Every gal has a phase she regrets, mine happened to get me consecutive life sentences
When a studio builds a world over more than a decade, the question becomes not whether to honor what came before, but how deeply to weave the past into the present. Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League answers that question with unusual care — embedding comic book history into costume stitching, memorializing the voices that defined a generation of characters, and turning a villain's trophy room into a meditation on consequence. Released in early 2024, the game arrives in Metropolis but never truly leaves Gotham, treating continuity not as obligation but as craft.
- A decade of Arkham storytelling is at stake — and Rocksteady has chosen to honor it through dozens of layered details rather than a clean break.
- The tension between serving new players and rewarding veterans runs through every design choice, from an in-game museum that recaps three prior games to inmate numbers that encode comic book publication dates most players will never decode.
- Memorial plaques for Kevin Conroy and Arleen Sorkin transform a video game lobby into something closer to a eulogy, raising the emotional register of what might otherwise feel like fan service.
- The Batcave beneath Metropolis — stocked with Scarecrow's mask, Joker's gun, and Killer Croc's severed hand — quietly foreshadows the game's own climax, making the archive of the past a weapon in the present.
- What began as Easter eggs resolves into something more deliberate: a studio insisting that its fictional universe is a living thing, not a product line, and that the people and stories inside it deserve to be remembered.
Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League takes Task Force X to Metropolis, but the studio never really left Gotham. From its opening moments — A.R.G.U.S. SUVs pulling up to Arkham Asylum while the original game's score plays — the title announces itself as a continuation, not a departure.
The four playable characters wear uniforms whose inmate numbers encode the issue, month, and year of each character's first DC Comics appearance. Deadshot's number points to Batman #59 from June 1950; Harley Quinn's references The Batman Adventures #12 from September 1993, before she had ever appeared in a comic at all. The details are easy to miss and impossible to stumble upon by accident — which is precisely the point.
Metropolis houses an in-game exhibition called the Batman Experience, narrated by journalist Jack Ryder, that recaps the events of the three prior Arkham games. Each squad member reacts to the displays in character: Harley reflects wryly on her own history, Deadshot dismisses his Arkham City counterpart as a 'phony steampunk-ass looking dude,' and their responses to the Joker's death diverge in ways that feel earned rather than scripted. A Man-Bat standee hidden atop a church in the exhibition leaps out with a screech — a direct callback to Arkham Knight's most notorious jump scare.
The game also pauses to mourn. Memorial plaques inside the Hall of Justice honor Kevin Conroy and Arleen Sorkin, the voices of Batman and Harley Quinn whose performances defined the Arkhamverse before their deaths. It is a quiet gesture in a loud game.
The deepest layer of reference lives in Batman's secret Batcave beneath Metropolis, where trophies from across his rogues gallery — Mr. Freeze's helmet, Scarecrow's mask and fear toxin, the Joker's 'Bang!' gun, Killer Croc's severed hand — mirror the evidence locker system from Arkham Knight. The Scarecrow collection proves more than decorative: fear toxin becomes a weapon in the game's own climax, collapsing the distance between archive and story.
Smaller threads run throughout. Penguin's gun-running operation has relocated from Gotham to Metropolis under the name North Refrigeration — likely a nod to his voice actor, Nolan North. Wayne Bank bears the marks of Batman's stealth tactics: open vents, bullet holes, enemies suspended from grapple points. Deadshot's locker is labeled 'Deathstroke,' a taunt that doubles as a promise, since the roadmap confirms Deathstroke will eventually be playable.
Taken together, these touches build something rarer than fan service — a game that treats its own continuity as a living archive, and asks players who have been there from the beginning to look closely.
Rocksteady's new game takes Task Force X to Metropolis, but the studio never really left Gotham. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is woven through with references to the Batman: Arkham games that came before it—small touches that reward players who've spent time in the previous three entries, and clever connective tissue that makes this feel like a genuine continuation of the same universe rather than a spin-off.
The most immediate signal comes in the opening. After a tutorial in a devastated Metropolis, the game flashes back to the beginning of the story with a scene at Arkham Asylum. A.R.G.U.S. SUVs roll up to the iconic facility in place of the Batmobile, and the original Batman: Arkham Asylum score plays. It's a deliberate echo of how the first game opened, making clear from the start that this is part of the same continuity.
The uniforms the four main characters wear—Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang—carry hidden meaning in their inmate numbers. Each number encodes the issue, month, and year of that character's first appearance in DC comics. Deadshot's reads 59-06-50, referencing Batman #59 from June 1950. Harley Quinn's is 12-09-93, pointing to The Batman Adventures #12 from September 1993, a year before she appeared in any comic book. These details are easy to miss, but they anchor the characters to their comic book origins while giving the costumes an extra layer of authenticity.
