Eldritch Echoes: The Arkham Connection

Eldritch Echoes is a monthly column, delving into the influence of Lovecraft’s works upon pop culture. Each month I’ll take a deep dive, peeling back layers both known and some perhaps revelatory, as we journey into the collective consciousness’ darkest recesses.

1964 – The Outsider

Having brought the Necronomicon into DC comics continuity, it is no accident that Gardner Fox created a character called The Outsider. Gardner Fox was a lifelong fan of the pulp stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, and H.P. Lovecraft, and is well known for having peppered several stories with nods to Lovecraft.

First introduced in Detective Comics v.1 # 334, The Man Who Stole from Batman, the Outsider was introduced at the end of the story, the mysterious figure pulling the strings behind that issue’s events. The Outsider would continue to bedevil Batman and Robin until the truth was revealed nearly two years later in Detective Comics v.1 # 356, Inside Story of the Outsider.

Believed killed, it is revealed that Bruce Wayne’s butler, Alfred, was sealed into the Wayne family mausoleum while still alive. Alfred’s body had not been embalmed, instead having been placed in a refrigerated coffin, and he was spirited away by scientist Brandon Crawford. Crawford used an experimental cellular rejuvenation technique to save Alfred and, in the process, physically mutated him into something else. Standing apart from the human race, Alfred declared himself to be the Outsider. The issue ends with Alfred being returned to his normal self, with no memory of his actions as the Outsider and the Alfred Foundation being renamed the Wayne Foundation–something else which carries through to this day.

1972 – Cthulhu

Ten years after DC comics saw the introduction of the Necronomicon, Lovecraft’s influence began to forever change Gotham City and all of Batman continuity. It began simply enough, with a 2-part back up story featuring Robin, the Teen Wonder. Appearing across issues # 271-272, Robin is forced to confront a cult who worships “the dark demon Cthulhu”. Scripted by Mike Friedrich, the stories Secret of the Psychic Siren and Death-Point proved to be Cthulhu’s only appearance in Batman’s primary continuity. Even so, it is quite disappointing, as Cthulhu is treated as a fairly ordinary demon, with horns and red skin. He possesses one of Robin’s companions and is eventually exorcised, wrapping up the story. Such a sad fate for the mighty Cthulhu. It wasn’t until 1985 when Cthulhu would receive another DC comic namedrop during Alan Moore’s run of Swamp Thing.

1974 – Enter Arkham

Two years after Cthulhu’s ignoble defeat at the hands of Robin, readers first encountered introduced to Arkham Hospital in Batman # 258. The jumbo-sized issue was primarily made up of reprinted tales from prior issues of Batman, Detective, and World’s Finest, but it was Dennis O’Neil’s story Threat of the Two-Headed Coin that would change Batman forever.

A fan of gothic and cosmic horror, O’Neil stated, “I was being influenced by writers like Lovecraft and Poe, and I didn't think about Gotham City.” He later specifically cited Lovecraft’s Arkham Sanitarium as the inspiration for Arkham Hospital, and its brooding atmosphere even amongst the decay of Gotham City.

Originally, Arkham Hospital wasn’t located in Gotham City but was instead a four-hour drive away. Mentioned as a “New England institution” and may have been intended to be located in Lovecraft’s Arkham. All of that changed as Arkham Hospital gradually became Arkham Asylum and Len Wein relocated it to the Gotham suburbs. It was at this point that Arkham Asylum took on a life of its own, and those reverberations still echo through popular culture.

1990 - Dorkham Asylum

Marvel Comics has not yet found a Lovecraft reference that they haven’t liked. As Arkham Asylum developed into a staple of Batman, filled with repeating tropes, Marvel took aim and skewered their “Distinguished Competition” in Sensational She-Hulk # 19. Located in Visigoth, MA, it introduces Purple Hayes as Nosferata, the She-Bat. Issue # 20, Trapped in Dorkham Asylum, features Three-Face, Big Al G’houl, Dogwoman, and a host of other DC parody characters as the issue skewers both the comics and Tim Burton films.

1992 – Batman: The Animated Series

Spring boarding from a cultural wave begun with Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman and 1991 Batman Returns films, the animated series drew heavy inspiration from Burton’s gothic Gotham. In November of 199s, fans saw Arkham Asylum grace their screens not one, but twice. Technically, both were the first animated appearance of Arkham Asylum.

Broadcast on November 3rd, Dreams in Darkness was the 31st episode to air, and the 28th in production order. Written by Judith Reeves-Stevens and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, it features Batman having been admitted to Arkham. Viewers’ first glimpse of Arkham is as an imposing structure on a hilltop, behind the iron Arkham Asylum sign. Once shown the inside, Arkham feels more like a supermax prison than an institution for the criminally insane, with stark walls, armed prison-style guards, and heavily reinforced doors.

The 38th episode to air was only the second episode to have been produced. Christmas with the Joker, written by Eddie Gorodetsky, uses what is essentially the same establishing shot of Arkham as Dreams in Darkness, only with the addition of falling snow. However, the asylum itself is depicted a bit differently. Patients sing Christmas carols and trim a tree in an outdoor common. While dark, Arkham isn’t nearly as bleak for the holidays.

