He protected the world for decades. After his world was lost, blasted to smithereens, He embraced a world he did not even belong to, protecting its inhabitants and its legacy from every threat that pushed the planet towards the brink of extinction. And what did he get in return – wrath, contempt, hatred, envy. And yet he carried on. Following the path of absolute righteousness, Superman became the Big Blue Boy Scout. He was the avatar of hope, harmony, peace, and honor. He looked and seemed infallible. In Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, Superman finally went rogue. Why did he embrace the Dark Side? Why did Superman become evil in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League?
The new DC game based on Task Force X was recently announced during the DC FanDome event. Rumors were rife on Rocksteady’s newest project. It was supposed to be a spin-off series of the Batman Arkham games. The first of its kind game that will not feature any member of the Bat Family, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will have a lot more action, much better world-building, and many different DC Characters – heroes and villains alike, that the Arkham games could not feature due to lack of creative leg room.
The game was initially teased with just a logo and the image of Superman. Superman had a shooting reticle pasted on his head. We knew from the beginning that the Man of Steel would be one of the prime focuses of the game. But the trailer revealed that we would not be able to play as the Man of Steel. We would be using the members of the Suicide Squad to instead fight Superman, who for reasons as of now unknown, has gone rogue and turned into a cold-blooded mass murderer. The logo along with the trailer made at least one thing clear – this was not going to be a regular superhero game. Instead of fighting the villains, the villains would in turn fight rogue heroes. To top it all off, the villains would be tasked with fighting the biggest, meanest, and strongest superhero of the DC Universe.
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The trailer of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League begins with the city of Metropolis being shown as ground zero for an alien invasion. A Skull ship floats atop the city. Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark are the members of the Task Force X sent to deal with the “Alpha Target”, something or someone Amanda Waller wants to be taken down at all costs. First assumed to be a humanoid robot figure, the real truth is revealed a while into the trailer. The Alpha Target turns out to be Superman. After ‘saving’ a Helicopter Pilot only to burn him alive using his Heat Vision, Superman turns to the Suicide Squad. He is the one that is taking over Metropolis. He is the one the Suicide Squad were sent to kill.
Things just got a lot more interesting.
The trailer ends on a rather humorous note. But it leaves us with lot many questions than answers. Why did Superman become evil? Is there a reason behind him going rogue? What is the meaning of all this? There is more to this trailer than what meets the eye.
We have two theories to give us a fairly accurate answer. Let’s dive in.
It is not Superman
Our first theory is that the “Alpha Target” Waller wants to be eliminated at all costs is not even the Man of Steel. Brainiac is a being of many talents. The Coluan’s level of intelligence is enough for him to understand the secrets behind the Source Wall. He has traveled countless worlds, collected infinite amounts of planets and civilizations to call him-self a “Collector of Worlds”. In the DC Universe and the larger Multi Verse, there already are a number of superheroes and villains with the same skill-sets as Superman. We would go so far as to say some are as equally strong as Kal-El.
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What if the Evil Superman in question is not even Superman at all? What if he is actually an impostor who happens to have the same powers? The Daxamites are descendants of Kryptonian colonists. They have similar powers like Kryptonians under a yellow sun. Mon-El is a popular Legion of Superheroes member and a Daxamite. What if the Superman in question was Mon-El? He is not the only candidate though. Earth 3’s Ultraman, Hank Henshaw aka Cyborg Superman, Superboy Prime – all of them have same powers as Superman. All of them are evil. This theory states that Brainiac has either enslaved or struck up a deal with someone who looks and has the same powers as Superman.
Brainiac is Mind-Controlling Superman
This would be the most obvious option. Superman’s morality would never allow him to kill an innocent bystander. The Skull Ship of Brainiac that is hovering over Metropolis gives us our biggest hint. Brainiac is known to use his powers to possess the minds of other superheroes, turning them into his slaves. In the comic books, the Skull Ship has another special function other than being Brainiac’s Flagship – it can amplify Brainiac’s Mind-Control powers, and boost its range. If you guys know Brainiac, you would agree that he has had a history of getting under Superman’s skin and turning him against his allies. He has done that multiple times in the comic books.
When the Skull Ship made its touchdown over at Metropolis, all of us expected something of this sort. The title itself gave it away. If Superman and the rest of the Justice League are indeed Brainiac stooges now, then it is probably safe to assume the Coluan has managed to worm his way into their minds. In the trailer, just before Superman discharges his heat vision to disintegrate the Chopper pilot, we see an aura of purple energy being dissipated. Purple energy is a signature Brainiac move. When he takes over other people, there is a steady discharge of purple light from their bodies. He is following a tried and tested strategy – To take over the Earth and add her to his collection, he needs to take over the strongest champion the blue planet has to offer. In this case, it was Superman he needed to turn to the dark side. And it looks like he just did!
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Whatever be the case, one thing is for sure – Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will let you fight the Justice League. We never admitted it but it was our dream to fight the strongest superheroes in comic book history in a game. Rocksteady just gave us something we ourselves did not know we wanted. An Evil Superman is the least of the Suicide Squad’s problems. What if Brainiac has the entire Justice League has his personal henchmen?
