Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League - 4 takeaways from the DC Fandome trailer

DC Fandome was filled with a series of exciting announcements for the full pantheon of DC superheroes. There were major reveals for DC across various forms of media, including movies, TV shows, and video games. And yes, one of the most exciting announcements came from the team at Rocksteady Games. We got a first tease for the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

There's a lot to say about the first trailer and there's plenty of analysis to be done on it, given that it's probably the last thing about this game anybody will see until we're well into 2021. So we're here to analyze it today at Shacknews. Here are our four big takeaways from the first Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailer.

1. Brainiac's ship may point to the larger plot

Beyond being told at the start of the trailer that it's set in Metropolis, the first image everyone sees is of a fallen spacecraft. If you've followed comic books or even the recent Injustice 2 game, you'll recognize that the multi-tentacled ship belongs to Superman villain Brainiac.

While there are a multitude of disposable extraterrestrial goons seen throughout the trailer, we never see Brainiac himself. There could be many reasons for that. The trailer might take place in the aftermath of a titanic clash between the Justice League and Brainiac's forces. Or the villain might be in hiding.

We're not given any rhyme or reason for the trailer's shocking ending, where Superman rescues a helicopter pilot (from a helicopter he destroyed) and then proceeds to melt him into atoms with his heat vision. However, the presence of Brainiac's ship may point to something much more sinister at work than heroes going rogue. Mind control could be at play here with Brainiac somehow taking control of the heroes and using them to his twisted ends. We don't know for sure, but keep Brainiac's ship in mind as we learn more about this game in the future.

One fun piece of trivia to note is that Batman normally has contingency plans at the ready in the event that the League is ever under mind control. However, with Rocksteady confirming that Suicide Squad takes place in the Arkham-verse, it's reasonable to assume that the Bat is no longer in play.

2. Deadshot's arsenal includes more than his sniper rifle

Deadshot is all about taking out his targets with unparalleled precision. So as one might imagine, he has his wrist blasters and his sniper rifle at the ready. But it looks like that won't be the only way he goes about dispatching his enemies.

None of the Suicide Squad members can fly in the traditional sense, so they have to traverse through different methods. Deadshot looks like he'll use a jetpack to help him move around. It'll do more than act as a mode of transport, though. The assassin can use his jetpack to change his vantage points and potentially get a better shot.

Of the four characters, Deadshot looks like he'll be the most likely to take advantage of more tech-based gadgets. They'll help him get a better shot at high-value targets, but also look like they'll come in handy in crowd control situations.

3. Captain Boomerang... is a speedster?

The biggest star of this trailer was undoubtedly Captain Boomerang. The surly Digger Harkness got one of his first real opportunities to shine in a video game setting, bantering with his teammates and also taking out multiple targets with his trusty boomerangs. But one other thing I noticed in the chaos...

Captain Boomerang was moving at super speed.

For those who don't follow the comics, Captain Boomerang is not a speedster. Alright, I should actually amend that. Digger Harkness is not a speedster. Harkness is a normal Australian thug, just one who happens to be really proficient with boomerangs. However, in the comic book world, it's actually his son who's the speedster. Harkness accidentally hitched a ride to the future on Flash's Cosmic Treadmill (Roll with me. It's comic books.) and had a child with a future relative of the Reverse-Flash. That child, Owen Mercer, grows up in the present day and, in fact, becomes the second Captain Boomerang. And it's Mercer who can tap into the Speed Force.

But this is the beauty of working within your own corner of the DC Multiverse. The Arkham-verse allows for Rocksteady to craft their own takes on some of these classic characters. So in this universe, it's Digger Harkness who can ride the lightning. It could be a result of experiments conducted by Amanda Waller's team or a by-product of one of his encounters with The Flash. Or maybe he rode to the future on a Cosmic Treadmill. We don't know how he got this power, but the fact that he can wield it will add to the reasons why fans should be excited to get their hands on Captain Boomerang.

4. The banter will be half the fun

I mentioned Boomerang's banter with Deadshot. That's a major dynamic in the Suicide Squad comics. Deadshot and Boomerang are like 1 and 1A on that team. But if the trailer illustrated anything, it's that all four members of the Suicide Squad will have a lot to say to each other. Yes, even King Shark sounds like he'll be a lot of fun, if only because he looks like he'll be playing the straight man in this group... even if he is, in fact, a shark man.

While the cutscenes will undoubtedly be entertaining, especially if they're on par with what's seen in this trailer, the Suicide Squad dynamic will hopefully go beyond that. Let the four-person squad all banter with one another on the battlefield. Let Harley get some one-liners, have Digger go on some drunken rants, and have Amanda Waller gradually lose her mind as she tries to bring this ragtag crew in line.

All four of these characters have a lot to add to this universe and with Rocksteady adding that it's set in the Arkham-verse, it feels perfect to have Harley Quinn aboard for the ride. She's our window into the post-Batman Arkham-verse, able to provide valuable exposition. But let's not forget that at the end of the day, they're mercenaries ultimately out to do a job and look out for themselves. They're a different kind of family and hopefully the game will reflect that.

Those are our big takeaways from the first Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailer from the DC Fandome. Anything you noticed that we might have missed? Join the conversation and let us know in the comments. Not a part of our community? You can fix that by clicking the Log In / Register button at the top of the screen and joining us. And remember to subscribe to Mercury for the optimal Shacknews experience.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?