Metropolis itself becomes a museum of Arkhamverse history. The Batman Experience is an in-game exhibition that recaps the events of Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight, narrated by Jack Ryder, a journalist players encountered in the previous games. What makes it special is that each member of Task Force X has unique dialogue when viewing the displays. Harley looks at her own history and says, "Every gal has a phase she regrets, mine happened to get me consecutive life sentences." When Deadshot sees the Arkham City version of himself, he dismisses him as a "phony steampunk-ass looking dude." The reactions to Joker's death in Arkham City vary by character—Deadshot quips "Ain't this supposed to be a family show?", while Harley, given her personal history with the Joker, offers a more reflective take on how she processed the grief. Hidden atop a church in the exhibition is a Man-Bat standee that jumps out with a screech, a direct callback to the infamous jump scares from Arkham Knight.
The game also honors the actors who shaped the Arkhamverse. Inside the Hall of Justice, memorial plaques commemorate Kevin Conroy, who voiced Batman across all three Arkham games and is widely considered the definitive voice of the character, and Arleen Sorkin, the original voice of Harley Quinn from Batman: The Animated Series. Both reprised their roles in the Arkhamverse before passing away.
When Task Force X explores the abandoned Daily Planet, they find a newspaper headline reading "Demon Bat In Gotham," written by Clark Kent. The article opens with "Man dressed as a bat. It seems far-fetched, but..."—this is Superman's first encounter with Batman, a moment that never appeared in the Arkham games but is now part of their shared history. Perry White's office displays a painting of Batman gliding over Gotham alongside Wonder Woman.
The deepest well of references appears in Batman's secret Batcave beneath Metropolis. Here, the Dark Knight has collected trophies from his rogues gallery: Mr. Freeze's helmet and gun, the Riddler's trophy and cane, the Mad Hatter's hat, Black Mask's mask, Killer Croc's severed hand, a katana from the League of Assassins, the Ventriloquist's Scarface puppet, Electrocutioner's shock gauntlets, Poison Ivy's flower, Red Hood's helmet, the Joker's gun with a "Bang!" flag, and Scarecrow's mask and fear toxin containers. These items mirror the evidence locker system from Arkham Knight, suggesting Batman has been collecting and studying his enemies for years. The Scarecrow reference ties directly into the game's climax, where Batman uses fear toxin as a weapon against the squad.
Even smaller details connect back. Penguin's gun-running operation, North Refrigeration, has relocated from Gotham to Metropolis—the name likely a nod to Penguin's voice actor, Nolan North. The Iceberg Lounge, Penguin's nightclub from Arkham City, appears in an alternate universe's version of Metropolis. When Task Force X explores Wayne Bank, they find open vent shafts surrounded by bullet holes and enemies strung up from grapple points, the telltale signs of Batman's stealth tactics from the previous games. Deadshot's locker at A.R.G.U.S. headquarters is labeled "Deathstroke"—a dig at the assassin, but also possibly a reference to Arkham Origins' post-credits scene where Deathstroke was first approached by Waller to join Task Force X. The roadmap for future content confirms Deathstroke will be playable later.
What emerges from all these touches is a game that respects its own history. Rocksteady has built something that works for newcomers—the Batman Experience serves as a primer—but rewards longtime players with dozens of moments of recognition. The Arkhamverse isn't just a setting; it's a living archive.
Notable Quotes
Every gal has a phase she regrets, mine happened to get me consecutive life sentences— Harley Quinn, viewing her own display in the Batman Experience
Ain't this supposed to be a family show?— Deadshot, reacting to the Joker's death display
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why embed all these references if the game is moving away from Gotham and Batman?
Because moving away doesn't mean breaking away. The game needed to establish that this is the same world, the same continuity. The references are the connective tissue.
But couldn't that feel cluttered? Too many winks at the camera?
It could, but the game spaces them out. Some are hidden—you have to climb to find the Man-Bat jump scare. Others are just there if you're paying attention. It's not forced.
The inmate numbers encoding comic book dates—that's clever, but does it matter to someone who's never read the comics?
Not functionally. But it adds texture. It says the developers care about where these characters come from. It's a small thing that makes the world feel deeper.
What about the memorial plaques for the actors? That feels different from an Easter egg.
It is. That's not a wink—that's a tribute. Kevin Conroy voiced Batman for thirty years. Arleen Sorkin created Harley Quinn. They're part of why this universe exists. The plaques acknowledge that.
Does the Batcave full of villain trophies change how you play the game?
No. But it changes how you understand Batman. He's been collecting, studying, preparing. It suggests a paranoia, a readiness. It explains why he's so dangerous when he finally appears.
Is there a risk that all this backward-looking makes the game feel like it's living in the past?
Possibly. But the game also moves forward—new location, new mission, new stakes. The references are anchors, not anchors that hold you down.