Ricky Church continues his countdown to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with Injustice: Gods Among Us…
Superman is without a doubt one of the most heroic figures in fiction; he’s uncompromising in his belief in the goodness individual people and the world has to offer. He’s a beacon to ordinary people and heroes throughout the DC Universe, including even Batman. Though it is feared, as irrational as it may be, Superman could take over or destroy the planet should he ever feel the need to. What if he was mind-controlled by an enemy, exposed to Red Kryptonite or suffered a massive trauma, one devastating enough to change his worldview?
Much as I did for the animated Batman/Superman Movie, I’m switching the Countdown up by recommending the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us. Batman and other members of the Justice League are pulled into an alternate universe where The Joker manipulated Superman into accidentally destroying half of Metropolis and killing Lois Lane with his unborn child. In response, Superman killed Joker and decided he needed to take a firmer hand on the world in order to prevent tragedies like this. This led the alternate Batman to form a resistance group against Superman’s regime after he began taking power. For 5 years this Batman has fought Superman, but he and an actual good version of Lex Luthor are all that’s left of the rebel movement.
For a fighting game heavily influenced by Mortal Kombat, Injustice’s story actually has a surprising amount of depth to it. It’s not just a superhero, button-smash fest, but has a lot of great character development with the Justice League’s dopplegangers, especially Regime Superman as he descends further into darkness. The gameplay is also very fun with excellent fighting mechanics, utilizing a host of moves and a destructible environment and multiple stages in a level. Some of the heroes KO moves are also quite awesome to watch, particularly Aquaman’s as he calls upon sharks to take a bite out of his enemies. Injustice also has a stellar voice cast, notably recruiting DC veterans Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly and Susan Eisenberg back as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman respectively. Each voice actor gives a terrific performance and really sells the emotional beats of the story, like the alternate Batman and Superman’s broken friendship.
If you don’t have the game, there are several videos on YouTube which have stitched the game’s cinematics into a movie. DC has also been publishing a digital comic detailing how Superman and his regime took power in the 5 years prior to the game’s main events. First written by Tom Taylor and now Brian Buccellato, the series has explored exactly how and why Superman went down this dark path and the ways Batman tried to stop him. The comic is a good read of an alternate world with some very well written issues and is now in Year 5, leading right up to the start of the game.
Ricky Church
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Originally published March 20, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
