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They really did it. That game’s title wasn’t for show. The Suicide Squad killed the Justice League in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (who’d have thought?). And yes, that meant the heavyweights of the crew, starting with the hardest pill to swallow: Harley Quinn killed Batman. How does that even compute? But more importantly, does it even count? Or is this Suicide Squad canon to Arkham and its in-game universe?
Suicide Squad is Canon
It occurs in the same universe as the main Arkham games, namely Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Origins, and Batman: Arkham Knight. In Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, you can even find Easter eggs and references to the Arkham games (such as the soundtrack and in-game Batman museum assets).
Hence, the very bumbling Harley Quinn in Arkham City and Arkham Knight is also the same one who finally managed to kill the Bat. She had help from Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark, of course, as well as Lex Luthor.
Moreover, this Batman was brainwashed by Brainiac, meaning the character’s effectiveness as a superhero might have been diluted (up for debate). On the other hand, this is also the same Batman that ran around in the Arkham games, beating up superhumans like Deathstroke and Bane, who were much more threatening than this current Suicide Squad roster.
Batman’s ending in Arkham Knight was ambiguous, but based on the events in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, he ended up joining the Justice League after disappearing in Gotham.
What’s Next for the Arkham-verse Canon?
So, without a doubt, the mess that happened in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is the official future for the Arkham-verse or Arkham games. In this case, there might be none left since Arkham Batman is officially dead.
It’s worth noting that Gotham Knights, which has players switching between Batman’s proteges (Robins, Batgirl, Jason Todd/Red Hood), is not connected or canon to Arkham. So, for all we know, there might be no one to avenge Batman in the current Arkham-verse. Still, the Arkham series has more or less concluded already after Arkham Knight.
Suicide Squad Toys Around With the Multiverse
That isn’t to say there’s no hope for future Arkham games. After all, Batman tends to be reiterated or refreshed every decade or so. With that in mind, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League incorporated the DC multiverse (multiple Earths) in its story.
They even brought in an Earth-2 version of Lex Luthor, or Luthor-2, to help. So it’s reasonable to expect that the Arkham series and its story might continue one way or another despite the death of the original Arkham Batman. Just keep your fingers crossed. But who are we kidding? Batman, Superman, and the Justice League never stay dead.
