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- You may also be looking for the episode "Lock-Up"
Lyle Bolton was Arkham Asylum's former head of security who turned into the villain Lock-Up.
History
Lyle Bolton was head of security for Wayne Enterprises, before he was hired to be Arkham's chief of security. In his post, he tortured the inmates with cruel punishments, such as chaining them in their cells every night and electrifying their cell doors. Even Scarecrow, the self-proclaimed master of fear, escaped Arkham out of sheer terror of Bolton. When Batman apprehended the Scarecrow and observed his reaction at going back to Arkham, he and Robin became suspicious of Bolton. As Bruce Wayne, he commenced an inquiry into Bolton's behavior. During the hearing, several inmates were questioned, but had been too intimidated by Bolton to answer. Soon after Harley Quinn, the Ventriloquist, and Scarecrow burst out and accused Bolton of torturing them. In rage, Bolton attempted to kill the inmates, and was restrained and fired from his post. Now blaming the police, the bureaucrats and the doctors for coddling the villains, Bolton's mind snapped, and he decided to punish all of them.
Six months later, Bolton resurfaced as Lock-Up, proclaiming himself an ally of Batman: Batman would catch the crooks, Lock-Up would imprison them. When Batman made clear that he would not tolerate Lock-Up's behavior, Lock-Up declared him his enemy.
Abducting Summer Gleeson, Mayor Hamilton Hill, Dr. Bartholomew and Commissioner James Gordon, Lock-Up held them aboard a decommissioned ship off the coast of Stonegate Penitentiary, where he had previously worked. Batman and Robin tracked Lock-Up down, and Batman engaged him while Robin freed his prisoners. During their fight, Lock-Up expressed frank astonishment that Batman would actually care about the fates of Arkham's inmates, or be opposed to Lock-Up's brand of order.
After his capture, Bolton was deemed insane and himself locked in Arkham. He concluded that he was in the best possible position—now, nobody would ever escape his watch.
Background information
Lock-Up was one of several characters created for the DCAU who were eventually adapted into the mainstream comics. Interestingly, his adaptation predated that of Harley Quinn, the most prominent example of such characters.
His role in the comics is similarly that of vigilante jailer. During the No Man's Land storyline, when public order has broken down completely in Gotham after a catastrophic earthquake, Lock-Up and Batman do in fact ally, with Lock-Up serving as warden of Blackgate Prison, to keep the inmates inside from overrunning the city.
Appearance
Batman: The Animated Series
- "Lock-Up"
External links
- Lock-Up at the DC Database