The corruption of Superman continues!
Creative Staff:
Story: Brian Buccellato
Art: Xermanico
Colors: Rex Lokus
Letters: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Superman’s search for loyalists from around the world leads him to Kahndaq—and a confrontation with a not very pleased Black Adam.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Injustice provided for a pretty strong installment the last time around as we saw Barry struggle with what Superman is doing and how it was now impacting him in a more personal way because of Iris. At the same time, we saw how he couldn’t find a real path forward to deal with it which left him no real choice but to admit to everything and submit to Superman. The iron hand of the regime is becoming more and more brutal but not just to those that it views as longtime enemies of peace in the world. It’s now turning more toward allies and those close to Superman and his vision for how the world should be so that, though his eyes, nobody will have to suffer like he did when it came to Lois. It’s an understandable path of corruption to be sure, taking pain and forging it with a single minded vision, but we’re seeing the fallout at long last among close allies.
So it’s little surprise after that incident with Barry that he’s looking to reaffirm allegiance to the cause with others, such as Aquaman, and it’s amusing to see Victor throwing a little snark into it as well. There’s a good sense that Superman will just eliminate anyone at this point and it’s made almost crystal clear to Victor that he’s pushing the limits with the things he’s saying. Of course, the first person on Superman’s list of people to check in on of all people is Black Adam, who has been recovering and keeping quiet in Khandaq since the first year of this series after suffering a harsh defeat. This is a really good sequence overall as Xermanico captures the power of both men as they fight with some great layouts and flow to the action, but it’s the way Black Adam is able to get under Superman’s skin that works the best, reinforcing that Superman has become so much like Black Adam that they’re almost indistinguishable. Only, Black Adam has the sense of when to stop as he realizes that he’s outclassed here since his true priority is protecting his people.
The book digs into a few other areas as well that are pretty good to watch unfold. Kate’s trying to get a sense from Bruce as to whether there really is an option for them to work with at this point and you really hope that something interesting is coming with this because the last page teaser with Hawkman really makes me want to see more of his story. I like the straight talk that Kate insists on and how Bruce is now finally in the right place to just get things done. We also get a couple of pages with Hal and Sinestro as Hal is looking to find out how Zsasz got loose as the loss of Alfred really is having some repercussions to it. Sinestro is pure Sinestro here as he pokes and prods at Hal and it just fits right with the way he delights over pushing his “ally” in these ways, making it all worthwhile as he controls this construct prison.
In Summary:
Injustice has a good sense of things tightening up and the lines becoming even more clearly drawn and stark with how it’s playing out. I’m really enjoying seeing how Superman has fallen here and the determination and anger that drives him as he begins to question all around him on a seemingly regularl basis. Paranoia is running deep with him in a way that some used to attribute to Bruce, though not to this level. Buccellato continues to have some fun here and I’m enjoying the way it’s coming together. This installment also has another really solid run of artwork as Xermanico is one of my favorite artists on this series and the pages with Bruce in the lead mines are fantastic with the brooding and what Lokus brings with the color design.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 5th, 2016
MSRP: $0.99