The Newest Lego Batman DLC Is Inspired By One Of DC's Most Controversial Movies
"You don't want no beef?"
Now that we’re in James Gunn’s new DCU, DC has mostly moved beyond the Zack Snyder era. Kicked off by 2013’s Man of Steel, the original DCEU was never quite able to escape the shadow of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a disastrous theatrical release for Justice League was the final nail in its coffin. Several projects following Justice League continued to build off casting and aesthetics from Snyder’s universe (Aquaman, Wonder Woman ‘84, the first season of Peacemaker), but with the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League in 2021 and The Flash in 2023, we’ve officially entered a new era of DC Comics live-action adaptations, one eager to forge its own path.
But while film and television have left the Snyder universe behind, video games haven’t followed suit. The recent Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a patchwork of every cinematic era of Batman, which means that Ben Affleck’s armored Batsuit is in the game, along with the Batmobile as it appears in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice — as well as an abundance of meta-jokes about some of the more infamous elements of Snyder’s universe. Now the game is taking that a step further, as the trailer for the next DLC release relies heavily on some narrative beats from one of the DCEU’s most reviled entries.
Yesterday, Warner Bros. Games released the official trailer for Legacy of the Dark Knight’s Mayhem Collection DLC, which includes a host of villain-themed alternate costumes as well as a new “Mayhem Mode,” in which players control The Joker and Harley Quinn and try to cause as much vehicular damage across Gotham City as possible. The DLC also includes a brand new Arkham mission that appears to retell The Joker and Harley’s first meeting, and their resulting escape from the asylum. While it’s exciting to finally be able to play as members of Batman’s rogues’ gallery, what’s even more interesting is the fact that the Arkham mission and Mayhem Mode introduce Task Force X and fill it with members who look ripped straight from 2016’s Suicide Squad, alongside a version of Amanda Waller who looks heavily inspired by Viola Davis’ depiction.
The trailer shows off Katana, Captain Boomerang, and Rick Flag, along with characters like King Shark, Mongal, and Polka-Dot Man from the 2021 sequel The Suicide Squad. That second installment is now official DCU canon, but it’s been quite a while since David Ayer’s 2016 film was referenced in any capacity — leave it to a game that’s left no stone in Batman’s cinematic canon unturned to rectify that. Even if Suicide Squad wasn’t exactly a resounding win for the superhero genre, its inclusion in Legacy of the Dark Knight is proof that the Snyder era still has fans out there excited to see more of it in any way they can.
