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Injustice: Gods Among Us - The Complete Collection #5
Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five - The Complete Collection
The endlessly epic saga of superhero dystopia inspired by the hit video game continues! This action-packed graphic novel collects the entirety of the fifth year of the now-legendary Injustice: Gods Among Us saga!
In the war between Superman and Batman, all the heroes have chosen sides. For five years, former friends and allies have fought bitterly, with casualties on both sides. Now, at an impasse, both Batman and Superman realize that to gain ground in their battle, they'll have to do the unthinkable-recruit their former enemies to attack their former friends.
The world of the hit videogame Injustice: Gods Among Us approaches its final conclusion, from writer Brian Buccellato (Detective Comics) and artists including Mike S. Miller (Batman: Arkham Unhinged) and Tom Derenick (Doom Patrol).
Collects Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five #1-20
In the war between Superman and Batman, all the heroes have chosen sides. For five years, former friends and allies have fought bitterly, with casualties on both sides. Now, at an impasse, both Batman and Superman realize that to gain ground in their battle, they'll have to do the unthinkable-recruit their former enemies to attack their former friends.
The world of the hit videogame Injustice: Gods Among Us approaches its final conclusion, from writer Brian Buccellato (Detective Comics) and artists including Mike S. Miller (Batman: Arkham Unhinged) and Tom Derenick (Doom Patrol).
Collects Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five #1-20
480 pages, ebook
First published December 7, 2016
145 people are currently reading
496 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
June 8, 2018
You should read this if you like: any of the DC movies, superheroes punching each other in the face, Batman VS Superman as a concept, Superman going dark, Bat family, Joker, Lex Luthor, other DC villains, Gotham City Sirens, alternate timelines.
This might just be one of the worst DC comics I have ever read. There's no complexity to the plot or the myriad characters that are paraded out at one point or another. The characters remain pretty black and white throughout the story. Any hint of moral dilemma is quickly squished under yet another massive fish fight. At one point, Barry Allen faces a stretch of open road where he literally runs away from his problems. And that pretty much sums up how everyone deals with their problems on Injustice. They blindly ignore reality till the plot requires it of them. And then too, the issues are just as quickly ignored.
But it is not all bad. The only saving grace of this story were the relationships, whether antagonistic or familial, between the many, many characters: Bruce's relationship with Dick, Damien, and Alfred. Ollie and Dinah's epic love story with its heartbreaking, bittersweet conclusion. Lex Luthor's friendship with Superman. Bruce's complex relationship with his city and his people, both criminals and civilians. And lastly, Bruce and Clark/ Batman and Superman's relationship with each other. These are all played out in varying degrees in the background of the story, and its something that would have been really interesting had it been explored more in dept. That is not the focus of the story here, however.
Instead, Injustice is an unrelenting surge of fight scenes after fight scenes! In one of the scenes, Atom engaged in a fight with Superman tells him: "So many different ways you can attack...And yet whenever we come up against someone else just like us, we just punch each other in the face. You know why? Because it feels good!" Brian Buccellato must have taken this quote to heart seeing as how his plot revolves around having all DC heroes punch each other again and again. What might be an adrenaline rush in the beginning soon gets very repetitive and tiresome.
The real pain is the climax, which ends abruptly on a massive cliffhanger! To find out what happens next, you must play the game the Injustice comics is based on. What the actual fuck??? You mean to tell me I read all 5 books, only to then be told the actual interesting stuff happens in the game and that I have to play to find out? Where is the justice in that?
Overall, I'm very disappointed with this series and wish they had done a better job of, well, creating an actual story with some meat. 2.5 Stars, most of which goes to the final couple of issues for building up the plot again only to leave us with that disastrous non ending.
This might just be one of the worst DC comics I have ever read. There's no complexity to the plot or the myriad characters that are paraded out at one point or another. The characters remain pretty black and white throughout the story. Any hint of moral dilemma is quickly squished under yet another massive fish fight. At one point, Barry Allen faces a stretch of open road where he literally runs away from his problems. And that pretty much sums up how everyone deals with their problems on Injustice. They blindly ignore reality till the plot requires it of them. And then too, the issues are just as quickly ignored.
But it is not all bad. The only saving grace of this story were the relationships, whether antagonistic or familial, between the many, many characters: Bruce's relationship with Dick, Damien, and Alfred. Ollie and Dinah's epic love story with its heartbreaking, bittersweet conclusion. Lex Luthor's friendship with Superman. Bruce's complex relationship with his city and his people, both criminals and civilians. And lastly, Bruce and Clark/ Batman and Superman's relationship with each other. These are all played out in varying degrees in the background of the story, and its something that would have been really interesting had it been explored more in dept. That is not the focus of the story here, however.
Instead, Injustice is an unrelenting surge of fight scenes after fight scenes! In one of the scenes, Atom engaged in a fight with Superman tells him: "So many different ways you can attack...And yet whenever we come up against someone else just like us, we just punch each other in the face. You know why? Because it feels good!" Brian Buccellato must have taken this quote to heart seeing as how his plot revolves around having all DC heroes punch each other again and again. What might be an adrenaline rush in the beginning soon gets very repetitive and tiresome.
The real pain is the climax, which ends abruptly on a massive cliffhanger! To find out what happens next, you must play the game the Injustice comics is based on. What the actual fuck??? You mean to tell me I read all 5 books, only to then be told the actual interesting stuff happens in the game and that I have to play to find out? Where is the justice in that?
Overall, I'm very disappointed with this series and wish they had done a better job of, well, creating an actual story with some meat. 2.5 Stars, most of which goes to the final couple of issues for building up the plot again only to leave us with that disastrous non ending.
November 13, 2017
Actual review: 2.5
Thus... with a whimper... it dies...
The problem with this series was that it started strong and it expanded into epic proportions encompassing a world war only to become a galaxy-wide genocide. As great as the writing was for the first few issues, the writers clearly had nowhere to go afterwards.
They tried to keep the tension going while giving sneakier ways of subterfuge, but it honestly fell flat for me. The characters are unrecognizable and the entire issue seems like a moot point. The end was clearly a set up for another comic series so there was no conclusion to this storyline.
Thus... with a whimper... it dies...
The problem with this series was that it started strong and it expanded into epic proportions encompassing a world war only to become a galaxy-wide genocide. As great as the writing was for the first few issues, the writers clearly had nowhere to go afterwards.
They tried to keep the tension going while giving sneakier ways of subterfuge, but it honestly fell flat for me. The characters are unrecognizable and the entire issue seems like a moot point. The end was clearly a set up for another comic series so there was no conclusion to this storyline.
July 14, 2020
This series started out strong and became progressively stronger with Tom Taylor at the helm. Year 2 was staggeringly good, I actually had to take a break from the series just so I could process everything that happened. I couldn't imagine how this series could get any better. And to be honest, I still can't. When Brian Buccellato took over, and the focus shifted to magic and Greek Gods, the quality dropped a bit. I hate feeling obligated to finish a series, so I went into Year 5 remembering all the heights this series hit and crossing my fingers that the finale could come close.
