Summary
- Rocksteady's decision to save Justice League characters in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a relief after the initial shock.
- If any of them are deserving of their own game in the future, Flash seems first in line based on his prominence and heroics in the story campaign.
- A sequel is neither confirmed nor rumored, but having the Justice League be alive suggests this won't be the last players see of them in the Arkhamverse.
Just as the story premise of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League had sunk in with believability, Rocksteady has revealed that its choice to mercilessly slay Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman has been reversed with Task Force X, having apparently killed clones of the real characters. Now, while it would’ve been neat for Rocksteady to stick to its decidedly controversial decision, it’s also a relief that its Justice League is presumably safe and ready to be rescued with subsequent Brainiac defeats in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s post-launch seasons.
The first inference to arise as a result of Rocksteady’s markedly significant plot twist here is, naturally, that the Justice League can and will be reprised in a future game. This would mean it is not a random Elseworld Justice League bred from a multiverse thread but a Justice League born and raised within Rocksteady’s legitimate Arkhamverse canon. Even if Rocksteady was to start slowly and gradually with one Justice League character other than Batman receiving their own standalone, single-player game, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League seems poised for that potential character to be Barry Allen’s Flash.
Why Flash is the Most Deserving of His Own Game Out of Rocksteady’s Rescued Justice League
Flash—a false sort of copy of Flash, at least—is the first Justice League member Task Force X killed, and now he’s also the first Justice League member to be saved, which probably determines the order in which each Justice League member will be freed. In order for him to not need any recorded lines or animations for the foreseeable future, he’ll undoubtedly remain in stasis while later episodes and seasons of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s post-launch DLC are doled out.
But Flash simply being the first Justice League character rescued doesn’t advocate for him being given his own game—his presence, tone, and uniqueness as a character does. Flash is prominent and memorable throughout Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s base game story campaign and is the most remarkable Justice League member apart from the insurmountable shadow Kevin Conroy wonderfully casts in his portrayal of Batman.
Flash's unique presence and tone in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is simply hard to ignore!
Indeed, Flash proves how much of a hero he is within the campaign’s first couple of hours alone: he saves Task Force X from Green Lantern during a guided tour of Metropolis’ alien enslavement—immediately as they touch down in Metropolis’ open world after exploring the Hall of Justice, no less—and once again in an ominously lit Batman museum exhibit from the Dark Knight himself, who ironically nearly shoots Harley Quinn in the head. Flash has a ton of time on screen before he’s captured by Batman and has quite a bit of dialogue before and after his purple-veined clone appears.
Captain Boomerang’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Gameplay is Too Good to Shelve
A Flash game comprised of Captain Boomerang’s traversal and a time-dilation mechanic could be a natural evolution of gameplay and the story proposed in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League now that Barry Allen is proven to be alive and well in Season 2 Episode 3 of the live-service shooter’s post-launch DLC.
Gunplay in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is rote, but traversal for each character is truly where the game shines and Boomerang’s is exquisite with Dr. Sivana’s Speed Force gauntlet. Plus, Flash was depicted as a boss in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and it would be neat to see those speed-related abilities make their way to a game featuring him as the playable protagonist. Until Rocksteady shares more of what its master plan could be, the Justice League being alive is compelling and suggests that the Arkhamverse’s future could feature characters like Flash more intimately.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 59 /100 Critics Rec: 20%
- Released
- February 2, 2024
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Rocksteady Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Bros. Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Suicide Squad
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World
- How Long To Beat
- 10 Hours
