The Green has picked a side.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tom Taylor
Art: Mike S. Miller
What They Say:
Deadman confronts the Spectre and gets a shocking surprise. Batman and Constantine face off against Swamp Thing.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Bringing Deadman into the game the last time around was a pretty nice and unexpected twist as he was able to get into the mix well with the big players to try and save Constantine. Because Constantine invariably needs saving on some level. The bit played out well, but when you have a power player like the Spectre there, someone like Deadman just can’t hold his own in the slightest. And that’s without having already been thrown off a bit by what he found inside of Shazam. But you have to give Deadman credit in the way he goes after answers from the Spectre as he realizes things just aren’t right there. It’s easy to see heroes stand up to people in general, but something like the Spectre is on a whole other level that you have to really put it into proper context.
The Spectre, on the other hand, is very dismissive of just about everyone at this point outside of Superman since he accomplished what nobody else has. Deadman can’t figure out who it is that the Spectre has bonded with, but it’s obvious that it’s not Corrigan. And that knowledge and insistence on the truth costs Deadman dearly, though for the Spectre it’s little more than the flicking of an ant off of a table. You do have to feel bad for Deadman as he goes through this, emotion all on his sleeve and all, but you also have to admire him for holding it together as long as he does afterwards to return to Nanda Parabat where he hopes for help from Rama Kushna. With death being a thing in this series, I’m glad they gave him the right end here instead of just drawing it out, especially since someone else is taking up the mantle of Deadman that will be fun to watch.
The other half of the book plays in Constantine’s court where he and Batman, now working together more directly since Batman was not pleased by the trap and the fallout from it, and they head off to talk to Swamp Thing to try and draw him to their side, or to not pick a side at all. With his connection to the Green and all that it represents, it makes sense to work that area, especially with what Madame Xanadu had foretold. It’s a really good encounter overall as the three talk, with Constantine and Swamp Thing having quite the history between them, since there’s some sharp words and obvious poking of the hornets nest. But in the end, you really have to appreciate Swamp Thing’s position as he’s largely removed from humanity at this point and the things that Superman has done has largely benefited the Green, making it easy for him to choose a side by default. That certainly shifts the balance, but I do like that they come to an understanding of sorts in order to move forward without opening a new front in the war.
In Summary:
Injustice moves right along with its storyline here and there’s a lot to like on both of the tracks taken. With Deadman, his confrontation with Spectre leads to a change in the status quo to be sure for him, and for who takes over for him in the wake of that “fight” that happens. These kinds of changes are one of the big reasons I like self contained series like this since it can shake things up. The main storyline undergoes its own change as well as we get Batman and Constantine off to try and sway Swamp Thing while realizing that what the Green is going through is wholly different than they thought – if they really gave it any thought at all. It’s a solid position taken and a direction that I like seeing explored if you’re going to continue to incorporate more of the supernatural side into the mainline side.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 2nd, 2014
MSRP: $0.99
