Fans Outraged at Rocksteady's Handling of Hero Deaths in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

The game's core design is the only true crime here.

This game literally destroys everything from Batman: Arkham.
I can't understand why Rocksteady belittle the Justice League Superheroes to elevate the ""Suicide Squad"".

I just find it incredible Rocksteady would p*ss over the character that made them like this, 4 epic Arkham games all for its Batman to get brainwashed, murder Robin among others and get headshot by Harley. This game can burn as far as i'm concerned.

People online and their complaints never cease to amaze me.

So it does what it says? Just not in the way the fans would have liked? Should the suicide squad give out hugs and offered some team bonding talks instead? I can't wait for a video game based around the boys as that will really upset the sensitive fans. If only DC (vertigo) had the gumption to continue publication of the boys instead of cancelling it after issue 5 then we could probably have had homelander,black noir etc as playable characters. Thank the heavens that dynamite carried on publishing it.

@Northern_munkey yup. Next thing you know Mortal Kombat won't have fatalities performed on beloved DC heroes out of respect.

I’m pretty stunned by the reaction. Like, you can choose not to make it canon by simply ignoring the game and playing Arkham.

I feel like there’s two strands of people who aren’t happy: those that would have complained anyway as they were simply out for this games blood, and those who can’t see past the fact that all of this is fictional anyhow and really ought not to be worried about.

I reckon more time could be spent putting some of that energy into the world’s injustices.

@Northern_munkey People expect its characters to be treated with some respect. By your logic All Star Batman and Robin is fine? Arkhamverse is now pretty much dead, all the characters in it have been murdered and the Suicide Squad of all things for some strange reason have been promoted to Multiverse saving heroes.

@DennisReynolds missing the point as perusual I see. Is there a respectable way to kill anybody let alone super heroes? Please tell us?

@Northern_munkey The better question is why do this story in the first place? Hell the story falls apart the moment Rocksteady suggests Deadshot, King Shark, Captain Boomerang and Harley Quinn could kill Batman, Superman, The Flash and Green Lantern.

@DennisReynolds why do any spinoff story's exist?

Of course capital G gamers would be wrong about this being Conroys last performance smh. Gamers continue to embarrass themselves

@AdamNovice lmao tlou part 2 has been lauded for its story one of the best in gaming history but once again gamers are emotionally stunted Mfers who cry as soon as a game doesn’t give them a happy go lucky ending or feed their power fantasy

@Northern_munkey Purposely missing the point. Also this isn't a spin off its the "next chapter" and this chapter renders Arkham Knight pointless as nothing in it matters now and it ends Batman's story with him killing Robin and getting headshot by Harley.

@AdamNovice I mean community is mixed on the story of TLoUP2 so let's not act like the entire fanbase hates it. You hate it good for you its been 4 years move on.

@dark_knightmare2 Rocksteady and WB heavily implied its his last performance, i guess they just used his death as a marketing tactic.

@Northern_munkey They can put the story to another universe or something. However, this is a sequel in the Arkham universe. It literally ruins the characters from the Arkham Knights. Yes, Bruce Vayne who saved the Arkham Gotham in one night is not a hero that can resist brainwash and he was just headshot by a Harley. What is the point for people playing the Batman: Arkham.

@naruball @DennisReynolds People are moreso mad at them doing this in the Arkham universe and not the actual Killing of the Justice League™, which a lot of people are nostalgic or a fan or, hence leading them to judge how they Kill the Justice League™ and how they treat these characters, which have had a story fifteen years in the making. I can understand people's anger, although I can understand your confusion.

Now me?
I'm just eating popcorn watching this all unfold.

Well controversy aside I'm looking forward to playing the game for its story, but just not on release day as there's too many other games I want more in February. I will probably pick it up when the Joker update comes out.

The fact that Harley says something about "emotional damage" done by Batman to people around him really exposes that whoever wrote this is just a mid wit who wants to dismantle everything good and righteous and replace it with this morally grey self aware "relatable" puke.