Well...I'm not even sure if this can be considered a finale. It doesn't have much of an ending or any kind of resolution. It just kind of stops. I'm not sure what to make of this or how to proceed. Am I meant to play the video game tie-in to get the proper ending? Or am I supposed to move straight on to Injustice 2 without giving it any further thought? Without digging through Google or Goodreads reviews, I'm not sure how to properly finish this series or what I need to move on to next.
Aside from waiting to see what I thought would be a grand finale, there wasn't much that kept me interested in this book. Earlier on in this series, the stakes were so high. You didn't know who would survive and who would perish from one epic battle to the next. In this volume, characters just take turns showing up, saying their piece and returning from whence they came with no harm done. Top-tier heroes and villains are given supporting roles and don’t really add much to the story. Superman was the most formidable man on the planet a few volumes ago but now he's just a fed up babysitter trying to corral misbehaving children. This volume felt very weak and I’m disappointed to see the Injustice series end with such a sad little whimper.
Well...I'm not even sure if this can be considered a finale. It doesn't have much of an ending or any kind of resolution. It just kind of stops. I'm not sure what to make of this or how to proceed. Am I meant to play the video game tie-in to get the proper ending? Or am I supposed to move straight on to Injustice 2 without giving it any further thought? Without digging through Google or Goodreads reviews, I'm not sure how to properly finish this series or what I need to move on to next.
Aside from waiting to see what I thought would be a grand finale, there wasn't much that kept me interested in this book. Earlier on in this series, the stakes were so high. You didn't know who would survive and who would perish from one epic battle to the next. In this volume, characters just take turns showing up, saying their piece and returning from whence they came with no harm done. Top-tier heroes and villains are given supporting roles and don’t really add much to the story. Superman was the most formidable man on the planet a few volumes ago but now he's just a fed up babysitter trying to corral misbehaving children. This volume felt very weak and I’m disappointed to see the Injustice series end with such a sad little whimper.
March 26, 2019
I knew this would happen.
All I wanted was a self-contained story and I thought, "Injustice Years One-Five looks cool and it's over. I'll check it out!"
Then I get to issue #40 of Year Five and there is no way that the story can end, because there simply aren't enough pages. And guess what? It doesn't.
Screw you, DC. Screw you so hard.
Guess I'm reading Ground Zero and Injustice 2 now.
I swear on all that is holy in this world if Injustice 2 is not the end of this, I'm gonna burn something to the ground. I don't know what yet, and this is probably how villains are born--this is probably my origin story--but I will turn something into ash and dust.
If this story would have wrapped everything up, I would have given four stars. This was a good year for Injustice. But that last page ruined everything.
Screw you, DC.
All I wanted was a self-contained story and I thought, "Injustice Years One-Five looks cool and it's over. I'll check it out!"
Then I get to issue #40 of Year Five and there is no way that the story can end, because there simply aren't enough pages. And guess what? It doesn't.
Screw you, DC. Screw you so hard.
Guess I'm reading Ground Zero and Injustice 2 now.
I swear on all that is holy in this world if Injustice 2 is not the end of this, I'm gonna burn something to the ground. I don't know what yet, and this is probably how villains are born--this is probably my origin story--but I will turn something into ash and dust.
If this story would have wrapped everything up, I would have given four stars. This was a good year for Injustice. But that last page ruined everything.
Screw you, DC.
May 16, 2020
This was an amazing series. I've played Injustice 2, but not the first one. I just bought it, I'm excited to see how this universe continues. I love this iteration of DC. My Harley Quinn tattoo just got a whole new layer. They need to make an animated show.
July 17, 2019
★★★1/2
In this final installment, the situation gets even more dire as both sides: Batman's Insurgency and Superman's Regime, go to extreme lengths to defeat the other once and for all, even allying themselves with villains. But when it seems like all might be lost, a nearly broken Batman has one last card to play, one final gambit that will lead right up to the the events in the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game that follows right on the heels of this book's ending. So take note, for the real conclusion to this overall story, you need to check out the video game. You can watch it like a movie on Youtube.
I'm still blown away by how effective and well-done this series is as a whole, a series completely built in support of a fighting video game. It gets a little contrived, went on a little too long, and loses a bit of steam in it's final half, but I'm pretty impressed with the whole thing. I was taken by it's questions of morality, it's emotionally compelling moments, and it's epic action sequences. And I really appreciate how there are real stakes, where some of our favorite heroes can actually die, as both sides take heavily losses. After the previous installment, I was worried this was going to fall flat again for me, but I'm so glad it stepped away from the big magic/god asked conflict and more of the personal, street-level, espionage action. This book ends the series on a somewhat decently high note, and I can't wait to see Tom Taylor back on writing duties for Injustice 2.
In this final installment, the situation gets even more dire as both sides: Batman's Insurgency and Superman's Regime, go to extreme lengths to defeat the other once and for all, even allying themselves with villains. But when it seems like all might be lost, a nearly broken Batman has one last card to play, one final gambit that will lead right up to the the events in the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game that follows right on the heels of this book's ending. So take note, for the real conclusion to this overall story, you need to check out the video game. You can watch it like a movie on Youtube.
I'm still blown away by how effective and well-done this series is as a whole, a series completely built in support of a fighting video game. It gets a little contrived, went on a little too long, and loses a bit of steam in it's final half, but I'm pretty impressed with the whole thing. I was taken by it's questions of morality, it's emotionally compelling moments, and it's epic action sequences. And I really appreciate how there are real stakes, where some of our favorite heroes can actually die, as both sides take heavily losses. After the previous installment, I was worried this was going to fall flat again for me, but I'm so glad it stepped away from the big magic/god asked conflict and more of the personal, street-level, espionage action. This book ends the series on a somewhat decently high note, and I can't wait to see Tom Taylor back on writing duties for Injustice 2.
November 28, 2020
Meh..
Been reading since the beginning and then reread everything from 2011 or so, to end up to this?
No pay off. No outcome. No nothing.
This basically is saying go buy Injustice Ground Zero and Injustice 2 to see what happens. Nope. Fuck that.
And even though I bought the first vol. of Injustice 2, pretty much expecting a decent end in the end of Year Five after all this time reading this series is the least the writers could do.
Disappointing and mediocre at best.
Been reading since the beginning and then reread everything from 2011 or so, to end up to this?
No pay off. No outcome. No nothing.
This basically is saying go buy Injustice Ground Zero and Injustice 2 to see what happens. Nope. Fuck that.
And even though I bought the first vol. of Injustice 2, pretty much expecting a decent end in the end of Year Five after all this time reading this series is the least the writers could do.
Disappointing and mediocre at best.
January 26, 2020
This was one of my favourite comic book series and I've been waiting for Year 5 collectuon for a while. I was therefore looking forward to this. Sadly thought they dropped the ball in the very last chapter. An ending so sparse, complicated and ill explained as to leave me feeling cheated. Frankly a worse ending than GoT.
