DChas found itself in some troubled waters once again, and this time the water is deeper than ever before. The last few years have seen two quite severe commercial disappointments come fromDCin the form ofGotham KnightsandSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. And to top things off, Monolith’s Wonder Woman game has just been canceled. There’s currently no clear way out for DC, but the new heads of the DCU, James Gunn and Peter Safran, seem open to ideas.
Along with reportedly meeting with NetherRealm and Rocksteady about creatingnew DC video games, James Gunn and Peter Safran recently stated that they’d be “open” to the idea of a DC equivalent ofMarvel Rivals. That could be one way for DC to get out of its current predicament, but another solution might lie in an upcoming Marvel project.
DC Should Take Inspiration from Black Panther’s Leaked Premise
Black Panther’s Recent Leaks Explained
Back in July 2023, EA announced abrand-new AAA studio, Cliffhanger Games. For its first project, Cliffhanger was tasked with creating a Black Panther game. Aside from confirmation that it’ll be a third-person, single-player action-adventure game, little has been officially detailed about Cliffhanger’s Black Panther game. But almost two years after its announcement, Black Panther has been the subject of a few leaks.
On February 21, the leaker TheGhostOfHope took to Twitter to share a few alleged details aboutEA’s upcoming Black Panther game. According to the leaks, players will be able to choose who takes on the mantle of Black Panther during the game’s opening moments. Potential candidates reportedly include T’Challa, M’Baku, Shuri, Killmonger, and more, all of whom will apparently have access to a unique arsenal of weapons, armor, and gadgets.
TheGhostOfHope’s leaks also mentioned an over-the-shoulder point-of-view, and a dynamic story that reacts to the player’s choices by providing unique missions. The leaks also claimed Cliffhanger is trying to “replicateauthentic African Martial Arts,” and integrate those fighting styles with superhuman abilities and high-tech gadgets.
Black Panther’s Leaked Premise Could Fit a Few DC Heroes Perfectly
In the world of superhero comic books, passing down a mantle is a fairly common occurrence, but it’s one that’s rarely been adapted in the world of video games. When it has, the decision of whom that mantle should go to is virtually never placed in the player’s hands.Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, for instance, ends withMiles Morales becoming New York’s only Spider-Manwhile Peter Parker takes a break from being a hero, but players didn’t get to choose that narrative route themselves.
If the recent leaks are true and Cliffhanger’s Black Panther game does let players choose who becomes the eponymous protector of Wakanda, then it could break new ground for superhero video games. And DC could apply that same premise to plenty of its own heroes.
A Green Lantern game where players choose betweenHal Jordan, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, or John Stewart, or a Flash game where players pick between Wally West, Barry Allen, and Jay Garrick could offer a celebration of DC’s history that’s unlike any video game adaptation that’s come before them. Offering a variety of playable characters would also go a long way in spicing up gameplay, with each hero having a suite of unique abilities, traversal mechanics, and character relationships. It would undoubtedly be a lot of effort to make every playable hero feel distinct and fleshed-out, but it could be the type of ambitious display that DC needs right now.