I don't even really like Batman games that much but his character in the mythos is almost that of a religious figure that casts aside his normal life, friends, love, only to help people. And the problem with him is that he was mean?

Look up writing credits for the "writers". AC Valhalla, Thief 2014, more putrid *****.

So a beloved character has a shocking death and people are shocked, but this is bad because people don’t like to be shocked. I’m shocked.

Honestly the story looks like the best part of the game, if it hadn’t been a live service game, but something more akin to the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ game I reckon this would have rocked.

With proper stakes, a story can really soar, and looks like this game has that.

Strong male character gets killed by a woman and the internet goes crazy, who could have saw that coming?

"it's their story and they're entitled to tell it as they want" what a bizarre finger wag. What's the endgame? No one voice an opinion ever because it's not their story? And coming from someone who reviews games for a living.

"IGN has since confirmed that Kill the Justice League is not Conroy's final Batman performance; animated series Bruce Timm's Batman: Caped Crusader and animated film Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Three "

hot damn conroy was putting in work!

@AdamNovice
They wouldn't have re-released tlou2 if it was hated by the community. Most people actually love it, its just a tiny group of loud cry babies that can't handle new things.

@DennisReynolds no they said it’s his last performance for his rendition of Batman from the Arkham series

@GiliusThunderdome there’s a difference between respectfully voicing your opinion and doing what the crybabies on X are doing

@ChrisDeku exactly! If it was a man or he went out in a blaze of glory there would have been no backlash

@AdamNovice no not just critics but legendary movie directors,writers and gamers themselves. You’re also damn right I’m going to belittle the misogynist cry babies who were the loudest ones crying about their daddy Joel especially when the majority are 30 and 40 year old adults who yes are emotionally stunted

@naruball Erm... i'm pretty sure that was what happened in MK vs DC.
It's funny that DC didn't allow it then, but allow it now.

About this whole thing... i'm just surprised people cared. This game had terrible written all over it. It doesn't register enough to me to even be upset about it. I already accepted Rocksteady is gonna go down over this.

@dark_knightmare2
That's not what he said though. And is there really? Journalist never whine like babies? And who decides what's whining vs legitimate criticisms? You? The people who disagree with them?

I thought this would just be a bad game everyone would ignore, but now it's a bad game everyone played expecting it to be good, deluded.

Im not bothered by them killing the justice league. I half think Rocksteady wanted to stop working on batman titles and this was one way to do it. And its not like they can't undo the whole thing through some narrative twist in the future (going to a different universe etc). Ultimately if this is their creative vision, then all power to Rocksteady for seeing it through - if indeed it was their vision

Unfortunately this game could cause much greater damage to the studio however as a result of being nothing more than incredibly generic and boring to play. Nothing i have seen appeals. Its like the game has been designed by a committee of people throwing out what they think are popular concepts / what will make them the most money, without any consideration of what made the arkham games fun.

Personally won't be playing this. I still think they peaked with Asylum (although Arkham City was solid), but i do hope that anyone that gives this a try gets some enjoyment from the game

@Nem yes, but still ridiculous, imo. Either use them without holding back or don't bother at all.

@HotGoomba thanks for the clarification. The way I see it is, at the end of the day it's just... video games. Getting angry over fictional characters is beyond weird.

@ChrisDeku oh, now their reaction makes even more sense. Yeah, it won't surprise me if they hack them or something.

Of course they are. Gamers have been looking for any excuse to hate this game since before it was announced. Those that have actually played it say it's good.

It’s just a game and just a story. Just don’t play it if you don’t want a Batman to die.

More intriguing is the way that people keep trying to make Suicide Squad a thing. Movie, reboot, game - I’m getting the vibe that people just aren’t that into the Suicide Squad.

