The Arkham games, a series of Batman video games that include the critically acclaimed titles Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Arkham Origins, and Arkham Knight, hold a legendary status among Batman fans for bringing excellent stories to life through innovative gameplay.

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Each game has a difficulty setting that allows players to emphasize or deemphasize combat. Gamers who play on easy are able to work through the story of each game without having to fail and restart as frequently, while those who choose to play on hard are treated to a special challenge. No matter what difficulty you play, here are the ten hardest fights in any of the Arkham games. This article contains SPOILERS for the Arkham games.

Joker's Final Fight In Arkham Asylum

Titan Joker.

By the time Batman catches up with Joker at the end of the first game, the hero has already had a long night of crime-fighting. After beating several waves of henchmen and two Titan-mutated giants, he finally comes up against Joker himself. The clown injects Batman with a hearty dose of Titan, a strength-enhancing chemical, in an effort to force Batman to lose control. When Batman uses his only dose of Titan antidote to stop the change and retain control, Joker injects himself and uses his grotesque new strength to carry Batman to the roof. The fight that ensues isn't actually that difficult, - just fight a few grunts and dodge Joker's punches and thrown explosives - but it still makes an excellent finale and develops the universe's lore, serving as a catalyst for Arkham City.

Clayface's Battle In Arkham City

Batman holding a sword fighting Clayface in Arkham City

The final boss fight of Arkham City is against Clayface, a villain whose clay-composed body gives him the ability to shapeshift. In the fight, Batman has to face a variety of attacks, including blows from the villain's stretchy arms, a ball attack where Clayface rolls toward the hero, and a move in which clay is flung all around the room in expanding circles. The pair fall through the arena floor midway through their fight, prompting Clayface to change his attacks. Clay henchmen form from the villain's body and attack Batman independently as Clayface himself hurls projectiles. Fortunately, Clayface's fluid body is susceptible to Batman's freeze grenades, and the clay henchmen are easy to dispatch with a sword taken from Talia al Ghul.

Killer Croc's Encounter In Arkham Asylum

Killer Croc fighting Batman in the sewers in Arkham Asylum

This encounter may not be a fight in the traditional sense, but it remains one of the most intense and terrifying moments in Arkham Asylum. In order to synthesize an antidote to Joker's Titan toxin, Batman needs some plant spores that can only be found in a sewer where Killer Croc has taken up residence. Forced to walk across an array of floating platforms to reach the spores, the player must step slowly through the atmospheric environment so as not to attract the massive Croc, who is swimming unseen in the water below.

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Every few minutes, Croc leaps from the water only a few feet away from Batman, forcing the player to land a hastily aimed batarang on his shock collar to stop the beast's charge. It's a terrifying experience that keeps players constantly on edge.

Ra's al Ghul's Fight In Arkham City

Ra's al Gul stands with a sword, ready for a fight.

Hoping to develop an antidote to his poisoning from the blood of the immortal Ra's al Ghul, Batman tracked down Ra's' League of Assassins and pretended to join them in order to gain an audience with their leader. In the process, Batman was forced to drink a ceremonial chemical that causes hallucinations. As such, Batman's fight with Ra's takes place primarily in a hallucinated world where Ra's has magical powers. During the fight, the villain is capable of multiplying himself into a small army of sword-wielding opponents as well as manifesting a gigantic form that launches massive attacks. This form can only be defeated with a well-timed blast from Batman's remote electrical charge gadget.

Poison Ivy's Battle In Arkham Asylum

Batman in front of a giant Poison Ivy plant.

After being injected with Joker's strength-boosting chemical Titan, Poison Ivy started to destroy the asylum with massive plants. When Batman goes to stop her, he is met with a massive plant that Ivy retreats inside of. She then launches a variety of attacks, including covering the ground in thorns, shooting projectiles, and even using mind-controlled henchmen to fight Batman during her other attacks. Protected by her plant and suspended well off the ground, Ivy has a double health bar and is only susceptible to batarang attacks, each of which must be deployed within a small window.

Hugo Strange's Predator Encounter In Arkham City

After scaling Wonder Tower to stop Hugo Strange from killing everyone in Arkham City, Batman is met with a squadron of armed enemies. However, it's not the number of guns that makes this predator mission so hard, but the map. While most predator maps are big, with a lot of overhead space for Batman to glide in, the room at the top of the tower is small and cramped. The only vantage points are outside the room, and the space inside is almost entirely flat and empty, leaving nowhere to hide.

Mr. Freeze's Fight In Arkham City

Mr Freeze uses his ice blaster

Frequently praised as the most innovative and satisfying battle in the series, the battle against Mr. Freeze in the old GCPD bullpen requires some serious creative thinking. After working with Batman to create an antidote for the hero's blood poisoning earlier in the game, Freeze suddenly turns on the Dark Knight.

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Forced into a fight, Batman finds himself trapped hiding from a man capable of killing him with just a few blasts from his cryo-gun. Defended by an advanced suit of armor that learns and adapts to Batman's sneak attacks, Freeze requires the player to use every technique in their arsenal to take him down. Once a technique is used to damage Freeze, it cannot be used again. It is this necessity for out-of-the-box thinking that makes this intense fight so difficult.

Joker's (Secretly Clayface's) Brawl In Arkham City

Batman fighting Joker's henchmen.

After tracing Mr. Freeze's stolen antidote back to Joker, someone who appears to be the clown (later revealed to be Clayface) engages Batman in a fight. The hardest fight in Arkham City, usually considered to be the best game in the series, this brawl forces Batman to take on a large number of henchmen, a unique enemy with a sledgehammer that can't be countered, a Titan-enhanced henchman, and The Joker/Clayface himself, who cannot be knocked out until after everyone else. To make things even more difficult, the fight arena has two sets of roller coaster tracks running across the floor which require Batman to occasionally dodge fast-moving cars with little notice.

Deathstroke's Showdown In Arkham Origins

Deathstroke and Batman brawl in Arkham Origins

Arkham Origins may be most fan's least favorite of the series, but it does contain some great fights. The showdown with Deathstroke is brutal and relentless. Deathstroke doesn't have a convenient weakness like most other bosses, and he is always on the offensive. Players must be constantly on their toes, always ready for a quick counter or dodge. Deathstroke attacks with a metal staff, a sword, and even a gun. He launches complex multi-phase attacks, frequently requiring multiple perfectly timed counters to thwart a single move. He is also capable of a devastating barrage attack, and will occasionally use a grapple device to send explosive barrels flying towards Batman. When players do manage to land a hit that isn't blocked, it does very little damage.

Bane's Rooftop Fight In Arkham Origins

Batman fighting Bane.

There are several factors that make this particular Bane fight extremely difficult. The first is the sheer power of Bane's blows. Each punch takes a significant chunk out of the player's health bar and sends them flying across the arena. The second factor is the high speed of Bane's attacks, which makes it hard to counter or dodge effectively. Additionally, Bane uses his Venom pack more than once during the fight, making him briefly invincible. Furthermore, Bane summons henchmen during the second half of the fight. The most challenging aspect of this battle is Bane's charge ability, which he can adjust mid-charge to follow the player as they move, making it difficult to dodge.

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