Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was formally announced at the DC FanDome event on August 22nd as the latest project from Rocksteady Studios. Rumors and speculation of the title kept fans of the DC Universe abuzz for some time, with the game's official announcement finally confirming the game's existence through a fully cinematic teaser trailer that introduced players to a new story taking place within the Batman: Arkham universe. While the game shares its universe with the critically-acclaimed franchise, the setting of Suicide Squad takes players to another familiar DC Universe locale.
The beginning of the cinematic teaser for the brand-new Suicide Squad title takes gamers to Metropolis, as they see a Skull Ship having made landfall in the middle of the city. As the ship looms ominously in the background, viewers are given the first glimpses of the game's main quartet as Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark are given orders by Amanda Waller to confront their "Alpha Target" at the Metropolis Grand Hotel. Over the course of the Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League trailer, they battle through the city, taking on what appears to be a humanoid life form as the skull ship continues to haunt the backdrop. The ship itself, while not explained in the video, may be very recognizable for those following the history of Superman.
The Skull Ship seen in Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League's trailer is often the mode of transportation used by the entity known as Brainiac, originating from the planet Colu. The ship is often used as an extension of Braniac's own already-immense capabilities, with the ship itself being mentally linked to the super-villain. The Skull Ship is also a failsafe, as it has been shown to be capable of rebuilding Brainiac's body as well as amplifying his telepathic capabilities, with Brainiac using the ship as a conduit to transfer his mind from one body to another or to house his mind to operate the mechanisms within.
What Brainiac's Skull Ship Is Doing In Metropolis
The Skull Ship also serves another function related to the current incarnation of Brainiac in the comics. The current version of the characters is primarily known as a "Collector of Worlds," using his Skull Ship to collect cities from various planets to add to his collection. The Skull Ship enables this by shrinking the cities he wishes to add to his collection down to size, allowing Brainiac to seal it within a container, preserving them while dooming their source planet.
With the Skull Ship featured so prominently in the trailer, the direction of the game's plot seems to be taking shape. Players will take control of the four members of Waller's "Task Force X" through a seemingly-ravaged Metropolis, and with Waller's special underground unit taking on the Justice League, it seems clear that the threat to Metropolis isn't the crew of misfits players will be controlling. Players may find that the true threat to Metropolis are its own heroes turned against it when Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League comes to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in 2022.