Not that I really care either way, but this is clearly a mid-point cut scene in a super hero game, so I would say bringing them all back to life through time-travel, multiverse versions, fake deaths or other comic book methods remains entirely on the cards for final section of the game.

@GiliusThunderdome no they don’t critics never act like the hate filled idiots that infest the subreddit for tlou part 2 or the hundreds of YouTube videos all male that say and act like children over Joel getting done “wrong” by a woman

@dark_knightmare2 Wrong it's not about a woman killing a man it's about killing batman effectively making the Arkham games not matter. The reaction would be the same if it was deadshot who killed him, you're just looking for drama where there is non.

@FinneasGH actually suicide squad at least in comics is pretty popular and another fun tidbit Boomerang is popular with the comics fans which is why he almost always is a member of the team

@Deityjester first off the woman part was in reference to tlou part 2 and second nah the people looking for drama are the morons with absolutely childish titles for their little YouTube videos who can’t handle a story killing their heroes. It’s been done hundreds of times in comics but once again capital G gamers are emotionally stunted idiots who freak when they don’t get their way. Go to YouTube and tell me freaking adults in society act like that it’s embarrassing. Also how does what happens make the Arkham games not matter did the death somehow go back and erase everything that happened in those games no Batman still saved people and the city

@DennisReynolds Funny you mention that because the hobo looking guy actually does take a piss on a certain icon of the genre's corpse.

@DennisReynolds literally in flash's case 🤦‍♂️

It's not done with a golf club is it?

Is it?

It’s embarrassing how people will get butt hurt over characters that don’t exist, getting killed, which will still re-appear in other forms of media & story tellings all over again.

The real crime is this game was designed around games as a service from the start. Not every story has to have a happy ending - if it did, games as a service would be the thing getting killed.

@dark_knightmare2 Yeah he was a part of Ostrander's run which is really great. It's really more true to the title, in tone. It's misguided how DC since 2016 has been trying to make them into their Guardians of the Galaxy despite Suicide in the title meaning there's no way it could have the wide appeal of a series with a talking racoon. All because the Guardians were in jail for 20 minutes in their first movie

@dark_knightmare2 about Joel though. That's a different thing. That's white guys who gravitate to the white guy in every franchise. Like they have this compulsion to look at him as the main character. And a lot of times they see the guy character as themselves, unable to identify with anyone based on personality or life experience but only based in race and gender. I'm sitting there like "but you're some chud in a basement though, you're not Joel. You're not tough" but it's a widespread thing. Just look at DB Daima reactions.

@FinneasGH It all went downhill after the first one was released. Had it been good, I think everything else would have been much more well received.

The game looks crap but kinda interested in the story although they'll probably just bring back the dead heroes at end

@GiliusThunderdome 🤣🤣 those white rascals

Spoiler
It's a multiverse thing so yeah they got more cooking than this

That's an odd thing to get upset about. Comics are infamous for "killing off" characters only for them to somehow return thanks to some multiverse/time traveling nonsense. Plus they have already confirmed the multiverse nonsense is cannon considering that's how Joker will join the game.

Plus the game is literally called "Kill the Justice League". What did these people think would happen?

Every hero has different runs in the comics, different stories. This is one take on the Justice League and Suicide Squad. Sadly, this is Conroy's last performance in the Arkhamverse due to his death. Its unfortunate circumstances, but doesn't mean Rocksteady have to change the game to honour Kevin Conroy's legacy. Did people think villains have to reminisce before killing each hero? Maybe they could have pulled a Dishonoured type of "Kill or Save" scenario...? Batman was brainwashed and he had to be taken out. The Arkham trilogy is still there for people to revisit and enjoy.

So much wasted discourse over a Garbage game. Just pass this one by. The ones mad about it being stupid and the ones pretending it's not that bad are equally missing the point:

Yet another IP forced into a throw away story live service looter shooter in the name of greed. That alone makes it *****. If anything we should all be hoping that Sony is taking notes after Redfall and now this...

