Summary
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueperpetuates the Arkhamverse continuity for better or worse and it’s exciting to see how Rocksteady will broaden further with upcoming DLC expansions. With Rocksteady being dedicated to its live-service components it doesn’t seem likely that a single-player title is going to follow it anytime soon and to make it even more worthwhile it may already have plans for aSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguesequel thereafter, especially with WB coming out and stating how it wants to emphasize the service model.
Of course, if Rocksteady and WB understood how to read a room and knew what would actually be the most fruitful for them, they would obviously invest in more single-player DC experiences, even if Batman didn’t return at their helm. Indeed, it may not be what the studio meant to allude to, and it would certainly be another jarring pivot for the Arkhamverse, but one intriguingEaster egg in a DLC side quest forBatman: Arkham Knightcould still result in Rocksteady’s next single-player endeavor: a League of Assassins game with a revived Talia al Ghul as its protagonist.
Batman: Arkham Knight Shut the Door on Ra’s al Ghul, But Not His Daughter
Arkham Knight’s Shadow War DLC closes the book on Ra’s al Ghulwith one of two conclusions players get to choose from—one being more definitive than the other as Batman essentially gets to put Ra’s on his deathbed for the last time. Batman and Nyssa destroy what’s alleged to be the final Lazarus site beneath Gotham City, which would leave Ra’s and the League without any means to revive and continue in their crusade.
This worked perfectly as a way for theArkhamgames to bookend Ra’s’ arc beginning inArkham Cityand even gives him an empathetic end on his deathbed whilerespectfully and honorably incarcerated at GCPD. However, a future Arkhamverse entry stating that another Lazarus source was left intact wouldn’t be remotely close to the most remarkable or egregious retcon Rocksteady’s already made in the continuity, and the stinger of Talia’s corpse’s unknown whereabouts leaves a door open for her return if Rocksteady wanted.
A League of Assassins Game Could Follow an Unanswered Tease from Arkham Knight
The tease in question is an easily missable clue suggesting that Talia has been revived. At Elliot Memorial Hospital, where a lot of the Shadow War DLC side quest takes place, players can investigate the morgue to discover multiple familiar faces and names of deceased characters such as the waitress and concerned patron from the beginning ofArkham Knightin Pauli’s Diner.
But one morgue cabinet labeled with Tali’s name is left open and vacated, inferring that her body was removed with Talia potentially revived via a Lazarus pit elsewhere. Even without breaking canon, Talia could’ve been revived long before the DLC’s events took place and hid away in secrecy—the League has proven to be awful at obscuring its breadcrumbs either way.
Talia al Ghul was murdered by Joker at the end ofArkham City, though considering her familial association with the Lazarus pits it was never assured that she’d stay dead permanently.
Rocksteady clearly wanted this outcome to be left on the table. A Talia-led League of Assassins game would be out of the blue, yet it’s arguable that a live-service shooter was too beforeSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewas revealed.
There’s no telling now what Rocksteady’s ambitions may be beyondSuicide Squad, but this is a thread that could unravel with a ton of potential for Talia and the League. Of course,WB Games Montreal’sGotham Knightssort of had its own take on this narrativebut with Talia and the League as its main antagonists, so perhaps Rocksteady indulging in that as well would be a superfluous oversaturation when it likely has far more zany ideas in tow.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League
WHERE TO PLAY
Play as the Suicide Squad to take down the World’s Greatest DC Super Heroes, The Justice League. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, is a genre-defying, action-adventure third-person shooter from Rocksteady Studios, creators of the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham series.
