It’s safe to say that comic books and video games go hand-in-hand. They’re both visual mediums that tell stories in ways that movies might not be able to, and they both use illustrated art to present the story and action. Superhero comic books are obviously the most popular types of comics, and they typically translate extremely well to video games. Video games allow the player to take control of their favorite heroes and experience what it’s like to use their powers and battle their foes. Games like 2018’s Spider-Man, the Batman Arkham series, and the Injustice fighting game series all prove just how fun it is to play as your favorites comic book characters and immerse yourself in their world. One of the next upcoming comic book video games, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, was announced during the recent DC FanDome livestream event. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is set to be an exciting team experience set in Metropolis in the same world as the Arkham series, and can be played on your own or with friends. With how popular the Suicide Squad comics have gotten, and with a new movie coming out, it will be exhilarating to play as Task Force X in a video game.

Let’s explore the teaser trailer that was shown during DC FanDome to see what elements we can discover about the upcoming game. 

The trailer starts with a glimpse of what looks to be Brainiac’s spaceship hovering over Metropolis as it causes destruction. The purple lights and robotic tendrils indicate that it definitely belongs to Brainiac. A group of people attack a helicopter, but it’s not clear why at this point in the trailer.

Again, this game takes place in the same world as the Arkham video game series, but it allows us to see Metropolis for the first time rather than Gotham. It looks as though Metropolis will provide for a brighter and more colorful environment to explore. 

The early shots in the trailer reveal quite a few easter eggs in it’s signs and billboards. One lit-up neon sign is of the Big Belly Burger fast food chain as seen in The Flash and other CW TV series, while another shows the Sundollar Coffee Shop, which is essentially DC’s version of Starbucks typically seen in Booster Gold comics. There’s a billboard for the Daily Planet (Clark Kent’s place of work) featuring Lois Lane. A water tank has the Street Demonz logo on it, a gang that Batman has faced off against. The easter eggs hidden around Gotham City was one of the many exciting elements of the Arkham video games, so it’ll be fun to see what other easter eggs will be found throughout Metropolis.

We hear Amanda Waller scolding her precious Task Force X over their radio. It seems (obviously) that Amanda Waller will be one of the main NPCs giving players missions throughout the game. It makes sense considering she’s the one who does so in the comics and was the one who assembled the team. It makes one wonder who else will be seen as an NPC. Perhaps Rick Flag will appear, considering he’s typically one of the main characters in Suicide Squad comics and serves as a middle man between the Squad and Waller. It’s also possible there may be other Squad members who aren’t usually in the field giving the playable characters information over the comms like Clock King or Calendar Man. 

The next scene in the trailer has Harley Quinn pretending her hand is a soldier in war on its way to snag a slice of pizza. Her hand leaps over bullet casings and sprints past other bits of debris while doing so. The notable piece of debris here is a S.T.A.R. Labs metal casing. S.T.A.R. Labs is a scientific research facility seen throughout much of DC’s comic book history. It’ll be interesting to learn what their involvement in the game’s story may be. It’s definitely possible they could have accidentally caused the mayhem we are seeing in the trailer. 

It’s worth noting that the voice actress playing Harley here is Tara Strong, who has been the primary voice of the character since her creation. She’s portrayed Harley in more than 30 iterations. 

Following Harley’s hand missing out on that slice of pizza, there is a scene featuring the members of the Suicide Squad having some of their usual banter while they lounge on a rooftop and the chaos continues around them. This is where we’re introduced to the game’s four playable characters: Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and King Shark. The first three have been in just about every modern version of the Suicide Squad, so there’s no surprise there. King Shark has been an extremely popular recent addition to the team, so he’s certainly a welcome member. There are only four members playable, despite there often being more Squad members in the comics, further leading me to believe there will be other members that aren’t in the field with them. 

Despite this game taking place in the same canon as the Arkham games, it’s a little odd that Deadshot is clearly a different person (but with the same name). That being said, his and everyone else’s design looks outstanding and fitting of their characters. 

