Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is definitely the most divisive game to talk about at the moment. Rocksteady released three absolutely brilliant Batman Arkham games that just about everyone loved, but the direction with this latest game was always going to be a hard sell, especially after nine years of waiting. The idea of bringing Batman back as an antagonist and connecting all of this to those original games is an easy thing to point to, especially after the events of Batman: Arkham Knight. How is Batman alive in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League?
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ARKHAM KNIGHT AND SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE
What happened in Batman: Arkham Knight?
Before we get to the current day, let’s jump back to Batman: Arkham Knight, the last Batman game made by Rocksteady. By the end of the main story, Scarecrow forces Jim Gordon to remove Batman’s cowl, revealing that he has been Bruce Wayne this entire time. After dealing with Scarecrow, you can go back into Gotham and finish up all of the side content that you missed before reaching the end of the main story. If you 100% complete the game, you will get the Knightfall Protocol ending. Bruce walks into Wayne Manor in front of the press, and everything explodes, presumably killing him and Alfred.
That’s not the complete end, though. A post-credit scene reveals a Batman-like character using Scarecrow’s toxin to terrify a couple of thugs in an alleyway.
How is Batman alive?
Simply put, Batman never died in Arkham Knight, so that is how he is alive in Suicide Squad. That post-credit scene was Bruce Wayne. He had made the world believe that he was dead but began working as an underground vigilante. Now, though, he had adopted using fear toxin to further terrify criminals.
What is unfortunate is that, instead of showing all of this in a direct sequel where Batman gets to join the Justice League, all of this is explained in museum exhibits in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. After five years, Batman has joined the Justice League, and the group has worked together to take down countless threats. Batman is even very open about his identity in the museum exhibit. We don’t know the whereabouts of Alfred, but Nightwing, Red Hood, and Oracle are still alive. Robin (Tim Drake) is killed off-screen by Batman.
Why is everyone upset?
There are a lot of factors that play into Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League being controversial at the moment. One is the unfortunate end for a character that so many people really loved, with what is possibly the late Kevin Conroy’s last work as the iconic character. If this had been a Justice League game that showed Batman coming out of the shadows into the light and not the Suicide Squad game that directly looks to tear down Batman and the others, we think this wouldn’t have been nearly as negatively received as it is.
It’s not like there will ever be a shortage of Batman media, but the way this game handles this particular version is quite disappointing.
