Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is the upcoming game from Rocksteady Studios, set in the same DC universe as its Batman: Arkham games. The teaser trailer shows the Squad facing down Superman himself, as he rescues and then shockingly kills a helicopter pilot.
Superman has turned evil before. Sometimes, he is being control controlled, while other times the Man of Steel has let his power go to his head. In some iterations, he turns down a dark path when faced with his inability to truly save the people of Earth. Here are some of the times Superman has turned evil that could be the basis for his portrayal in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
The Death of Lois Lane
Killing Superman’s love interest Lois Lane is one great way to see Clark Kent’s bad side. In the game Injustice: Gods Among Us, Superman forced the entire planet to submit to his iron rule after the Joker tricked him into killing Lois Lane when she was pregnant. The Joker sprays Superman with a kryptonite-laced fear toxin that makes him see Doomsday instead of Lois, causing him to kill her.
This is a great justification for Superman’s fall from grace, explaining in-character how Superman turned to evil of his own free will. While the fear gas causes the initial mistake, Superman’s subsequent actions are entirely of his own free will, and it is possible another traumatic event has caused Superman to go rogue in the new Suicide Squad game.
Mind Control
In one two-part episode of Superman: The Animated Series, Darkseid kidnaps the Man of Steel and mind controls him into believing that instead of being raised in Kansas, he was raised on Darkseid’s world of Apokolips and must conquer the galaxy in the name of his new dark lord. The Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailer shows Brainiac’s giant skull ship attacking the city of Metropolis. Braniac’s ship is psychically linked to the villain, and it is possible that Braniac has found some method to control Superman in a way that would explain his sudden turn.
Black Kryptonite and Split Personalities
Black Kryptonite first began in the Smallville TV show, but has since been used in the comics as well. The substance splits Superman into two separate beings, one representing his good side and the other representing his bad side. Smallville also saw Clark exposed to Red Kryptonite which, while not splitting him in two, caused moral deterioration in comparison to the physical deterioration caused by its green counterpart.
The 1983 movie Superman 3 also saw Superman divided into two distinct personas. One was an immoral version of Superman, while Clark Kent was separated from him and had to defeat his evil self to return as his moral compass. It is possible that Superman has been divided, doubled, or in some way split to create an evil version of Superman that the Suicide Squad must face down, while somewhere out there Clark Kent might be a valuable ally.
Hypnosis
It’s a bit of an overused trope, but in one episode of the Super Friends, the entire gang is hypnotized by Voodoo Vampire aside from Wonder Woman, who has to return to save the day. Super Friends never took itself too seriously, but then again, neither has Suicide Squad.
There are plenty of different reasons that Rocksteady could have for Superman turning evil. The trick will be finding out how to pull it off in a way that is satisfying while still staying true to the character. One thing remains certain, however: the Squad has a huge task ahead of it if they’re going to bring down the Last Son of Krypton in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will release in 2022 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