September 7, 2017
did the leave pages off the back of this? no conclusion!
March 16, 2023
Realmente quem carregava a série era o Tom taylor mesmo no ano 4 ele acompanhava ainda mas nesse largou a mãe, até o annual que são muito bons esse caiu muito a qualidade, coisa que me incomodaram bastante foi que eles não tinham um propósito para esse ultimo ano, foram fazendo mini plots que no final ficou batido, um arco que deveriam ter investido seria com a participação do bizarro mas que rapidamente foi jogado no lixo, apocalypse não sei se foi o desenho mas não estava com a bola toda, mas a descaracterização do superman foi a que mais me incomodou pois aqui ele assumiu ser um ditador coisa que nos outros ele em alguns momentos eles abriram mão das desavenças ideológicas para acabar com um mal maior como foi no ano 4 mas esse daqui tava literalmente um ditador e tirano até com seus aliados que ficam o ano inteiro indo contra o super e questionando mas não tomam nenhuma atitude a respeito e tudo parece um grande filler. Ainda bem que o Taylor voltará assumir vamos ver o marco zero agoraa
May 17, 2018
i shouldn't have to play a game to find the conclusion out
July 12, 2022
Como as Tiranias se formam? O roteiro aborda a questão com uma magnificência de manter o leitor vidrado do início ao fim com o intuito de descobrir até onde o Superman vai para alcançar seu objetivo de falsa paz terrestre e até quando os membros do seu regime se manterão unidos ao seu redor. Desde aliança com vilões até juramentos de lealdade reiterados, Superman continua na sua incessante busca pela ordem e segurança da Terra mesmo que isso custe morte de civis, guerras interplanetárias e sacrifício de seus valores mais altos. Batman segue tentando manter seus ideais elevados e a fé de seus aliados na causa de derrotar o Alto Conselheiro, apesar de muitos perderem a esperança ao constatarem que seu objetivo não é tão diferente do Superman, apesar de o lema de não matar permanecer.
September 7, 2024
(Read in 2019, review from 2024)
This brought the initial Injustice series to an end, setting up the game that inspired all of the comics. It felt like this was all over the map in terms of storylines, cycling through multiple conflicts (starting with Bizzaro, recruiting villains to both sides, etc.). After the inital forays into the cosmic, supernatural, and God side of DC, this felt small in comparison which is fine if such things can be compelling. But as I said this was too focused and felt bound to the game (i.e., Flash does this big deal thing about disobeying Superman and it looks like he'll finally defect but ends up staying because he has to for the game's story). Entertaining enough but not as good as the first few years of the comic.
This brought the initial Injustice series to an end, setting up the game that inspired all of the comics. It felt like this was all over the map in terms of storylines, cycling through multiple conflicts (starting with Bizzaro, recruiting villains to both sides, etc.). After the inital forays into the cosmic, supernatural, and God side of DC, this felt small in comparison which is fine if such things can be compelling. But as I said this was too focused and felt bound to the game (i.e., Flash does this big deal thing about disobeying Superman and it looks like he'll finally defect but ends up staying because he has to for the game's story). Entertaining enough but not as good as the first few years of the comic.
April 6, 2020
This series was SO GOOD. It been a wild ride seeing some of my favorite heroes repeatedly choose Superman’s side in this for the greater good. Even after he slaughters a room for a people. It’s nice to see Iris West rejecting Barry because yea you’re aiding and abetting a murderous dictator! I’m this installment Superman goes so far as to outlaw the right to assemble. Forces those on no side to take his under threat of violence. And yes, heroes I thought SURELY would eventually come around (Flash, Shazam, Cyborg) are still steadfastly at his side.
I’m surprised to see so many reviews mad about the lack of ending for this story. I’m late to this storyline but everything I read indicates that is a prequel leading up to the video game. I’m not going to play the video game because that’s a lot of work, so I’m hoping Injustice: Ground Zero gives me as much of an overview as I need for how this story concludes.
I’m surprised to see so many reviews mad about the lack of ending for this story. I’m late to this storyline but everything I read indicates that is a prequel leading up to the video game. I’m not going to play the video game because that’s a lot of work, so I’m hoping Injustice: Ground Zero gives me as much of an overview as I need for how this story concludes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2022
This series is defenitly my absolute favorite.
The idea of superman going full evil is just so fun!!! Like Hella alot (it also reminded me of invincible which was super fun too)
Injustice year 2 and 3 are my favorite out of the series, I had so much fun with all the fight scenes.
This world is a total chaos and I enjoyed it pretty much. I wish they would have continued with the story to get a proper ending, but with this it just ended with a cliff hanger.
Alot of stuff happened and ofc I can't cover them all, but I loved the ending we got, I also loved that I got to see Deathstroke!!! Even if it was for 2 issues, it's always nice to see him.
The idea of superman going full evil is just so fun!!! Like Hella alot (it also reminded me of invincible which was super fun too)
Injustice year 2 and 3 are my favorite out of the series, I had so much fun with all the fight scenes.
This world is a total chaos and I enjoyed it pretty much. I wish they would have continued with the story to get a proper ending, but with this it just ended with a cliff hanger.
Alot of stuff happened and ofc I can't cover them all, but I loved the ending we got, I also loved that I got to see Deathstroke!!! Even if it was for 2 issues, it's always nice to see him.
November 3, 2017
This series is /insane/
December 31, 2016
#$!@#)*(@!)(#*)($&*#%^*$(*!$)@!(#_!@#@!(#_@)(_($)#*$(#&@(%&(^$%
I am glad this is over. GAWD!
I am glad this is over. GAWD!
October 10, 2021
A very weak "finish" to the storyline - as I guess one has to play the video game to get the actual ending or something like that. In this one, the villains strike back, working for and fighting against both sides. Superman inexplicably murders like 200 civilians. Batman establishes a link to the regular superhero world and asks for help from them at the end. And that's it. You have to play the video game to get the rest of the story. Why didn't they adapt the videogame to comics for us non-videogame readers?
Again, this was just non-stop fighting with a bunch of preaching from both sides on why their side is in the right. The first two volumes in this series were great, with actual stakes and an actual plot. Then the writer changed, and the last three volumes were non-stop fights with non-stop preaching, usually just restating already made points, with no further plot development until the "end" when a parallel world is contacted. In the first two volumes, the status-quo changed up a lot. In the last three volumes, no changes were made to the status-quo left at the end of volume 2. The first two presented some actual moral dilemmas, but the final three just restated the dilemmas and did nothing to resolve them or change them or add to them.
Vast quantities of superheroes and supervillains are paraded out with almost no identification or warning, so they can engage in fisticuffs and then move offstage. All in all, a very disappointing non-ending to the story. If you are interested in this storyline, just read volumes 1 and 2. The other three are just filler. These last three are just fight scene after fight scene after fight scene, yet all the fighting resolves nothing. Repetitive and tiresome.
