Superhero comics have been around for the best part of a century now, and in that time a plethora of tropes have gradually cropped up around the medium. These tropes range from character archetypes to common events that appear across the vast majority of superhero comics, and no comic publisher is safe. But being in the game for the longest, it's only natural that DC started many of these trends, and that DC has its own set of unique tropes. One such trope is present throughout the vast majority of Batman media, including the recent Gotham Knights, and the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

While it certainly had its fair share of issues, Gotham Knights was far from being a bad superhero game, and one of its biggest highlights was how well it represented its source material, providing tons of Easter eggs and references, and giving each of the Bat-Family their own chance in the spotlight. And while Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League hasn't had the best reception so far, it does seem to be respecting the source material just as well as Gotham Knights, and that's evident by both games carrying forward one of DC's biggest rules, Batman never dies.

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Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Maintain the Batman Can Never Die Rule

Batman has "died" over 20 times in DC comics, and the vast majority of those times, it's been faked, or he's come back to life almost instantly. The only times Batman truly dies in the comics is when it's an alternate version of the hero, such as Thomas Wayne's iteration of the character. Most of the time, Batman suffers some kind of horrific injury - one that would definitely kill a normal person - but always manages to come back from the brink of death just in time, whether it's via his own intricate plans, or with the assistance of a fellow hero. Or, slightly less frequently, Batman has faked his own death, with one of the most iconic examples being during his battle with Superman in The Dark Knight Returns, where he fakes a heart attack and escapes underground.

This is one of the most common tropes across Batman media, with even movies like The Dark Knight Rises getting in on the action. And now the trope has well and truly made its way to the video game landscape, with both Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League bringing their own unique interpretations of the rule to the table.

Gotham Knights opens up with an intense battle between Batman and Ra's al Ghul in the Batcave. After being mortally wounded, Batman decides to sacrifice himself in an attempt to take Ra's down with him, and he's presumed dead. At the end of Gotham Knights, players discover that Talia al Ghul took Batman's body and revived him via a Lazarus Pit underneath the Batcave, brainwashing him in the process. Batman then ends up sacrificing himself once again to stop the Court of Owls from using the Lazarus Pit, but Gotham Knights sticks by the golden rule, bringing Batman back from the dead, even for just a little while.

It seems like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will also follow this Batman rule. With Suicide Squad technically being in the same universe as Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham series, Batman should be dead, having initiated the Knightfall Protocol at the end of Arkham Knight, which blows up Wayne Manor, presumably along with Bruce Wayne inside of it. However, Batman seems to be back in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, once again being voiced by the late Kevin Conroy, seeming to confirm that Suicide Squad has also stuck by this classic Batman comics trope.

Gotham Knights is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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