The new game from Rocksteady Studios, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, famously marks one of the last times Batman fans will get to hear late actor Kevin Conroy as Gotham’s Caped Crusader. And while old Arkham and Batman: The Animated Series Fans may not enjoy fighting (and killing) Batman, but at least they’ll get plenty of time with him in the Suicide Squad game – maybe more than you think.
Yes, Batman is one of the many villains you have to take down during the events of Kill the Justice League, but more than other competition members, he is regularly in your ear. Early in the game, Task Force , Green Lantern and Brainiac, as well as Batman’s discussions with Wonder Woman, who manages to escape his mind control.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League also has a nice design touch: early in the game, you’ll occasionally see Batman lurking in the distance, on towers and rooftops, keeping an eye on Task Force X’s movements. In true Batman fashion, he chases you. Try to attack him and he will disappear in a cloud of bats.
And as the world’s greatest detective, the evil Batman uses knowledge, not just his fists, for power. Batman talks psychologically about Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and King Shark, in an attempt to undermine the group’s cohesion. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League plays on the fears of these criminals in a way that echoes the way the Batman from Rocksteady’s Arkham games played with his enemies, setting traps for them and emerging from the shadows.
But best of all? Without spoiling it, there’s some sweet, sentimental Batman stuff in here too. It’s all undercut by Suicide Squad’s constant barrage of jokes, but there are some nice payoffs too.
So while this version of Batman may not turn out the way long-time Arkham fans were hoping for in Suicide Squad, Kevin Conroy will get the chance to expand his mastery of Batman in a new and interesting way. Kill the Justice League. It’s not Rocksteady’s best game, but at least it gives us more of the best man to voice Batman.