The green pill method of giving everyone super-strength (so they can go toe-to-toe with Superman's team) felt forced and ill-considered... and led directly into the non-stop fisticuffs problem of the books. Instead of doing what they do best and actually solving the problem of how to take out super-powered beings, the non- or under-powered heroes on Batman's team just took green pills and tried to out slug them. Although the pills did not grant them super-speed, so Superman, Wonder Woman, Shazam, and (especially) the Flash should have just made short work of them, as these heroes can move extremely fast. Of course, that doesn't happen. The Flash often just stands there doing nothing until he gets hit.
Batman's team was mostly under- or non-powered... so it could have played out like the Rebels vs. the Empire in the Star Wars trilogy (indeed, Batman's team is called the Insurgency, and Superman's team is called the Regime).
Although this is true of all five, I want to say that I really don't like the costume changes on everyone: Batman's mask looks like a face-hugger alien; Superman's S-symbol is now a huge embossed thing he wears; Wonder Woman's boob-armor also looks weird and ungainly; Harley Quinn is basically dressed in an open jacket and a pair of black panties; Catwoman looks like she is wearing a black thong over grey pants; and so on. Shazam looked okay - and that's about it.
Other changes to the DC universe were not really explained: Why is Lex Luthor Superman's best friend? Why, out of all the villains, was Bizarro only now created - why create a new origin for him but let us assume all the other villains' origins are just the same as we expect? I thought the Bizarro thing came out of nowhere. Throughout the story, they throw villains at us without comment on changes, the story just assumes we basically know who they are - and then we are presented with Bizarro as a brand-new, never before encountered villain. Stuff like that really confuses me. All villains are as expected, but Lex Luthor is suddenly a good guy, and Bizarro didn't exist until this story. WTF?
Oh well. Ultimately, I wish they had adapted the video game to comics so I could read the rest of the story. I don't play video games. I don't even have a video game console. I'd like to read the conclusion of the storyline.
Again, this was just non-stop fighting with a bunch of preaching from both sides on why their side is in the right. The first two volumes in this series were great, with actual stakes and an actual plot. Then the writer changed, and the last three volumes were non-stop fights with non-stop preaching, usually just restating already made points, with no further plot development until the "end" when a parallel world is contacted. In the first two volumes, the status-quo changed up a lot. In the last three volumes, no changes were made to the status-quo left at the end of volume 2. The first two presented some actual moral dilemmas, but the final three just restated the dilemmas and did nothing to resolve them or change them or add to them.
Vast quantities of superheroes and supervillains are paraded out with almost no identification or warning, so they can engage in fisticuffs and then move offstage. All in all, a very disappointing non-ending to the story. If you are interested in this storyline, just read volumes 1 and 2. The other three are just filler. These last three are just fight scene after fight scene after fight scene, yet all the fighting resolves nothing. Repetitive and tiresome.
The green pill method of giving everyone super-strength (so they can go toe-to-toe with Superman's team) felt forced and ill-considered... and led directly into the non-stop fisticuffs problem of the books. Instead of doing what they do best and actually solving the problem of how to take out super-powered beings, the non- or under-powered heroes on Batman's team just took green pills and tried to out slug them. Although the pills did not grant them super-speed, so Superman, Wonder Woman, Shazam, and (especially) the Flash should have just made short work of them, as these heroes can move extremely fast. Of course, that doesn't happen. The Flash often just stands there doing nothing until he gets hit.
Batman's team was mostly under- or non-powered... so it could have played out like the Rebels vs. the Empire in the Star Wars trilogy (indeed, Batman's team is called the Insurgency, and Superman's team is called the Regime).
Although this is true of all five, I want to say that I really don't like the costume changes on everyone: Batman's mask looks like a face-hugger alien; Superman's S-symbol is now a huge embossed thing he wears; Wonder Woman's boob-armor also looks weird and ungainly; Harley Quinn is basically dressed in an open jacket and a pair of black panties; Catwoman looks like she is wearing a black thong over grey pants; and so on. Shazam looked okay - and that's about it.
Other changes to the DC universe were not really explained: Why is Lex Luthor Superman's best friend? Why, out of all the villains, was Bizarro only now created - why create a new origin for him but let us assume all the other villains' origins are just the same as we expect? I thought the Bizarro thing came out of nowhere. Throughout the story, they throw villains at us without comment on changes, the story just assumes we basically know who they are - and then we are presented with Bizarro as a brand-new, never before encountered villain. Stuff like that really confuses me. All villains are as expected, but Lex Luthor is suddenly a good guy, and Bizarro didn't exist until this story. WTF?
Oh well. Ultimately, I wish they had adapted the video game to comics so I could read the rest of the story. I don't play video games. I don't even have a video game console. I'd like to read the conclusion of the storyline.
September 30, 2024
Injustice: Gods Among us: Year Five collects issues 1-20 and Annual I of the DC Comics series written by Brian Buccellato and art by Mike Miller, Bruno Redondo, Tom Derenick, Xermánico, Iban Coello, Marco Santucci, and Juan Albarran.
As the Regime’s battle against Batman’s insurgency enters it fifth year, Superman seeks the aid of former villains to help close the tide of renegade heroes. This action leads many of Superman’s closest allies to revisit their beliefs and question Superman’s motivations.
I personally thought this arc was a big step back, lost a lot of its interesting storyline momentum, and went out on a whimper. Going in to this volume, I knew it could only do so much because the events of the actual video game that this comic is the prequel for were approaching. I think the story would have been more interspersing if major characters gets had switched sides during the course of the series, but in the end, alliance changes were only teased.
Overall, the whole series is still really good, but Tom Taylor leaving the series was a major blow. I see that he does return for the Injustice 2 comic so I am excited to get into that at some point.
As the Regime’s battle against Batman’s insurgency enters it fifth year, Superman seeks the aid of former villains to help close the tide of renegade heroes. This action leads many of Superman’s closest allies to revisit their beliefs and question Superman’s motivations.
I personally thought this arc was a big step back, lost a lot of its interesting storyline momentum, and went out on a whimper. Going in to this volume, I knew it could only do so much because the events of the actual video game that this comic is the prequel for were approaching. I think the story would have been more interspersing if major characters gets had switched sides during the course of the series, but in the end, alliance changes were only teased.
Overall, the whole series is still really good, but Tom Taylor leaving the series was a major blow. I see that he does return for the Injustice 2 comic so I am excited to get into that at some point.
August 28, 2025
A very solid end to the series, successfully delivering on the action and character moments that make this universe so compelling.
While I criticized Year Four for not having a driving theme, the absence of a single overarching story works really well here. Instead of one main narrative, the volume is composed of many great mini-story arcs that worked so much better. Bane joining the Regime, the manipulation of Bizarro, Alfred's downfall, and Deathstroke infiltrating S.T.A.R. Labs are just a few of the fantastic stories on display here.
This volume also feels like the closest the comics have gotten to the feel of the Injustice games since Year 1, with heroes and villains throwing down in explosive action for no apparent reason.
With this volume being the final stop before the first Injustice game however, I knew who wasn’t making it to the start of the game and therefore the ultimate fates of certain characters, eliminating the emotional weight of certain events.
