a terrifying trip into batmans Greatest foes

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).

Arkham 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, Drs. Jonathan Crane and Hugo Strange.

In addition, prisoners with unusual medical conditions that prevent them from staying in a regular prison are housed there. For example, Mr. Freeze is not technically insane, but he requires a strongly refrigerated environment to stay alive, which for some reason only Arkham can provide.


Originally, Arkham Asylum is used only to house genuinely insane characters - the Joker and Two-Face are inmates from its very first appearance - but over the course of the 1980s a trend was established of having the majority of Batman's supervillain opponents end up at Arkham, whether or not they are actually insane. Nearly all of Batman's enemies have spent some time in Arkham.

Batman villains
JWebber
Karnage
Abattoir
Alberto Falcone
Amygdala
Black Mask
Blockbuster (in Batman Confidential #21)
Calendar Man
Catman (in Batman Confidential #21)
The Cavalier
The Charlatan (Paul Sloan) (DETECTIVE COMICS #782)
Clayface I (Basil Karlo)
Clayface II (Matt Hagen)
Clayface III (Preston Payne)
Clayface IV (Shondra Fuller)
Cornelius Stirk
Crazy Quilt
Doctor Double X
Doctor Phosphorus
Film Freak
Firefly
The Great White Shark
Harley Quinn
Hugo Strange
Hush
The Joker
Killer Croc
Killer Moth
Lock-Up
The Mad Hatter
Magpie
Maxie Zeus
Mr. Freeze
Mr. Zsasz
The Penguin
Poison Ivy
Professor Milo
Ra's al Ghul (committed as "Terry Gene Kase" in Detective Comics 840)
Remorse (Henry) (BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #205)
The Riddler
Rupert Thorne
Santa Claus (BATMAN #596)
The Scarecrow
Silken Spider
Signalman (in Batman Confindeltial #21)
Tally Man II (BATMAN #654)
Tiger Moth
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Two-Face
Vanity [Vera Klopis] (BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #205)
The Ventriloquist