Emperor Superman, indeed!
Creative Staff:
Story: Brian Buccellato
Art: Tom Derenick
Colors: Rex Lokus
Letters: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Flash has to face Superman’s wrath as a result of giving aid to Batman. Is a permanent rift forming in the regime?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
After some big action issues where things got intense, Injustice slides back to more character material here in a pretty solid and engaging way. The big action pieces definitely are what the book thrives on, but it succeeds with those because of the character interactions and the way their belief system works, which is what’s separating the two sides of heroes. The story also worked well the last time around because of Batman being back in the thick of things and having another encounter between him and Superman that was full of intensity. But that kind of storytelling can go on only so long before it just becomes drawn out, so I’m rather glad that Injustice has shifted gears here as Buccellato works one of the background stories as Tom Derenick returns on the art chores – always a welcome sight.
The main focus here really is on Flash after all that happened. We know he’s been somewhat conflicted for some time, similar to Cyborg, but he’s still hoping that he can be there to help keep things on the right side when it comes to Superman. In one of the flashback scenes to five years ago after Superman killed the Joker, we get it clear about how and why he was going to stick by Superman as he talks to Iris, something that eventually became a breaking point between the two. For Flash, it’s something that definitely fits into his mindset of wanting everyone to get along and do the right thing, just that it may take some time and coaxing. So seeing how he tries to figure this out and revisits Iris for a bit is welcome, though naturally in the years since things have changed between them, especially since she seems to be a part of a resistance group of some sort.
Though I really like the time with Barry and Iris, it’s the time in Regime that just stands out so much. Superman’s beyond frustrated with what Flash did in letting Batman go, though there’s plenty of honesty in the reason why considering he still remembers very much who they used to be before going dark like this. Superman has become more and more unhinged, especially after Bizarro, and seeing how he lashes out at Flash is pretty intense. Derenick captures this fight well since it’s not the easiest thing sometimes to to bring a fast moving Flash fight to life, but it’s balanced with great expressions from the rest of the members there that can’t believe Superman is going that far with one of their own. But that’s just it, they haven’t realized that Superman doesn’t really consider Flash one of their own much longer based on what happened.
In Summary:
Injustice puts the Flash in a new place and I’m curious to see how it plays out because you can see a number of very bad end paths for him based on what’s happening. I liked the time with him and Iris as it reconnects him to the past he separated himself from in order to try and work the greater good in keeping Superman on the right path, but I also really liked that we see that Superman is anything but on the right path and is nearly unhinged as he goes after Flash over what happened with Batman. It’s putting the Flash in a real pickle that he can’t exactly outrun as the only thing to do is actually make a real choice that will alter his path significantly.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: June 21st, 2016
MSRP: $0.99
