Spoiler Alert: This article has major spoilers related to Injustice 2 #44Â created by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Mike S. Miller, Juan Albarran, Rex Lokus, J. Nanjan and Wes Abbott, on sale now.
The Injustice games are renowned for the extreme depiction of violent battles between the favorite DC heroes and villains and some guest stars as well, but, it is the Injustice comics which are probably among the most poignant, well-created, heroic publications of today. They do have violent battles featuring the DC heroes and villains, but, the creators have full freedom to explore the horizon beyond the set lines of the franchise. This allows them to focus on what the game characters are not doing in a world where Superman has become a dictator who was dethroned after a Batman led insurgency.
The comic Injustice 2Â has been able to focus on characters like Booster Gold, Plastic Man and Teen Titans, which fill the void between the two games and different stories/protagonists in a manner which greatly resembles the classic weekly series, 52.
The latest issues of the weekly digital publications have offered the best of this comic, and although Kal-El is imprisoned for his criminal activities, a new Superman has emerged to become the leader of the DC Universe heroes, and to remind people what the Man of Steel really values.
Phantoms
The biggest missing factor of Injustice games is the Teen Titans lineup; barring Cyborg and Raven, they are all absent. This fact was admitted during an Annual tie-in comics related to the first game, Injustice: Gods Among Us. A lot of the Teen Titans were present in Metropolis when Joker flattened the city by blowing up a nuke. Kid Flash was dead in a Flash, and although Superboy tried saving Beast Boy, he failed to save his friend. In the wake of news about Joker having forced Superman to murder Lois Lane and the fact that Superman killed the Joker in retaliation, Superboy stood true to the values taught to him by Kal-El, even when Kal-El himself has forgotten them, leading to a conflict between the duo.
After it became clear that Superman was unstoppable, Superboy tried confining him within the Phantom Zone. However, despite the support of Red Robin, Starfire and Wonder Girl, they could not take down the Man of Steel. A powerful punch cracked Superboy’s ribs which pierced his heart, leading to the Boy of Steel suffering internal bleeding. To save his life, Superman trapped him and the remaining Teen Titans in the Phantom Zone, and that’s where they remained during the first game’s events before the time came for Batman and team to orchestrate a Kryptonian breakout.
Batman utilized Plastic Man and his son Offspring’s elasticity as a tether to the real world, which allowed Eel O’Brien to get inside the Phantom Zone and locate the Teen Titans. Although Wonder Girl, Starfire, and Red Robin escaped, Superboy was forced to stay back, and he wasn’t there when General Zod escaped soon after The Titans, murdering Tim Drake while he ran away from the Phantom Zone.
A face-off with Ra’s Al Ghul’s android Amazo decapitated Zod, and Batman managed to recruit the now retired Doctor Mid-Nite to undertake the surgery which would transplant the dead mercenary’s heart into Superboy’s body, thus, saving the life of Conner Kent.
While he recuperated in the Fortress of Solitude, in the company of Wonder Girl and his adopted parents: The Kents, Ra’s Al Ghul unleashed Amazo on Dehli, one of the most populated cities on planet Earth. While he was still not fully recovered, Conner Kent found it impossible to stay on the sidelines and decided to jump into the battle, but, only after The Kents gifted him a brand new Superman costume, to make the people realize that the insignia of the House of El still had a meaning.
The danger of Amazo and the extreme manslaughter committed by it, made the old enemies discard their enmity as The Flash and Wonder Woman, former Superman friends during the Regime days, arrived to support and formed a new Trinity to tackle Amazo’s threat, and Conner Kent replaced his mentor in the Trinity. Although the comic doesn’t call him as Superman, he definitely looks to be the Man of Steel flanked by Batman and Wonder Woman. The problem here is that he is not a part of the game, and the comics are a prequel to them, which creates doubt about his destiny and survival during their bid to block Amazo’s destructive endeavor.
