Summary
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguehas had its fair share of problems since its February launch, but the promise of the Joker coming to the game in Season 1 could have been a possible beacon of hope. Unfortunately,Suicide Squadhas missed a major opportunity when it comes to the Joker’s story.
Season 1 ofSuicide Squadboasted the arrival of the Joker, the most infamous villain in the history of DC Comics. The character has been one of the most recognizable villains in pop culture for decades, and is rife with interesting story potential. However,Suicide Squad’s Season 1not only drops the ball on giving the Joker a compelling story, but it completely overlooks his relationship with Harley Quinn.
When it comes to Season 1 ofSuicide Squad, a disappointing aspect of the Joker being brought into the game is that his introduction lacks any story mission. Althoughone can play as the Joker, there isn’t any meaningful story revolving around the character. As one of DC Comics' most notorious villains, that’s already a wasted opportunity, but not having Joker and Harley Quinn have any sort of interaction is a bit baffling.
The Joker’s Story Is Lacking
Suicide Squad’s Joker content begins with a brief comic showing the villain being captured by Brainiac. When players eventually rescue the Joker, there is then a short cutscene that shows him being recruited by ARGUS, and that’s basically it for his extended screen time outside of playing as the character.Suicide Squadhas missed several opportunitiesthat could have made the game truly interesting, and it’s strange that the Joker wasn’t given any meaningful story content. However, skipping over a Harley and Joker interaction is the most confusing choice of all.
DC’s Most Notorious Relationship Overlooked
The dynamic between Harley Quinn and the Joker is not only toxic, but iconic. Although the relationship between the two is one of the most unhealthy in comic book history, it’s one of the most well known, yet in the cutscene involving the Joker, he and Harley Quinn are in the same room but don’t even interact. The only thing close to an interaction between the two is Harley quipping to Captain Boomerang and King Shark that she’s no longer into comedians. There has been a lot of criticism regardinghowSuicide Squadhandles DC’s iconic characters, and failing to have any sort of interaction between Harley and the Joker is another addition to that list.
With Harley and the Joker being two characters filled with witty remarks and unpredictable behavior, the two create the perfect recipe for some compelling dialogue and story moments. However, this isn’t even explored in Season 1, which is a disservice to the characters. AlthoughSuicide Squad’s future contentmay offer a deeper exploration of the Joker, including him in the game without a story mission that explores this newer interpretation makes for a lackluster introduction.
Suicide Squad’s version of the Joker is different from theArkhamuniverse’s version, which could have led to a fresh and compelling take on his and Harley’s dynamic.
Since its launch back in February,Suicide Squadhas not met expectations. From dwindling player counts to strange story and character decisions,Suicide Squadis unfortunately not the game many were hoping for. This is only made more disappointing when looking at Rocksteady’s success with the incredibleArkhamseries, which many view as one of the best comic book adaptations. The story and the characters were handled wonderfully, which makes it so jarring to see Harley and the Joker avoided like this.
Suicide Squadneeds to dive deeper into its characters instead of staying so surface level, and Harley Quinn and the Joker presented a perfect opportunity for the game to explore some more nuanced themes. Their dynamic has become one of themost memorable in DC’s long history, and failing to give the two any meaningful dialogue with each other is one of Season 1’s most disappointing aspects.
