Summary

• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League failed to impress due to repetitive gameplay and lackluster story.
• Gotham Knights, while underwhelming, is a more feasible follow-up to the Arkham series than Suicide Squad.
• Batman: Arkham Shadow could potentially retcon the events of Suicide Squad and deliver a better sequel to Arkham Knight.

The even the recently released Joker DLC has failed to make a considerable difference in public interest.

Anyone can play armchair quarterback, theorizing what could have been done better. However, hindsight isn’t necessary to know that Suicide Squad was weighed down by an amalgamation of bad ideas right from the start. The way the game bends over backward to tie its story to the Arkham series only makes it more bizarre. With that said the failures of Suicide Squad do not tarnish the beloved games that came before it. While Arkham Knight put a seemingly definitive ending on the Arkhamverse, it also laid the groundwork for a potential sequel that is far more deserving than Suicide Squad.

While Gotham Knights Was Also Underwhelming, It Is A Better Arkamverse Game Than Suicide Squad

Gotham Knights Has Its Own Canon

Another recent DC dissapointment was Gotham Knights by WB Games Montreal. While most critics highlighted the game's technical issues and underwhelming combat, Gotham Knights' biggest setback was being compared to the Arkham series — one it was not canon to in the first place. However, the game's core ingredients align it much closer to the Arkhamverse than Suicide Squad ever was. Gotham Knights is certainly not on the level of Arkham Asylum, City, Knight, or Origins, but it's a far more feasible follow-up to Arkham Knight. Despite its shortcomings, it introduces defining elements that could be expanded upon in future installments.

Most of the pivotal story moments in Batman: Arkham Knight involve its secondary villain, adopts the anti-hero persona of Red Hood, employing far more violent methods than Batman. This sets up an ideal starting point for an Arkham Knight sequel.

When Batman’s true identity is revealed in the climax of Arkham Knight, he invokes the "Knightfall Protocol," seemingly killing both himself and his butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Ironically, just as Arkham Knight ends with the "death" of Bruce Wayne, Gotham Knights begins with the caped crusader dying as well. If Gotham Knights had been a direct sequel to Arkham Knight, the stage was already set with a deceased Bruce Wayne. Todd would have found a new purpose in his latest persona as the Red Hood. Similarly, the death of Wayne would be a perfect catalyst for introducing Nightwing into the Arkhamverse.

Gotham Knights' other two central figures, Tim Drake and Barbara Gordon, also have their stories primed in Arkham Knight. Batman heroically chooses to surrender himself to Scarecrow to save the lives of Gordon and Robin (Drake). Were continuity to carry over into Gotham Knights, the guilt of knowing that Wayne sacrificed his life for theirs would provide reason for Gordon and Drake to Nightwing and Red Hood in their quest to save Gotham. All Gordon would have to do is adopt her Batgirl persona, and voilà - all of the necessary pieces for a Gotham Knights game would align.

The studio behind the underrated Batman: Arkham Origins is currently developing a Wonder Woman game.

Will Batman: Arkham Shadow Be A Fitting Sequel To Arkham Knight?

Major Narrative Aspects Still Unclear

The ending of Arkham Knight suggests that Wayne may have staged his death in the destruction of the Bat-Cave and Wayne Manor, continuing to fight crime in Gotham in some alternate form. It also sets up the "Code Black" that assembles the heroes in Gotham Knights, had it been the true successor to Arkham Knight. Wayne’s death at the conclusion of Gotham Knights could still align with the storyline, propelling the four new heroes of Gotham into their own narrative in a potential sequel. Furthermore, Wayne's death in Gotham Knights is depicted more irably than the one in Suicide Squad.

Regardless of either game's storyline, Suicide Squad and Gotham Knights both left players longing for a higher-quality entry in the Arkham series. Batman: Arkham Shadow was recently announced as an Meta Quest exclusive, and how it will integrate into the broader Arkhamverse remains to be seen. Given the backlash Suicide Squad received for its handling of Bruce Wayne's death, it wouldn't be surprising if Arkham Shadow were to retcon this event from the Arkhamverse timeline. One thing is certain—Batman: Arkham Knight deserves a better sequel than Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.