Is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Really Part of the Arkhamverse?

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is supposedly the latest chapter in Rocksteady’s Arkhamverse, but things aren’t adding up. Let’s discuss the continuity errors found in SS: KtJL and whether or not SS: KtJL can be considered part of the Arkhamverse.

Is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Part of the Arkhamverse?

SPOILER WARNING: This article will contain spoilers for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Arkham Knight (Game), and the Assault on Arkham animated movie.

The whole world is abuzz with the recent release of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and for good reason. Never mind its problematic early release and apparent disregard for the legacy of Kevin Conroy, what I want to discuss is its controversial inclusion in the Arkhamverse.

Yep. Rocksteady’s carefully crafted universe of Batman games is welcoming Suicide Squad: KtJL (SS: KtJL) into the fold as its newest member, and, boy, are people not taking it well. But that’s neither here nor there; what I want to gauge is this inclusion’s legitimacy. Let’s discuss exactly why people are questioning the game’s inclusion in the Arkhamverse and decide once and for all if SS: KtJL is part of the Arkhamverse.

The Short Answer is Yes

Yes, it is. That’s the short answer given by Rocksteady’s Creative Director, Sefton Hill. It doesn’t get any higher up than that, I’m afraid, and he doesn’t give the long answer either.

I, for one, find that answer unsatisfactory, as there must be a reason why everyone’s so ornery about the game’s supposedly broken continuity. So, in complete defiance to the easy way, we shall do as comic book nerds and gamers do – we’re going to "um, actually" this quandary right in the face.

What We Count as Canon

Before we get to the Dark Knight in the details, let’s establish a few ground rules on what is and isn’t considered canon. This way, we don’t get bogged down by needless pedantry and uncertain what-ifs.

For this breakdown, we’ll be using what the Fandom Wiki of the Arkhamverse considers canon, which includes the following media:

Breaking the Arkhamverse Continuity

There’s nothing that a lore nerd hates more than an inconsistent timeline, and SS: KtJL really threw a Batarang in the works for the Arkhamverse—or did it? Below are the biggest inconsistencies that people have raised about SS: KtJL. Let’s go through them one by one and see if we can explain them in the context of the series canon.

Batman, King Shark, and Boomerang Should be Dead

Starting off strong with three who should already be dead, if the series canon is to be believed. It’s no Justice League without Batman. Unfortunately, it seems that The Bat is dead, at least according to the end of Arkham Knight. Many were quick to raise this inconsistency, though the completionists among you may have already guessed what’s up.

Simply put, Batman isn’t dead. The game’s ending makes it look like he died in the explosion of Wayne Manor, but finishing the game’s sidequests will unlock a secret ending that confirms Bruce Wayne’s survival.

What about King Shark? Wasn’t his head blown up by a neck bomb in Assault on Arkham? Well, yes, it was, and King Shark really is dead. Fortunately for SS: KtJL, "King Shark" is less of a name and more of a title, much like "The Black Panther" for Marvel. The King Shark you see in SS: KtJL is called Nanaue and – through in-game dialogue and a little bit of deductive reasoning – is confirmed to be the son of the previous King Shark. He has since taken up the mantle of his father and is now the new King Shark. This might still be conjecture, however, so take the theory with a grain of salt.

George "Digger" Harkness – otherwise known as Captain Boomerang – supposedly died in the Arkhamverse timeline just before the Arkham Knight game, as shown in the Arkham Knight comics. This is the only one of the three so far that I couldn’t account for. If we are to accept that the Arkham Knight comics are canon, then Digger Harkness is long dead, shot in the head by Deadshot of all people.

Some theorize that the Captain Boomerang we see in SS: KtJL is Digger Harkness’ son, Owen Mercer, who was the second Captain Boomerang and a host of the Speed Force the character uses in-game. Unfortunately, Captain Boomerang is referred to by name as George Harkness several times in SS: KtJL, so this is decidedly not Owen Mercer.

As it stands, this truly is an inconsistency, though many online have unofficially de-canonized the Arkhamverse comics. That would solve the problem, but it would also open a plethora of new continuity errors so let’s keep it canon for now.

Deadshot Isn’t the Same Person

This was among the first ones to blow up nearly three years ago, when the game was first announced. Floyd Lawton received a major design change from his previous appearances in the Arkhamverse. Although his uniform also changed, it’s his ethnicity that has people confused, as Deadshot has always been portrayed in the Arkhamverse canon as a Caucasian man.

Some have called foul already, with fingers pointing to pandering and race-washing as the reason for his design change. These could not be further from the truth, however, as Rocksteady itself has confirmed that this Deadshot is the real one; all the other Deadshots were fakes.

Four years ago, right after the first teaser trailer, the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s official Twitter (X) account posted an image of the current Floyd Lawton posing for a mugshot with the caption "Fool had it coming. There's only one Deadshot." Well that confirms it, the Deadshot we knew was nothing but a phony.

They Nerfed Batman…Hard

This is less of an inconsistency and more of a gripe that many have voiced since the game was released. We’re heading into spoiler territory, so readers beware; there are major character spoilers past this point.

When you think of Batman, you think of stone-cold efficiency, immense attention to detail, and enough situational awareness to rival a god. Good, now take that image of the Dark Knight, seat him on a normal park bench, and then execute him with a gunshot to the head. That’s no fanfic, folks; that’s how Batman – the very same one from the other Arkhamverse games—met his end.

Anticlimactic for some, downright disrespectful for others. For me, it’s just confusing. Am I to understand that this is the same Bruce Wayne who kept Gotham clean for three straight games? Never mind the lame death, I want to know how the Suicide Squad managed to pull one over the world’s greatest detective.

So What’s the Final Verdict?

Technically Yes, But There Are Still Holes in the Continuity

After all that, we have arrived at the conclusion we started with. Yes, SS: KtJL is part of the Arkhamverse. I mean, it already was by virtue of Sefton Hill’s confirmation, but a deeper dive reveals that most of the "inconsistencies" could be accounted for. This isn’t to say that its canonicity is airtight, however, as there are still major holes in the continuity like Captain Boomerang’s sudden revival.

At the end of the day, though, it’s almost impossible for a mythos spanning multiple forms of media to be completely consistent. Even the original Arkham Trilogy – a set of games lauded for its story and continuity – has its fair share of changes across its iterations. A few bad things could be said about how SS: KtJL tackled its unique premise of killing the Justice League, but let it be known that a complete disregard for the Arkhamverse’s lore and continuity isn’t one of them.

Aaron Bruce Albert..

A massive fan of roguelikes, turn-based RPGs, and open world adventure games. His gold standard games include The Binding of Isaac, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and Dragon Quest Monsters Joker.