Arkham Asylum is located on the outskirts of Gotham City, and is where those of Batman's foes considered to be legally insane are incarcerated (other foes are incarcerated at Blackgate Penitentiary). Although it has had numerous administrators, its current head is Jeremiah Arkham. The Asylum does not have a good record, at least with regard to the high profile cases; escapes are frequent (on at least one occasion, an obsessive-compulsive multiple murderer was signed out of Arkham into the care of an incontinent, alcoholic vagrant, on the grounds that he "looked like a responsible citizen"), and those who are 'cured' and released tend to re-offend. Furthermore, several staff members, including at least one director, have ended up as residents, notably Dr. Harleen Quinzel, Lyle Bolton and, in some incarnations, Doctors, Jonathan Crane and Hugo Strange.
Originally known as Mercey Mansion, the hospital was run by Amadeus Arkham. Arkham himself was slowly driven insane shortly following the grisly murder of his wife and child by a lunatic named Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins. Dying inside his own hospital, custodianship of Arkham Asylum was passed down to his nephew, Jeremiah.
Jermiah Arkham took a hardline approach towards the care of his patients. He completely renovated the interior of the hospital, tearing away the old Victorian-style architecture, replacing it with newly designed interconnecting corridors patterned in the style of old classical labyrinths. With little regard for the hospital's dark history, Jeremiah was certain to destroy old remnants of the old asylum, including his uncle's private journal. Arkham hired Hiram Contractors to handle the renovations. What Jeremiah didn't realize however was that the company foreman, Zolly Hiram, had been blackmailed by patient Victor Zsasz into building a secret corridor that connected to several padded rooms, including his own. This later enabled Zsasz to affect a temporary escape from the asylum.
Years ago, the original Arkham Asylum suffered massive structural damage when the criminal Bane orchestrated a large-scale break-out, setting dozens of patients free. As a result, Jeremiah Arkham was forced to close its doors and relocate. He established a new Arkham Asylum at the site of the abandoned estate of Eric Mercey on Mercey Island.
Jeremiah Arkham installed the most state-of-the-art security measures when he took control of the asylum. Video recorders were installed in every room and corridor with two guards stationed on every level twenty-four hours a day to discourage bribery. Even Arkham himself was required to present identification to access various levels of the hospital. All exterior windows at Arkham were installed with heat detectors and microwave motion detectors. Magnetic foils in the walls were used to block radio waves from penetrating locked cells. Although security protocols were highly efficient, they were not foolproof. Within weeks of the renovations both Mister Zsasz and Batman succeeded in breaking out of the asylum. Additionally, Batman's former partner, Nightwing even succeeded in breaking into Arkham.
Known Staff:
Jeremiah Arkham
Residents:
Amygdala
Black Mask
Blockbuster
Calendar Man
Cavalier
Charlatan
Clayface
Cornelius Stirk
Crazy Quilt
Deadshot
Doctor Destiny
Doctor Double X
Doctor Phosphorus
Doodlebug
Egghead
Film Freak
Firefly
Harley Quinn
Hugo Strange
Humpty Dumpty
Hush
Jane Doe
Jason Woodrue
Jean Loring
The Joker
Killer Croc
Killer Moth
Kobra
Lock-Up
Mad Hatter
Magpie
Maxie Zeus
Mister Freeze
Poison Ivy
Professor Milo
Psycho-Pirate
The Riddler
The Scarecrow
Solomon Grundy
Tweedledee and Tweedledum
Two-Face
Ventriloquist and Scarface
Great White Shark
Mister Zsasz
Everard Mallitt
