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Jack Ryder

From Batman: Arkham Wiki
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Jack Ryder is an investigative reporter and talk show host in Gotham City who appears throughout the Batman: Arkham series. Known for his aggressive manner and his willingness to chase dangerous stories, Ryder has covered several of the city's major crises, been targeted for assassination by Deadshot, and nearly been sacrificed by Deacon Blackfire. His character biography states that he is secretly The Creeper.

Biography

Early career

Ryder began as an investigative reporter before becoming a controversial talk show host, known for his aggressive manner and his determination to get the truth. According to his biography, he is also secretly The Creeper, a vigilante he can turn into at will with effort.[1]

Batman: Arkham Shadow

File:Jack Ryder Radio (Arkham Shadow).png
A radio in Batman: Arkham Shadow playing Jack Ryder After Hours.

During the Rat King crisis, Ryder hosted the radio program Jack Ryder After Hours, broadcasting from what he called an undisclosed location. In one broadcast, he told listeners that he had come to take the danger seriously after someone threw a flaming brick through his studio window.[2]

Ryder devoted one episode to the question of the Rat King's identity. Citing a prophecy relayed by Otis Flannegan that the Rat King would "arrive as an inmate", he suggested the Rat King might be someone already known to the public, and floated Garfield Lynns as a candidate because of the Rat King's talk of burning the city down.[2]

In a later broadcast, Ryder reported on the crash of the Rat King's "Ark", a World War II-era boat, into the GCPD building. He claimed to have eyewitness accounts of District Attorney Harvey Dent, recently released from the hospital, leaving the boat.[2]

Ryder's show is also referenced in conversation by other characters, one of whom mentions Martin Joseph appearing on it.[3]

Batman: Arkham Asylum

File:Jack Ryder Helicopter (Arkham Asylum).png
Ryder's news helicopter over Arkham Island.

When Joker seized control of Arkham Asylum, Ryder reported on the siege from a news helicopter over Gotham Bay. His broadcasts relayed Joker's message to the city's news channels, confirmed that Batman was on the island after returning Joker following an incident at the Mayor's office, and noted unconfirmed reports that Batman had been killed during Joker's escape.[4]

Joker spotted Ryder's helicopter and taunted him over the island's PA system, addressing Ryder by name before remarking on the arrival of more helicopters.[5]

Ryder's broadcasts can be heard on radios around the island, and scanning one of them unlocks his character biography.[4][1]

Batman: Arkham City

File:Jack Ryder Arrested (Arkham City).png
Ryder in the Arkham City processing area.

Ryder was covering Bruce Wayne's press conference opposing Arkham City when both men were detained and taken into the prison. In the processing area, Ryder blamed Wayne for his situation, sarcastically remarking that this would teach Wayne to get involved in politics. When Wayne told him to stay calm and stay close, Ryder dismissed him as someone who had never been in a fight and declared it was "every man for himself".[6]

Inmates who disliked Ryder's show then turned on him, and Ryder ended up begging Wayne for help. Wayne intervened and ordered him back on his feet.[6] Ryder later vowed to find out what Hugo Strange was doing, get out of Arkham City, and tell the world.[6]

File:Jack Ryder Deadshot Rescue (Arkham City).png
Batman saving Ryder from Deadshot during "Shot in the Dark".

Strange hired Deadshot to kill a series of targets inside Arkham City. After investigating Deadshot's earlier killings, Batman recovered his target list, which showed three names remaining: Jack Ryder, Bruce Wayne and Batman. Ryder was next, with Deadshot scheduled to kill him within minutes. Batman reached Ryder in time to stop the shot, prompting Deadshot to turn his attention to Batman and promise to kill Ryder and Wayne afterward.[7]

Between Arkham City and Knight

In the tie-in novel Batman: Arkham Knight – The Riddler's Gambit, Ryder hosts the program Midday Gotham and runs the website RyderReport.com. On air, he openly suggested that Batman had staged Deadshot's attempt on his life so that Ryder, whom he called the most powerful voice in Gotham, would be in Batman's debt.[8]

Batman: Arkham Knight

File:Jack Ryder GCPD (Arkham Knight).png
Ryder in the GCPD interview room.

During the evacuation of Gotham City on Halloween night, Ryder was nearly killed while trying to film the riots. Aaron Cash brought him into the GCPD and placed him in the interview room, where Ryder asked to see Batman.[9] GCPD officers noted the unusual religious recordings he was listening to while working on a story.[10]

File:Jack Ryder Sacrifice (Arkham Knight).png
Ryder held captive by Deacon Blackfire during "Lamb to the Slaughter".

