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Injustice: Gods Among Us - The Complete Collection #4
Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Four - The Complete Collection
The endlessly surprising saga of superhero dystopia inspired by the hit video game continues! This action-packed graphic novel collects the entirety of the fourth year of the now-legendary Injustice: Gods Among Us saga.
When Superman and the Justice League declared themselves the ultimate authority on planet Earth, only Batman stood against them--but now Batman is defeated. His resistance army has suffered major losses and dwindled to nearly nothing. The man who always has a backup plan for his backup plans has nothing--except for one final, desperate gambit.
Written by Tom Taylor and Brian Buccellato (Detective Comics, The Flash), this graphic novel collects the fourth year of the best-selling series in its entirety for the first time. Writer Brian Buccellato and artist Bruno Redondo continue to expand the world of the hit video game in Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Four: The Complete Collection.
Collects Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Four #1-12 and Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Four Annual #1!
When Superman and the Justice League declared themselves the ultimate authority on planet Earth, only Batman stood against them--but now Batman is defeated. His resistance army has suffered major losses and dwindled to nearly nothing. The man who always has a backup plan for his backup plans has nothing--except for one final, desperate gambit.
Written by Tom Taylor and Brian Buccellato (Detective Comics, The Flash), this graphic novel collects the fourth year of the best-selling series in its entirety for the first time. Writer Brian Buccellato and artist Bruno Redondo continue to expand the world of the hit video game in Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Four: The Complete Collection.
Collects Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Four #1-12 and Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Four Annual #1!
328 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
January 1, 2019
Batman has lost so many teammates in the war against Superman's regime. But as we all know, Batman never quits and he always has a back-up plan to his back-up plans! And this time, his plan is to recruit the Gods themselves. Bruce makes a deal with the Ares to involve the Gods of Olympus in a dirty plan to manipulate Wonder Woman's loyalties and turn her against Clark. Oh, Bruce, you sneaky bastard!
The writing in this series seemed to step down a notch in this installment. It's messier and more convoluted, and not to mention the awkward, forced, and arguably inappropriate storyline with Harley Quinn's crush on Shazam. Also, it's always been hard for me to grasp stories with gods in them. I've never fully understood where the gods truly stood within the world of DC or the Norse gods in Marvel. And then the New Gods show up here as well, so it's a whole lotta craziness. And it's starting to seem as if the series is overstaying its welcome, while it started out as a fascinating look at justice and morality, no it's starting to seem like a game to see what other big battle we can throw into the mix. Hopefully the final year goes out with a bang. Also,
The writing in this series seemed to step down a notch in this installment. It's messier and more convoluted, and not to mention the awkward, forced, and arguably inappropriate storyline with Harley Quinn's crush on Shazam. Also, it's always been hard for me to grasp stories with gods in them. I've never fully understood where the gods truly stood within the world of DC or the Norse gods in Marvel. And then the New Gods show up here as well, so it's a whole lotta craziness. And it's starting to seem as if the series is overstaying its welcome, while it started out as a fascinating look at justice and morality, no it's starting to seem like a game to see what other big battle we can throw into the mix. Hopefully the final year goes out with a bang. Also,
November 10, 2017
Actual review: 3.75
Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Four, a summary:
Superhero v. Superhero
Superhero v. God
God v. God
(insert epic battle followed by a quick chat)
Superhero v. Superhero
I say they can't get bigger than this but...
Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Four, a summary:
Superhero v. Superhero
Superhero v. God
God v. God
(insert epic battle followed by a quick chat)
Superhero v. Superhero
I say they can't get bigger than this but...
November 28, 2019
I must admit DC ave knocked it out the park with this series.
It’s constantly kept me guessing.
It’s constantly kept me guessing.
May 15, 2020
Love me some Greek gods.
February 14, 2020
This might just be my favourite one out of the series?!? It was honestly batshit but I love me some Greek mythology.
October 6, 2016
লেখক পুরা গ্রীক মিথলজি (Including Mighty Zeus) পৃথিবীতে নামায় নিয়া আসছে।
July 2, 2024
3.5
The end was wholesome so I’m rounding up to 4 stars
I think one of the issues with this is that the creators of this saga are trying to make it more “epic” with each installment
But with the stakes getting higher it becomes a bit ridiculous and some fight scenes repetitive story wise.
