Honestly, walking out of the Monarch Theatre at the end of Batman: Arkham City felt like hitting a brick wall. Joker was dead. Batman looked like he’d lost his soul. Then, a few months later, Rocksteady dropped Harley Quinn's Revenge Batman Arkham City, and we all thought we were finally getting that sweet, sweet closure.
We didn’t.
Instead, we got a messy, grieving, and strangely claustrophobic epilogue that basically told us, "Yeah, everyone is still miserable." It’s been well over a decade since it launched in May 2012, and people still argue about whether this DLC was a masterpiece of atmosphere or just a glorified challenge map. Let's get into what actually happened in that Steel Mill.
Why Harley Quinn's Revenge Still Matters
The story kicks off a few weeks after the main game. If you remember the ending of the base game, Batman is in a bad way. He’s grieving Joker—yeah, he really is—and Talia al Ghul. He’s become cold, even for him. He goes missing while investigating some kidnapped cops in Arkham City, and that's when we get to play as Tim Drake, aka Robin.
Playing as Robin was the big draw here. It wasn't just a reskin. He had the bo staff, the blast shield, and those zip-kicks. It felt different. He wasn't the tank Batman was; he felt more like a surgical tool.
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The Depressing Atmosphere of the Steel Mill
Most of the action happens in and around Sionis Steel Mill. Harley has completely redecorated. It’s gone from Joker’s chaotic funhouse to a literal mourning shrine. Everything is black and red. There are "RIP Mr. J" posters everywhere. It’s genuinely creepy.
What really sticks with me is how Harley herself changed. Gone was the classic red-and-blue nurse outfit. She switched to a goth-inspired mourning look with black veils and smeared makeup. She wasn't just "crazy" anymore; she was mourning, and mourning makes people dangerous.
The Mystery of the "Positive" Pregnancy Test
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. Or the baby in the crib.
In the main game, if you explored the manager's office in the Steel Mill, you’d find a pregnancy test showing a positive result. Fans went wild. Was there a "Junior Joker" on the way? Well, Harley Quinn's Revenge Batman Arkham City basically threw a bucket of ice water on that theory.
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If you return to that same office during the DLC, you find dozens of pregnancy tests scattered on the floor. All of them are negative. There’s a lone positive one next to a box that explicitly says "May provide false positive." It’s a gut-punch. Harley has even painted a Scarface puppet to look like a Joker baby and put it in a crib. It’s one of the darkest environmental storytelling moments in the entire Arkham series. It tells you everything you need to know about her mental state without a single line of dialogue.
Gameplay: Robin vs. Batman
The DLC does this back-and-forth thing with the timeline. You start as Robin looking for Batman, then flash back to how Batman got captured in the first place.
- Robin's Mechanics: His bo staff is the star. You can use it as a shield to block bullets, which is a lifesaver in those cramped corridors. His gadgets, like the Snap Flash, feel more "techy" and less "brute force" than Bruce's gear.
- The Combat: It's classic Arkham. You’re still doing the free-flow dance, but the rooms are packed. Rocksteady didn't hold back on the difficulty. You’ve got snipers, armored thugs, and shield-bearers all in one room.
- The Boss Fight: To be totally honest? The final "boss" against Harley is kind of a letdown. It’s basically a predator encounter where you have to take her down while avoiding henchmen. It felt a bit recycled from the Two-Face fight in the Catwoman DLC.
What Really Happened With the Ending?
The climax involves a bunch of bombs—classic Harley—and a countdown. Batman has to disarm them while dealing with Joker-themed robots (the ones from Wonder City, just repainted).
The ending itself is where most people feel cheated. Batman saves the day, Harley is apprehended, and Gordon asks if Batman is okay. Robin says, "Yeah... of course he is," while Batman just stares off into the distance.
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There’s no heart-to-heart. No "I'm sorry I've been a jerk lately, Tim." Just a brooding vigilante walking into the shadows. Many critics, including the folks over at IGN at the time, felt this lack of closure was the DLC's biggest flaw. It teased that Batman was emotionally broken, but it didn't actually show him dealing with it. We had to wait until Arkham Knight in 2015 to see the true fallout of Joker's death.
The Missing Links
There's a bit of dialogue people often miss. If you talk to Gordon as Batman before the final push, he mentions a "problem" they need to discuss. This was actually a tie-in to the Arkham City: End Game comic book miniseries. In the comics, it's revealed that Gordon is secretly moving Joker's body around to prevent it from becoming a "shrine" for fanatics. It adds a layer of grim realism to the whole "Joker is dead" thing.
Is It Still Worth Playing in 2026?
If you’re a completionist, absolutely. It’s short—you can finish the whole thing in about 2 hours—but it fills in the gaps. It’s included in the Return to Arkham collection and the Batman: Arkham Trilogy on Switch, so you likely already own it if you have the "Game of the Year" versions.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Playthrough:
- Check the Crib: Seriously, go back to the manager’s office. Look at the Scarface puppet and the negative tests. It changes how you view Harley's motivation.
- Listen to the Thugs: The dialogue in the Steel Mill is top-tier. They talk about how terrified they are of Harley's new mood swings.
- Master the Shield: If you’re playing as Robin, don't forget the shield. It's not just for defense; you can use it to bash through enemies during a combo.
- Find the Balloons: There are 30 Harley-themed balloons hidden throughout the DLC. Popping them all gets you a trophy/achievement, and they’re surprisingly hard to find without Detective Vision.
The DLC might not have given us the emotional resolution we wanted, but it perfectly captured the "morning after" vibe of a tragedy. It showed us a Batman who was more machine than man, and a Harley who had finally lost her last tether to reality. It's a dark, short, and bitter ending to one of the best superhero games ever made.