Rocksteady Studios, the team behind the seminal Batman: Arkham series, is currently in the process of developing a new action-adventure game in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. It was announced at DC Fandome 2020, but got pushed from the initial 2022 release window to spring 2023, which means fans are likely feeling the long wait since Rocksteady's last title, Batman: Arkham VR from 2016. In the meantime, DC Comics fans can expect WB Games Montreal's Gotham Knights this October.
Still, the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is garnering all kinds of attention for its Sunset Overdrive-esque trailers, attention to detail, and characters matching their comic counterparts. Many are excited to get the chance to play as villains and anti-heroes alike as they take on the Brainiac-controlled Justice League members with Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark. Hopefully, King Shark's raw power will be embraced by Rocksteady.
King Shark's Origins
King Shark, also known as Nanaue, is an aquatic demigod who first appeared in 1994's Superboy (Volume 4) as a villain. In most storylines, he's the son of Kano, a Hawaiian shark deity, although in the Arrowverse canon he was a meta-human born from government experimentation. Before joining Task Force X, King Shark acted as a serial killer off the coast of Honolulu, where he devoured humans.
Large parts of King Shark's personality seem to change across different comics and mediums, as he can be extremely ferocious, a pacifist computer lover in the Harley Quinn TV series, or a simple meathead as seen in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad.
King Shark's Abilities
Regardless of his personality or origins, King Shark is always a threat to be taken seriously. Aside from the controversial decision to include King Shark and Captain Boomerang in the gun-heavy title, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League should embrace his raw strength and regenerative abilities to make playing the character against Justice League heroes an enjoyable experience.
It goes without saying that this famous shark villain has superhuman strength, endurance, and speed, which become even more of a force to be reckoned with underwater. Like an Atlantean, he can breathe in and withstand the pressure of the deep sea, swim quickly, and communicate telepathically. He can even control other sharks if necessary, though it seems unlikely this ability will be observed in Suicide Squad. In some comics he is also resistant to cold, which allows him to team up with villains such as Killer Frost, a friendship which is displayed in the animated film Batman: Assault on Arkham.
One of his strongest attributes is his ability to heal fatal wounds, as well as any damage to his teeth. Adding a healing ability on a cooldown would be an interesting element for a playable King Shark in Kill the Justice League. King Shark is even able to regenerate entire limbs within the span of a week. His skin, as suggested in Gunn's The Suicide Squad film, is nearly impenetrable, and Amanda Waller was unable to insert a microchip into his head. However, in the game it looks like there is still a remote bomb in King Shark's neck. Still, King Shark is able to tank an incredible amount of damage, from buildings collapsing to jumping from impressive heights, and even barrages of bullets. In a storyline where King Shark is battling the Silicon Dragons, a bomb detonates in his belt he's wearing, but he survives without much damage.
From gameplay trailers, it also appears that despite the shark demigod's hulking body, he's able to keep up with Harley, the Floyd Lawton version of Deadshot, and others while on land. Having a character that can deal big damage while taking a lot of hits may make King Shark the perfect shield for his teammates. In the "Flash and Burn" trailer that was released in December 2021, fans can even spot him racing up the side of a Metropolis building with a gigantic minigun.
While Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is likely going to rely heavily on shooter elements, seeing as every playable character is equipped with some type of gun, hopefully the developers leave room for interesting strategies as in the Arkham series. The delay to 2023 hopefully means Rocksteady is taking its time to make the open-world adventure as refined as possible.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will be available in 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