It’s hard to beat the first two volumes because they packed a punch with how surprising each page was and that it didn’t get too grand and convoluted.
The end was wholesome so I’m rounding up to 4 stars
I think one of the issues with this is that the creators of this saga are trying to make it more “epic” with each installment
But with the stakes getting higher it becomes a bit ridiculous and some fight scenes repetitive story wise.
It’s hard to beat the first two volumes because they packed a punch with how surprising each page was and that it didn’t get too grand and convoluted.
March 11, 2023
Eu realmente amo injustiça foi meu primeiro quadrinho da Dc e sou muito grato pois realmente ele passa por todo Dc universe e nos deixa instigada e conhecer mais desse universo a história relativamente fica mais grandiosa, tirando um acontecimento que achei sem sentido entre super e Diana mas de resto gostei de maiss e a arte é espetacular bruno redondo arrasando muitooo
Nostalgia Puraaa
Nostalgia Puraaa
May 28, 2024
Things are getting really messed up for no reason. Still, totally enjoyable.
August 13, 2020
So I didn’t like this collection as much as the other 3. However it was still really enjoyable. I’m definitely excited to read year five and see how everything ties together and the conclusion to Injustice: Gods Among Us.
January 5, 2020
Le tocó el turno a los dioses griegos. Si, a los griegos, que como en la Iliada o la Odisea, pueden definir los acontecimientos del mundo y mover con hilos finos el destino de los hombres... y de los superhéroes.
En otras palabras... Zeus se enojó y quiso imponerse de nuevo sobre la tierra y el universo al que ésta pertenece. A pesar de haber prometido no volver a tener un contacto directo con el mundo, para el olímpico y los suyos, esta disputa por el poder entre los miembros de la Liga de la Justicia empezó a descomponer emociones y a generar la necesidad de reordenar el destino de los hombres... por que claro está, no puede haber nada más inconcebible que la humanidad esté controlada por un insignificante extraterrestre kryptoniano... esa no es carta de presentación adecuada para ningún grupo de dioses que se glorifiquen por ser los regentes de la humanidad, aunque en el trayecto, hayan sido permisivos y dejaran que Cristo, Buda y Alá hicieran de las suyas.
Tenemos pues, en este número, un intenso fulgor de batallas más allá de la comprensión. Al final, pareciera que todo ha sido orquestado por un olímpico y un supervillano. Ares y Darkseid han unido estrepitosamente sus ideas y sus fuerzas para que todo se vaya al carajo.
Y nuestros queridos amigos de la Liga de la Justicia ensañados en una lucha que parece no tener fin. Buscando culpables en todos lados y dando argumentos para evitar asumir las responsabilidades de todo este nefasto escenario.
Al final, mi predilección siempre se ve enfocada en esos que no siendo tan superpoderosos esgrimen un atisbo de cordura o de locura si es el caso, para demostrar que son tan importantes como aquellos que son casi indestructibles. En este número Harley Queen y René Montoya se llevan toda mi admiración y mi gusto ❤
En otras palabras... Zeus se enojó y quiso imponerse de nuevo sobre la tierra y el universo al que ésta pertenece. A pesar de haber prometido no volver a tener un contacto directo con el mundo, para el olímpico y los suyos, esta disputa por el poder entre los miembros de la Liga de la Justicia empezó a descomponer emociones y a generar la necesidad de reordenar el destino de los hombres... por que claro está, no puede haber nada más inconcebible que la humanidad esté controlada por un insignificante extraterrestre kryptoniano... esa no es carta de presentación adecuada para ningún grupo de dioses que se glorifiquen por ser los regentes de la humanidad, aunque en el trayecto, hayan sido permisivos y dejaran que Cristo, Buda y Alá hicieran de las suyas.
Tenemos pues, en este número, un intenso fulgor de batallas más allá de la comprensión. Al final, pareciera que todo ha sido orquestado por un olímpico y un supervillano. Ares y Darkseid han unido estrepitosamente sus ideas y sus fuerzas para que todo se vaya al carajo.