Ryder later left the GCPD to follow up on a lead at the Lady of Gotham. Cash tried to stop him, but Ryder insisted on his freedom of the press.[11] There he was captured by Deacon Blackfire's cult, which intended to sacrifice him. Batman defeated Blackfire's followers and Blackfire himself, and rescued Ryder.[11]

Immediately after his rescue, Ryder began pitching book titles about the experience to Batman, including Blackfire, Black Heart and The Cult, and insisted that people would one day thank him for risking everything to uncover the truth. Batman told him he had been lucky and that he was watching him.[11] Afterward, a GCPD officer described Blackfire as having tried to kill Ryder.[10]

Personality

Ryder is self-promoting, combative and focused on his own career, often to the point of ignoring his own safety. In Arkham City he dismissed Bruce Wayne's advice and abandoned him, only to beg for his help moments later.[6] After nearly being sacrificed in Arkham Knight, his first concern was the book he could write about it.[11]

He also sees himself as a defender of the public's right to know. He vowed to expose Hugo Strange, invoked freedom of the press when GCPD tried to keep him from the Lady of Gotham, and framed his radio show during the Rat King crisis as a matter of facing hard truths.[6][11][2] His on-air style is sardonic and conspiratorial, closing one broadcast by telling listeners they are not paranoid if everyone is out to get them.[2]

Abilities

Physical abilities

According to his biography, Ryder can transform into The Creeper with effort, at which point the Creeper's manic personality takes over. The biography describes the Creeper as "usually on the side of good, but barely on the side of sanity".[1] The Creeper has not been shown in any Arkham game.

Skills

Ryder is an experienced investigative journalist. He pursued the Hugo Strange story while imprisoned in Arkham City, and in Arkham Knight he tracked Deacon Blackfire's cult to the Lady of Gotham on his own.[6][11]

Equipment

Vehicles

In Batman: Arkham Asylum, Ryder reported from a news helicopter over Gotham Bay.[5]

Relationships

Batman

Batman saved Ryder's life twice, from Deadshot in Arkham City and from Deacon Blackfire's cult on Halloween night.[7][11] Ryder asked for Batman while at the GCPD, and after his rescue at the Lady of Gotham, Batman warned him that he was being watched.[9][11] In The Riddler's Gambit, Ryder publicly accused Batman of staging the Deadshot attack.[8]

Bruce Wayne

Ryder was detained alongside Bruce Wayne and taken into Arkham City. He blamed Wayne for his arrest and dismissed his advice, but Wayne still protected him when inmates attacked.[6]

Vicki Vale

In a voicemail to Bruce Wayne in Arkham Knight, Vicki Vale told him to blame Ryder for an article and denied having anything to do with it.[12]

Hugo Strange

Ryder vowed to expose Strange while imprisoned in Arkham City, and Strange later placed him on Deadshot's list of targets.[6][7]

Deadshot

Deadshot was hired to kill Ryder in Arkham City. After Batman foiled the attempt, Deadshot dismissed Ryder as insignificant next to the chance of killing Batman.[7]

Deacon Blackfire

Blackfire's cult captured Ryder while he was investigating it, and intended to sacrifice him at the Lady of Gotham.[11]

Behind the scenes

Voice acting

Ryder is voiced by James Horan in Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Knight and Batman: Arkham Shadow. Horan also voiced minor characters in several of these games, including henchmen and orderlies in Arkham Asylum and corrections officers in Arkham Shadow.[13][14]

Appearances

Games

Comics

Novels

Trivia

  • In Batman: Arkham Knight, a militia member claims Ryder once interviewed him, sarcastically listing questions like "Are you going to kill me?" and "What's the poker for?" as the usual softball questions, implying Ryder was being held captive at the time.[15]
  • Ryder's book title The Cult references Batman: The Cult, the 1988 comic miniseries in which Deacon Blackfire was introduced.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Batman: Arkham Asylum, Character bio — Jack Ryder, developed by Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Batman: Arkham Shadow, Radio broadcasts — Jack Ryder After Hours, dialogue by Jack Ryder, developed by Camouflaj, published by Oculus Studios, 2024.
  3. ↑ Batman: Arkham Shadow, Ambient dialogue, developed by Camouflaj, published by Oculus Studios, 2024.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Batman: Arkham Asylum, Radio broadcasts, dialogue by Jack Ryder, developed by Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2009.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Batman: Arkham Asylum, Joker PA announcements, dialogue by Joker, developed by Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2009.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Batman: Arkham City, Opening — Processing, dialogue by Jack Ryder, developed by Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Batman: Arkham City, Side mission — "Shot in the Dark", dialogue by Batman; Deadshot, developed by Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2011.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Alex Irvine, Batman: Arkham Knight – The Riddler's Gambit, Titan Books, 2015. ISBN 9781783292509.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Batman: Arkham Knight, GCPD, dialogue by Aaron Cash, developed by Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2015.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Batman: Arkham Knight, GCPD ambient dialogue, developed by Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 Batman: Arkham Knight, Most Wanted — "Lamb to the Slaughter", developed by Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2015.
  12. ↑ Batman: Arkham Knight, Voicemail — Vicki Vale, dialogue by Vicki Vale, developed by Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2015.
  13. ↑ Batman: Arkham Asylum, Credits, developed by Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2009.
  14. ↑ Batman: Arkham Shadow, Credits, developed by Camouflaj, published by Oculus Studios, 2024.
  15. ↑ Batman: Arkham Knight, Militia ambient dialogue, developed by Rocksteady Studios, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2015.
Retrieved from "https://arkham.wiki/index.php?title=Jack_Ryder&oldid=852"
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