Does Arkham City Know It’s Christmas?

Yes, the city might. But Batman doesn’t, not in the acclaimed Arkham City game and certainly not in Blue Goggles Films’ holiday-themed short about it.

Batman puts in only a brief, businesslike appearance, but I commend this clip for presenting one troubling point of Batman’s hardline anti-crime stance: even petty two-bit thugs, the pitiable minions of villains like the Joker and the Penguin, don’t deserve a moment of happiness. Not even around Christmas. Are they not victims as well, driven by socioeconomic pressures to scrape by as the disposable servants of criminal lunatics? Is not every one of them a Bob Cratchit who made one or two bad decisions in life? Think about that the next time you fire up Arkham City.