Y nuestros queridos amigos de la Liga de la Justicia ensañados en una lucha que parece no tener fin. Buscando culpables en todos lados y dando argumentos para evitar asumir las responsabilidades de todo este nefasto escenario.
Al final, mi predilección siempre se ve enfocada en esos que no siendo tan superpoderosos esgrimen un atisbo de cordura o de locura si es el caso, para demostrar que son tan importantes como aquellos que son casi indestructibles. En este número Harley Queen y René Montoya se llevan toda mi admiración y mi gusto ❤
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2021
Really digging this whole series. This time, Olympus gets involved and it’s all sorts of madness. Gods vs monsters! Okay, and I guess I do understand a little bit of the fatigue and frustration that goes along with reading these big volumes and seeing the bad guys continually facing *unbelievably* insurmountable odds, yet still squeaking out a victory, but if they lost then the series would be over, and you have to admit that the bombast of it all is thoroughly enjoyable. That said, it might have been cool to focus a little more on the resistance and the emotional toil it’s taken to have been fighting this seemingly unwinnable war for years, although I know that might delve into a little more esoteric and introspective territory than many fans want from a superhero title. It is what it is. Anyway, this was fun, Zeus is a dick, Superman is a dope villain, and Batman is still my number one crush 😍🖤
September 4, 2024
(Read on 2019, review from 2024)
After three solid years to kick off Injustice, this was a stumble and a step back. It really felt like this was going all over the place in terms of story. Greek and New Gods being dragged into the comic were interesting but it just didn’t have the epic feel of the initial Justice League split (Year 1), the Green Lantern Corps trying to stop Superman (Year 2), or DC’s supernatural characters getting dragged in (Year 3). It really felt like the story was running out of steam. BUT THAT SAID....
..the closing issue of the collection makes this worth reading. Plastic Man and his antics to cause a prison break were fantastic and a good introduction to the character for me
After three solid years to kick off Injustice, this was a stumble and a step back. It really felt like this was going all over the place in terms of story. Greek and New Gods being dragged into the comic were interesting but it just didn’t have the epic feel of the initial Justice League split (Year 1), the Green Lantern Corps trying to stop Superman (Year 2), or DC’s supernatural characters getting dragged in (Year 3). It really felt like the story was running out of steam. BUT THAT SAID....
..the closing issue of the collection makes this worth reading. Plastic Man and his antics to cause a prison break were fantastic and a good introduction to the character for me
June 10, 2020
Buccellato definitely wasn't the right writer for this series. Instead of continuing the overarching plot, he works issue by issue, creating action-packed scenes without any further consequences.
Superman is torn between becoming the good guy again and spiraling down deeper in his grief for Lois which turned into raged. It's a constant, super annoying back and forth.
Meanwhile the other characters are only standing there, waiting for their next cue (which never came - at least not in this volume). The only thing they're allowed to do is to crack stupid jokes in really inappropriate situations (even for Harley Quinn. I mean, who needs tension anyways?
I'm still gonna finish this series since there's only on book left, but I've already buried every hope of getting a satisfying conclusion.
Superman is torn between becoming the good guy again and spiraling down deeper in his grief for Lois which turned into raged. It's a constant, super annoying back and forth.
Meanwhile the other characters are only standing there, waiting for their next cue (which never came - at least not in this volume). The only thing they're allowed to do is to crack stupid jokes in really inappropriate situations (even for Harley Quinn. I mean, who needs tension anyways?
I'm still gonna finish this series since there's only on book left, but I've already buried every hope of getting a satisfying conclusion.
October 7, 2020
Me gustó pero no tanto como los otros, no me gustó tanto la aparición de los dioses. Llegué a un momento donde quería decirle a Superman y a Wonder Woman: DEJEN DE SER UNOS PENDEJOS, SE CREEN CHINGONES POR TENER PODERES Y SE CREEN DIOSES CUANDO NO LO SON.
Espero que ocurra algo trágico y que no agarre la onda tan rápido Superman, él tiene sus creencias y está muy cabrón para hacerlo cambiar de opinión.
Espero que ocurra algo trágico y que no agarre la onda tan rápido Superman, él tiene sus creencias y está muy cabrón para hacerlo cambiar de opinión.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2017
Weeeeell, it didn't start as well as I would have hoped for, with some lousy interventions, but it got good/better along the way..
