Harley Quinn may be one of the Joker’s most iconic associates, but Batman: Arkham City introduced a pair of minions just as memorable as the madcap jester of crime herself. Developers Rocksteady and WB Games Montréal dug deep into the Dark Knight’s Rogue’s Gallery while making the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham series, providing players with a wide range of bosses to battle and side quests to complete while thwarting the schemes of villains like the Joker, Professor Hugo Strange, and the Scarecrow.
Even the lowly criminal grunts employed under these fearsome enemies were given plenty of personality in the Batman: Arkham games, as they often shared humorous and casual conversations while standing guard for the Caped Crusader to emerge from the shadows. There was plenty of variety to the enemies players could take down in Batman: Arkham - including standard goons, shielded foes that Batman needed to maneuver around to expose their weak spots, and agile ninjas that truly tested the Batman: Arkham series’ lauded combat system. However, one pair of specialized minions truly made an impression when they first debuted in 2011’s seminal Batman: Arkham City - although they have yet to make an appearance in Gotham City since.
The Abramovici Twins Are Two Of A Kind In Batman: Arkham City
These henchmen would be the fearsome Abramovici Twins, a pair of formerly coned siblings that Batman encounters during Batman: Arkham City. According to supplementary Batman: Arkham material, the twins were born in the USSR and were abandoned by their father on the doorstep of a local circus. There, they would make a living for themselves as part of the freak show and eventually gain the attention of the Joker.
Impressed by their strength and looking to bolster his crew, Joker sent Rocksteady's revamped version of Harley Quinn to murder the circus’s owner and bring the Abramovicis to Gotham. Now dubbed Hammer and Sickle respectively due to their choice of weapons, the twins were surgically separated - and since the Joker only needed one colossal minion, Sickle was subsequently abandoned at the Penguin's doorstep.
Arkham City’s Abramovici Twins Are Some Of The Game’s Toughest Enemies
Come the events of Batman: Arkham City, Hammer and Sickle would prove to be formidable opponents for Batman thanks to their impressive size and strength. The Dark Knight first encounters Hammer while investigating Arkham City’s Steel Mill - complete with a squad of Joker thugs players can trick him into attacking. Likewise, Sickle is fought at the Gotham Museum, where the Penguin is keeping Mister Freeze prisoner. At the very end of Arkham City, Batman can find both siblings sitting together within the Steel Mill, and the reunited brothers vow to never separate again.
The Abramovici Twins would make one last appearance in the complete Batman: Arkham timeline, where they are sown back together and sent to the Penguin as a message from the Scarecrow during the Batman: Arkham Knight prequel comic. Sadly, the colossal siblings have yet to appear in any other Batman game or comic, which is a shame given their unique design and backstory.
Perhaps the Abramovici Twins could return in Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, since that particular title is set in the same universe as Arkham City. There, they could serve as either a cameo or a pair of enemies sent to stop the titular Task Force X under the control of the sinister Brainiac. Either way, these hard-hitting brothers made quite the impact during their brief stint in 2011’s excellent Batman: Arkham City.
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