During this scene where we meet our Suicide Squad members, King Shark pops a couple balloons while conversing with the others. One has a Green Lantern logo on it, while the other depicts a Bat Symbol. It has yet to be confirmed which heroes the Justice League will be comprised of in this game (other than Superman who appears later in the trailer and on the game’s box art), but these balloons possibly confirm Batman and Green Lantern. We don’t know which Green Lantern yet, unfortunately. During the game’s reveal at DC FanDome, Will Arnett jokes around with the Suicide Squad members, and Captain Boomerang mentions taking down the Flash. It’s a safe bet that means the Flash will be in, and I highly doubt they’d want to feature the Justice League without Wonder Woman. That’s five Justice League members, but we don’t know how many there will be in the game. Maybe we’ll see others like Cyborg, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, or someone else. 

Amanda Waller calls on Task Force X via their radios to summon them to battle with their “Alpha Target.” She threatens to blow the bombs in their heads, matching the usual premise behind the Suicide Squad in the comics. It’s not known at this point in the trailer who this “alpha target” is.

The Suicide Squad leaps into battle, creating an epic fight scene more fun and exhilarating than some superhero movies. During this scene, we get an idea as to how each character will play and what sorts of abilities they have. Deadshot, being the marksman he is, uses his wrist-mounted guns and sniper rifle like he does in the comics. He’ll likely be the long-range fighter of the bunch, which makes a lot of sense for his character. One thing worth noting with his character, though, is that he also flies around with a jetpack here. He’s not known to use a jetpack in the comics, so this may be new. It looks like it can lead to some fun mechanics, as we see him use the jetpack’s flame to incinerate some enemies. 

Harley Quinn uses a number of items during this combat. One is that she’s swinging around on a grappling hook, which could lead to some entertaining mobility as she makes her way through Metropolis. Her main melee weapon looks to be her baseball bat from the Suicide Squad movie, which is fine but unfortunate for those hoping to use her iconic mallet. The other item we see her using in battle is a cupcake bomb, which she uses to blow an enemy to smithereens. That’s one of the most fitting weapons she could possibly wield in-game. Harley appears to be more of an acrobatic melee-based character. 

Captain Boomerang, obviously, uses boomerangs during the combat. It looks like there may be a variety to his boomerangs, as he uses one as a remote detonator at one point, throws another directly at enemies, and uses another to teleport to its location after being thrown. The teleportation is new for his character. It seems like Waller’s people at A.R.G.U.S. may have provided the team with fancier gadgets than usual, which makes sense. Why wouldn’t they, afterall? Captain Boomerang also uses a pistol in some instances of the fight, which isn’t quite as fun as boomerangs, but at least you can use both. 

King Shark is the clear brute in the bunch. When he first jumps into battle, he wields what looks to be two machetes, but we don’t really see him use them. We do see him use a massive minigun to shoot down enemies. However, he may also use his teeth, claws, and muscle to take on foes. 

After seeing these playstyles and weapons, it leads one to wonder if there will be unlockables or any sort of upgrade system. Maybe we can switch out Harley’s bat for her mallet or swap between what boomerangs Captain Boomerang uses. There could be more customizability to the game than we realize. 

Looking at the enemies the Suicide Squad fight during the trailer, they appear to be regular people covered in Brainiac’s tech. It’s likely that Brainiac is controlling them. This seems to be the central conflict of the game. 

After taking on hordes of enemies, the Suicie Squad remember they needed to take down the “alpha target.” While they stand around wondering who that could be, Superman flies in to save a pilot from a burning helicopter. However, they’re caught by surprise when Superman’s eyes glow purple and he disintegrates the pilot with his heat vision, reducing the pilot to ash. It’s probable that Superman and the other League members are being controlled by Brainiac somehow.

Proving that the Suicide Squad have a massive uphill battle in front of them, a single boomerang bounces off the back of Superman’s head, barely phasing him. Not only is it a funny visual, but it makes one wonder how in the world these chumps will take down the world’s greatest heroes. 

One last detail in the trailer worth noting is that there is no actual gameplay shown. There will likely be a gameplay trailer released at some point in the future, especially since the game is almost two years away, so we’ll be waiting in anticipation to see how each character will actually play. Until then, we have this fun, action-packed trailer set to Outcast’s B.O.B (Bombs Over Baghdad to enjoy. 

This is a solid announcement teaser trailer, and I’m excited to see more from this game. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is set to release in 2022 on the PS5, XBox Series X, and PC.