Still a very decent story seeing how it developed. Not going to spoil anything of course.
Just pick it up and see for yourself ;)
Still a very decent story seeing how it developed. Not going to spoil anything of course.
Just pick it up and see for yourself ;)
January 31, 2020
The plot is going nowhere, and we just keep getting these awesome fights against the regime, the resistance keeps getting defeated, but it was nice to re encounter a beloved group. I really hope that the next volume will have some plot development.
May 1, 2021
Se nota cuando una serie está alargada para aprovechar el éxito que la precede. En este caso, solo siento que las tramas ya no llevan a ningún sitio convincente y que se ha tornado en una excusa para presentar a todo el Universo DC con giros de guion absurdos que llevan al status quo inicial. Terminaré de leer la serie con el Año 5, pero creo que ya me va a aportar bien poco.
January 5, 2018
Tom Taylor reclaims a little kudos from me for stepping off this train wreck when it was still kinda good.
August 28, 2021
Wow. MASSIVE battles. The series remains strong. Loved this chapter
October 28, 2021
3.5
i really wish i could give this a 4 stars if just for that last issue and the annual but overall it was pretty average
i really wish i could give this a 4 stars if just for that last issue and the annual but overall it was pretty average
December 25, 2021
Me gusto bastante, me molesto un poco que metan a los dioses griegos(?
Me gusto que el final sea HÍPER abierto para el último tomo
Me gusto que el final sea HÍPER abierto para el último tomo
September 10, 2024
Injustice: Gods Among Us Year 4 - The Complete Collection collects issues 1-12 and annual 1 written by Brian Buccellato and Tom Taylor with art by Bruno Redondo, Mike S. Miller, Juan Albarran, Xermanico, Tom Derenick, Sergio Sandoval, and Jordi Tarragona.
After a major defeat by Superman’s forces, Batman turns to the god of war Ares to enlist the Greek pantheon. With Hera’s influence over Zeus, the Gods of Olympus backed by the army of the Amazon, confront Superman and lay down an ultimatum. But Ares is playing both sides, escalating the fight on both fronts and has a partner hiding in the background.
This volume sees the main writing transition away from Tom Taylor to Brian Buccellato and it shows. The book is still good, but doesn’t feel as polished or exciting as previous volumes. Part of that might be that outside of the Wonder Woman and Amazon titles, the Greek Gods do not have a huge impact on DC books. I honestly think that Superman and some of the other upper echelon of superheroes could easily take out the Greek Gods if they wanted to. The art remains better in this volume, but not quite as good as Year 3. This is definitely a books still worth reading and I’m curious to see how Year 5 ties up the series before the events of the video game.
After a major defeat by Superman’s forces, Batman turns to the god of war Ares to enlist the Greek pantheon. With Hera’s influence over Zeus, the Gods of Olympus backed by the army of the Amazon, confront Superman and lay down an ultimatum. But Ares is playing both sides, escalating the fight on both fronts and has a partner hiding in the background.
This volume sees the main writing transition away from Tom Taylor to Brian Buccellato and it shows. The book is still good, but doesn’t feel as polished or exciting as previous volumes. Part of that might be that outside of the Wonder Woman and Amazon titles, the Greek Gods do not have a huge impact on DC books. I honestly think that Superman and some of the other upper echelon of superheroes could easily take out the Greek Gods if they wanted to. The art remains better in this volume, but not quite as good as Year 3. This is definitely a books still worth reading and I’m curious to see how Year 5 ties up the series before the events of the video game.
January 23, 2021
This book seems completely unnecessary. I had some high expectations for what they were going to do with the story because of the ending in Year Three, but I felt I was mainly disappointed. I was even more disappointed with the fact that they had a possibly interesting idea and wasted it.
What I mean by the interesting idea is that it seems like every year is a different part of the DC universe. For example:
1. Year One is supposed to be the regular Justice League and the memorable faces in the DC
2. Year Two is about space aliens and the Green/Yellow Lanterns fighting each other
3. Year Three is about the universe of magic and demons
4. Year Four is about the Mythological "Gods" such as Zeus, Poseidon, and the rest (including some new "gods" added by the DC)
They could've taken the mythological "god" aspect of this and really expanded upon it. Maybe the "Old Gods" could've sided with Superman, or maybe they would be divided amongst themselves. The "New Gods" in this story don't seem to do much with the plot unless it's convenient, so that's also a missing interesting plot point.
