The Joker, in any meaningful sense, was gone.
In the world of comic book mythology, death has always been a negotiable condition — yet Rocksteady Studios seems prepared to hold the line. With Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the creators of the Arkhamverse are shifting their gaze from Batman to a team of anti-heroes, leaving behind the trilogy's most iconic villain, the Joker, who died in Arkham City and was laid to rest as a haunting memory by Arkham Knight's end. The question of whether he might return — through clone, illusion, or flashback — speaks less to narrative necessity than to the difficulty audiences have accepting that some stories, and some characters, are genuinely finished.
- The Joker is canonically dead — cremated after Arkham City — and the new game's timeline, set after Arkham Knight, leaves no obvious door open for his return.
- Fans of the Arkham trilogy are wrestling with the absence of its most defining villain as the series pivots to an entirely new cast of anti-heroes and a co-op shooter format.
- Rocksteady could technically resurrect him through flashbacks, Brainiac's cloning technology, or hallucinatory sequences — but none of these feel inevitable or even likely.
- The studio may be making a deliberate creative choice: after three games defined by Batman and the Joker's relationship, this chapter is meant to belong to someone else entirely.
- Until the game launches on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, the Joker's fate in this new story remains one of the few genuinely open questions surrounding the project.
Rocksteady Studios is leaving Batman behind. After three games built around the Dark Knight and his Arkhamverse, the studio is turning to the Suicide Squad — Harley Quinn, King Shark, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang — tasked with taking down a mind-controlled Justice League in a four-player co-op shooter. For fans wondering whether the Joker will follow them into this new chapter, the answer is almost certainly no.
His absence is a matter of established canon. The Joker died at the end of Batman: Arkham City, his body cremated. In Arkham Knight, he returned only as a psychological specter — hallucinations born from Scarecrow's Fear Toxin and a trace of the villain's blood in Batman's system. By that game's end, Batman had reclaimed his mind. The Joker, in any real sense, was gone.
Since Suicide Squad is set after Arkham Knight within the same continuity, there is no living Joker to call upon. Rocksteady could theoretically work around this — through flashbacks to Harley Quinn's past, Brainiac's cloning capabilities, or hallucinatory sequences — but these remain remote possibilities rather than likely choices.
More telling is what the studio's silence on the matter might mean. Three games defined by Batman's relationship with the Joker offered a complete arc, and moving forward with the Suicide Squad may represent a deliberate expansion beyond that dynamic. The Joker's absence could be less a limitation than a statement. For now, the Crown Prince of Crime appears to be staying dead.
Rocksteady Studios is moving on from Batman. After three games that made the Dark Knight the center of their Arkhamverse, the studio is pivoting to the Suicide Squad—a team of anti-heroes tasked with taking down a mind-controlled Justice League under the influence of the villain Brainiac. The new game, arriving in 2022, will let players control Harley Quinn, King Shark, Deadshot, or Captain Boomerang in a four-player co-op shooter, a significant departure from the third-person action games that defined the Batman trilogy. But for fans wondering whether the Joker—the Arkham series' most iconic recurring villain—will resurface in this new chapter, the answer is almost certainly no.
The Joker's absence from Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is rooted in established canon. He died at the end of Batman: Arkham City, the second game in the trilogy. His body was cremated, and he did not return as a living presence in the final installment, Batman: Arkham Knight. Instead, he haunted that game as a psychological phantom—a combination of Scarecrow's Fear Toxin and an injection of the Joker's own blood left Batman hallucinating the villain's voice and appearance throughout the story. By the game's conclusion, Batman had learned to control these hallucinations and reclaim his mind. The Joker, in any meaningful sense, was gone.
Given that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is positioned as a continuation of the Arkhamverse rather than a reboot, the timeline places it after Batman: Arkham Knight. That makes the Joker's reappearance unlikely. He is not alive. He is not lurking in Gotham. He has no reason to be part of a mission targeting the Justice League across the broader DC universe.
Yet in comic book storytelling, death is rarely permanent, and Rocksteady has left the door slightly ajar. The studio could theoretically bring the Joker back through several narrative mechanisms. A flashback to Harley Quinn's earlier life—before her incarceration and recruitment into Task Force X—could feature him. Brainiac, the game's primary antagonist, might clone the Joker or resurrect him through technological means. Illusions or hallucinations could place him in the story without requiring his literal return. These are all possibilities, however remote.
What remains unclear is whether Rocksteady even wants to revisit the character. The studio has spent three games exploring Batman's relationship with the Joker, and the trilogy's conclusion offered a definitive end to that dynamic. Moving forward with the Suicide Squad provides an opportunity to establish new villainous relationships and expand the Arkhamverse beyond the Batman mythos. The Joker's absence might not be a limitation but a choice—a signal that this chapter belongs to different characters and different stories.
Until the game's release, speculation is all fans have. Few concrete details about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League have been revealed beyond the announcement trailer and the confirmation that it will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC. Whether the Joker appears, and in what form, remains one of the game's open questions. For now, the Crown Prince of Crime appears to be staying dead.
Citações Notáveis
It seems highly unlikely that the 'real' Joker will be in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, but there are ways he could still have a role in the game.— Analysis of narrative possibilities
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
The Joker died in Arkham City. Why would anyone expect him to show up in this new game?
Because he's the most memorable villain in the series, and fans have a hard time letting go of what they loved. Even though he's canonically dead, there's always a way to bring someone back in a story—clones, hallucinations, time travel, whatever.
But this game isn't about Batman anymore. It's about the Suicide Squad taking on the Justice League. Why would the Joker even be relevant?
That's the real question. Rocksteady could be using this as a clean break—a chance to stop circling back to the same villain and build something new. Or they could use Harley Quinn's presence as a reason to dredge up her past with him.
So you're saying they probably won't include him?
Almost certainly not as a living, active character. But never say never in comics. The studio has options if they want to use them.
What does it say about the series that they're willing to move on?
It says they're confident enough in the Arkhamverse to exist without Batman's shadow. That's either brave or necessary—maybe both.