The first teaser trailer for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League dropped at DC FanDome last week. The trailer saw Harley Quinn, King Shark, Captain Boomerang, and Deadshot face down Superman, who appears to have turned evil by this point in Rocksteady’s Arkham timeline.
The new Suicide Squad game’s title, however, implies that Superman will not be only Justice League member who the Squad comes up against. Batman’s story is likely wrapped up by Arkham Knight, but characters like Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Aquaman have seen renewed interest through film and TV over the last decade. It is Green Lantern, however, who could shine as a video game antagonist in a way the character has been unable to in other mainstream portrayals.
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Green Lantern is a well-known core member of the Justice League. Despite this, the character has not been able to achieve the independent success of the other main members. While there have been several Green Lanterns, it is implied that the Arkham universe’s Green Lantern is Hal Jordan. A billboard in Arkham Origins advertises Ferris Aircraft, which is a company in the DC universe owned by Hal Jordan’s love interest, Carol Ferris.
Even if the Green Lantern included in the game is another person by the time of Suicide Squad, all characters who have taken up the moniker have had most of their powers in common. Green Lantern is in possession of a Power Ring originally owned by the Green Lantern Corps that instigate galactic justice on behalf of the Guardians of the Universe. The ring allows Green Lantern to summon objects using the power of their imagination, as well as manipulate other forces in the universe like light and gravity.
As a result, creating a satisfying Green Lantern as a playable character in a video game is as difficult, if not more difficult, than including a playable Superman. In both cases, the characters’ powers are extremely expansive and difficult to reduce to the a few key combat mechanics in-game without it feel restrictive and untrue to the character from the comics.
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However, as with Superman, the expansiveness of the character’s powers could make Green Lantern and extremely compelling and intimidating enemy in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. While a player character Green Lantern might feel constricting and limiting, the Green Lantern could provide Rocksteady with opportunities for some extremely creative encounters as an enemy NPC.
If nothing else, the pure spectacle of Green Lantern’s powers could make for some incredibly memorable set pieces in the game. Anything summoned via the Power Ring appears in a glowing green projection-like form. In Injustice 2, Green Lantern can summon a green mech-suit as a finisher move, which works in the context of a fighting game but would likely be too overpowered if Green Lantern was a playable character in an Arkham-style game. If the Suicide Squad has to face off against that seemingly insurmountable power, however, it could make for some very satisfying fights.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will need to strike a careful balance with extremely powerful characters like Superman and Green Lantern. However, facing them as antagonists gives Rocksteady a chance to show off some of these characters’ more extreme powers. Green Lantern’s powers will only be limited by the imagination of the Rocksteady team, giving them a unique opportunity to let the character shine in a way he has never been able to in such a hotly anticipated title.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will release in 2022 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
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