There were other problems disregarding the missing plot lines they could have explored in this. One of these problems is the fact that everything bad that happens just gets undone. And the cover is basically comic-book clickbait. These two go hand-in-hand because of Wonder Woman. In the entire novel, they've been alluding and hinting to the fact that Wonder Woman is going to betray Superman. The cover looks like this will happen, but the actual content? They do this in a weird way that seems unnecessary to me.
SPOILER WARNING FROM HERE ON OUT!
The book handles the Wonder Woman betrayal in a way that doesn't make it a betrayal. The Greek "gods" just force Wonder Woman to fight Superman. I don't understand why this was needed, and why it was done so badly. This was just to get someone really interested in the book which, if they were following up with the Injustice story, they would read this without the comic clickbait. And even when it seems like Wonder Woman is going to switch sides, they just reverse the action. They handle the problems really badly.
That's the main problem: Everything just gets reversed immediately. Greek "gods" taking over the world and banning religion? Oh, that's over. Wonder Woman possibly abandoning Superman (which would actually be a good thing, but it's still an interesting plot point)? Oh, never mind. This whole novel seems like it's trying to fill up time because they didn't plan the story well, it's a filler novel. You could honestly skip this entire thing and understand about 90% of what happens in the beginning of the fifth book.
Yeah, this was pretty bad.
What I mean by the interesting idea is that it seems like every year is a different part of the DC universe. For example:
1. Year One is supposed to be the regular Justice League and the memorable faces in the DC
2. Year Two is about space aliens and the Green/Yellow Lanterns fighting each other
3. Year Three is about the universe of magic and demons
4. Year Four is about the Mythological "Gods" such as Zeus, Poseidon, and the rest (including some new "gods" added by the DC)
They could've taken the mythological "god" aspect of this and really expanded upon it. Maybe the "Old Gods" could've sided with Superman, or maybe they would be divided amongst themselves. The "New Gods" in this story don't seem to do much with the plot unless it's convenient, so that's also a missing interesting plot point.
There were other problems disregarding the missing plot lines they could have explored in this. One of these problems is the fact that everything bad that happens just gets undone. And the cover is basically comic-book clickbait. These two go hand-in-hand because of Wonder Woman. In the entire novel, they've been alluding and hinting to the fact that Wonder Woman is going to betray Superman. The cover looks like this will happen, but the actual content? They do this in a weird way that seems unnecessary to me.
SPOILER WARNING FROM HERE ON OUT!
The book handles the Wonder Woman betrayal in a way that doesn't make it a betrayal. The Greek "gods" just force Wonder Woman to fight Superman. I don't understand why this was needed, and why it was done so badly. This was just to get someone really interested in the book which, if they were following up with the Injustice story, they would read this without the comic clickbait. And even when it seems like Wonder Woman is going to switch sides, they just reverse the action. They handle the problems really badly.
That's the main problem: Everything just gets reversed immediately. Greek "gods" taking over the world and banning religion? Oh, that's over. Wonder Woman possibly abandoning Superman (which would actually be a good thing, but it's still an interesting plot point)? Oh, never mind. This whole novel seems like it's trying to fill up time because they didn't plan the story well, it's a filler novel. You could honestly skip this entire thing and understand about 90% of what happens in the beginning of the fifth book.
Yeah, this was pretty bad.
June 19, 2021
This one was the badass till now, and Batman has good links.
Haha the almighty gods and what not.
Haha the almighty gods and what not.
