A brave new world.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tom Taylor
Art: Bruno Redondo, Juan Albarran
Colors: Rex Lokus
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
The all-new prequel to the highly anticipated Injustice 2 video game begins here! Original INJUSTICE writer Tom Taylor continues the story from the hit series INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US. Superman is imprisoned, and it’s up to Batman to put the world back together. But with Superman’s iron-fisted regime eliminated, other forces rise up to fill the void. And Batman doesn’t have a lot of allies left to help stop them.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Injustice series took a bit of a detour with the Ground Zero series, one that I think didn’t take as much opportunity as it could with what it had, but now things feel a bit more back on course with Injustice 2. Set as a prequel to the new game coming up that I’ll never play, it features the return of Tom Taylor as the writer. Taylor certainly nailed the tone and craziness in the past years so it’s definitely got a certain comfort here with the pacing and intent. The opening also brings back Bruno Redondo and Juan Albarran to the book, which I’ve got no complaints about as the pair with Rex Lokus delivers a great looking book that covers a lot of ground and has some solid layouts and designs. Simply put, the book feels like it knows exactly what it has to do to hit the ground running – shortly.
There are two main things going on here, though once again Harley is at the center of things and that kind of frustrates me a bit. The opening piece is really quite good with Batman and Superman facing off against each other with Superman under the red lamps in his prison cell. Superman’s lack of regrets for most of it is welcome as it keeps him in character properly while also knowing how to accuse Batman and get under his skin with certain comments. There is a truth to what Superman says in that regard but also in that Superman really changed the balance of power and how the world views people and that has to be dealt with. Can it return to the status quo? That lasts only so long before a new disruption anyway. And the temptation is certainly there for Batman to reshape things, an area that Superman knows he’s going to have a hard time resisting.
Harley’s presence does work throughout the book, first with her agreeing to eventually be his Robin – much to his surprise – and with her setting up shop in the Arrow Cave/Quiver while trying to figure out what to do next. Batman has obviously forgiven her and is giving her a chance to really take her new opportunity in a good way after all she and her crew did at the end of Ground Zero. But, Batman is not the law and we see how the US government is going after her. Considering its popularity, bringing the Suicide Squad in more formally here with Waller and working Harley into it makes a lot of sense and I can see that being played up in the game. At the same time, I’m hoping that Tom Taylor will give us more than a Harley Suicide Squad story for this series and explore the wide variety of what’s out there. That said, well, this is definitely an incarnation that can get whacked pretty hard with little repercussion.
In Summary:
The original Injustice comic series was something that I didn’t get into until about halfway through its run but it definitely caught my attention with its sense of fun, weirdness, and penchant for killing off characters in this self contained universe. The stakes are definitely there and that feels like it’ll play more in this series than it did in Ground Zero, which will help. Tom Taylor knows this universe well and has a great voice for the characters and the tone of the book as well. With the rotating artist list and kicking it off with Redondo and Albarran, the book has a lot to like with great designs and a solid flow for it. I find myself very optimistic with this installment for a very fun run ahead once it gets itself moving in the direction they want to take it. I’m definitely along for the ride once more as it’ll be hella fun.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: April 11th, 2017
MSRP: $0.99
