Rocksteady’s next project was finally confirmed to be Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League at DC FanDome a few days ago, where the Batman Arkham developer released a new trailer revealing that players will be taking control of one of four members of the Suicide Squad in a mission to take down Superman and other members of the Justice League. As a brief background of the Suicide Squad, they are a team of specially skilled criminals recruited by Amanda Waller to undertake special tasks for the government in exchange for reducing their criminal charges.
As for which characters players will control, four main villains were introduced in the cinematic trailer. Many may recognise Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang and Deadshot thanks to recent movies, but King Shark will also be introduced in the upcoming The Suicide Squad film. It’s also worth noting that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be taking place in the established Arkham-verse, meaning the same versions of these characters existed during the Batman Arkham games. For those who are not familiar with Batman/Suicide Squad lore, here’s a breakdown of the four main characters in the game.
Harley Quinn
Most Batman Arkham players would be familiar with Harley Quinn, who appeared frequently in all of the Arkham games and even got her own DLC story pack. Harley Quinn is the partner in crime to Batman’s famous nemesis The Joker. Working as a psychologist at Arkham, Quinn was placed in charge of the Joker’s rehabilitation, but instead ended up falling in love and running off to take up a criminal life with him. She completely lost her self and became incredibly dependent on the Joker, which left her at a loose end after his demise in Arkham City.
Quinn has a penchant for baseball bats and explosives, both of which can be expected to be included in her play style, and her presence in the new game is rather easily explained. In the Arkham-verse, the last time that Quinn was seen was in a cell at GCPD, which would explain why she’s been recruited to Task Force X in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Deadshot
Deadshot aka Floyd Lawton is a mercenary and widely considered to be the best marksman in the world, which he never gets tired of telling anyone according to the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailer. While being an excellent shot, Deadshot’s skills and self-confidence also make him reckless, which resulted in his expulsion from the army and his subsequent transition to being a hitman. Deadshot also has a daughter, and she is the only thing that takes priority over his work. He was most prevalent in the Arkham games in Arkham Origins as one of the assassins hired to take out Batman, but has since been locked up multiple times thanks to the Dark Knight.
King Shark
Sometimes known as Nanaue, King Shark is the son of the Shark God. His humanoid shark figure allows him to dominate both land and sea, and he is gifted with superhuman strength and regenerative healing. King Shark was created as a rival for Superboy but later was forced to join the Suicide Squad by Amanda Waller as an asset for underwater missions, and King Shark has history with many members of the Justice League, most notably Aquaman who he once held a delicate alliance with. As previewed in the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League footage, King Shark’s teeth and claws are his most dangerous weapon, and it seems he may employ a brute combat or heavy gunner style in the game.
Captain Boomerang
George “Digger” Harkness became Captain Boomerang after he was hired to create and promote boomerangs for a toy company in Australia, but after being publicly ridiculed, Harkness turned to using his boomerangs as weapons and initiated a life of crime. Captain Boomerang is a famous adversary of The Flash but joined the Suicide Squad in exchange for a pardon for his crimes. Boomerang’s place in the Squad has often been shaky due to his difficult personality and tactless blunt humor, although he’s often the comic-relief of the squad, yet his cowardice sometimes makes him undependable. That being said, Captain Boomerang does bring some valuable assets to the team, such as his arsenal of boomerangs with special properties and his ability to create short bursts of superhuman speed. Boomerang is also an expert thief and liar, often tricking his opponents with his deception and deflecting blame from himself.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be released in 2022 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X.
