Superhero content has successfully conquered the film, TV, and gaming industries over the past few years, but WarnerBros' DC games have lagged behind Marvel's recent surge of popular AAA titles. Thankfully, with the upcoming release of Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, it appears WB is revamping its use of the DC license. Additionally, a new Wonder Woman game from the Shadow of War developers is also in the works. With these ambitious titles, Marvel's video game universe is facing significant competition in the coming months, despite lingering anticipation for projects like Marvel's Wolverine and Spider-Man 2. Thankfully, fans of both franchises are likely to reap the rewards from this impending rivalry, as developers are forced to innovate and improve products to secure more profits at launch.

While there are several projects in the works for DC and Marvel, WarnerBros suffered an unfortunate gap between its superhero games. Following Batman: Arkham Knight's release in 2015, WarnerBros suddenly halted its production of DC games. In the time between its upcoming Suicide Squad and Gotham Knights games, Marvel successfully released Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Marvel's Avengers. Out of all its new titles, only Marvel's Avengers received unsatisfactory ratings and overall disappointment from players, despite being the only multiplayer title. While neither Gotham Knights, SS: KTJL, nor Wonder Woman have confirmed release dates, the anticipation surrounding these projects is significant. Batman: Arkham Knight experienced riveting success at its release, featuring a dynamic open-world and impressive graphics, setting a high bar for its successors.

Related: Which Robin Is In Gotham Knights

DC and Marvel have experienced a riveting rivalry over the years, with each comic book giant producing various comic book storylines, television series, movies, and video games. Though superhero content has a massive following, communities can be extremely loyal to their respective companies; Marvel and DC's recent game projects hold significant potential. While less particular fans can enjoy content from both developers, it's no surprise that the gaming content from both companies is liable to be compared and targets the same audience. Though DC has lagged behind with recent video game projects, the collection of upcoming superhero (and supervillain) titles could turn the tides in WarnerBros' favor.

Gotham Knights Provides Co-op Where Guardians Of The Galaxy Doesn't

Nightwing, Robin, Red Hood and Batgirl in Gotham Knights

An unfortunate con about Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is its single-player mechanic. While fans of the franchise may have suspected a co-op game or function, the game stuck strictly to a singular story experience. Despite this missed opportunity, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy experienced a loving reception following the failure of Marvel's Avengers. GOTG explores an era after the Chitauri War, and vastly changes the stories and appearances of the Guardians from their MCU counterparts. Freed from the restraints of the cinematic universe, Eidos-Montreal and Square Enix could explore a new Marvel universe without fans needing to understand the intricacies of the films.

Though Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy received positive attention, it lacked a multiplayer function that could impact its longevity on the market. The gameplay with Star-Lord is entertaining, but the game fails to take advantage of the unique powers of Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Drax. Early gameplay and cinematic trailers suggest Gotham Knights could succeed where Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy fell short.

Though Gotham Knights is still in development at WB Games Montréal, early looks seem promising and resemble the style of Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham. Gotham Knights takes place after Batman's death, leaving the protection of Gotham City to four proteges: Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, and Robin. Players can control one of these four characters alongside a single friend, and duplicate characters are allowed. The Batman: Arkham series allowed players to explore Gotham City as Batman but failed to embrace the possibility of sidekicks or partnered superheroes. Gotham Knights covers this front by embracing co-op alongside a dynamic storyline and an evolving open world filled with terrifying Batman villains.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League Explores Villains, Not Heroes

Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League Shooter Mechanics Don't Make Sense

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League attracts attention to the DC game universe by prioritizing villains rather than DC heroes like Batman or Superman. Suicide Squad takes place in the Batman Arkham universe, providing an opportunity to explore morally gray narratives. The Suicide Squad is a unique DC team that forces the enemies of the Justice League to become the "heroes" and destroys plot armor for more realism. While it's unlikely for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League to kill any of their playable characters, the unpredictability of Suicide Squad storylines invites significant stakes into the PvE campaign. Rocksteady builds off this chaos by also enabling co-op multiplayer against Brainiac's armies. Few open-world games allow players to control villains, making Suicide Squad one of WarnerBros' most valuable projects right now.

Related: Kill The Justice League: How King Shark Mirrors James Gunn's Movie

While games like Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales explore some of Marvel's villains and introduce villains in unique positions (like the Tinkerer or Prowler), they failed to place any of them in the spotlight. Thankfully, it appears Marvel's Spider-Man 2 may explore more Spider-Man villains and utilize the popular antihero, Venom. However, continuously playing as Peter Parker or Miles Morales may unfairly limit its storytelling potential in a way Suicide Squad doesn't. While Spider-Man 2's release date is still a ways off, it's unlikely to include the ability to play as Spider-Man's different villains, nor allow them to truly claim victory or receive sympathy for their actions.

Wonder Woman Vs. Marvel's Wolverine Could Decide A Victor

wonder woman game nemesis system confirmed

Wonder Woman and Marvel's Wolverine are two superhero video games fans know little about and are likely years away, but these games could decide the victor between the two comic book giants. Insomniac Games' Marvel's Wolverine game first appeared during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase, where viewers enjoyed a cinematic trailer filled with Easter eggs referencing previous Wolverine comics and X-Men storylines. The game is currently slated for a 2023 release on PlayStation 5, though further information on the project is unknown. Wolverine is a trendy Marvel character due to his personality, connection with the X-Men, and popular portrayal by Hugh Jackman in various movies, which could pose some issues for the DC games.

Like Marvel's Wolverine, Monolith Productions has released very little about the upcoming Wonder Woman game. However, the reveal trailer featured a voiceover from (presumably) Queen Hippolyta, alongside some cinematic images of Diana's armor and body. Given Wonder Woman's extended lifespan, the game could explore several eras and potentially reference other members of the Justice League, like Batman, Superman, Hawkgirl, or the Green Lanterns. Additionally, Wonder Woman uses the Nemesis System from Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, opening the potential for dozens of her iconic villains to appear throughout the in-game world. As one of the Justice League's Big Three, Wonder Woman has the chance to compete against Wolverine and other upcoming Marvel games.

Though WarnerBros may have faltered in the gaming industry with lengthy waits between DC titles, the upcoming Gotham Knights, Suicide Squad, and Wonder Woman may help the company regain footing against Marvel's games. Each company has several games already released and lined up for future launches, but it's unknown how long the superhero craze will continue to dominate entertainment media. Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League are both scheduled for a 2022 release, while Wonder Woman has no scheduled release date as of the writing of this article.

Next: What Monolith's Wonder Woman Game Can Learn From God Of War