Metropolis
has been destroyed by a nuclear device planted inside a pregnant Lois
Lane by the Joker, a grieving Superman has taken the law into his own
hands and killed the Joker and declared that no one else will suffer
while he is still around. With the help of likeminded heroes they
have set about policing the world to restore order, but not everyone
agrees with Superman and a band of heroes led by Batman are
determined to stop him at any cost.
Injustice
Gods Among Us Vol:2
The
gulf between the two factions of heroes led by a Superman who is now
willing to kill, and Batman who isn’t becomes even wider in this
second volume of the game tie-in. Superman and his team are now
policing the planet with the aim to bring war, tyranny and injustice
to an end, all admirable goals but when you’re willing to let
people die, be killed or even kill to achieve those goals then
questions will be asked. The main man doing the asking is Batman who
is not only actively challenging Superman and his team, he is
covertly trying to destroy them from within which begs the question
who's way is right and who’s is wrong?
There
are some interesting subplots also running through the book Damien
Batman’s son has aligned himself with Superman against his farther,
setting up farther and son issues that you would not want to have in
your life. The Flash and Billy Batson (Shazam) are starting to
question Superman’s and an increasingly out of control Wonder
Woman’s methods, even Superman’s parents are concerned that their
son is spiraling out of control and behaving like a petulant child.
Their concern is so strong that they are willing to ask for help from
Lex Luther in stopping him, Lex is a friend of Superman’s in this
universe but as always with Lex his character runs much deeper than
that of a mere friend.
Batman’s
team is also coming apart with Huntress not totally disagreeing with
some of the actions Superman is taking, and other heroes like Green
Arrow not totally trusting Batman due to the fact he still won’t
share his true identity, his plans or any intel he picks up.
Thrown
into the mix are a story with Darkside and his son and a
fantastic Harley Quinn and Lobo story, as bounty hunter Lobo is hired
by Superman to track down Harley who he holds responsible for the
death of Lois amongst others. Unfortunately for Lobo Harleys not the
easy target he thought she would be, and things quickly come apart
for him quite literally at one point.
The
short story which is set 6 months prior to present events and
features a young boy who is helped by Superman when his bike is
damaged, cleverly shows the change Superman has undergone which is further underlined when
the young man says ''I miss the Superman we had before he became all dark and
angry''.
One
thing this book does not do is pull any punches as both sides make
choices that will make you question who is right and who is wrong,
the death of an established hero and the climatic confrontation
between Batman and Superman which ends with a twist on a classic
Batman scene. Are both unexpected and shocking, with the Batman scene
as shocking today as it was when it first came out.
This
collected edition covers issues 7-12 of the series as well as the
annual, the writer is Tom Taylor who also has the reins on DC’s
Earth Two book which is another alternative take on the DC heroes.
Tom for me is quickly becoming one of the must read writers in comics
and I will certainly be checking out any of his future work, the art
is patchy and ranges from superb to ok but this can happen with this
type of book which was originally released as a digital weekly then a
printed monthly. However the art does not detract you from the story
which is the best game tie-in story I have ever read, it’s just
that the changes in art style are more noticeable when it’s
collected together in one volume as it is here.
After
reading the first volume I resisted the temptation to start picking
up the issues that now make up this volume, however after reading
this one and the way it ended I don’t think my resolve will be that
strong this time around.
