Unceremoniously killing off one of the most popular superheroes of all time — Batman — is one thing. After all, superhero deaths are about as permanent as your first set of teeth.
However, tarnishing the legacy of his most popular video game series is a whole other level of disregard for fans.
Even worse than either of those would be ending the career of the most beloved Batman voice actor of all time on a sour note, after his passing.
“Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League” went for the whole trifecta. The controversial video game, released on Friday, has been at the center of controversy ever since leaked cutscenes began showing the ways in which the game chose to kill off — and denigrate — various beloved DC heroes.
For example, after gunning down the Flash, at one point, a player character chooses to urinate on his corpse, per Forbes.
But no moment has received more ire online than the end of Kevin Conroy’s Batman.
Conroy, best known for voicing the caped crusader in the seminal “Batman: The Animated Series,” died back in 2021.
Given how frequently Conroy voiced the character, many fans were safe in assuming they’d have a few more chances to soak in his performance as Bruce Wayne.
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What no one saw coming, however, was the possibility that Conroy’s final role might just involve the utter deconstruction of one of the most popular iterations of the character.
Rocksteady Studios, the developer behind “Kill the Justice League,” has made it clear that the new game is set in the same universe as the “Batman: Arkham” series.
Before the new release, the series was given a definitive ending with 2015’s “Batman: Arkham Knight,” (spoilers ahead) at the end of which it is heavily implied Bruce Wayne has faked his death and hung up the cowl to preserve the legacy of the Batman.
Rocksteady Studios chose to un-do this ending, bringing Batman out of retirement, only for him to be brainwashed by the supervillain Brainiac and eventually bested by one of his lesser enemies, Harley Quinn.
A leaked scene of the game revealed weeks before its release showed Quinn exacting revenge on her longtime enemy.
And it’s inarguable that Batman — arguably the most popular superhero in the world — and Conroy’s portrayal of him goes out not with a bang, but a whimper.
In the clip, a weak and debilitated Batman asks Quinn if she’s done giving her “bad stand-up routine.” Harley replies that one must “end on your best joke” before shooting him point blank in the head.
The subsequent fan outrage online was intense. This was not only for the story choice and its implications for the “Batman: Arkham” series, but also because many believed it to be Conroy’s final performance.
A bunch of fakers wanted to be welcomed into our hobbies just so they could make it queer then destroy what we love https://t.co/ve1vQCRBB7
— Melonie Mac ✝️🎮🖤 (@MelonieMac) January 29, 2024
Your hero turned evil and killed by a strang (((white))) woman
Enjoy AAA games https://t.co/HLe1FZoW8X
— Kaguya’s Top Gal (@hayasaka_aryan) January 29, 2024
But was this actually Conroy’s final performance as the dark knight?
Based on a recent report from IGN, apparently not.
Conroy is set to appear one last time in “Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 3,” a project with a lot more positive buzz behind it than “Kill the Justice League.”
Although “Part 1” came out in January, a release date for “Part 3” has yet to be announced.
Despite that somewhat welcome news, many fans are still harboring quite a bit of resentment towards the game — and understandably looking to get their money back.
