Superman takes on Batman with devastating results.
Okay, that was...........unexpected.
For those of you who don't know, Injustice Gods Among Us the comic just concluded it's final arc (for now).
And boy, did it deliver. I'm so looking forward to Tom Taylor taking up Earth 2 after this.
When this project started, things were quite grim for Tom. Make Superman turn into a dictator and a person who will resort to killing at the drop of a hat? That was something I never thought ANYONE would take up, especially someone who's confessed to loving Superman all his life.
But he did it. In 36 chapters, he managed to convert the man of steel into a murderous head-case without jumping the shark. And these final 3 chapters cemented it.
Yes, there have been some massive hurdles (Nightwing's rock accident for one), but generally it was a very good series highlighting how an iconic alien hero forgoes his humanity and becomes someone he would have come to blows with earlier.
Well, back to the final arc.And cue SPOILERs..............
As most of you know, a certain hero died at the end of the last arc. Yes, poor Oliver Queen ended up at the wrong end of Superman's massive fists. He was part of a group led by Batman to infiltrate Superman's Fortress of Solitude where the big guy was keeping his mass-produced Super-pills.
Well, Oliver did manage to send one pill out for Batman to reproduce, but seeing Superman kill a 'hero' for the first time was a little disconcerting (though it was nothing compared to what he did near the end of the game). He's totally lost it. Even seeing his Pa with an arrow though his shoulder does nothing when he sees a pill is missing.
The humanity that grounded him is gone, completely.
We get a poignant moment when Jor-El comforts the two Kents after both of them fail to make him see reason. In the rebel hall, Batman and the group is back. Batman tells everyone to pack up and leave. When Catwoman fails to comply, he gasses her. You can see how that would feel like betrayal to her.
So, one final conflict. The end of the World's Finest.
And it all expands in a very unexpected way. First of all, it seems Luthor is the shady guy warning Batman to leave the cave. But as the serum decoding is still going on, Bruce stands his ground.
Then he comes. But it doesn't play out like most previous encounters. No body-armour, no kryptonite, no grand scheme.
Bruce just psychologically manipulates Superman by reminding him of Oliver's murder and playing his marriage with Lois on the monitor.Then, when he notices the process has been completed, he diverts Superman's attention using the bats in his cave. But the poor bats get vaporized by his heat vision and Bruce is caught moments before he reaches the pills.
Then this happens.
For people who don't know, this is the same iconic pose Bane took while breaking Bruce's back in Knightfall.
It appears Superman has won and Batman is crippled. But help comes from the most unexpected corner.
Yes, the butler did it.
He absolutely fists Superman to the ground! If we don't get an Alfred DLC in the future, I'll be crushed!
Well, Alfred helps Bruce up and when Superman finally recovers, he brands Batman a terrorist infront of a public assembly.
The battle lines have been drawn..................
SPOILERS END
A thoroughly enjoyable read with enough interesting twists (if you can get past the Superman-turns-evil thing), I give it 8.5 out of 10.
+Great twists to the Worlds Finest battle
+Artwork mostly great
+Good character touches from Jor-El to Alfred
-Superman's descent still not totally convincing
-Coloring is wrong in places and group shots are not drawn well
No comments:
Post a Comment