Rocksteady Studios' next game, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewill put players in the shoes of DC Comics' morally ambiguous task force. The developer took the world by storm with 2009's Batman: Arkham Asylum, which delivered what many considered to be the greatest superhero video game experience of all time. The game spawned two additional sequels, Arkham City and Arkham Knightwhich together created an adaptation of the Dark Knight that was both faithful and refreshing.

For five years, fans speculated about Rocksteady's next project, with many hoping that the studio would move on to adapt DC's other iconic hero. Unfortunately, a Superman game developed by Rocksteady is currently not in the cards, even though the studio previously pitched such a project to Warner Bros. Instead, Rocksteady will be tackling the Suicide Squad, a team of superpowered anti-heroes that has recently seen a surge in popularity due to live-action and animated adaptations. However, with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League also featuring Metropolis and Superman, the game opens up future opportunities for Rocksteady and the Man of Steel.

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Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

As the title implies, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will focus on Task Force X's attempts to hunt down and take out the world's strongest heroes. The game's cinematic trailer shows Superman rescuing a pilot from a crashing helicopter, only for the Man of Steel to vaporize the hapless pilot with his heat vision. This reveals the hero's status as the Suicide Squad's "Alpha Target," suggesting that killing this evil Superman will be a primary and appropriately difficult objective in the game.

The presence of an evil Superman is a bit overdone, appearing in adaptations such as the Injustice series, but the aftermath of this event could make for a very original story. While Superman is often turned evil for the sake of drama, the effect that this has on the hero's personal life is very rarely explored. If Rocksteady creates a Superman game after Suicide Squad, that game's plot could revolve around the hatred and distrust that the world now harbors for the Last Son of Krypton. Supervillains such as Lex Luthor could take advantage of this situation by purposely diminishing public opinion of Superman even further, flipping the characters' usual dynamics. The hero's journey could center around rebuilding public trust and reaffirming his status as a symbol of hope for humanity. This could even be reflected in the game's mechanics by forcing players to avoid collateral damage during fights, to demonstrate Superman's desire to show the world he is not a threat.

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According to the game's lead developer, Sefton Hill, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will also take place in a fully open-world Metropolis. The game sees the city being invaded by the villain Brainiac, and it seems likely that the Squad will have to fight their way across the city before eventually launching an assault on Brainiac's ship. There is a strong possibility that, like Rocksteady's faithful recreations of Gotham City in the Arkham games, Metropolis will contain references to the comic history of Superman and his city. The Daily Planet is an obvious choice for a landmark, and the building's appearance could easily lead to appearances from Superman's supporting cast such as Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White.

Rocksteady's use of Metropolis as the setting of Suicide Squad could be a holdover from their desire to create a Superman game. However, the map they have created could now be used in a follow-up title starring the Man of Steel. This area of the city could be reused for a future Superman game, perhaps as part of a larger map that consists of Metropolis as a whole. While Rocksteady never reused a previous game's map while developing their Arkham trilogy, the carry-over of game areas was used for Batman: Arkham Origins and other open-world games of the type.

While the Suicide Squad is a perfect subject for Rocksteady's next game for many reasons, some fans would rather see the studio adapt Superman's iconic mythos. By using Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League to lead directly into a solo Superman game, both concepts could be brought to life. By continuing the story of a corrupted Man of Steel and carrying over Suicide Squad's open-world Metropolis, Rocksteady Studios could easily make this next title the start of a brand-new story.

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