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Deadshot, being race-swapped out of the blue, is arguably one of the biggest and most jarring aspects of Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League, especially for fans of the Arkhamverse games. While Deadshot has predominantly been shown as a black character both in comics as well as the DCEU movies, he was initially introduced as white.
With the recent release of Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League, we do get some answers as to why the character was race-swapped. However, the explanation doesn't sound as interesting or convincing for such a change. It wouldn't have been much of an issue if Rocksteady Studio's latest title hadn't been canon to the Arkhamverse.
However, the game being a direct sequel to Batman Arkham Knight does complicate the matter of Deadshot being race-swapped. Here's everything you need to know about Deadshot in Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League and the controversy surrounding his skin tone.
Note: Aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the author's opinions.
Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League Deadshot race-retcon explained
Deadshot first made his canonical appearance in Rocksteady's Batman Arkham series in 2011's Batman Arkham City. The character can be found in the very first sequence of the game as one of the prisoners under Hugo Strange's private security firm, TYGER. Unfortunately, players don't interact or meet with Deadshot in Batman Arkham City.
However, in 2013, with the release of Batman Arkham Origins, players finally get to meet Deadshot, donning his iconic costume, albeit with a few modern touches. Chosen as one of the eight assassins to eliminate the Batman by Black Mask, Deadshot in Batman Arkham Origins serves as a set-piece boss fight akin to Electrocutioner.
However, unlike the Deadshot in Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League, the one in Batman Arkham Origins as well as Batman Arkham City, is not portrayed as a person of color. This raises many questions, given the nature of Rocksteady's latest title as a direct sequel to the Batman Arkham Trilogy.
The game does try to address this race-retcon situation at the start, where Captain Boomerang asks Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot, "Isn't Deadshot supposed to be white?" Later in the story, Floyd addresses this by saying the previous Deadshot was an imposter whom he assassinated before getting captured by Amanda Waller.
While on some levels, the explanation does make sense, but it also feels lazy. If Deadshot was already an established character, appearing in multiple games within the Batman Arkhamverse, why race-swap him without rhyme or reason? Yes, you can argue that making Deadshot black brings the characters closer to their movie counterparts.
However, given Batman Arkham series predates the DCEU films and has its own established lore, and characters, completely separate from movies and comics, race-swapping an already existing character wasn't necessary. While I do like the characterization of Deadshot in Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League, I do feel the race-retcon was uncalled for.
