The Origin of "Man"
A newly released mod has brought the popular 'Man' meme to Batman: Arkham Knight by allowing players to don the now-famous hero’s generically-themed suit. The exact origins of 'Man' are somewhat unclear, but the trend of fans sharing images of Batman with his trademark cowl ears removed had already been popular for some time before Micheal Keaton’s return as the grim defender of Gotham in last summer’s The Flash. One particular photoshopped image of Keaton’s Batman started to go viral a few months before the film, with fans jokingly naming this non-bat version of the hero 'Man.'
This in turn has led to jokes about 'Man' being an existing character in the DC Universe with his own media franchise, along with playful comparisons to similar costumes like Red Robin, the young Bruce Wayne’s pre-Dark Knight look from the later seasons of Gotham and even the lesser-known DC/WildStorm hero Midnighter (who himself was modeled after the Caped Crusader). Fans have even shared altered versions of the covers for the Batman: Arkham series of games, with 'Man' replacing the titular bat-themed hero and the word 'Bat' appropriately taken off of the title logos.
Reddit user TheCriticalCynic2022 recently shared a clip of Batman: Arkham Knight gameplay on r/BatmanArkham that depicts a modified Batman suit resembling the infamous 'Man' meme. According to TheCriticalCynic2022, this suit is part of a mod featuring every Batsuit worn by Micheal Keaton - including an altered version of the skin from the 1989 Batman film as well as new ones based on 1992’s Batman Returns and 2023’s The Flash. Just like in the meme, the 'Man' suit is modified from the latter, with Batman’s pointy ears and chest bat emblem removed. Though 'Man' isn’t included in the mod’s description, it can be downloaded from modder RRe36's website.
The Rise of 'Man' in Gaming
'Man' is just the latest in a series of fun Batman: Arkham Knight character mods that stretch as far back as the game’s original 2015 release. Aside from humorous alternate versions of the Dark Knight himself, many of these mods allow players to roam the mean streets of Gotham as Bruce Wayne’s faithful butler Alfred, his sinister arch-nemesis the Joker, Netflix’s MCU incarnation of Daredevil, and even Rocksteady co-founder and Batman: Arkham Knight creative director Sefton Hill.
Now 'Man' has come to bring justice to the open world of Gotham City in Batman: Arkham Knight, months after he first emerged from the shadows of the internet as a humorous meme. While his appearance as a playable mod skin took TheCriticalCynic2022 by surprise, players who download RRe36's Burton/Keaton Batsuit Skin Pack v1 mod can unleash 'Man’s' non-bat-themed brand of super-heroics onto the villains of Batman: Arkham Knight ahead of Rocksteady’s return to the Arkhamverse in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League later this year.
