Batman: The Enemy Within Proves that the only Good Batman is One Who Hangs Up the Cape

Batman: The Enemy Within, the sequel season to Telltale’s Batman, follows Bruce Wayne/The Caped Crusader as he navigates a new set of challenges, and the ramifications of choices he made in the previous season. This game loves to play with the dichotomy between Bruce and Batman, letting you decide who will take the lead in any given situation. But this second season reveals so much more on the text’s actual position on Batman: he is part of the problem. By continuing his one man mission to rid Gotham of crime, Batman is actually just making things worse, and the cycle will continue for as long as he wears the cowl. By the finale, The Enemy Within wants you to realize that the only version of Bruce Wayne who can truly help Gotham is the one that embraces his own humanity, and sets to work leading with that foot. 

WARNING: There are lots of spoilers from this point on, so bear that in mind before continuing. 

In the first season, Bruce is presented with a choice, align with the GCPD to create a stronger police force provisioned with WayneTech, or provide the necessary funds to get Arkham in decent shape again. Despite its lack of real relevance in terms of actual gameplay, this choice, which fittingly came right at the end of the last season, is the one that frames what The Enemy Within is asking: will you continue to lean into Batman’s propagation of a police state and surveillance network in Gotham, or will you use your wealth and power to try and invest in the welfare of the people of the city?

This season takes this further, having Bruce encounter a litany of characters with severe health problems, both physical and mental, that motivate their actions and lead them to forming an alliance called The Pact in order to steal a virus that could potentially help each with their issues. Harley Quinn is staring down the barrel of a genetic illness that will eventually erode her mind, Bane is addicted to his Venom, but the formula remains unstable and dangerous, Mr. Freeze’s wife is in a state of cryogenic sleep until he can find a way to cure the illness she contracted, and John is well, John. All of them are victims of more than just tragic circumstances, they’re victims of a healthcare and criminal justice system that couldn’t care less about them. People dealing with mental health issues, addiction, and debilitating illness all suffer under the status quo, and the world in which The Enemy Within’s Gotham is situated is no different. 

These people don’t have access to adequate care, or social systems that would actually work to help them recover and be able to lead healthier lives. While it’s likely too late for the living members of The Pact (since Riddler was killed and the others are hellbent on their quest), John is a prime example of how Bruce/Batman can impact the world around him. In this season, John has been released from Arkham, and like many newly-out prisoners, he’s uncomfortable and uncertain about how to function in society now that he’s free. Harley tells Bruce that John is still malleable multiple times over the episodes and in a way, this season is really about which of the two of them John will end up being more influenced by. But in actually playing, it becomes apparent that Bruce is really the only deciding factor. 

While John is completely enamored with Harley, her actions do little to influence him. When she flirts with Bruce, John doesn’t see it as her doing anything upsetting, he instead turns his ire towards his “best friend.” He’s even willing to betray Harley for Bruce, if you play your cards right. But the person that John admires above all else is Batman. He looks up to the vigilante, wants to be like him, and would do just about anything to get his attention. This influence between Batman and Bruce allows the player to shape John, and it shows just what kind of impact someone like Bruce Wayne can have. 

Regardless of your choices, things do go badly with John. But you can either turn him into the manic monster with a taste for destruction that we’re more familiar with, or a new vigilante who’s willing to do what Batman won’t: kill. Either way, his name becomes Joker, but his intent is clearly different depending on which direction you’ve pushed him in. Vigilante Joker has learned to be kind and to protect people from the corruption of the systems he’s seen exploiting and harming him and those around him, and he wants to do something about it. What’s more, he’s able to see that Batman’s brand of “justice” is not only extremely fallible, but also not something that can actually make any lasting change, as it really only serves to perpetuate the cycles of neglect and abuse that permeate the criminal justice system. 

Despite this, when everything is said and done, you’re still allowed to extend friendship and kindness to John, and his ending where you affirm your friendship has Bruce showing up at his cell in Arkham to visit. John’s joy and hope at seeing Bruce show that this is really the way to help Gotham move forward, by leading with your compassion and humanity, instead of your misguided sense of justice and your fists. If, on the other hand, John becomes the Villain version of Joker, his obsession with Batman, whether he shows up outside Arkham or not, demonstrates the inevitability of the violent and dangerous cycle that the Batman persona enables rather than fixes.

The game’s final choice reflects this as well, as Alfred, after all is said and done, can no longer handle the life of Batman’s butler. The key sticking point is that he can’t handle helping Batman anymore, not Bruce. If Bruce is willing to give up the cape, Alred is willing to stay. So once again in the finale, you’re offered a choice: stay Batman and lose the only family you have left as you perpetuate an endless cycle of brutality and broken systems, or drop vigilantism for good and embrace the part of Bruce that just wants to help others the best way he can. 

Now, Telltale certainly wasn’t saying “eat the rich” or anything to that degree, in fact, they sort of give him the Elon Musk “tech savior” treatment. But it’s not hard to connect the dots of which choices provide hopeful or positive outcomes, and the message that Bruce’s wealth and kindness are much better doorways change than Batman could ever hope to be. If we could take it one step further, and have Bruce unlearn his dangerous ideas surrounding what justice looks like, and distribute his wealth to those in need, and/or use it to lobby for structural changes to the carceral and healthcare systems, Gotham would be a much better place.