WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Future State: The Next Batman story "Rise" by Paul Jenkins, Jack Herbert, Gabe Eltaeb, and Rob Leigh, on sale now.
When first introduced to the world, the Arkham Knight was a high-tech, militaristic version of Batman. He had a personal army at his back and a grudge against Batman in the video game bearing his hna,e. He seemed to be a promising new antagonist to the Dark Knight. But fans were slightly disappointed when it was revealed that this new identity was a misdirect, for behind the mask was none other than Jason Todd.
But the concept was brought back to comics in recent years, with a new face behind the mask. And she just came back for a new mission in Future State.
Reintroduced in the Detective Comics #1000 story "Medieval" by Peter Tomasi, Doug Mahnke and Rob Leigh, the Arkham Knight was reinvented as more of a religious figure than a military one. The most significant about the changes to this character was that it was Astrid Arkham, the daughter of Jeremiah Arkham., was now behind the mask. And unfortunately for her, being an Arkham would corrupt Astrid's life in ways no one could have anticipated.
Astrid's mother, Ingrid, was a kind woman, who even the most psychotic of patients of Arkham Asylum liked -- even the Joker. But when a riot broke out, Ingrid went into labor. But her kindness paid off when some of the villains stopped rioting long enough to protect her during her labor. Astrid was born safely, but Ingrid was struck by a stray Batarang thrown by one of the inmates. Unable to tell his daughter the truth of how her mother died, Jeremiah decided to leave well enough alone, raising her in isolation within the asylum. Not exactly the smartest move when trying to raise a well-adjusted child, but no one ever said the Arkhams were completely sane either.
Astrid grew up befriending the many inmates of Arkham, as her homeschooling prevented her from making friends with children her own age. They looked after her as a kindness to Ingrid and Astrid grew to care for them deeply. This affection also resulted in a deep-rooted dislike of Batman, who continuously hurt her "friends" But the dislike turned into outright hatred when she discovered footage of her mother's death. Convinced that it was Batman who killed her mother, Astrid began considering him a demon and made her own vow to destroy him.
Taking inspiration from her beloved childhood stories about knights, Astrid trained extensively to become a master of combat and weaponry. Donning an advanced set of armor as well as a stylized sword and shield, Astrid began calling herself the Arkham Knight, in honor of her friends and her mother. She then began leading a cult known as the Knights of the Sun whose sole purpose was the death of Batman, who they saw as a darkness upon Gotham.
Batman and Robin both managed to stop her the first time, but now Astrid is back, but not in a villainous capacity. With Gotham under the rule of the Magistrate, Astrid has gathered a small following of Arkham inmates, forming her own knights of the round table. She has managed to inspire loyalty and duty in even the most deranged of her followers, such as Two-face or Victor Zsasz. They now act as an underground resistance, fighting the Magistrate's authority and trying to inspire the rest of Gotham to rise up against their oppressors. Because if Astrid can convince psychopaths to believe in her, convincing an entire city doesn't seem so hard.