Suicide Squad Dev Explains Why Joker Has A New Look

Warning! Batman: Arkham series spoilers ahead.The Joker is back in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and the developers at Rocksteady have just shared some insight into why this new version of the Clown Prince of Crime looks so different from the one from past Arkhamverse games. Although the Joker fatally succumbed to Titan poisoning at the end of 2011’s Batman: Arkham City, there were rumors that Rocksteady was planning to bring the cackling fiend back in some way in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s post-launch DLC.

These rumors were eventually confirmed during a Rocksteady dev diary video earlier this month, which revealed that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s story DLC will explore DC’s multiverse and feature versions of classic villains from alternate universes. The first of these extra-dimensional travelers will be none other than the Joker, who will be unlocked through regular gameplay for free when the inaugural Suicide Squad DLC season launches in March. The Joker will have his own story content as well, set in the aftermath of Brainiac’s attack on Metropolis and the resulting fight against the brainwashed members of the Justice League.

Suicide Squad’s new version of the Joker is already strikingly different from the one players fought in the Batman: Arkham series, and Rocksteady advanced scriptwriter Kate Watson recently opened up about why her team took this approach. During a Q&A session on the official Suicide Squad Discord server (via Comicbook.com), Watson explained that the past Arkhamverse Joker is already so iconic that Rocksteady deliberately set out to make this new version stand out on his own.

Kate Watson elaborated on this by saying that Suicide Squad’s version of the Joker is even more theatrical than the one from the past games, and this is present in his more colorful costume and rocket umbrella-fueled transversal gameplay. She also credited voice actor JP Karliak for bringing the Harlequin of Hate to life, saying that his