Is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League in the Arkham universe?

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is Rocksteady’s upcoming game and will feature four prominent DC super villains as they hunt down and attempt to kill Justice League members. As is familiar with the Suicide Squad story, Amanda Waller has implanted explosive devices into each member’s body, so they are forced to listen to her commands.

The big question, though: is this a part of Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham universe? We know that Gotham Knights will take place in a separate universe with a brand new story being told, but this is Rocksteady we are talking about. How is this story being structured?

Is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League in the Arkham Universe?

We have good news for fans of the Arkham games, as Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is set in the same universe. Sefton Hills of Rocksteady stated during DC FanDome: “This is a continuation of the Arkhamverse, so a lot of the threads and storylines you’re going to see come to fruition in this game.”

While set in the universe, we are unsure when the game takes place in that timeline. This can mean a few things depending on if it is set before or after the events of Batman: Arkham Knight. Let’s take a look at what it could mean in either circumstance.

Post-Arkham Knight

Batman: Arkham Knight came out in 2015 and was Rocksteady’s last released game. If Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is set after the events of that game, it means some significant figures may not appear in the game, at least in a traditional sense.

For starters, the Joker died from Titan Poisoning in Arkham City, and it seems all traces of his reach had been eradicated in Arkham Knight. If Joker is dead at this point in Suicide Squad’s story, he obviously will not have any appearance aside from a flashback or hallucination by Harley Quinn. In Arkham Knight, Harley is still madly in love with Joker and would always do anything for him, so it is not unreasonable to think she will have some reference to him in the upcoming game.

Another key factor if the game takes place after Arkham Knight is that Batman’s identity is known, and he is presumed dead. In the closing events of Arkham Knight, Scarecrow gets Batman to reveal that he is Bruce Wayne to the world. Following this, Bruce tells Alfred to carry out the Knightfall Protocol, which sets off a set of explosions in Wayne Manor (presumably with both inside) in front of a crowd of reporters. While it is not confirmed that Bruce and Alfred are dead, they, at the very least, could be retired at this point. Potentially the events of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League could pull them out of retirement, but that is merely speculation, and we may not know the answer for a long time, as the game is set to release in 2022.

If the game takes place after Arkham Knight, there is potential we see new appearances from Mr. Freeze, Azrael, The League of Assassins, and more. Still, given this focuses on the DC universe on a larger scale, Rocksteady might want to hold back on tieing up certain loose ends from previous games that might not seem necessary.

Pre-Arkham Knight

If Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League takes place before Arkham Knight, it means that Batman is still active in Gotham City, and his identity is still unknown. This would make including him in the game much easier for Rocksteady. However, this still does not guarantee Joker a spot in the game as he dies in Arkham City, but it would mean Batman’s psyche is in shatters following his death.

If the game takes place even before Arkham City, that could set up a storyline where Harley Quinn has left the Joker for the time being and is trying to make a name for herself. However, this would paint Rocksteady into a corner with Harley’s character, where she is forced to go back to the Joker, so they may want to avoid that.

During the ending moments of Batman: Arkham Origins, Amanda Waller attempts to get Deathstroke to work for her. We can assume this is her beginning to put together the Suicide Squad, but as of this writing, there is no mention of Deathstroke in the upcoming game. This could mean he turned her down, or possibly he took the job and either died or went his own way. Interestingly, Waller was not shown talking to Deadshot in Arkham Origins as both characters appeared in that game.