February 20, 2022
Well, it’s certainly been a long four years. However, after finishing this graphic novel I will say that year four, in my opinion, was slightly better than year three. In the end, I certainly have higher hopes for year five than when I finished the last graphic novel. Don’t get me wrong, the magic we saw in year three was great, but it certainly pales in comparison to bringing in the big guns such as the old Greek gods. I’m starting to see the pattern now. It’s good that year five will conclude all this because it is starting to become a little tedious. Batman brings in some new power to crush Superman’s authority. Conflict erupts, but in the end we’re back to square one. In year one Batman and his insurgents attempt to crush Superman’s reign and they fail spectacularly. In year two they try to bring in the Green Lantern Corps. Superman disposes of them fairly easily. In year three, Batman throws magic at them which doesn’t do much good. Now, in year four, he makes a pact with the old gods to intervene. Spoiler alert, it goes as well as in previous years.
Superman’s reign is still as strong as ever and Batman is quickly running out of cards to play to turn the tide against the forced peace on Earth that Superman has imposed. Batman’s insurgency has been hit time and again. Their numbers are quickly dwindling. He needs someone who can stand a fighting chance against Superman. So, he calls in the old gods by making a pact with Ares, the god of war. What comes after is a war against Superman’s regime and the old Greek gods who attempt to reestablish themselves as the power that humanity should worship. Due to Wonder Woman’s lineage, this strains her allegiance between Superman, who she pretty much secretly (or not so secretly) loves, and her father, the god of the old gods, Zeus.
One of the strongest parts of year four is definitely the strain that’s placed on Wonder Woman. She loves and believes in what Superman is attempting to do, even if she suspects that he’s starting to go a little too far in how he goes about accomplishing his goals. When Batman gets the old gods involved in the affairs of men, she’s called back to stand against Superman and fight for her father and mother alongside her Amazonian warriors. I loved the scene where she attempts to stop the Amazonian warriors from laying siege to the Justice League by requesting a trial by combat. It blows up spectacularly in her face and she’s forced to pit herself against Superman. I honestly had no idea that the only person who could really stand up to Superman was Wonder Woman. I just didn’t see them as equals in that respect. I hope that doesn’t come across as misogynistic, I just didn’t assume that she could go toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly she kicked his ass. I mean, she breaks his arm fairly easily. I also didn’t realize that the old gods were comparable, and in Zeus’ case, stronger than Superman. If things went how Batman had intended, the old gods could have easily vanquished Superman and his regime fairly easily.
Speaking of the old gods, clearly whatever Batman has planned never goes the way he intends. Instead of them strictly coming down to remove Superman from Earth, they intend to reestablish themselves as the true deities to worship on Earth. I was surprised when Zeus basically lays siege to all other religions, using his lightning to destroy churches and mosques around the world. Obviously, Batman wasn’t expecting that to happen. He made a deal with Ares, but he should have known that Ares had plans of his own. He had his own agenda of creating chaos and destruction on Earth, fueling his own primal desires along with his partner, Darkseid, who is seeking revenge for Superman killing his son. I had just read Mister Miracle not that long ago and was pleasantly surprised to see the new gods and their involvement. It was pretty cool to see the Highfather step in between Superman and Zeus. I would have honestly loved to have seen the Highfather and Zeus duke it out, but the Highfather makes it pretty clear that it would be mutual destruction.
This year there certainly weren’t as many people dying as there have been in past years. The only real one of any consequence (and really that’s stretching it) that comes to mind is Hercules which Superman is able to dispatch. Harley and Billy seem like they die, but Zeus just sends them to the underworld and they’re able to get out of there fairly easily once they steal Ares’ mother box. Oh, Montoya, who to me was always a tertiary character, ends up taking too many of the green pills and ODs, but that’s about it.
I did like year four better than year three, but at the same time, this felt more and more like filler. After four years you begin to see a pattern. Batman attempts to find a different power (Green Lanterns, magic, old gods) to pit against Superman. There is obviously conflict that arises, but in the end they’re back to square one with Superman still maintaining his hold on Earth. Batman basically only has his Bat family at this point. He’s got Catwoman, Batwoman, and then the Oracle, who, with Lex Luthor’s help, gets her legs back to become Batgirl again. I mean, there’s Alfred as well, but that’s about it. Damian’s still pissed at his father and wanting to be the one that takes him down. There aren’t very many out there still attempting to help Batman. Lex Luthor secretly assists Batman, but I still can’t figure out his end game. It all feels like he’s a good guy in this which is still extremely weird to me.
