While Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League may not even be out for two more weeks, its developers are already teasing what comes after launch in the much-debated live service portion of the game.
The devs took to Discord on Friday for a lengthy Q&A session, and at the end of it, shared the above image that shows some sort of Joker-based…daily newspaper? It’s called The Daily Chuckle, features his signature clown aesthetic and even has a newspaper where you can pretty clearly see that yes, it’s Joker, not like, Toyman or some similar villain (Toyman is actually already a vendor helping the Suicide Squad in the game).
Of course, given that this is the Arkhamverse that famously included Joker’s death, questions are now raised about what exactly this means. Either he could be resurrected in one of many different comic book-type ways, or Rocksteady has talked about Braniac grabbing things from other universes, so this may end up being some sort of alt-dimension Joker. If that’s true, would Joker-voicing legend Mark Hamill return to the part? That’s unclear.
Also unknown is if Joker would be appearing not just as a villain in some sort of HQ the Suicide Squad has to fight through, or if the plan is to make him a playable member of the squad. While (Jared Leto) Joker appeared in the first Suicide Squad movie, he was not actually in the squad, and didn’t appear at all in the second one. In the comics, Joker has been in at least one version of the Suicide Squad in the past. As has Joker’s Daughter in the “New Suicide Squad” run. That character was not literally his daughter, but a psycho who worships him and wears his face as a mask after his death in a New 52 storyline. But if we’re doing Joker things, my guess is that it would be actually him showing up, not this “daughter,” even if she was in comic Suicide Squads too.
The fact that this Joker building and apparent expansion is being revealed now, that may suggest what the first “season” of Suicide Squad will be focused on after launch, as it would be a bit odd to feature that instead of what is coming next. I haven’t read enough story leaks to even know if Joker is supposed to show up in the base game, but again, Braniac seems to have the power to bring whoever he wants into the fold, so that may instead be the first seasonal storyline, judging by this reveal.
Everyone has been deeply skeptical of Suicide Squad’s live service ambitions, even if they can get past the style and combat changes from Arkham of the base game. Rocksteady has a lot to prove that they can both make interesting post-launch content and deliver on it in a timely fashion, which has been the Achilles heel of so many past live service projects. But starting with the Joker? I’ve heard worse ideas.
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Laura Adams is a tech enthusiast residing in the UK. Her articles cover the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.