Dark Knight Trilogy

33. MRC National Institute

Chicago, IL

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Walking the same path as The Riddler, The Joker, The Penguin, and many of Batman's other notable villains, we come to the infamous Arkham Asylum. Portrayed in Batman Begins by the London Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), the Arkham Asylum building was featured in the middle of the Gotham slums, known as the Narrows. The research institute was moved to it's current building in Mill Hills, England after years of interference and construction halts. Construction began in 1937 but was delayed during World War II when the building was used by the Women's Royal Naval Service. Scientists were finally able to move in following the war in 1950. Arkham Asylum had a rough beginning as well. Originally the home of founder Amadeus Arkham and ironically known as Mercy Manor, the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane emerged after the passing of his mentally ill mother from which the building takes it's name. Comics detail the rocky history surrounding it's founders and staff, many of whom eventually find themselves imprisoned within it's walls.

Focused on four main research areas of genetics and development, infections and immunity, neurosciences, and structural biology, a much more promising fate appears for the two hundred scientists and equal amount of postdoctoral workers and PhD students who fill the research institute. Concentrating on fighting disease and aiding in genetic development, the National Institute for Medical Research, varies greatly from the inner workings of Arkham Asylum. Referred to as the "Ivy League of insanity" Arkham Asylum is typically a last resort for Gotham criminals who are deemed too dangerous to continue being treated at Williams Medical Center. Leading psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathon Crane, took advantage of the criminally insane by placing them in his supposed care to conduct sadistic experiments of his own volition. It's within these walls that Gotham criminals are placed to prevent escape, not only from the law, but from their minds. Unfortunately for the residents of the slums, the inmates were released to aid in the chaos created by Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins.