Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham franchise cleverly celebrates and pays homage to the Caped Crusader's rogues gallery. For example, in-game deaths throughout the franchise result in a particular antagonist or enemy insulting Batman, as he and the player have been beaten. Many villains are much more prominent in the series than others, with some appearing in each of Rocksteady's installments as well as Batman: Arkham Origins from WB Games Montréal.
While Batman: Arkham Asylum treats fans to the mental institution's gothic architecture, Batman: Arkham City presents even more activities and villains for players to pursue. That said, the Joker, Harley Quinn, Bane, and others return from the original game, but are reprised at different times in the story. A fan who has logged over a dozen playthroughs of Batman: Arkham City has just discovered a detail that can be easily missed and pertains to the villains that Batman faces.
Reddit user kadir4010 has found that Batman: Arkham City's main menu screen transitions between different stills of villains that appear throughout the game. They have supplied screenshot images for evidence of the notable differences, featuring the Joker, Harley Quinn, and Solomon Grundy. Though kadir4010 claims that they have an impressive number of playthroughs completed, it is still unsurprising that they and many other fans may have missed out on these images.
The reason why many fans may not idly come across this feature is because these villains will only appear if players have already encountered and beaten them. It also takes time for each scene transition in the menu screen. However, it seems as though many fans who have missed this detail have not stuck around on the menu screen long enough to see it. FlyingSquirelOi states that they either "don't spend a lot of time on the main menu" or simply complete Batman: Arkham City in a "one sit down play through."
The Reddit user admits that they are "too eager to load the game" and are accustomed to launching the game right away, rather than shuffling through the menu's optional settings and features. Moreover, tabbing into another menu page transitions the background screen as well, making it an even greater test of patience to simply wait on an individual menu screen without pressing any buttons. In fact, so many fans are unaware of this detail in Batman: Arkham City that they have questioned whether it was fake or not. But other fans assure that patience and story progression will prove it true.
Fans agree that having the villains appear in the main menu only after they are beaten in-game makes rational sense. If villains such as Mr. Freeze or appeared when launching Batman: Arkham City for the first time, players would have significant antagonist appearances spoiled for them. Nonetheless, it is an entertaining Easter egg for Batman: Arkham City players who happen to stay immersed in the game's main menu for a period of time.
The Batman: Arkham series is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Reddit