View pictures in App save up to 80% data.

Politics are increasingly influenced by culture, a trend that seems to strengthen with each passing day. This is particularly evident in the realm of popular culture.

Entertainment and technology play crucial roles in shaping pop culture, which is why we’re diving deep into the heart of the culture war. In this ongoing column, exclusively for The Western Journal members, we’ll explore some of the most fascinating — and unusual — narratives emerging from this dynamic realm.

Had it not been for the absolute disaster that was "Concord," the most significant video game failure of 2024 would undoubtedly be "Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League."

But at least “Concord” was put out of its misery swiftly.

"Suicide Squad" limped through more than a year as a financial black hole (details to follow) before it was abruptly wrapped up on Tuesday with the release of the game's last update.

And given how much of a slap in the face the final update was to the few people who actually invested time into the game, there’s a case to be made that “Suicide Squad” is every bit as big a failure — if not bigger — as “Concord” was.

To provide some context for those who may not be aware: The "Suicide Squad" is an eclectic team of anti-heroes from the DC universe, compelled to serve the government under duress (they each have explosives embedded in their necks) and sent on assignments that are either deemed "suicidal" or too ethically questionable for superheroes like Superman and Batman to undertake.

The video game fully embraces this concept, as indicated by its title, featuring anti-heroes battling against a twisted incarnation of the Justice League.

Unfortunately, the final update significantly diminished the narrative stakes.

It appears that "Suicide Squad" essentially borrowed from the classic narrative device of "it was all just a dream," resulting in a lackluster ending for the game.

The final update reveals — via static animated stills you can watch below — that whatever narrative heft that would’ve been included with actually killing the Justice League was utterly lost because it turns out you were just fighting clones this whole time.

Honestly:

As one post on social media platform X remarked, “The terrible storyline of Suicide Squad Kill the Arkhamverse is completed with a 2 minute motion comic that brings Batman back. They couldn’t even conclude the game with a 3D cutscene? This is truly the worst DC video game ever made. Good riddance to this abomination of a game.”

One might assume that creating a looter shooter video game centered around one of the most beloved superhero franchises globally would be a guaranteed success, yet the game faced significant criticism for a variety of factors.

Although there are valid concerns related to gameplay, such as the game's controls and microtransactions, these issues tend to be overshadowed by the more significant narrative criticisms aimed at "Suicide Squad."

Indeed, the extreme left's "woke" ideology played a significant role in it.

One of the most controversial segments from the game is when protagonist Harley Quinn unceremoniously kills Batman. For a number of reasons, fans were livid with this choice, including the absurdity of how easy it was for Batman — perhaps the most plot-protected character in fiction history — to be killed by a girl boss.

If only that was the game’s only issue.

All of these negative elements combined to create a game that lost Warner Bros. (the parent company of DC) a whopping $200 million, according to PC Gamer.

That means that the game has somehow managed to deeply burn both fans and financial investors — making it the poster child of the “go woke, go broke” adage.

According to Forbes, despite the monumental failure of “Suicide Squad,” Warner Bros. plans on continuing to make games in the “Arkhamverse” (which is what fans call the DC world started in the “Batman: Arkham” video games, and which includes “Suicide Squad.”)

As a fan, this writer would love for another good Batman game (the “Arkhamverse” is a fantastic quadrilogy that any fans of video games or Batman should play) to exist.

He would love it even more if it’s a good Arkham game not besieged by incessant far-left ideologues.

Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.