Despite this, the collection is a great read and a fitting finale. Its strength lies not in a single plot, but in its ability to deliver a series of compelling, self-contained moments that give a final push to the all-out war we know is coming.
While I criticized Year Four for not having a driving theme, the absence of a single overarching story works really well here. Instead of one main narrative, the volume is composed of many great mini-story arcs that worked so much better. Bane joining the Regime, the manipulation of Bizarro, Alfred's downfall, and Deathstroke infiltrating S.T.A.R. Labs are just a few of the fantastic stories on display here.
This volume also feels like the closest the comics have gotten to the feel of the Injustice games since Year 1, with heroes and villains throwing down in explosive action for no apparent reason.
With this volume being the final stop before the first Injustice game however, I knew who wasn’t making it to the start of the game and therefore the ultimate fates of certain characters, eliminating the emotional weight of certain events.
Despite this, the collection is a great read and a fitting finale. Its strength lies not in a single plot, but in its ability to deliver a series of compelling, self-contained moments that give a final push to the all-out war we know is coming.
August 29, 2021
Simply spectacular and builds to a very exciting head
The book (like the whole series,) is fantastic.
There’s only one problem; it ends on a cliffhanger and the only way to finish the story is to play that very dated video game from 2013. I managed to find a condensed “movie” on youtube that compiles all of the cut scenes (link below.) It’s not great, but it’s the only way to finish the story. There’s also a boom called Ground Zero, but it’s not great so far and only seems to follow Harley Quinn.
Anyway, this was fun. Definitely recommend it, even though it’s pretty frustrating that DC didn’t have Tom Taylor adapt the events of the game as well.
Game cut scenes link: https://youtu.be/HvaPGnRyjMc
The book (like the whole series,) is fantastic.
There’s only one problem; it ends on a cliffhanger and the only way to finish the story is to play that very dated video game from 2013. I managed to find a condensed “movie” on youtube that compiles all of the cut scenes (link below.) It’s not great, but it’s the only way to finish the story. There’s also a boom called Ground Zero, but it’s not great so far and only seems to follow Harley Quinn.
Anyway, this was fun. Definitely recommend it, even though it’s pretty frustrating that DC didn’t have Tom Taylor adapt the events of the game as well.
Game cut scenes link: https://youtu.be/HvaPGnRyjMc
January 1, 2020
Una continuación a esta excelente saga que no decepciona.
Lo único que le restó una estrella es que me pareció que hubo menos cohesión que en el tomo (o año) anterior. Esto, creo, puede deberse a que en este, los acontecimientos del cómic tienen que coincidir con el principio de los sucesos del juego. Sumado a esto, comparando ambos, sentí un poco de conflicto entre la personalidad de Superman en los comics hasta ahora y la de los juegos. Esto, obvio, no tiene que ver con el escritor de la precuela. Pero fue suficiente para quitarme un poco de la emoción ya llegando al final de la historia. A pesar de todo, lo disfruté muchísimo.
Lo único que le restó una estrella es que me pareció que hubo menos cohesión que en el tomo (o año) anterior. Esto, creo, puede deberse a que en este, los acontecimientos del cómic tienen que coincidir con el principio de los sucesos del juego. Sumado a esto, comparando ambos, sentí un poco de conflicto entre la personalidad de Superman en los comics hasta ahora y la de los juegos. Esto, obvio, no tiene que ver con el escritor de la precuela. Pero fue suficiente para quitarme un poco de la emoción ya llegando al final de la historia. A pesar de todo, lo disfruté muchísimo.
February 29, 2024
Unfortunately the final instalment of Injustice is by far the weakest of the lot.
The art is still great, and the writing is solid, but unfortunately rather than concluding a wonderful story, the end of this series was used to springboard into Injustice 2 (the game) and suffers because of it.
The preceding 4 volumes all felt like they were heading towards something; driving forward to the ultimate conclusion. Not only did this volume lose that feel of overall importance (it was just small incidents one after the other, with little impact to the main plot) but nothing was actually concluded.
This ended on a cliffhanger of sorts, and nothing was concluded. A shame after many years of great storytelling.
Here's hoping Injustice 2 (which is much shorter) gets an actual pay-off.
The art is still great, and the writing is solid, but unfortunately rather than concluding a wonderful story, the end of this series was used to springboard into Injustice 2 (the game) and suffers because of it.
The preceding 4 volumes all felt like they were heading towards something; driving forward to the ultimate conclusion. Not only did this volume lose that feel of overall importance (it was just small incidents one after the other, with little impact to the main plot) but nothing was actually concluded.
This ended on a cliffhanger of sorts, and nothing was concluded. A shame after many years of great storytelling.
Here's hoping Injustice 2 (which is much shorter) gets an actual pay-off.
April 14, 2017
The ending felt a bit contrived, but oh well, least the series comes to an end we can all take as the best resolution of this neverending conflict.
September 22, 2017
Don't know what to say more... again great stuff!
Just go read it ;)
Just go read it ;)
January 19, 2020
The series is crazy. But this was an amazing graphic novel. It had an appropriate amount of action. If you haven't read this series than you need to read it because it is amazing.
February 7, 2021
This series has been so good on the whole. Ready for Injustice 2 and Year Zero now!.
July 8, 2024
Idk
I have an urge to give this 3 stars
I have an urge to give this 3 stars
June 21, 2024
A very in-depth (and long) review of Injustice: Gods Among Us — Year 5.
I would like to say that while this final year fell flat for me, like it did some other readers, I can tell that Brian Buccellato really cares about this book and that he did try to do this story justice. He was put in an extremely unenviable position, and that’s figuring out how to finish the second half of someone else’s saga. He gave it his best shot and there are really great moments in here even if the overall work is a clear miss.
To first address an elephant in the room — the ending. Many people seem to take issue with the open ended nature of the saga’s ending. Some people were (somehow and unexplainably) misinformed into believing that this was a stand alone series rather than a video game tie-in even though the back of every printed collection of this series says something like “inspired by the video game phenomenon.” Not to mention that the first issue from Year One uses the main promotional image and the official case cover for the video game as its issue cover, which includes video game-esque 3D models. Some, who were informed that this was a prequel to a game, were frustrated because they didn’t want to have to watch/play the video game to finish the story and, as a result, hate the open ended nature of Year Five.
I don’t know how else to say this, but the people who are mad that the ending is setting up the game are just… ignorant.
This series was created to expand the world of the Injustice game for existing fans as well as to draw in new readers (and potential new players) to its world. Just because this series was at one point indisputably better than every video game tie-in doesn’t mean readers can ask the writers to change what it fundamentally was doing from the start. This book was ALWAYS marketed as a video game tie-in and prequel and it can be found on every collection of it, but especially the earlier books. It was clear from day one that the goal of this series was to directly lead up to the game.
Being misinformed or not playing video games is no reason to unfairly criticize Buccellato’s, or any author’s, work.
