KTJL and Gotham Knights Should Have Swapped Places

Just like with Marvel, DC characters seem to be everywhere these days. Not only have they dominated film with countless projects, but they have also headlined a wide variety of video games. In fact, DC has just seen two major co-op adventures hit store shelves in the form of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Gotham Knights. While both games may have been a bit controversial with their respective fanbases, a simple fix may have been able to alleviate some of that.

Both Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Gotham Knights let players explore unique DC universes with some of the most popular characters out there. Gotham Knights served as an original story, taking place in a world where Batman had perished, while Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League continued the exciting adventures of the Arkhamverse. Both make for some fun DC stories, but it kind of feels like they would have been stronger if they had simply switched places.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Gotham Knights Are Canon to the Wrong Franchises

Gotham Knights Feels Like the Perfect Arkham Continuation

Gotham Knights introduces players to a Gotham City where Batman has seemingly died at the hands of Ra’s al Ghul. Now, it is up to Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood to hold the city together in his absence. What ensues is an interesting adventure that sees the four of them investigate the death of Batman and come face-to-face with the Court of Owls and League of Shadows. Although that story did not match the heights of other DC titles, it still made for a decent adventure through the DC mythos.

Since WB Games Montreal developed it, some had thought that maybe it would take place in the Arkhamverse. The studio had already played around in that franchise through Batman: Arkham Origins, so another entry from it did not seem that outlandish. However, the game ended up being completely disconnected from that series, and instead, it was its own thing. While it may end up launching its own franchise, right now it simply seems like a one-off.

Even though it was advertised as a separate canon, Gotham Knights does feel like it could have fit right into the Arkhamverse. Batman: Arkham Knight ended with Bruce Wayne activating the Knightfall Protocol, seemingly killing himself to protect his loved ones. Gotham Knights already showed a world where Batman had apparently died, so with a few story tweaks, it could have picked up right where Rocksteady left off.

Suicide Squad Seems Like a Fun Way to Kickstart a New Franchise

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League ended up being the game that continued the Arkhamverse storyline, yet it does not feel like it should have. In this game, players take control of the Suicide Squad as they are sent into Metropolis to take down a brainwashed Justice League. Among its members is Batman, the same exact one from the Arkham series. Instead of him being dead to the world, the character has stepped out of the shadows, joined a team, and is now under the influence of Brainiac.

This feels like a drastic change for Arkham Batman, especially since he had never worked with the Justice League before. So, it might have made more sense if Suicide Squad was set in a new canon instead of Gotham Knights. While one game deals with the aftermath of Batman’s alleged demise, the other tells a massive world-ending story that is unlike anything in the Arkham series.

It may have been better if both games were initially conceived very differently. Gotham Knights‘ premise seems like a great way to continue Batman: Arkham and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League feels like a fun, unique start to a new franchise.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

Released

February 2, 2024