I didn’t know anything about DC’s famous caped crusader until I was in the sixth grade. I never had any interest in the Batman—from what I had gathered, he didn’t have any superpowers or supernatural abilities that made it possible for him to fight crime, unlike countless others of the most famous superheroes. I was all about Spider-Man from an early age, and I didn’t really need any other legend to inspire both my imagination or the hero inside me to come alive.

That all changed in just a day, when my dad was browsing free demos to try out on the Playstation Store of our Playstation 3. A particular title caught his eye: “Batman: Arkham Asylum.” My brothers and I gathered around the screen filled with both curiosity and a slight sense of skepticism as we waited for the demo to download.

The demo opened with a thrilling cutscene: Batman speeds through Gotham City in the Batmobile to Arkham Asylum with a special delivery held captive in the back seat: the Joker. He enters the Asylum with the Joker bound at the wrists, ready to be escorted back to his cell. Batman tells Commissioner James Gordon, head of police and one of Batman’s most trusted allies, how strange this particular encounter with the Clown Prince of Crime was… he surrendered willingly, as though he wanted to be captured by Batman.

In just moments, Joker breaks free of his bonds and launches an all out assault on the asylum. Inmates are released, stealing weapons, attacking guards, and gaining control of the mental facility. Joker is soon joined by Harley Quinn, his partner in crime and on again/off again lover/puppet, who is dressed in a mock nurse’s attire and domino mask.

Now it’s up to Batman (and my dad, who had the controller at the moment) to investigate the scene and find a way to stop the Joker from destroying Arkham Asylum. The demo didn’t let us get very far—just enough to entice us to play the full game—but in the brief amount of time, we were introduced to other classic Batman characters such as Barbara Gordon, Killer Croc, and Mr. Zsasz, utilized Batman’s detective gear to analyze a situation and strategize the best approach in moving forward, glided across expansive rooms using Batman’s cape as wings, and beat up some inmates with bone-crushing punches and kicks.

The demo couldn’t have lasted for more than fifteen minutes, but it was enough to hook me. I knew I had to play the rest of the game—I had to see what happened next, but the game also let me be the Batman, and I wanted more of that experience!

But it didn’t end with the game. I wanted to know it all. I wanted to know why Batman became the Batman in the first place. I wanted to know why the Joker was so incredibly psychotic. I had to know more about this Harley Quinn gal. Why does Victor Zsasz have tally marks all over his body? When did Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl, end up in a wheelchair with the alias “Oracle?” The questions were endless.

I remember that, for weeks after, my favorite part of my days were when I would get home from school and run straight to the computer to cruise through Wikipedia, gathering all the intel I could about Batman, his allies, and, most importantly, his enemies.

Soon enough, my dad and my brothers and I were watching all of the Batman movies together just so that we could all be caught up on the most important of Batman media. My baby brother got shiny new Batman action figures to keep him company during these movie nights (which still compose the fondest of my memories) and to let his imagination run wild in his playroom after the credits were done rolling.

What drew me most to Batman ended up being the very thing that had turned me away for all of those years: he doesn’t have any superpowers. His extended background in martial arts makes it possible for him to win countless battles with his enemies. His wealth that he inherited from his family legacy combined with his high intellect allowed him to craft the tools he needs to fight crime in his beloved city: his suit, his car, his weaponry. Batman is the ultimate underdog while also being one of the greatest legends to ever exist.

Of course, I went on to play the other games in the "Arkham" Series: “Batman: Arkham City,” “Batman: Arkham Origins,” and “Batman: Arkham Knight,” and they never failed to disappoint. They only made Batman seem that much more real to me. Thank you to Bob Kane for creating such an iconic hero for me to look up to, and thank you to Rocksteady for making a phenomenal game series that brought the Batman into my life.