With that being said, I think Buccellato actually ends Year Five and sets up the first game fairly well. The final events of the book really feel like a last ditch attempt by the very few remaining Insurgency members to take down Superman. Bruce’s conversation with Clark that simultaneously recaps the consequences of the series isn’t just a way to distract him; it’s also a long shot attempt to truly appeal to any remaining sliver of Superman’s humanity by reminding him of the friends’ lives he’s taken. I also enjoyed getting to see the “good” universe where things had the opportunity of going right. It’s a good reminder to the audience before the finale of just how much the characters have lost and changed.
However, with THAT being said — do I wish that the comic was its own thing separate from the games? Yeah, actually.
It’s clear that Buccellato understands who these characters are. However, it’s also clear that he didn’t quite know which direction they really needed to go to get to where they needed to be before the game. As a result, massive inconsistencies arise in characters in this final year. As a result, Damian, Hal, Cyborg, Shazam, and especially Barry Allen all finally broke for me as consistent characters, which made it hard to feel invested.
Shazam, who saved Black Adam back in Year One and always made an effort never to kill, helps Superman threaten the people of Khandaq so that Black Adam will cooperate with the regime. Billy never reached the level of low that is threatening innocents in the video game so he definitely wouldn’t here. To add on, his actions in Year Five alone, never mind the rest of the series, show that he wouldn’t stoop to that level. For god’s sake, he didn’t even want to fight Harley Quinn and made it clear he would never kill her. To add on, Harley is shown to be an insanely smart and well rounded psychiatrist. She breaks issues down for herself to easily absorb, which is actually really perfectly shown by Buccellato. However, why she doesn’t do this for Shazam, who she knows is a literal child, and breakdown why Superman is an immoral murderer to him is baffling. Shazam would have easily switched sides if he understood what Harley knew and experienced. It’s clear that Buccellato just didn’t want Billy switching sides so he could line up with his video game counterpart, so he wrote Harley to be lesser in that moment. An inconsistency that can’t be ignored.
To date, I think that Damian has always been the most insufferable Injustice character. It’s easy to hate Damian because he is truly insufferable for many of his actions and… he is just kind of underdeveloped past Year One. However, there is the beginning of what could be development here for him. Dick returns as Deadwing to save him from a brutal beating and to attempt to push him in the right direction with the Nightwing mantel. It’s a really sweet moment that ultimately fails because Dick never directly speaks to him as Deadwing even though Buccellato has shown (in comic issues that he wrote) that Dick has the ability to speak to people as a ghost. It’s an idiotic inconsistency meant to create distance between Dick and Damian that doesn’t make any sense. It also felt like Buccellato was setting Damian up to go back to the light but couldn’t because of where he needs to be for the game. The entire arc leads to no real change in Damian except for his costume and name… which is really disappointing.
Cyborg. Victor Stone has been given a criminally low amount of development for a series that he features so prominently in. However, he is regularly shown to still have some morals and ethics to him, and takes issue with many of Superman’s actions in this volume. At one point, he realizes Superman is a mass murderer and killed 200 innocent college age protesters. These protestors aren’t just tragic because of their lack of immoral action, but it’s also tragic for him because they would’ve been the age of his Titan friends who died. So, why doesn’t he stand up to Superman? Why does he hide evidence from Barry and delete it all when asked? Why does he do nothing? Buccellato never answers that. Vic continues to leave Superman unchecked, which makes no sense for his character. Not only that, it leaves him with a meaningless arc that starts and then vanishes into thin air.
Time for the big ones. Hal Jordan and Barry Allen.
Barry and Hal both put together that only Sinestro or Superman would’ve freed Victor Zsaaz and given him the location of the batcave. They both also clearly believe that Superman is capable of committing heinous atrocities. They also put together that the timeline of Bizarro killing the protestors just doesn’t line up and it would’ve had to be Superman. They are no longer just ignoring brutality or using war as an excuse for unnecessary deaths; they are actively ignoring the murder of 200 civilians and the murder of Alfred Pennyworth. Something much worse than what either does in the game.
To take it a step further, Hal realizes that Sinestro likely assisted in the Zsaaz escape even if it wasn’t him directly. He asks Barry “What have we become?” Then, mere chapters later, he mocks Batman in the finale after Bruce called out Clark for murdering Alfred. Hal acknowledges he’s in the wrong, that he’s become part of the problem, then goes right back to being the villain! Why?
Barry gets the worst of the inconsistent writing by far. He realizes the regime has taken advantage of Bruce’s grief to apprehend and even potentially kill him. So, he saves Bruce and even considers traveling back in time to save Lois so their present could never come to be. On top of that, Iris calls him out for abandoning his promise to try to stop Superman if he ever went off the deep end, for falling in with the regime, and for becoming a hypocrite after killing King Shark. It clearly hurts him but he absorbs it in a way that truly starts to change his perspective. In the end, he betrays Superman twice, yet… nothing changes. Barry basically says in the conversation with Hal that he’s better off not thinking about what they’ve become — implying they should blindly follow Superman’s orders. Again, this makes absolutely zero sense and betrays the journey that Buccellato started Barry down, but it also betrays who Barry Allen has been throughout the whole book. From day one, he always questioned what they were doing. For him to stop is simply wrong for his character.
As a result, Barry Allen was the nail in the coffin for me with Injustice Year Five.
The sad part is that the writing quality in these moments where the heroes start to grow and realize they are on the wrong team is… actually pretty good. The sudden flip back to how they were is infuriating and makes me feel like I’ve been spit in the face for even following their story. This is a hefty comic and I have no problem with that. The problem is that Buccellato wastes the massive amount of time he has with the arcs and characters mentioned above and wastes any arcs with true potential to progress.
The Bizarro arc had so much potential but Buccellato just makes Bizarro an excuse for some of the Regime members to believe that Superman didn’t kill the Joker Protesters… and that’s it. Bizarro dies without leaving any interesting mark on the Injustice universe… besides ruining the potential of the Rogues storyline before it could ever really start. The Hawkman arc has some really fun moments of action, like the Superman fight, but it adds up to him being a one note character that only steps in to let Batman escape. Buccellato fails to explore the dynamic between Hawkman and Hawkgirl which had so much untapped potential. Instead, Hawkman is just a controlling, violent menace who just happens to be on Batman’s side and Hawkgirl is just… there as usual. As mentioned earlier, the Rogues have an interesting dynamic and moral complexity to them that makes them rife with potential for Injustice. However, right as steam picks up with them sabotaging the Regime’s solider outposts, their story is just suddenly upended by Bizarro. Raven is oddly absent for much of this series, and Buccellato actually found a great way to reintroduce her; she’s mourning the complicated relationship with her father and there is a bit of hinting that she seeks revenge against the Insurgency for taking that relationship away from her. However, very little is actually done with her character.
