Is Suicide Squad In The Same Universe As Batman: Arkham Knight?
Batman: Arkham developer Rocksteady Studios recently teased an upcoming project based on the Suicide Squad. The Batman: Arkham series ended on a rather ambiguous beat, opening room for speculation as to whether this new Suicide Squad game will be a continuation of that universe or a timeline of its own.
[Warning: Spoilers for Batman: Arkham Knight below]
In most incarnations of the DC Multiverse, the Suicide Squad is a covert military group established and controlled by U.S. intelligence operative, Amanda Waller. Unlike most super groups in DC's history, the Suicide Squad, officially named Task Force X, is comprised primarily of villains who have been captured by the U.S. Government. The typical lineup of villains-turned-anti-heroes includes names like Harley Quinn and Deadshot, but has involved an extremely wide variety of other baddies over the years, not just the ones present in the live action Suicide Squad movie from 2016. As one would expect from a super-group made of killers, thieves and terrorists, the Suicide Squad is kept on a short leash by way of miniature explosives implanted in their bodies. They're highly expendable, and are typically tasked with the government's dirty work.
Rocksteady teasing a Suicide Squad game opens the way for much speculation. The studio is best known for making Batman games, and them returning to the ring with another DC property leaves plenty of room for the two series to be connected. Their last Batman game, Batman: Arkham Knight, ended with the Dark Knight revealing his identity as Bruce Wayne before hanging up his cape and spandex and faking his own death. However, the game teases the idea that there's something else Gotham's criminals should fear. The Bat himself even states that Gotham is in need of a much darker hero to solve its continually worsening crime problem. This is where the Suicide Squad game would come in. As an expendable, black ops military squad of high profile convicts, they certainly fulfill the criteria of a "darker hero." It's possible that Bats knew from the get-go that the government would have a fallback plan to keep Gotham on a tight leash if he ever vanished for good.
The idea that the Suicide Squad could dispense justice without any of Batman's self-imposed limitations would fit perfectly in Rocksteady's universe. The Gotham depicted in the Batman: Arkham games is a fairly dark spin on the Batman formula, which is already no stranger to excessive brutality and vulgarity. This is especially true if the plot really does revolve around the squad setting their sights on taking out Superman (or his bizarre reflection). It would be a logical escalation to go from the city-wide destruction present in previous DC Rocksteady games to a Superman-level threat. Plus, if Superman has gone rogue as he did in Injustice, then the potential for mass amounts of destruction and bloodshed has never been higher, and as the events of Injustice 2 proved, non-lethal means usually aren't a very permanent solution to a Kryptonian menace.
There's also the Suicide Squad's various members to think about. Of their extensive roster, the most high profile character is most assuredly The Joker's beau and partner-in-crime, Harley Quinn. Harley is an interesting figure to consider in this context because it's been shown in numerous other DC storylines that without The Joker's influence Harley tends to make a reluctant face-turn and join the good guys. In the Injustice universe, Harley even becomes one of Batman's most trusted allies, and she repeatedly proves herself a reliable ally in the fight against Superman even when she's been potentially coerced by alternate versions of The Joker. She may not be a full-on Justice League member in Rocksteady's universe, but Joker has been dead for a long time in Rocksteady's timeline, meaning that her character is perfectly primed to go good in this universe as well.
The Suicide Squad's other members may not have a history of conversion like Harley does, but plenty of villains included in the Batman: Arkham games have had their time on the team before. Given that Rocksteady has worked with the likes of Deadshot, Deathstroke and Killer Croc in the past, it'd be no surprise if they turned up in a Suicide Squad game as well. Even then, Rocksteady does not need to limit themselves to characters who have been squad members in the comics. They've proved themselves adept at handling many of DC's most popular baddies, and characters like Catwoman, Mr. Freeze and Victor Zsasz could all make wonderful playable inclusions in a Suicide Squad game.