Creative Staff:
Story: Brian Buccellato
Art: Marco Santucci
Colors: Rex Lokus
Letters: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Hawkman and Superman are locked in a battle to the death, allowing Batman and his team to escape with the captured Cyborg.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With Injustice hitting closer and close to the end of the run that will lead into the game itself, there’s a lot to like as event feel like they’re coming together in a really good way. The sense of real change has been a big part of this series since it’s working with the kinds of concepts it is, but now everything is falling into that final place, though not every goes according to plan. This installment has Marco Santucci on the art duties once again and there are some really good things with it as the way the layouts have panels bleeding into each other and character motions overlapping in some fun ways. Santucci’s not an artist I’m too familiar with but his work here leaves me curious to see him on something without the kind of deadlines that a weekly book has.
Events here are all about the action so there’s not a lot going on in terms of plot or overall story, though there are some fun character interactions. Katar’s arrival with the mace coated in Kryptonite definitely makes him a compelling opponent to go up against since he’s also just pushed beyond reason at this point, which makes him useless to the insurgency. The fight with Superman is lopsided in both directions as he gets to do some big hits early on before Superman recovers and just beats the snot out of him once he loses the mace as the rest of the Regime shows up. Katar really is just blinded by his anger and fury so it’s no surprise that things go as badly as they do for him here. Katar brings a lot of violence to this installment and Superman returns it in kind, no quarter given, and it’s really not expected to be otherwise.
Amid all this we do get some decent supporting storyline material as well. Batman and Batwoman have scored what they wanted with Cyborg and know enough to get out of there, especially since Batman knows that Katar is fueled by something else. Cyborg’s necessary for a whole other plan as Batman is certainly the type to have plans within plans, so it’s good to see him not get caught up in what Katar is doing. There’s still things to be dealt with when it comes to this as we do see Batgirl getting involved, but it’s just setup and movement than result, which works fine. Add in the rest of the Regime showing up and wanting to stop Katar amid things but being kept to the side – and Barry of all people ending up with the mace in his hands, well, let’s just say things are certainly curious at this point with where it can go.
In Summary:
Injustice is doing what it needs to go get where it needs to be and it’s certainly having fun along the way with it all. Buccellato has the marks he has to hit with it but it’s all infused with some fun material and little twists that, at least for someone like me who hasn’t played the games or been involved with whatever backstory there is there, can just enjoy it for what it is. The fight sequence is solid here and I really wish there was more with what Batman is up to with Cyborg, but the series tends to work its arcs like this. Santucci provides another solid installment overall with some real impact in some of the fight sequences with the way Katar and Superman go at it, resulting in some good fun for fans there.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 26th, 2016
MSRP: $0.99