Jeremiah Arkham
Jeremiah Arkham is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Jeremiah Arkham
When he was 16 years old, he claimed he was an indifferent scholar who wasted his time when one day he went to a beer and vine store. Upon entering, he found it being attacked by a lunatic who escaped from Arkham Asylum and armed with a shotgun the escapee intended to kill someone. It was in that moment he experienced an epiphany and could see through the psychosis of the man. He determined that the inmate had issues regarding his father and told him that everything was ok now as his father had passed away. The man was overjoyed and ended up killing himself by turning the gun to his own head with Jeremiah witnessing the suicide. It was then that he knew that he was destined to follow in the footsteps of his uncle. (Batman: Shadow of the Bat v1 #1)
He hired Hiram Contractors to redo the Asylum and implement changes to the building with this taking weeks to accomplish. (Batman: Shadow of the Bat v1 #1)
Black Mask
He was at the Asylum when came under attack by Bane whose onslaught on the building resulted in the Joker being freed from his cell. Armed with a man, the Clown Prince of Crime freed the other inmates who were armed with weapons dropped onto the site by Bane. This allowed them to take control of Arkham Asylum with the Joker murdering numerous guards as he made his way to Jeremiah Arkham. He held the man at gunpoint and was prepared to kill him but Batman arrived on the scene to stop the Joker. However, the incident had a dramatic effect on Dr. Arkham who was psychologically scarred by the near-death experience. (Batman v1 #491)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. At some point, he met Ingrid Karlsson who was a general care physician that was known for her caring nature and treated many people at Arkham Asylum. The two fell in love where she helped push Jeremiah into being a doctor of the mind and worked together in treating their patients. At first, he was worried for her in interacting with some of the people in the asylum but these were allayed when he saw them react differently to her kindness. Eventually, Jeremiah proposed and married Ingrid where she became pregnant with him asking her to stop working during this time. However, Ingrid wanted to still continue her duties at the asylum and on one such day a riot broke out among the prisoners. Jeremiah had lost track of Ingrid who gave birth to his daughter in the prison with the insane inmates of Arkham Asylum actually caring for her and helping the child come to term. During that moment, a stray Batarang thrown by a new patient struck Ingrid and severed her jugular vein which killed her. The inmates returned to their cells whilst Jeremiah grieved for the death of his wife and welcomed his daughter Astrid Arkham into the world. Jeremiah kept his daughter close to him whilst he worked in Arkham Asylum with him not telling Astrid about the circumstances of her mothers death. During this time, her curiosity led to Astrid finding the various secret tunnels within the asylum and she made friends with many of the in-mates. (Detective Comics v1 #1004)
During the Night of the Owls, the Court of Owls targeted various powerful figures within Gotham and among them was Jeremiah Arkham who was targeted for assassination due to him harbouring criminals. Whilst at the Asylum, several of the Talon assassins broke in to murder him with him briefly managing to evade them until Batman arrived on the scene. He managed to defeat the Talons with the help of some help from several of the in-mates at Arkham Asylum. (Detective Comics v2 #9)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Arkham held the view that lunacy could be measured and its capabilities could similarly be determined. He said that he was lucky in that it became his vocation to study it. (Batman: Shadow of the Bat v1 #1)
Jeremiah believed that Arkham Asylum was a place where people could have their minds mended and where they could escape the improper treatment from Blackgate Prison. (Detective Comics v2 #9)
Whilst working in Arkham, he came to fear that he was perhaps infected by the madness from its inmates. (Batman v1 #491)
He was once married to Ingrid Karlsson who was the love of his life and she bore him a daughter named Astrid Arkham. After the death of Ingrid, Jeremiah looked after their daughter with Astrid being a curious child. This led to her exploring Arkham Asylum by herself and finding its various secret tunnels. Astrid also came to become friends with the in-mates of the asylum and she came to resent the Batman for harming them. Her hatred of Batman only grew after learning that a Batarang was responsible for her mothers death. This saw her vision herself as a knight that was determined to wrest Gotham from the Batman as she thought this would bring a new age of enlightenment. (Detective Comics v1 #1004)
Powers and abilities
Notes
- Jeremiah Arkham was created by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle where he made his first appearance in Batman: Shadow of the Bat v1 #1 (June, 1992).
In other media
Television
Video games
- In Batman: Dark Tomorrow, Jeremiah Arkham featured in the setting of the video game where he was voiced by actor Ralph Byers.
- In DC Universe Online, Jeremiah Arkham appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game where he voiced by actor David Jennison.
Appearances
- Batman: Shadow of the Bat v1: (1992)
- Batman v1:
- Battle for the Cowl: Arkham Asylum v1:
- Detective Comics v2:
- All-Star Western v3:
- Detective Comics v1:
External Links
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