Gotham Knights previews have already shown off a couple of iconic DC villains that we’ll see in the game when it launches later this year, but one character who’ve been absent from the trailers and showcases before is the Joker. The clown who’s arguably the most recognizable of DC’s villains could’ve easily been hiddedn away from the previews to keep his appearance in Gotham Knights a surprise, but it appears that’s not the case here following a confirmation from the game’s creators that Joker isn’t in Gotham Knights at all.
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News of the Joker’s absence in Gotham Knights came from the San Diego Comic-Con panel for the game where creative director Patrick Redding addressed the topic during a fan Q&A (via IGN). When asked if we’d see the Joker in the game, Redding responded by confirming that Joker wouldn’t be present in Gotham Knights.
There is hope for a character related to the Joker to be in Gotham Knights, however. While confirming that Joker wouldn’t be in the game, Redding added “I will not confirm or deny whether Harley is.” If he’s willing to say definitively that Joker is absent but plays coy about Harley Quinn, that’s a pretty safe bet to assume that the Joker’s companion will be present in Gotham Knights.
Based on the premise of the game and what we know about it so far, it somewhat makes sense that the Joker wouldn’t be in the game. While Batman has no shortage of villains to contend with, the Joker is the one villain most commonly associated with the hero. Redding also confirmed during the same panel that Batman was really and truly dead in Gotham Knights just as the game’s story setup suggested, so if Batman is gone, it reasons that his primary antagonist might be sitting this one out, too.
How that’ll be explained in the narrative remains to be seen, but the game’s already looking pretty crowded with other villains anyway. There’s the mysterious Court of Owls, for one, and the creators already revealed that the Penguin and Mr. Freeze would be in the game, too.
Gotham Knights releases on October 25th, so we’ll see just how many different villains are in the game then when it’s available.
