I don’t offer that sentiment lightly. When I was previously encouraged to read “Injustice: Gods Among Us” it was simply a video game tie in, what I thought was an excuse to sell comics, and to push a videogame with no story into something more than the sum of its fighting game parts. Turns out I was horribly wrong. This is the story of what happens when Superman loses everything. We’ve previously seen him lose his life, his friends, and his planet. But what happens when Metropolis is wasted in an instant? What happens when Superman is tricked into killing Lois Lane and his unborn child?
Superman goes insane. Or more accurately he goes on a righteous crusade. Tired with the bureaucracy that ropes heros into saving lives rather than stopping danger, Supes takes on his own preemptive strike foreign policy. It’s staggering to think it’s taken this long for someone to write Superman as an insane tyrant. Tom Taylor does it with ease, showing a saddened and lost hero who still acts true to his moral compass. He’s just changed the way he wants to deal with fighting back.
He’s unconcerned with saving lives, he’s perfectly fine with killing if it means saving lives. It makes a lot of sense too. So much so that many of the other members of the Justice League decide to align with Superman’s cause. Except for Batman, who sees the danger of what Superman could and will certainly become: A unkillable God who rules with an iron fist.
While Year One of the story mostly deals with Superman’s rise to power and loss of control, it’s year two where the story hits a boiling point. Superman has destroyed Darkseid’s minions in a display of raw power, broken Batman’s back, and allied himself with Lex Luthor. Now former sworn enemies have come together to create a new world order using pills that could bestow superhuman strength and power onto anyone willing to take it. Together they can pick and choose the genetically superior members of society and rule the world.
With Batman broken, and Gotham under martial law from the new super-soldiers policing the streets, things are looking pretty grim for the state of freedom across the globe. Of course, Tom Taylor spins it perfectly by bringing the events of the earth to the attention of the cosmic part of the DC Universe. The Green Lanterns are not impressed and afraid of what Superman may become so they head to Earth in order to take down Superman. Of course Superman is ready having now allied himself with Sinestro.
Bruno Redondo’s pencils are nothing if not consistent. They are clean and give the perfect tone to a superhero book, but ultimately don’t offer much in terms of variation or page layout. Even with the comic not being visually demanding, it manages to impress. He handles action with ease, and everything is clear and easy to understand, even when there is a thousand lanterns descending from the sky.
Nothing in “Injustice: Gods Among Us” is sacred. Taylor plays with expectations and murders characters left and right. The long standing rule that death doesn’t matter in comics is eradicated and once you watch Superman beat one of his fellow Justice Leaguers to dead with his bare hands you’ll understand the world you’ve entered.
This isn’t a tie in comic, this is a complete restructuring of the DC Universe that makes complete sense. It’s thought-provoking, socially conscience, and a complete revelation for the world of capes and tights. I seriously haven’t had this much fun reading a proper DC book in a long while. And better yet, the story of “Injustice: Gods Among Us” has already hit year three. That means we’re in for a hell of a lot more death and destruction, and while year two seems to deal with the cosmic players coming into the mix, year three sees everyone’s favorite British bastard Constantine enter the ring.
Superhero books often boil down to who’s punching who harder, and I’m happy to say that “Injustice: Gods Among Us” is so much more. Imagine the superpowered beings who we entrust to protect us, decide to rule us. It’s a cruel state of affairs and something we couldn’t do anything about. It’s within character and one of the most epic storylines DC has ever crafted. Don’t miss the most cinematic and effective experience DC has to offer. You may just pass it up on the shelves come Wednesday, but you’d be making a huge mistake.
