Cyrus Pinkney

Cyrus Pinkney was a visionary architect who lived in Gotham City during the mid-1800s. He designed many of the landmark buildings within Gotham City, such as the Gotham Cathedral, the Solomon Wayne Courthouse and the Gotham Merchant's Bank, and constructed them with the financial backing of Judge Solomon Wayne, who was inspired by Pinkney's architectural style and plans for the city. While most people considered Pinkney's architectural style to be dark, dreary, and grotesque, Solomon believed that such architecture would drive away the malevolence within the human heart. Cyrus Pinkney supposedly died on the night of January 13, 1855, on the eve of his fortieth birthday.

History
When he first arrived in Gotham City, Cyrus Pinkney was several years out of the university and had yet to find a commission. After he was taken before Judge Solomon Wayne as an assault victim, Pinkney showed the judge his architectural sketches and notes. Deeply impressed by Pinkney's work, Solomon became Pinkney's greatest financial backer for years to come, which lead to the construction of much of Old Gotham. A powerful leading citizen in Gotham City, Solomon sold many of his businesses, borrowed as much money as he could and persuaded whoever he could to contribute to his architectural vision for the city. One such person that Pinkney had to turn to during that period was Henry Cobblepot, a print magnate and a rival of Solomon himself. Pinkney took an immediate dislike for Henry's condescending attitude and questionable repute.

After Solomon's hotel drove Henry's out of business, Henry attempted to secure part of the original Gotham City for himself in a bid to restore his fortunes. Fearing that much of Gotham's history would be swept away by that act, Solomon and Pinkney, with the aid of the Mayor, prevented that land purchase. Because of that, Solomon and Pinkney made permanent enemies of the Cobblepot Family. A few months later, Pinkney met a young medical student named Amadeus Arkham. Impressed by Amadeus' intellect, kindness, and visionary plans to rehabilitate criminals, Pinkney helped Amadeus design what became known as the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

As their construction within the city continued, Solomon and Pinkney's financial resources ran dry and their partners did not contribute any more money to their cause. Without Solomon's knowledge, Pinkney turned to the only person who was willing to lend the money needed - Henry Cobblepot. Henry gave Pinkney the necessary funds, but Pinkney feared that would come with a string attached. His fears were realized a year later, when Henry called for Pinkney's support in the construction of a munitions factory within the city. Feeling that this would violate everything that he and Solomon have fought for, Pinkney requested the Mayor to introduce a bill to ban the production of weapons within the city. When the Mayor passed that bill, Henry was furious and vowed to punish Pinkney for his betrayal.

Aware of Henry's intentions to kill him, Pinkney spent many of his days agonizing over the consequences of his actions and attempted to learn more about Henry's intentions. In the process, Pinkney learned that Henry's son, Theodore, intended to run for Mayor and realized that Henry would attempt to overturn the weapons production ban and build his factory once his son was elected. His position would become even stronger once the architect was dead. At a party celebrating Pinkney's fortieth birthday, arranged by Henry himself, the architect suddenly collapsed and died after he consumed some wine. Many mourned the sudden death of the architect, particularly his friend, Solomon Wayne.

The next day, in the depths of his crypt, Pinkney awoke. When Pinkney learned that Henry would attempt to kill him by using poisoned wine during his fortieth birthday party, Pinkney went to Amadeus Arkham for help. Amadeus provided Pinkney with a chemical that put its drinker into a temporary death-like stupor. After he exchanged that chemical for the poisoned wine at the party, Pinkney appeared to die in front of the guests. Not long after Pinkney's "death", Henry Cobblepot was killed in a traffic accident that was arranged by Pinkney, who swore revenge on the man who attempted to kill him. Pinkney left behind pages of his journal that were hidden within plaques that were dedicated to him all over Gotham City. In closing, Pinkney admitted that his actions were regrettable but, at the same time, necessary. His fate afterward was unknown.

Arkham Origins Incident


Batman must find and scan every plaque all over Gotham to solve the mystery. After he scanned all of the plaques, Batman arrived at Cyrus Pinkney's Crypt and scanned the last plaque, which revealed Pinkney's mystery. Interestingly, in Detective Mode, no body was seen within the coffin, which indicated that Pinkney survived his "death".

Trivia

 * In Batman: Arkham Origins, there was a side mission to find all of the Cyrus Pinkney Plaques and solve the mystery surrounding him.
 * Alfred really encouraged Batman to investigate the mystery of Cyrus Pinkney, likely due to his association with the Wayne Family through his friendship with Solomon Wayne.
 * After you found all of the Cyrus Pinkney pages side mission in the normal story mode, the side mission would not be available in "New Game Plus" and "I Am The Night". The side mission MUST be completed in the normal story mode.
 * Outside, in the corridor that leads to his crypt, was a dirty, gold plaque. It read: "Sanity fighting the madness" which was from Arkham Asylum and was presumably put there by Amadeus himself in memoriam of his friend. Unfortunately, the quote ended up being hypocritical, as Amadeus went insane a few years later (while also believing insanity couldn't be cured) and was incarcerated in Arkham (which ironically, was built by Pinkney).
 * Putting Detective Mode on when inside the room of Pinkney's Crypt, his body or skeleton didn't show up and hinted that he wasn't dead or that he just wasn't buried in there.
 * It is unknown if he ever still had any contact with Amadeus Arkham after he faked his demise and the killing of Henry Cobblepot.

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