I ain’t messing with no caped crusader!
Fans have been wondering how Batman is in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, considering the ending of Batman: Arkham Knight.
Is the Suicide Squad game even set in the same universe as the Arkham games?
Developed by the same studio, Rocksteady, there are plenty of expected ties between the Arkham games (and wider media) and Kill the Justice League.
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We know that Batman is involved – an evil version, no less – but how does that make sense? Now the game is finally here, we have some answers.
Keep reading to find out how Batman is in the Suicide Squad game and to discover if Kill the Justice League is in the Arkhamverse or not.
How is Batman in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League?
Apologies for spoilers for a game that was released seven years ago, but the ending of Batman: Arkham Knight suggests that the Caped Crusader was killed as part of Operation Knightfall. This was the ending of the game’s ain story.
The public found out that Bruce Wayne was Batman, and there were literally TV cameras watching as Bruce’s house blew up with him and Alfred both in it. The assumption, then, is that Bats is dead. Roll credits, thanks for playing!
How, then, is Batman in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League? The answer is simple: he didn’t actually die.
According to an interview in Game Informer as part of a hands-on preview of the game, Kill the Justice League production manager Jack Hackett says that the 100 per cent ending of Arkham Knight “did set up something” to keep Batman around, and that final moment “is considered canon”.
What happened in the Batman: Arkham Knight 100 per cent ending?
Those of you who played Arkham Knight and achieved 100 per cent completion will know that it ended with a mysterious version of Batman seeming to be alive and well. If you need a refresher, watch the video below:
As you can see, although the world still thinks that Bruce Wayne is dead (with his house blowing up shortly after his secret identity was revealed), there is still a Caped Crusader trawling the rooftops of Gotham and saving ladies wearing pearls from being mugged.
This version of Batman seems to have notes of Scarecrow’s fear toxin about him, with the criminals seeing a mysterious ghostly mist around The Dark Knight. This could come in handy if Bruce Wayne, or whoever is wearing the suit in his stead, really doesn’t want the wider world to know who’s under the cowl.
So, Batman — or the idea of Batman, at least — didn’t die after all, and that’s likely how he appears in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The new game is set some five years after the true, canonical ending of Arkham Knight, so perhaps we’ll find out more in the game about that mysterious smoky cameo.
Is Suicide Squad in the same universe as the Batman: Arkham games?
While there is some confusion out there, Rocksteady has confirmed that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is indeed set in the same universe as the Batman: Arkham games.
How that can be true considering the appearance of King Shark and Captain Boomerang – both said to have died in the Arkhamverse – will be found out soon, as the game is out now in early access.
There’s conflicting information out there, but an interview with Sefton Hill of Rocksteady from November 2020 confirms that Kill the Justice League is definitively part of the Arkhamverse. Skip to 11 minutes below to check out Hill’s quotes on it:
Hill explains: “This is a continuation of the Arkhamverse, so a lot of the through-threads and the storylines, you’re going to see come to fruition in this game.”
When thinking about how King Shark and Captain Boomerang can be involved considering their respective deaths in the Arkhamverse canon, you have to consider that Brainiac is involved here. There’s bound to be some kind of multiverse madness going on.
Time will tell, of course, but now that the game is in the hands of early adopters, we’re bound to find out soon enough what the truth is – and you can do so yourself!
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