Gotham City is known for some of the DC Universe's most famous locations. From Wayne Manor to Crime Alley, the city has some of DC's most famous landmarks. However, only one name fills its citizens' hearts with a mixture of dread and utter frustration -- Arkham Asylum. Its history of completely failing to contain or cure its patients has caused Gotham more harm and grief than anyone can fathom.

It's a mystery how Gotham's most dangerous criminals escaped the "high security" institution. The facility has been likened to a revolving door for criminals for quite some time and any attempt to replicate or improve upon the prison had been met with disastrous results. There have been many speculations among readers and characters regarding why Arkham failed to keep Gotham safe -- here are just a few.

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Arkham's Failure to Contain Batman's Most Dangerous Villains

Arkham Asylum in DC Comics

To say that Arkham has not upheld its own standards would be an understatement. Far from helping the many supervillains who call the dark landmark "home", it has often done the exact opposite. As time has passed, the criminals who are forced into Arkham often come out worse than when they arrived. It's almost as if the facility actively pushed them to become worse people than they were before getting incarcerated.

This leads to the next, and perhaps worse problem -- how easy it is to escape. There have been too many breakouts from the asylum to count at this point. Attempts to improve the building's security have done nothing to fix this. Jeremiah Arkham taking over and "upgrading" the building only led to Batman nearly being killed by its inmates as a perverse form of therapy. Even worse, the criminals Arkham is supposed to contain had designed ways to escape during the renovations.

Perhaps the most egregious example of this was the recent Arkham Tower incident. Aside from the fact that the idea for a new, more modern mental health facility was spawned by a con artist looking to scam the city, the project almost immediately fell apart. The inmates went on a rampage and several people died in the crossfire.

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Arkham's Employees are Bad at Their Jobs

Looking back on it, it's impossible to blame just one thing for Arkham's failure to contain the threats that call it home. The more superstitious citizens of Gotham believe the facility is "cursed" due to its long history of dark events permanently staining the land and preventing any actual progress. While it's a romantic way of looking at the dilemma, this theory has been proven to be false as moving the prison did not make it any better.

Arkham's dark legacy also attracts some truly twisted souls. Half the time the staff are just as dangerous as the inmates, often corrupt and delighting in abusing their power or getting closer to their deranged patients. Internal corruption isn't the only factor to consider though, the patients are often actively looking for a way out, the Joker being a recurring instance of this. His numerous escapes are followed immediately by several tragedies and the horrific loss of life.

Of course, there are also external factors to consider, too. Villains have used Arkham's lax security as a means to attack the city before. Take Bane in the infamous "Knightfall" storyline. He released all of Arkham's most dangerous inmates to weaken Batman before launching his attack without even stepping into the building. This all proves that there isn't just one reason for its failures. The staff, the machinations of the patients, and occasionally, outside intervention are what ensure that Arkham Asylum will never be able to achieve its intended purpose.