@DennisReynolds it not his last performance he did voice acting for the Batman cartoon and the justice league crises movie

@KundaliniRising333 who say this game is failing or u just making things up lol

I guess there’s two issues going on — one that the game would kill beloved hero characters, and the other that it so happens to correlate with the voice actor’s actual death.

Having the Suicide Squad kill the Justice League characters like Batman is fine, it being fiction and all. It’s probably not for me because I haven’t been the biggest fan of the Suicide Squad anyways. I don’t mind an anti-hero narrative, but there’s nothing relatable or entertaining for me in the SS franchise. I was one of the few who didn’t like the last movie. And the HQ Birds of Prey movie was so painful to watch it made the dumb Suicide Squad movie seem like a cinematic masterpiece in comparison. So, my interest in the franchise suffered greatly from those recent movies.

But as for the second issue, it does seem a little tricky on how best to treat the unfortunate coincidence that Conroy died shortly after this performance. We’ve seen times when video games have tried to be conscientious to real life dramatic events (like that Motorstorm game for example) and I think it’s a legitimate concern. Not having played this game (and likely not going to) I can’t pass judgment, but I think it’s a no-win scenario for Rocksteady. Is there a respectful way to have altered the murder scene? Does it really matter in the long run? I don’t know. But the timing is poor. I think, depending on the scene, it could be a legitimate complaint, but one that will probably calm down in the years to come when it’s not ‘too soon’ like it is now.

Maybe they off him so early to bring him back later with dethklok music in the background and Batman rice?

These are the same people that call others sensitive. You can dislike boomerang trying to piss on flashs corpse, but if rocksteady says this is the story, then guess what, its the story. And theres nothing wrong with that. Yall just wanted them to have a heroes death but life doesnt always give you what you want. Thats why last of us2s story was incredible.
The game still sucks because of the terrible gameplay and microtransactions.

I hope it let's me teabag batman.

@Pleasance 🤣 we can only hope

The biggest issue to me is they took their greatest hero and had him taken out by the weakest villain in the series. This is so reminiscent of that one death in The Last of Us 2. Just the level of disrespect put on display here is incomprehensible. Rocksteady, what happened to you guys?

@BeerIsAwesome except this is the same universe from the Arkham games ... That's why everyone's pissed

Nailed it here: "Everyone is entitled to their opinions, of course, but this is Rocksteady's story, and they're entitled to tell it how they like."

I end up saying something similar when silly people complain about a casting choice they don't like in a movie or a creative choice they don't agree with. The only answer is, don't spend your money on it then and/or make your own.

Edit: so after posting my thoughts above, I decided to go ahead and follow the link to the cutscene in question, since I’m fairly certain I’m not interested in playing this, at least during the launch period. Maybe when it drops on PS+

But the Batman scene is… okay, I guess. It is unfortunate that the iconic Conroy portrayal ends so unceremoniously. His voice performance in the scene is great, as per his usual. The Harley Quinn voice actress is gratingly awful, so it makes for a disjointed scene anyways. The writing also seems bad, in my personal opinion. But I think it’s just the slapstick nature of Suicide Squad. It’s just a hard thing to pull off comedy in the midst of tragedy and this just… doesn’t really do it well. Again, all my limited opinion of one cutscene.

Is it disrespectful to Conroy’s epic and iconic series of performances as one of the all-time most beloved characters in fiction? I don’t know. I wouldn’t say disrespectful, just unfortunately mediocre. The lines (spoiler tagged in case people don’t want to have it spoiled) ”Batman: “Are you done with your bad stand-up routine” Harley: “Almost. But you always gotta end with your best joke.” are just so Marvel wannabe and although Conroy knew this was how his character was going to end, I just wish his final moments in the role didn’t involve such poorly executed Harley Quinn melodrama.

Sigh, it's not how he died, it's how disrespecting the death are. My prediction is this game will bomb and rocksteady will be hit with mass layoff.

