get to fight Catman himself. Never has he appeared in any of the Arkham games, all except a poster for his show at Jezebel Plaza, advertising the show owned by Thomas Blake, aka Catman. Posters throughout Gotham City allude to a show about big wild game cats from the jungle at the Gotham Zoo, presented by Catman himself.

Jezebel Plaza was running during the events of the game. However, due to the massive blizzard, all of the shops were closed and there were no shoppers. This is also where Ricky Leblanc and his crew made an arms deal, which Batman interrupted. I already did this though, and now I was coming back to that location to defeat a villain that was never meant to be in the game itself. I found the subway entrance, and entered. I remember it being like the subway in Arkham City, only, something about the atmosphere was...ominous. It had a crushing feeling of dread, yet it lured me in like a mouse with a slice of cheese. I ran Batman through the dark tunnels and what I found...made me, a little uneasy.

I found...blood, on the floor and walls of the tunnels. As if someone, drenched in blood, was running from someone...or something. I didn't think of it, since I was a fan of horror games. But this, this wasn't a horror game, even though it had dark and macabre scenes and characters. Seeing this, reminded me of the side mission, "The Identity Thief", where you have to solve the murders made by Hush. As I ran the Caped Crusader through abandoned trains, I made it to the Subway Terminal, and what I saw next...threw me off.

I saw the Catman himself on top of an abandoned train, his appearance was fucked up...He looked like a Wildman; he wore a lion pelt like a tribal warrior and wore the head of the lion like a hood. There was a splatter of red around his eyes like a hunter and wore nothing but black sweat pants and has steel claw-tipped knucks and the razor edged "catarang" in his pockets. Like in the comics, he had a large, horrific scratch across his shirtless chest by a lion. He wore a cape under the lion pelt that he claimed to be mystical, like in his early appearances. In the comics, Catman is an Olympic-level athlete and skilled hand-to-hand combatant, able to hold his own against some of the most proficient beings and fighters in the DC universe, including Bronze Tiger, Batman, and an actual lion. He is also one of the world's foremost hunters and trackers, possessing an extraordinary sense of smell.

In the game, his hunting skills and sense of smell was more enhanced and increased, making silent takedowns extremely difficult. His fighting style outmatches Batman's. So the only thing to do was keep a good distance away from Catman as possible.

It was like fighting Killer Croc; You need to walk slowly, pay attention to the meter, it will automatically alert you when you are going too fast. When you make your way around the Subway Terminal, Catman will chase you. You have to use the quick batarang throw (L1) to knock him down (Don't use smoke pellets, I tried that, it didn't work). At some points he will start chasing you and you need to run and dodge any obstacles that come in your way by pressing the action button (specifically, the 'X' button).

But the Catman is the least of my troubles. Around the Terminal, there were a plethora of big cats: lions, tigers, cougars, panthers, hell, even domesticated cats. All locked in abandoned trains. Some were even roaming around the area, not leaving Catman's presence. The felines weren't brainwashed, nor did they suffer any kind of torture. It was as if they were his pets: loyal and trained to attack and kill their prey. They would chase me, and try to maul me. So I have to kick them off me and run and dodge away from them.

But what gave me chills, was before all of this happened. As I got to the Subway Terminals, Catman was seen on top of the abandoned train gloating. I can tell he was voiced by Jason Douglas (the guy who voiced Beerus in DragonBall Super), but the way he talked, freaked me out more and more. He sounded like those psychopaths in those slasher films, only you can actually hear malice in it. Just pure evil and malevolence. Like he enjoyed killing people just for the thrill of it. Like someone who just got off a roller coaster.

He was ranting on how humanity has betrayed the feline race, being hunted and killed for big business, or being locked in cages and left to rot. Then he continues to grab a police officer and throws him inside one of the abandoned trains filled with ravenous lions and watched as the officer is being attacked, mauled, and eaten alive in the most goriest ways possible. The officer's throat-splitting screams was so painful that it...it hits you in the gut. Blood splattered all over the train's windows, even the bloody hand of the officer smeared the glass, leaving a bloody print (the rest of the glass of the windows of the trains looked cracked and broken). It stayed throughout the entirety of the game. Even Batman himself didn't want to see that. And neither did I. That's when a tiger sees Batman and roars, alerting Catman. That's when the battle began. It was hard as fuck, but at least I gave it multiple tries till I finally managed to defeat Catman.

As I defeated him, an achievement has been unlocked, it had the same title as the side mission. I just sat there...eyes locked on the TV. Never in my wildest dreams have I seen anything like this in a Batman game. "Jesus..." I shuddered.

I turned the game off, not wanting to play through. I still have those images in my mind, the graphic death of that officer, the grizzly gargoyle that is the Catman, and the way he hunted me down like the animal he is. I guess that's why they didn't include him in the entire Arkham Series, because he was that delusional and murderous.

Well...At least we get to see Catman as an Easter egg in Arkham Origins. That's a first.