Lastly, looking at the Insurgency — Batwoman, who has been with the Insurgency since day one — (finally) takes up a more important role in this final year. However, yet again, she is given too little to do and is left under-explored on a boring surface level before her admittedly noble sacrifice which is a solid send off. It also feels strange that Buccellato doesn’t even try to take advantage of the epilogue of Year Four by Taylor and include Plastic Man and his son in the battle against Superman. He’s a charming presence and wasted potential. Even Deathstroke, whose issue I actually really enjoyed, doesn’t show up until the final moments of the series.
Deathstroke is one of many characters jammed into the story at the final moments to ensure they’re where they need to be for the game. Along with Slade, Doomsday and Solomon Grundy show up randomly for Superman to throw hands with and to introduce Clark’s brainwashing tactics. Black Adam and Aquaman randomly show up with little to contribute to the story but it’s just to ensure them and their armies are in place for the game as well. Same goes for the Joker Gang who show up just to show that Harley is where she needs to be before the game. Yet, they never explore the dynamics of the gang and their relationship with the insurgency. Most of this shallow set up is generally boring across the board because it’s so transparent that nothing more will come from it.
The sad part is that there is a strong concept to kick off this year that sometimes yields really great results. Buccellato refocuses the story on the main heroes of the universe in a way akin to Year One, but with each side desperate enough to begin recruiting villains. This pays off a few times notably. The initial arc with Bane is pretty good! Bane and Killer Frost using Catwoman as bait to draw Batman out is pretty exciting, and it results in Selina feeling as though their continued fighting is pointless and she leaves the regime. The best part of this book surrounds Alfred. His verbal standoff with Superman is really fantastic and a much awaited moment after Year One. The entire arc with Zsaaz’s release and the consequences of Alfred’s death was the book’s high which had some honest emotion behind it. It’s difficult not to want Damian to just kill Zsaaz but Bruce is inarguably right in the debate. Genuinely good stuff there.
I’d also like to point out the small but great subplot that matters with Black Lightning and the Atom. Black Lightning vanished from the insurgency and it was now shown it was to focus on the communities over the conflict. He works with Superman, the clear villain, to rebuild Metropolis; it’s an admirable cause that gets into some of the grey area of the main conflict.
And one last side note; I really enjoy the moral parallels of Superman and Batman with villains. “We can trust them to be themselves,” is a great quote that shows some interesting similarity in thought processes and asks the reader to define if Batman is in the right still.
To finally end this: I enjoyed reading this series even if it fell apart in the end. It’s an interesting concept that, for the first three years, remained extremely entertaining even with its significant flaws. Admittedly, I wish Taylor had his chance to finish this series as it was honestly him that made it as interesting as it was. However, Buccellato gave it a fair shot considering the difficult circumstances. I’ll eventually come back around to Year Zero since Taylor returns for that. However, for now, this series remains an extremely mixed bag with most of its best moments front-loaded. Year Five has its moments, but it sadly is a pretty underwhelming finish.
I would like to say that while this final year fell flat for me, like it did some other readers, I can tell that Brian Buccellato really cares about this book and that he did try to do this story justice. He was put in an extremely unenviable position, and that’s figuring out how to finish the second half of someone else’s saga. He gave it his best shot and there are really great moments in here even if the overall work is a clear miss.
To first address an elephant in the room — the ending. Many people seem to take issue with the open ended nature of the saga’s ending. Some people were (somehow and unexplainably) misinformed into believing that this was a stand alone series rather than a video game tie-in even though the back of every printed collection of this series says something like “inspired by the video game phenomenon.” Not to mention that the first issue from Year One uses the main promotional image and the official case cover for the video game as its issue cover, which includes video game-esque 3D models. Some, who were informed that this was a prequel to a game, were frustrated because they didn’t want to have to watch/play the video game to finish the story and, as a result, hate the open ended nature of Year Five.
I don’t know how else to say this, but the people who are mad that the ending is setting up the game are just… ignorant.
This series was created to expand the world of the Injustice game for existing fans as well as to draw in new readers (and potential new players) to its world. Just because this series was at one point indisputably better than every video game tie-in doesn’t mean readers can ask the writers to change what it fundamentally was doing from the start. This book was ALWAYS marketed as a video game tie-in and prequel and it can be found on every collection of it, but especially the earlier books. It was clear from day one that the goal of this series was to directly lead up to the game.
Being misinformed or not playing video games is no reason to unfairly criticize Buccellato’s, or any author’s, work.
With that being said, I think Buccellato actually ends Year Five and sets up the first game fairly well. The final events of the book really feel like a last ditch attempt by the very few remaining Insurgency members to take down Superman. Bruce’s conversation with Clark that simultaneously recaps the consequences of the series isn’t just a way to distract him; it’s also a long shot attempt to truly appeal to any remaining sliver of Superman’s humanity by reminding him of the friends’ lives he’s taken. I also enjoyed getting to see the “good” universe where things had the opportunity of going right. It’s a good reminder to the audience before the finale of just how much the characters have lost and changed.
However, with THAT being said — do I wish that the comic was its own thing separate from the games? Yeah, actually.
It’s clear that Buccellato understands who these characters are. However, it’s also clear that he didn’t quite know which direction they really needed to go to get to where they needed to be before the game. As a result, massive inconsistencies arise in characters in this final year. As a result, Damian, Hal, Cyborg, Shazam, and especially Barry Allen all finally broke for me as consistent characters, which made it hard to feel invested.
Shazam, who saved Black Adam back in Year One and always made an effort never to kill, helps Superman threaten the people of Khandaq so that Black Adam will cooperate with the regime. Billy never reached the level of low that is threatening innocents in the video game so he definitely wouldn’t here. To add on, his actions in Year Five alone, never mind the rest of the series, show that he wouldn’t stoop to that level. For god’s sake, he didn’t even want to fight Harley Quinn and made it clear he would never kill her. To add on, Harley is shown to be an insanely smart and well rounded psychiatrist. She breaks issues down for herself to easily absorb, which is actually really perfectly shown by Buccellato. However, why she doesn’t do this for Shazam, who she knows is a literal child, and breakdown why Superman is an immoral murderer to him is baffling. Shazam would have easily switched sides if he understood what Harley knew and experienced. It’s clear that Buccellato just didn’t want Billy switching sides so he could line up with his video game counterpart, so he wrote Harley to be lesser in that moment. An inconsistency that can’t be ignored.
To date, I think that Damian has always been the most insufferable Injustice character. It’s easy to hate Damian because he is truly insufferable for many of his actions and… he is just kind of underdeveloped past Year One. However, there is the beginning of what could be development here for him. Dick returns as Deadwing to save him from a brutal beating and to attempt to push him in the right direction with the Nightwing mantel. It’s a really sweet moment that ultimately fails because Dick never directly speaks to him as Deadwing even though Buccellato has shown (in comic issues that he wrote) that Dick has the ability to speak to people as a ghost. It’s an idiotic inconsistency meant to create distance between Dick and Damian that doesn’t make any sense. It also felt like Buccellato was setting Damian up to go back to the light but couldn’t because of where he needs to be for the game. The entire arc leads to no real change in Damian except for his costume and name… which is really disappointing.
