A new kind of Batman.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tom Taylor
Art: Bruno Redondo, Juan Albarran
Colors: Rex Lokus
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Things don’t go quite as planned for the new Suicide Squad, which finds itself having to break out of the Pentagon. All of which leads to a battle between Batman…and Batman?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Injustice has definitely been firing on all cylinders for me with the second series underway here and this issue is no different. With Taylor, Redondo, and Albarran working on it again when I expected a shift in the art side at this point, the book definitely has some good flow to it and the artwork is spot on. Redondo has been solid when it comes to layouts in this series while making for some great action pages when we hit those. That’s reinforced this time around with what we get for the setup as well as some more comical sequences to work on with how some of the lesser characters are dealt with. The variety definitely clicks in this issue.
While the two-track approach dominated the recent series, this one is a bit more focused and that makes for a more compelling and linear storyline here. The arrival of Batman the last time around to claim his own Suicide Squad from Amanda Waller, complete with a Harley Quinn within it, it was a kind of surreal piece that worked well but offered up its own questions. That he’s here with guns blazing isn’t traditional Batman to be sure but this series makes allowances for a lot of changes to cope with the world at hand. But we see Batman going in a darker direction here, one where the dialogue makes it clear that this isn’t the same Batman we had in previous adventures, as he begins to whittle away at the Squad to get rid of those that simply aren’t necessary to his cause. Brain’s exploding makes for some cringey pages to be sure, especially since we get to see the person’s horrified look while knowing what’s coming next.
So, when the real Batman shows up, suffice to say it turns into quite the brawl. What’s welcome is that it’s not a tight quarters kind of thing but rather when Faux-Batman is bringing his squad outside to load into choppers so they can be brought to whoever is employing him. Redondo and Albarran deliver some really great action pieces here with the two Batmen going up against each other as the back and forth works very well with lots of impact and movement, but set against the darker skies and the heaviness of the location. While it’s leaving things open to what’s to come and no reveal of who is being Faux-Batman, what we get his a certain kind of enticement level that really does make you want to come back for more while hoping we don’t have to wait too long for a forced reveal.
In Summary:
Injustice 2 has been working well for me and this installment keeps all the energy of the first two and keeps it moving forward really well. I’m curious to see who is behind the cowl and what the plan is for this Suicide Squad. I love that we get some basic members of Batman’s rogues dealt with in a comically violent way but we also get some serious hand to hand action between the two Batmen at hand. Tom Taylor really makes all of this seem easy as he packs a lot into the installment while Redondo and Albarran bring it to life in such a great way with so many details that it’s just a delight to move through bit by bit.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: April 25th, 2017
MSRP: $0.99
