We have been reporting on several Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League leaks for some time now. It seems some of this information has been going around because of people who were able to demo the beta deciding to break their NDAs.
Now, one particular leak has gotten the internet into an uproar, to the point that Rocksteady finally addressed the situation.
As reported by IGN, Rocksteady shared this message in regards to leaks on their Twitter:
“We’re looking forward to players experiencing the story we’ve crafted in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League once the game launches in the new year. We hope everyone can play the game and feel each moment of the narrative for themselves.
It is very disappointing to see details being shared ahead of the game’s release, so we can only urge you to try to avoid spoilers where you can. And please try not to impact the enjoyment of other players by posting spoilers.”
The rest of this story involves spoilers about the game itself. It’s a story choice that’s proven to be upsetting to fans, and truthfully, it has also gone completely viral. We will get in detail about those spoilers below. We won’t discuss all the leaks, but will instead focus on the point of controversy, because it’s rather important.
If you would rather not get spoiled, the truth is not only do you have to stop reading this article, but you will have to avoid social media until the game’s release in February. With all that out of the mind, keep reading if you’re willing to be spoiled to learn more.
Some audio leaked of a cutscene where Batman, voiced by the late Kevin Conroy, is shot dead by Harley Quinn. The outrage around this scene revolves around two things; the perceived disrespect to the late actor, and the broader issue of this game’s connection to the Batman Arkham video game universe.
Conroy’s untimely passing happened last year, on November 10, 2022, after battling intestinal cancer. Rocksteady announced Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League in 2020, and because Conroy did not make his health issues public, the studio would not have known about this situation. This part of it, at least, is a matter of poor timing and coincidences.
However, the second issue is a matter of creative license taken by Rocksteady, and is open to valid criticism. Given Batman’s characterization in the Arkham video games, many fans have grown to identify with and associate themselves with this version of the character. They’re not happy that this Batman dies as a bad guy, as it is an unjust way for this Batman to die.
Another way of looking at it is that Batman has emerged above Superman as DC Comics’ most successful character. Killing off the most popular character in that franchise isn’t something that fans take too very well. You can ask the people who wrote the 1986 Transformers movie and Star Wars Episodes 7 and 8 about that.
Between this and all the controversy surrounding the game already, many content creators are already talking about how Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League must be doomed to fail. Rocksteady and WB Games may be well advised to pay attention to this social noise and do something to turn the online perception around. Whether the game will deserve failure or not, the negative sentiment looks like it can create a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will be released on February 2, 2024 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows via Steam and Epic Game Store.
