Scarier than Superman? Uh oh…
Creative Staff:
Story: Brian Buccellato, Christopher Sebela
Art: Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran
Colors: J. Nanjan
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Shazam battles Black Adam, while Batman finally unlocks the one weapon that may take down Superman.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Injustice definitely delivered on the fun the last time around with the setup for the fight that we get here as we saw Black Adam and Harley beginning the dance. Buccellato and Sebela have been doing pretty well with the series as they get more issues under their belt and breaking up the narrative a bit so that it’s not just the Harley show. This issue is a whole lot of action which makes the return of Sampere and Albarran on the book welcome as they both know how to give it a dynamic look with a real sense of impact, which is all the more important considering the two that are fighting in much of this.
Shazam’s arrival to save Harley from Black Adam was a given and he even mentions later that it was something that he was compelled to do since she had saved Billy previously. For this fight, however, the fun centers on both the longstanding grudge that these two powerhouses have against each other but also Shazam having to realize that he has been on the wrong side all this time while not really saying it. He’s seen Black Adam take things too far but he’s also been complicit in a lot of other things so it’s pretty dicey for him here. The fight itself is pretty good as the two definitely go at it within the confines of how this series works and you get a good sense of the impact and power for the brief duration it runs overall.
The time with Shazam and Harley is pretty fun afterward as he does his best to save her and get her goons to get out of there since bad things are coming. It’s not exactly the best reasoning he uses for why he stays with the regime after this, and she does call him out on it, but you can see him wanting to follow through with everything and try to find a better way than becoming an insurgent. The insurgent effort, for its part, is still moving slowly with what Batman is doing with his other world allies at the moment and that produces its own mild grins since the situation is so grim. I do want to know more of what’s going on here but it’s all being laid out in teases and I’m willing to wait if only because we do get these generally positive kinds of characters in the mix now – and they’re about to have one hell of a face off.
In Summary:
Injustice may not be moving at the breakneck pace that we had in the previous series to some degree, particularly with the Batman subplot, but it’s proving to be working better the more it goes on as the team gets their footing and moves forward with more confidence. Harley has a solid presence to be sure this time around but it’s not a complete Harley book and that helps some since there are so many tales to tell and characters to work with. Sampere and Albarran definitely nail the fight between Black Adam and Shazam, especially by making it feel like it has some impact as it unfolds in the city, and I’m digging seeing the way we’re about to get two Wonder Women meeting each other and wondering how that’s going to unfold in term of mannerisms and such. Good stuff here and it looks like more good stuff ahead.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 20th, 2016
MSRP: $0.99