The end of year four leaves you with some questions that still need to be tied up in the final year. Where is Raven and what is she doing? Will she come back and how will she do so? The Lex Luthor/Superman clone escapes so how will he factor into year five? The epilogue with Plastic Man which felt tagged on is clearly setting up who Batman will bring in to fight Superman in the final year. How will the villains that are now free from the Trench factor in? Will they assist Batman’s insurgency or end up making things worse? I guess there’s only one way to find out!
All in all, I ended up appreciating this year a little more than the previous year. It was cool to see the old gods come into play. It was also interesting to watch how Wonder Woman gets pushed and pulled in her allegiances. However, I’m starting to get a little tired of the clear formula that has been established by now throughout the years. Here is hoping that year five shakes things up a bit and ends in a spectacular fashion. I’ve always been a bigger fan of the comic book villains than I have been of the heroes. I’m super excited to see how they all factor into the final year.
Superman’s reign is still as strong as ever and Batman is quickly running out of cards to play to turn the tide against the forced peace on Earth that Superman has imposed. Batman’s insurgency has been hit time and again. Their numbers are quickly dwindling. He needs someone who can stand a fighting chance against Superman. So, he calls in the old gods by making a pact with Ares, the god of war. What comes after is a war against Superman’s regime and the old Greek gods who attempt to reestablish themselves as the power that humanity should worship. Due to Wonder Woman’s lineage, this strains her allegiance between Superman, who she pretty much secretly (or not so secretly) loves, and her father, the god of the old gods, Zeus.
One of the strongest parts of year four is definitely the strain that’s placed on Wonder Woman. She loves and believes in what Superman is attempting to do, even if she suspects that he’s starting to go a little too far in how he goes about accomplishing his goals. When Batman gets the old gods involved in the affairs of men, she’s called back to stand against Superman and fight for her father and mother alongside her Amazonian warriors. I loved the scene where she attempts to stop the Amazonian warriors from laying siege to the Justice League by requesting a trial by combat. It blows up spectacularly in her face and she’s forced to pit herself against Superman. I honestly had no idea that the only person who could really stand up to Superman was Wonder Woman. I just didn’t see them as equals in that respect. I hope that doesn’t come across as misogynistic, I just didn’t assume that she could go toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly she kicked his ass. I mean, she breaks his arm fairly easily. I also didn’t realize that the old gods were comparable, and in Zeus’ case, stronger than Superman. If things went how Batman had intended, the old gods could have easily vanquished Superman and his regime fairly easily.
Speaking of the old gods, clearly whatever Batman has planned never goes the way he intends. Instead of them strictly coming down to remove Superman from Earth, they intend to reestablish themselves as the true deities to worship on Earth. I was surprised when Zeus basically lays siege to all other religions, using his lightning to destroy churches and mosques around the world. Obviously, Batman wasn’t expecting that to happen. He made a deal with Ares, but he should have known that Ares had plans of his own. He had his own agenda of creating chaos and destruction on Earth, fueling his own primal desires along with his partner, Darkseid, who is seeking revenge for Superman killing his son. I had just read Mister Miracle not that long ago and was pleasantly surprised to see the new gods and their involvement. It was pretty cool to see the Highfather step in between Superman and Zeus. I would have honestly loved to have seen the Highfather and Zeus duke it out, but the Highfather makes it pretty clear that it would be mutual destruction.
This year there certainly weren’t as many people dying as there have been in past years. The only real one of any consequence (and really that’s stretching it) that comes to mind is Hercules which Superman is able to dispatch. Harley and Billy seem like they die, but Zeus just sends them to the underworld and they’re able to get out of there fairly easily once they steal Ares’ mother box. Oh, Montoya, who to me was always a tertiary character, ends up taking too many of the green pills and ODs, but that’s about it.
I did like year four better than year three, but at the same time, this felt more and more like filler. After four years you begin to see a pattern. Batman attempts to find a different power (Green Lanterns, magic, old gods) to pit against Superman. There is obviously conflict that arises, but in the end they’re back to square one with Superman still maintaining his hold on Earth. Batman basically only has his Bat family at this point. He’s got Catwoman, Batwoman, and then the Oracle, who, with Lex Luthor’s help, gets her legs back to become Batgirl again. I mean, there’s Alfred as well, but that’s about it. Damian’s still pissed at his father and wanting to be the one that takes him down. There aren’t very many out there still attempting to help Batman. Lex Luthor secretly assists Batman, but I still can’t figure out his end game. It all feels like he’s a good guy in this which is still extremely weird to me.
