Silent Takedown

Silent Takedown is a Takedown in Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Origins, and Batman: Arkham Knight in which Batman silently rendered an enemy unconscious. The move is slow, but if it was necessary to make a quick escape, pressing the Strike button during a Silent Takedown performs a Knockout Smash that instantly renders the foe unconscious, but is noisy enough to attract attention.

Initiation Incident
Bruce Wayne used Silent Takedowns against his fellow students while he trained under Master Kirigi in Initiation.

Arkham Origins Incident
Batman utilized Silent Takedowns during his second year as a crimefighter. The move could be upgraded to take less time, this move could also be used as a way to earn intimidation points in Batman: Arkham Origins Multiplayer.

Arkham Asylum Incident
The very first appearance of Silent Takedowns. They worked similarly to the other games, but Batman couldn't perform Knockout Smashes yet, which left him more vulnerable if he was seen. A Trophy/Achievement required players to clean any Predator Room without being seen and using only Silent Takedowns.

Arkham City Incident
The first appearance of the Knockout Smash. They worked identically as they did in Arkham Origins.

Arkham Knight Incident
The move gained some updates. Batman, Robin and Nightwing could perform the move if they were above the enemy, and jumped down behind their enemy to take them out. As with the Corner Takedown, the move had a wider range, allowing you to take out enemy from a quite farther away, rather than dead close to them as in previous games. If the character had access to the Multi Fear Takedown, they could initiate it from a Silent Takedown as long as an another enemy was within range.

In addition, there's a small window during which the move can be performed after an enemy had already seen the player. If the character suddenly appears in front of a single henchman, the enemy will be frightened/confused, which allows players to take them out. However, this may not always work, as the henchman might instead shoot and inform other enemies.

Trivia

 * In Arkham Knight, several previously Loud Takedowns will be performed silently by some characters, such as the Grate and Ledge Takedowns.


 * Out of all the playable characters, Harley Quinn is the only one who cannot perform any form of silent takedowns. Instead, she uses Loud Takedowns; while functionally the same, she uses her baseball bat to loudly take out her opponents.
 * Joker, Red Hood, and Harley are the only characters who cannot perform Knockout Smashes. However, their takedowns are naturally faster as they don't spend time to leave their enemies alive.