In Batman: Arkham Knight, the Cloudburst was a weapon that was designed by Simon Stagg under the influence of Scarecrow that launched and amplified the effects of Scarecrow's Fear Toxin. The Cloudburst was originally invented by Dr. Alex Sartorius as a mass-inoculation device, quickly spreading cures to diseases in heavily infected areas via inhalation. The Cloudburst ran on Stagg Enterprises' Nimbus Generators, which amplified the Fear Toxin and disabled any vehicles that lacked a Nimbus Cell.
Incident Reports[]
Arkham Knight Incident[]
On Halloween, the Arkham Knight's Militia took control of Stagg's Airships over Founders' Island, with the Cloudburst at the front of Stagg Airship Beta. As the Militia began powering up the Cloudburst with Nimbus Cells, their preparations were interrupted by Batman, who infiltrated the airships in search of Scarecrow and Oracle. The Arkham Knight had a Chinook chopper rip the Cloudburst from the front of Stagg Airship Beta with Scarecrow hanging on, and was forced to finish the power-up offsite.
The Cloudburst was then mounted onto the Arkham Knight's personal tank - impervious to attack other than four spots on the coolant lines, and armed with a directed-energy cannon and a multiple-launch missile launcher. Its turret was able to rotate 360 degrees, and used detector rays like a Cobra tank. The Cloudburst was successfully deployed, covering the entirety of Gotham City in Fear Toxin, to the point that Batman could only fly from rooftop to rooftop.
The Cloudburst, along with the Arkham Knight's tank, was eventually destroyed by the Batmobile after a long and intense battle with five Cobra tanks and the Cloudburst Tank itself - after destroying the Cobras, Batman disabled the tank's main gun by destroying its coolant lines, then disabled the vehicle itself with sheer firepower. The Arkham Knight himself was rescued by Batman from the Fear Toxin clouds, but escaped and disappeared. The toxin covering the city was neutralized by Poison Ivy and her plants, at the cost of her life.
New Game Plus[]
An enhanced version of the boss fight consisting of six Cobra Tanks alongside the Arkham Knight's Tank was found in the New Game Plus version of the game.
Trivia[]
- "Cloudburst" possibly referred to the natural phenomenon of the same name which is described as "a sudden violent rainstorm".
- It also could reference a character named Cloudburst in DC Comics that is a member of the New Extremists.