“It’s one thing to pretend your evil leader isn’t that evil. Whole other ball of cast to see it on your TV during dinner.”
Creative Staff:
Story: Christopher Sebela
Art: Daniel Sampere, Miguel Mendonca, Juan Albarran
Colors: J. Nanjan
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Harley has her final showdown with the Joker, while Shazam confronts Superman.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With just a few issues left in this series, Injustice: Ground Zero is at a stage where things have to get real. And that’s always fun because it changes up the dynamic of what’s going on and it finally feels like some level of progress is being made. Sebela has been handling that well with some solid moments along the way while also getting me to actually care about Harley’s gang, which I didn’t expect to happen. This installment brings back Daniel Sampere for the art along with Miguel Mendonca on pencils with Juan Albarran on inks. That makes for a pretty great trio bringing the book to life as it has some great angles at times, good locations to work with, and a solid flow that keeps it all moving smoothly and in an engaging way.
The two-track approach is fairly standard in this series and while the balance isn’t always the best it works fairly well, even if I’m admittedly tired of Harley. Her story this time around has some really good moments as she’s dealing with the loss of Gary from what the Joker had done and has bonded really well with her group in a way that a lot of others tend not to, as they’re usually viewed as minions. She’s certainly asserting herself more, hence some bloody whacks on Mister J., but also in doing what’s right by taking her group that’s now christened as the Harley Horde to the streets to deal with what the Joker put out there. I do like that they’ve dropped the awful face masks and have shifted to more painted faces similar to Harley as it gives them more character to work with and a lot more variety for the artists, which can be both good and bad.
The other track in this book is a lot more interesting as it follows what Superman is doing after killing Lex as his super hearing has clued him into just how much the world despises him now, and that they may gear up to do something. That has him bringing his inner circle together that have made the full on choice to do what they feel is right in essentially ruling the world because mankind isn’t up to the task. If we weren’t on full bad guy mode already, we certainly are now. What makes it really interesting is seeing Shazam making a stand about this but being cut short by Superman before he can really say much. Superman is brutal in his takedown of Shazam here but it reinforces just how powerful he is and that he knows the way to deal with just about everyone. The lines have been clear for a long time but this just cements it in an even stronger and bigger way.
In Summary:
I’ve struggled with parts of this series for a while and that’s not really changing here, but the book is at a point where it’s ready to make the real changes it needs to move forward as it works through its conclusion ahead of the new book. Harley’s story works better for me than I guessed and I love the way her group has altered themselves to cement their alignment with her and her worldview. Similarly, things are made starkly clear in a big way with what Superman has become and the complicity of so many on his side even more so. It’s a solid book that has me hopeful for some really big issues to come with what it wants to do and work through for both arcs and the project as a whole.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: February 14th, 2017
MSRP: $0.99