Cyborg. Victor Stone has been given a criminally low amount of development for a series that he features so prominently in. However, he is regularly shown to still have some morals and ethics to him, and takes issue with many of Superman’s actions in this volume. At one point, he realizes Superman is a mass murderer and killed 200 innocent college age protesters. These protestors aren’t just tragic because of their lack of immoral action, but it’s also tragic for him because they would’ve been the age of his Titan friends who died. So, why doesn’t he stand up to Superman? Why does he hide evidence from Barry and delete it all when asked? Why does he do nothing? Buccellato never answers that. Vic continues to leave Superman unchecked, which makes no sense for his character. Not only that, it leaves him with a meaningless arc that starts and then vanishes into thin air.
Time for the big ones. Hal Jordan and Barry Allen.
Barry and Hal both put together that only Sinestro or Superman would’ve freed Victor Zsaaz and given him the location of the batcave. They both also clearly believe that Superman is capable of committing heinous atrocities. They also put together that the timeline of Bizarro killing the protestors just doesn’t line up and it would’ve had to be Superman. They are no longer just ignoring brutality or using war as an excuse for unnecessary deaths; they are actively ignoring the murder of 200 civilians and the murder of Alfred Pennyworth. Something much worse than what either does in the game.
To take it a step further, Hal realizes that Sinestro likely assisted in the Zsaaz escape even if it wasn’t him directly. He asks Barry “What have we become?” Then, mere chapters later, he mocks Batman in the finale after Bruce called out Clark for murdering Alfred. Hal acknowledges he’s in the wrong, that he’s become part of the problem, then goes right back to being the villain! Why?
Barry gets the worst of the inconsistent writing by far. He realizes the regime has taken advantage of Bruce’s grief to apprehend and even potentially kill him. So, he saves Bruce and even considers traveling back in time to save Lois so their present could never come to be. On top of that, Iris calls him out for abandoning his promise to try to stop Superman if he ever went off the deep end, for falling in with the regime, and for becoming a hypocrite after killing King Shark. It clearly hurts him but he absorbs it in a way that truly starts to change his perspective. In the end, he betrays Superman twice, yet… nothing changes. Barry basically says in the conversation with Hal that he’s better off not thinking about what they’ve become — implying they should blindly follow Superman’s orders. Again, this makes absolutely zero sense and betrays the journey that Buccellato started Barry down, but it also betrays who Barry Allen has been throughout the whole book. From day one, he always questioned what they were doing. For him to stop is simply wrong for his character.
As a result, Barry Allen was the nail in the coffin for me with Injustice Year Five.
The sad part is that the writing quality in these moments where the heroes start to grow and realize they are on the wrong team is… actually pretty good. The sudden flip back to how they were is infuriating and makes me feel like I’ve been spit in the face for even following their story. This is a hefty comic and I have no problem with that. The problem is that Buccellato wastes the massive amount of time he has with the arcs and characters mentioned above and wastes any arcs with true potential to progress.
The Bizarro arc had so much potential but Buccellato just makes Bizarro an excuse for some of the Regime members to believe that Superman didn’t kill the Joker Protesters… and that’s it. Bizarro dies without leaving any interesting mark on the Injustice universe… besides ruining the potential of the Rogues storyline before it could ever really start. The Hawkman arc has some really fun moments of action, like the Superman fight, but it adds up to him being a one note character that only steps in to let Batman escape. Buccellato fails to explore the dynamic between Hawkman and Hawkgirl which had so much untapped potential. Instead, Hawkman is just a controlling, violent menace who just happens to be on Batman’s side and Hawkgirl is just… there as usual. As mentioned earlier, the Rogues have an interesting dynamic and moral complexity to them that makes them rife with potential for Injustice. However, right as steam picks up with them sabotaging the Regime’s solider outposts, their story is just suddenly upended by Bizarro. Raven is oddly absent for much of this series, and Buccellato actually found a great way to reintroduce her; she’s mourning the complicated relationship with her father and there is a bit of hinting that she seeks revenge against the Insurgency for taking that relationship away from her. However, very little is actually done with her character.
Lastly, looking at the Insurgency — Batwoman, who has been with the Insurgency since day one — (finally) takes up a more important role in this final year. However, yet again, she is given too little to do and is left under-explored on a boring surface level before her admittedly noble sacrifice which is a solid send off. It also feels strange that Buccellato doesn’t even try to take advantage of the epilogue of Year Four by Taylor and include Plastic Man and his son in the battle against Superman. He’s a charming presence and wasted potential. Even Deathstroke, whose issue I actually really enjoyed, doesn’t show up until the final moments of the series.
Deathstroke is one of many characters jammed into the story at the final moments to ensure they’re where they need to be for the game. Along with Slade, Doomsday and Solomon Grundy show up randomly for Superman to throw hands with and to introduce Clark’s brainwashing tactics. Black Adam and Aquaman randomly show up with little to contribute to the story but it’s just to ensure them and their armies are in place for the game as well. Same goes for the Joker Gang who show up just to show that Harley is where she needs to be before the game. Yet, they never explore the dynamics of the gang and their relationship with the insurgency. Most of this shallow set up is generally boring across the board because it’s so transparent that nothing more will come from it.
The sad part is that there is a strong concept to kick off this year that sometimes yields really great results. Buccellato refocuses the story on the main heroes of the universe in a way akin to Year One, but with each side desperate enough to begin recruiting villains. This pays off a few times notably. The initial arc with Bane is pretty good! Bane and Killer Frost using Catwoman as bait to draw Batman out is pretty exciting, and it results in Selina feeling as though their continued fighting is pointless and she leaves the regime. The best part of this book surrounds Alfred. His verbal standoff with Superman is really fantastic and a much awaited moment after Year One. The entire arc with Zsaaz’s release and the consequences of Alfred’s death was the book’s high which had some honest emotion behind it. It’s difficult not to want Damian to just kill Zsaaz but Bruce is inarguably right in the debate. Genuinely good stuff there.
I’d also like to point out the small but great subplot that matters with Black Lightning and the Atom. Black Lightning vanished from the insurgency and it was now shown it was to focus on the communities over the conflict. He works with Superman, the clear villain, to rebuild Metropolis; it’s an admirable cause that gets into some of the grey area of the main conflict.
And one last side note; I really enjoy the moral parallels of Superman and Batman with villains. “We can trust them to be themselves,” is a great quote that shows some interesting similarity in thought processes and asks the reader to define if Batman is in the right still.
To finally end this: I enjoyed reading this series even if it fell apart in the end. It’s an interesting concept that, for the first three years, remained extremely entertaining even with its significant flaws. Admittedly, I wish Taylor had his chance to finish this series as it was honestly him that made it as interesting as it was. However, Buccellato gave it a fair shot considering the difficult circumstances. I’ll eventually come back around to Year Zero since Taylor returns for that. However, for now, this series remains an extremely mixed bag with most of its best moments front-loaded. Year Five has its moments, but it sadly is a pretty underwhelming finish.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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