@Loamy Seriously one of the only intelligible things said in this entire comment thread. It's fiction. Don't like it? Don't play it. Don't want it to affect how you see the characters? Don't take it into account. I'll say it once more for posterity: it's fiction.

I mean, its in the title and you play as the villains.
People are such babies holy crap.
This is why "alternate universes" are a thing in comics, the fans are too childish to handle any real character death.

@Deljo hah I guess. I'm just observing stuff. I actually don't care about almost anything. For example I've known Rocksteady are imbeciles ever since they didn't bring back Paul Dini.

Kind of interesting how they casually revealed that Batman is alive in the game. If I recall, he supposedly blew up at the end of Arkham Knight, and the bonus scene for completing the Riddler puzzles was fairly ambiguous. Hopefully the story offers some explanations

@BeerIsAwesome well unless they plan to bring Kevin Conroy back from the dead, they just took out the only Batman multiverse I cared about.

@ChrisDeku I don't think it's that it's the how. Personally i have only seen the Batman killing and i think it could have been done better.

Yes it's shocking he dies it's Batman, the same goes for Superman, Spider-Man or if it would be Wonderwoman or any character that is liked.

I couldn't really care less about this game but a word of advice to people that dislike this games story: avoid at all costs any game that collaborates with a company called Sweet Baby Inc.

Painful to see Arkham hero like this but there is a reason why suicide squad starred in this. Out of justice league, Superman and the flash can’t have a proper game due to their powers. Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and maybe green lantern can make though. Personally I think they should just make injustice story as a game (not as MK)

Did we think they'd become friends? Nope. Did we expect such titanic disrespect to these characters and especially Arkham Batman? Your title is passive aggression and not appreciated mate.

@BeerIsAwesome damn, luckily for me I'm definitely not going to play this so my memory wont be tainted.

Some shocking opinions in here 😂

Always a baffling read in the PushSquare comments.

So people are mad that villains are acting like villains, and the game has a title that describes the story of the game.

I love Batman Arkham games, and I do think that is one of my favourite versions of Batman. But I don't mind this game's story whatsoever. It's the gameplay that is a turn off for me.

@Cry_Zero "These are the same people that call others sensitive."

That's my favourite part. They're unintentionally funny.

"Did you think they'd all become friends?"
What a ridiculous notion, that somehow this is all ok because they told us in the games title.

The title says Kill the Justice League. What did they think was gonna happen?!

the idea that any "killing" of these characters could be "disrespectful" is extremely funny to me as a comics nerd.

Batman has died a million different times in all manner of ways. these are superheroes we're talking about. I guarantee you if Kevin Conroy was still with us, they'd be using this as a lead-in for a resurrection story for the Arkham iteration of Batman in whatever the next installment of it would('ve) be(en).

they were not doing anything wrong by playing fast and loose with the characters' lives—the world of Arkham is ultimately a high profile Elseworlds tale—and they could not have known Kevin Conroy would pass after recording his performance in this.

that being said, I have no interest in yet another "live service" using characters from The Big Two to bilk diehard comic fans, people with impulse control issues, etc.. DC already swindles readers enough with the nonstop crossover events where you need to buy all of the tie-ins to get the full version of what is ultimately a mediocre story. (not that Marvel is innocent of this brand of bs—in fact, they're way worse in this regard.) #GoReadRadiantBlackInstead

PS: to everyone wondering how this Suicide Squad could beat this Justice League roster:

they're comics characters, lol. writers can do whatever the hell they want with the villains—making them stronger or weaker to suit the story needs. you can just say, "Brainiac doesn't know how to use their powers quite as well while mind controlling them, especially simultaneously" or whatever.

I’m mildly interested in this game now.

@dark_knightmare2 Yeah, they should have made the predictable story of either Ellie or Joel gets captured and you spend the game trying to rescue them. Or Joel and Ellie go on another adventure. People constantly criticize game companies for playing it safe but this shows there's a reason they do