Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is gunning for the ‘comic book video game’ crown in May 2023.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League aims to tell an alternative superhero story – one of deadly villains, brainwashed heroes, and a squad of no-hopers looking to (unwilling) save the world. Amidst a wave of superhero video game adventures, it stands out as an intriguing and surprisingly bloody experiment. With rival comics company Marvel currently dominating the video game box office, it also has the potential to elevate the status of DC, leading a new charge of colourful blockbusters into the future.
Here’s everything we know about the game, including how it ties into the Batman Arkham universe.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Release Date
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is set to launch on 26 May 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PC.
There are no plans to release the game on last-generation consoles, or Nintendo Switch.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League – Plot Summary
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a third-person action-adventure game where up to four players can run through a wide, open world as Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark or Captain Boomerang as they attempt to save the world from a Justice League that’s been brainwashed by iconic DC villain, Brainiac.
With no heroes left to save the world, it comes down to the so-called Suicide Squad to defeat parasitic aliens, put down the ‘evil’ Justice League, and save the world from descending into total chaos. As with most other depictions of the Suicide Squad, the team will be working with Amanda Waller’s A.R.G.U.S. crew, against their will.
The game can be played solo, or in co-op multiplayer mode with other characters controlled by AI.
Who is the Suicide Squad?
This is the third iteration of the Suicide Squad we’ve seen outside the comics so far, with 2016’s Suicide Squad and 2021’s The Suicide Squad both presenting new team lineups. The version in the game consists of Harley Quinn, King Shark, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang.
Harley Quinn (Harleen Quinzel) is the most-known character of the four. She began as a romantic partner for the Joker, and has since evolved to become a loud-mouthed, shit-talking heavy-hitter with wild acrobatic skills and weapons prowess. While she has no superpowers to speak of, she’s extremely wily and quick on her feet. She’s voiced by Tara Strong.
Deadshot (Floyd Lawton) is a marksman with such accurate precision he’s known as the deadliest assassin in the DC Universe. He features in the Suicide Squad often, as he’s expressed a frequent desire to die in spectacular fashion. Given the earth-shattering events of the game, he may just get his wish.
King Shark (Nanaue) is a humanoid shark who’s believed to be the son of a Shark God. With superhuman strength and invulnerability, all the powers of a giant shark, a healing factor and enhanced senses, he’s a force to be reckoned with. While he doesn’t boast a high level of intelligence, his status as an absolute wrecking ball makes up for it. He’s voiced by AEW/ROH wrestler Samoa Joe.
Captain Boomerang (George ‘Digger’ Harkness) is an Australian mercenary who grew up poor in Victoria’s Korumburra. So his backstory goes, he made a living selling boomerangs during this time, eventually becoming so good at them, he utilised the weapon to kick off a criminal career. As with many comic creations of the 1960s, his character was informed by stereotypes, and a lack of cultural understanding.
What members of the Justice League are in the game?
Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (John Stewart) and Superman have all been confirmed to appear in the game, with all but Wonder Woman depicted as falling to Brainiac’s control. Notably, Batman will be voiced by iconic actor Kevin Conroy in his last, posthumous performance as Bruce Wayne.
So far, it’s unknown whether any additional heroes will appear, but as with most comic video games, you can expect some cameos and surprises along the way.
Is Suicide Squad set in the Arkhamverse?
Strangely enough, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is set in the same universe as the Batman Arkham games, meaning the Harley Quinn you see here is the same Harley from Arkham Asylum, City, Origins and Knight. That said, several changes to the cast mean that Kill the Justice League is quite inconsistent with the rest of the Arkhamverse.
Deadshot, who stars as one of the primary characters, is depicted as a Black man in the game. In the Arkham series and its tie-in film, Assault on Arkham, he’s caucasian. This was seemingly explained in a brief tweet from Rocksteady implying the original Deadshot was a fake – but this doesn’t explain why they both seemingly have the same name and abilities. Essentially, it’s a ‘retcon‘ to better align Deadshot with his depiction in the Suicide Squad films.
In addition, King Shark is wildly different to his Assault on Arkham counterpart. In the tie-in film, which is supposedly ‘canon’ to the original Arkham games, he appears to be a cyborg metahuman with sharp, mechanical teeth and a long, fin-like mohawk. The King Shark in Suicide Squad better resembles an actual shark, and is not human at all.
Whether these inconsistencies will be explained or ignored remains to be seen, but either way it’s very odd that the game is technically part of the Arkhamverse when there’s so many significant character changes.
Does Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League have microtransactions?
A leaked image from a test build of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has confirmed the game will have a Battle Pass for keen players, allowing them to unlock new cosmetic items and other unknown benefits. This image showed off several in-game currencies – but it’s currently unknown if these are microtransactions, or simply experience points players can earn during regular gameplay.
The existence of a Battle Pass does imply players could be asked to pay to unlock higher tier items, but it’s still possible this isn’t a paid pass. For now, we await official word from Rocksteady as to how this system will function, and whether microtransactions will be part of the game.
Does Suicide Squad connect with Gotham Knights?
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is not connected to fellow DC video game Gotham Knights, which launched in 2022. Knights is not set in the Arkhamverse and represents a different continuity, meaning it’s unlikely either title will clash or crossover.
Both games tell self-contained stories that don’t tie into a wider, shared universe, or into the film and TV DC Extended Universe (DCEU).
In the years ahead, there’ll be plenty of comic book “video games” to look forward to, from Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League to titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Marvel’s Wolverine, and The Wolf Among Us. Stay tuned for the latest developments on these titles.
