關於哥譚市你不知道的十大真相(3)

am Asylum Was Once More Cheerful

3.阿卡姆瘋人院曾經欣欣向榮

Even the most casual bat fans have vivid images of Arkham Asylum as a place of gothic terror and madness where no one truly gets better. Interestingly, though, this was not always the case. The asylum was introduced in 1974 by Dennis O'Neil, and it originally accommodated the somewhat more playful tone of the Silver Age, allowing villains such as Joker to be treated for their mental health instead of being thrown in jail. However, as Batman's stories grew darker, the asylum itself did as well.

只要是看過《哥譚》的人一定對阿卡姆瘋人院有着深刻印象，它是一個有着哥特式恐怖和瘋狂的地方，實際上沒有人會在那裏得到治癒。有趣的是，它曾經並不是這個樣子。阿卡姆瘋人院最初由丹尼斯·奧尼爾（譯註：Dennis O'Neil，美國著名漫畫家，蝙蝠俠的創造者之一）在1974年提出，它最初是爲小丑這樣的大反派提供一個住處來治療他的精神疾病，而不是把他扔進監獄。但是，隨着蝙蝠俠的故事越來越黑暗，阿卡姆瘋人院也要隨着改變。

In many ways, the reputation of the asylum was cemented by the same book that cemented Grant Morrison's comic book writing career. The book was Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. While the narrative offered an eerie dreamscape of terror for Batman, it gave some downright frightening history for Arkham Asylum. Its founder, Amadeus Arkham, wanted to treat those who suffered from mental illness like his mother had.

從許多方面來說，《蝙蝠俠：阿卡姆瘋人院》（Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth）這本書使阿卡姆瘋人院臭名遠揚的同時也成就了格蘭特·莫里森的漫畫寫作生涯。儘管該書描述的僅是蝙蝠俠的一個可怕的夢境，但卻爲阿卡姆瘋人院蒙上了黑暗的面紗。阿瑪迪斯·阿卡姆（Amadeus Arkham）爲了治療像他的母親一樣患有精神疾病的患者，建立了阿卡姆瘋人院，醫院也是用他母親的名字伊麗莎白·阿卡姆（Elizabeth Arkham）命名的。

However, one of his original patients, a man named Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins, escaped. He raped Arkham's wife and killed both his wife and child. Martin was one of the first patients when Arkham Asylum officially opened. Amadeus insisted on treating him and "accidentally" killed him with voltage from an electric chair. Amadeus became more erratic and bloodthirsty, eventually becoming institutionalized in his own prison and creating the legend that he wanders the halls of the asylum to ensure that no one ever truly becomes well.

但是，醫院的一個患者瘋狗馬丁逃脫，殺害了阿瑪迪斯的妻子和孩子，馬丁是阿卡姆瘋人院正式開張時最初的病人之一。阿瑪迪斯堅持要治療他，並在電椅上"意外"因爲高壓而殺害了他。後來阿瑪迪斯變得更加古怪和嗜血，最終被關進了自己親手建造的監獄中，也由此創造了他時常在阿卡姆瘋人院遊蕩以確保無人治癒的傳奇。

an Controls The City's Power

2.蝙蝠俠控制了哥譚市的能源

Another fact that literal-minded readers might have trouble reconciling is the idea of Batman's status as an urban legend. After all, in a world so focused on surveillance, there should be webcam live streams every night of the Caped Crusader's antics. So what gives?

許多一般讀者很難認同蝙蝠俠城市傳奇的地位。畢竟在這個監控遍佈的世界，應該會有攝像頭監視到蝙蝠俠在黑夜裏的一舉一動。那麼蝙蝠俠的制勝法寶是什麼呢？

Batman, as it turns out, has extremely fine control of the city's power. Specifically, he has special boxes hidden throughout the city that let him siphon power from the city and make other adjustments to protect his secrecy. With his trademark originality, Batman has named these his "bat-boxes." They provide a canonical explanation for why the police or government officials haven't long since tracked Batman back to stately Wayne manor. The boxes allow him to turn off cameras, disable tracking devices, and otherwise stay off the radar of any places he is currently occupying or plans to go to. Hence, the legend of Batman is maintained. Some people are convinced he is actually real, while others think he is just a boogeyman used by the police to scare criminals.

結果當然是蝙蝠俠對城市能源有着絕對的控制權。具體來說，他在哥譚市的每一個角落都藏有特殊的能源盒子，用來獲得能量和保護他的祕密。由於這是由他發明的，他將這種盒子命名爲"bat-boxes（蝙蝠盒）"，它爲爲什麼警察和政府官員無法追蹤到韋恩莊園提供了合理的解釋。這種盒子可以關閉電子設備，使跟蹤器失效，還能躲避雷達的探測。從而使得蝙蝠俠的傳奇色彩得以保持。因此，一些人認爲蝙蝠俠是存在的，另外一些人則認爲他只是警方編造出力嚇唬罪犯的超級英雄。

am City Is Magically Evil

1.哥譚市曾經也非常黑暗

One aspect of Gotham City that Batman describes frequently is the return to the idea of its constant evil. It is not a good city made bad at some point in the past. In fact, its rotten present state is considered a marked improvement over its immediate past, as Batman has helped drive out both major mob influence and a corrupt police influence. What then could be the source of the town's evil? Aside from the aforementioned bat-demon is a more ancient explanation: an imprisoned warlock.

哥譚市經常被試圖被改造成永久黑暗的城市。這座混亂的城市的從前也是很不堪的。與以前相比，哥譚市的現狀已經是算好的了，因爲蝙蝠俠已經解決了兩大黑幫之爭，也鎮壓了哥譚警局的腐敗之風。那麼誰會是罪惡之源呢？除了上文提到的惡魔外，還有另外一個原因——一位被囚禁的巫師。

The Shadowpact comic introduces the idea of a warlock who has been imprisoned and sleeping in a tomb in Gotham City for millennia for his evil deeds. When he is awakened, he makes the claim that the city's growth and development has been somehow guided by his own evil essence and has given himself the name "Dr. Gotham." The villains Pentacle and Strega wake Doctor Gotham to gain his help in taking over the world and, although he is stopped by the super group Shadowpact, his malevolent influence of Gotham City seems to live on.

在漫畫《Shadowpact》中，一位巫師因爲他的惡行而被囚禁在墓地中沉睡了幾百萬年。當他醒來的時候，他聲稱哥譚能夠有如此大的發展都是他的功勞，並把自己叫做"Dr. Gotham（哥譚醫生）"。Pentacle和Strega喚醒了他並在他的幫助下企圖控制全世界。雖然最終他被阻止了，但還是一直影響着哥譚。

ZC：譯 來源：前十網