These two episodes were the beginning of a number of episodes involving Arkham and led to the creation of fan-favorite character Harley Quinn, currently featuring in her own animated series. There is nothing in them that makes any further nod to Lovecraft, and much of the Lovecraftian atmosphere has already been shed at this point.

1995 – Batman Forever

Though Tim Burton’s earlier Batman films had set a look and tone for Gotham City, it wasn’t until Joel Schumacher’s entries into the series Batman Forever (and later, Batman & Robin), that fans caught their first glimpse of Arkham Asylum on the big screen. Appearing at the end of the film, Arkham’s looming, castle-like exterior looks as if it were taken directly from Batman: The Animated Series, while its claustrophobic interior and hallway walls of glass brick are… unique, to say the least. This is the director who infamously put nipples on the batsuit, so… there is that.

By this point, Arkham Asylum had lost its Lovecraftian overtones and merely carried forward in name only–spreading through varied projects (both fan-made and official) with little to no care for its origins. Much like Evil Dead’s Necronomicon Ex Mortis, its continued use has nothing to do with Lovecraft himself and has become a matter of unthinking rote. While the first comic appearance of Arkham Hospital was an intentional nod to Lovecraft, its continued appearances have no mythos-related meaning. Still, Lovecraft’s pop-culture influence remained intact, and was about to enjoy a resurgence.

2000 – Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham (part 1)

Created by Mike Mignola, Richard Pace, Troy Nixey and Dennis Janke, and drawing inspirations from At the Mountains of Madness, The Doom that Came to Sarnath, and The Lurker at the Threshold, fans are given a true Lovecraftian treat. Set in the 1920s, an era-appropriate Batman faces off against the forces of Iog-Sotha and Yib-Nogeroth.

This DC Elseworlds miniseries delivered something that no main continuity DC comic could. Illustrated in Mike Mignola’s signature style, Batman has never looked more a creature of the shadows than he does here. Unbound by continuity (or editorial demands to not kill off particular characters), the story is a no hold barred Lovecraftian tale filled with murder and madness. Amidst all the increasingly lazy references to Arkham Asylum throughout Batman, this comes as a truly refreshing change.

2013 – Venture Bros.

One might think that a source outside of DC comics wouldn’t make an overt reference to both Lovecraft and DC’s Arkham Asylum, but in season 5 episode 6 of the Venture Bros., Momma’s Boys, that is exactly what happens. Writers Doc Hammer and Jackson Publik (aka Christopher McCulloch) present viewers with Dunwich Asylum for the Criminally Obsessive. Featuring several familiar looking characters, the asylum’s castle-like exterior and Batman: The Animated Series perfect iron gates are flanked by statues of robed cultists, serving as a reminder of Arkham’s actual inspirations. While Arkham may have moved beyond its roots, it is nice to see that there are those who still remember.

2013 – Miskatonic Psychiatric Hospital

While the writers at the Venture Bros. were winding up their Dunwich Asylum, Mitch Watson and Mike W. Barr were planning their own Lovecraftian homage in Beware the Batman. Airing thirteen days after the Venture Bros. episode on Jul 20, 2013, episode 2 (entitled Secrets) features an abandoned Miskatonic Psychiatric Hospital, as opposed to the more familiar Arkham. Unlike prior animated Batman series, this show dealt with lesser-known villains and was set in Bruce Wayne’s early days as Batman. As such, the program was relatively unfettered by eighty years of canon and is the first Batman animated series in twenty-one years to NOT feature Arkham.

Show creator, Mitch Watson, also injected H.P. Lovecraft and Miskatonic University into another well-known franchise, in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.

2023 – Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham (part 2)

Distilling the 2000 mini-series into an animated film writer, Jase Ricci manages to present a reasonable facsimile to the comic miniseries, at least if one squints. Gone is the Mignola art style, replaced by the more readily farmed out for reproduction DC Animated Universe style. Despite taking some liberties with the story, it is still quite recognizable, although Ricci was apparently not given the same latitude with the killing of characters as were Mignola et al.

Today

Dennis O'Neil's creation of Arkham Asylum planted Lovecraftian roots deep in Batman's world. Today, from comics to video games, from movies to fan films, Arkham's influence touches every part of the DC universe. Though few modern references maintain any true Lovecraftian elements, projects like The Doom That Came to Gotham and Venture Bros. remind us of these cosmic horror roots. Even as Arkham Asylum continues its evolution from intentional homage to canonical fixture, that thread connecting Batman to Lovecraft remains unbroken - whether modern creators recognize it or not.

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About the Author

Bob Brinkman (he/him) dwells in the forbidden realms of Indiana, where he and his wife share their domicile with a quartet of midnight-hued felines. A former contributor to Unfilmable.com and HorrorNews.net, he now chronicles cinematic nightmares both cosmic (through Apep Press) and conventional (via Macabre Movie Morgue). When not documenting the unspeakable horrors of weird cinema, he can be found crafting eldritch tomes of adventure for Goodman Games. As a scholar of Lovecraftian film, he delves deep into the shadowy archives where celluloid nightmares slumber, seeking to illuminate the darkened corners where cosmic horror meets the silver screen.