DC Fandome is finally in full swing, and one of the key features of the now annual event was the latest trailer for Matt Reeves' upcoming The Batman. The darker, grittier take on the Dark Knight has had fans waiting with breathless anticipation ever since the highly-anticipated DC Comics film debuted its first look last year.
The new trailer made the wait worthwhile, providing a more complete look at Reeves' vision of the Caped Crusader than the first trailer, which was pieced together from the little footage that was available following COVID-19 related shutdowns. One notable sequence in the trailer showing Batman in action may pay homage to one of the incredibly popular Batman: Arkham titles. In the scene, Batman uses a gadget that may be the film's take on one of the franchise's most powerful tools to take down a group of thugs.
During the fight, there's a moment where Robert Pattinson's Batman, depicted here in his second year of crimefighting and clearing a room of gang members, lays one out by holding an electrified glove against his throat. This electric gauntlet may be a much more elegant take on a similar gadget featured in another second-year Batman story, 2013's Batman: Arkham Origins.
At the time of its release, Batman: Arkham Origins was panned for being stylistically different from the other Arkham games (Origins was developed by WB Games Montréal to allow original developer Rocksteady more time to work on its follow-up to Arkham City). Modern reappraisal, though, has been inherently popular. In Arkham Origins, a younger and more wreckless Batman is put through one of the worst nights of his life. Black Mask (later revealed to be The Joker in disguise) has hired eight assassins to kill the Dark Knight on Christmas Eve. The second assassin Batman faces off, Electrocutioner, uses a pair of electromagnetic gauntlets dubbed Shock Gloves to charge his punches with electricity. The showdown is teased for much of the early game, and as Batman enters the arena, the fight is hyped to be a duel for the ages.
It doesn't last, though. Batman lays out Electrocutioner with a single kick in a stunning cutscene and continues along his way, not even bothering to contend further with the upstart assassin. Later in the game, Electrocutioner has the misfortune of getting on Joker's bad side and is thrown out a window. Finding his body, Batman takes the Shock Gloves for himself, allowing him to break through the shields of certain enemies.
Surprisingly, the Shock Gloves become a crucial element to Arkham Origins' plot. Bane infiltrates the Batcave late in the game, bringing its roof down on top of Alfred, burying him under a pile of rubble and seemingly killing him. Using the electrical charge of the Shock Gloves, Batman is able to resuscitate Alfred, restarting his heart. Later in the game, Joker straps himself and Jim Gordon to electric chairs that Batman can only disable by killing Bane. To Gordon's horror, Batman appears to do just that, hammering away at Bane with charged punches from the Shock Gloves. However, once Joker thought he had won and released Gordon, Batman would reveal he used the Shock Gloves' charge to stop Bane's heart, which he is able to restart in the same manner as he did Alfred's.
Despite their myriad uses, Batman would abandon the Shock Gloves in canonically later stories. In the series' swansong, Batman: Arkham Knight, players can actually find the Shock Gloves on display in the Gotham City PD lockup. Speaking with Aaron Cash, he'll reveal that Batman surrendered the gloves to GCPD shortly after the events of Arkham Origins. Cash will wonder aloud why Batman would give up such a powerful weapon, suggesting that he may just prefer to beat up people "the old-fashioned way."
It's not known how The Batman's take on shock gloves will play into the film, or even if they'll appear beyond the one fight. However, it does seem peculiar to feature them in the trailer so prominently, especially as it appears to be a small moment in a much more frantic action sequence. Given their utility in Arkham Origins, it's entirely possible that the upcoming film may be taking even more cues from the beloved Arkham series. Fans will find out more when The Batman releases in theaters March 4, 2022.