The end of year four leaves you with some questions that still need to be tied up in the final year. Where is Raven and what is she doing? Will she come back and how will she do so? The Lex Luthor/Superman clone escapes so how will he factor into year five? The epilogue with Plastic Man which felt tagged on is clearly setting up who Batman will bring in to fight Superman in the final year. How will the villains that are now free from the Trench factor in? Will they assist Batman’s insurgency or end up making things worse? I guess there’s only one way to find out!
All in all, I ended up appreciating this year a little more than the previous year. It was cool to see the old gods come into play. It was also interesting to watch how Wonder Woman gets pushed and pulled in her allegiances. However, I’m starting to get a little tired of the clear formula that has been established by now throughout the years. Here is hoping that year five shakes things up a bit and ends in a spectacular fashion. I’ve always been a bigger fan of the comic book villains than I have been of the heroes. I’m super excited to see how they all factor into the final year.
September 21, 2018
With this volume, a new writer adds a new chapter to the Injustice story.
Buccellato throws the next logical adversary towards superman, since all else has failed: Gods. I very much enjoyed this chapter even if I did feel some of the story beats were a bit forced and/or strange. And by strange I mean that characters suddenly change their minds, act out of character, etc... This is mostly the God characters but overall, I enjoyed the series.
I very much enjoyed the dynamic that Wonder Woman has with Superman as she is placed at the center of the battle. She sides with Superman, but her family is literally the Gods. I like that Buccellato is planting seeds of doubt in not only Wonder Woman, but slowly we start seeing Hal, Barry and a bit of Damian regarding Superman and how his demeanor is changing.
There is a definite tonal change to the series because of the new writer, but its not so jarring that it prevents you from enjoying this chapter.
Once again, the artists on the book are great and I didn't really have a problem with any one issue or artist. They all do great work.
Ill definitely keep reading this series and look forward to seeing how things turn out especially since the annual basically sets up the next year. Cant wait to see!
Buccellato throws the next logical adversary towards superman, since all else has failed: Gods. I very much enjoyed this chapter even if I did feel some of the story beats were a bit forced and/or strange. And by strange I mean that characters suddenly change their minds, act out of character, etc... This is mostly the God characters but overall, I enjoyed the series.
I very much enjoyed the dynamic that Wonder Woman has with Superman as she is placed at the center of the battle. She sides with Superman, but her family is literally the Gods. I like that Buccellato is planting seeds of doubt in not only Wonder Woman, but slowly we start seeing Hal, Barry and a bit of Damian regarding Superman and how his demeanor is changing.
There is a definite tonal change to the series because of the new writer, but its not so jarring that it prevents you from enjoying this chapter.
Once again, the artists on the book are great and I didn't really have a problem with any one issue or artist. They all do great work.
Ill definitely keep reading this series and look forward to seeing how things turn out especially since the annual basically sets up the next year. Cant wait to see!
June 21, 2024
This is Buccellato’s first year of full control over this series… and I’m sad to say he just didn’t deliver when he needed to. I could REALLY feel Tom Taylor’s absence in Year Four of Injustice. This feels like a filler year that, until the epilogue, does nothing to shift the status quo of the world or development of its characters.
Year Three ended with Superman apologizing for obsessing over Bruce and Year Four ends with Diana telling Clark that he is still obsessing over Bruce. Year Four begins with Clark feeling paranoid and distrustful of members and friends within the regime but that plot thread dissolves and vanishes with no real noticeable change in Clark even though this year is ultimately filled with characters betraying Clark (Diana, Lex, Ares, and even Sinestro to an extent).
At the same time, Year Four will even recycle arcs and story ideas from previous years. For instance, the main story from this book ends with the Regime and Insurgency working together to stop a world ending event that ultimately became a problem because Batman’s plans spiraled too far out of control after he relied on untrustworthy individuals in his fight against Superman. This is what happened with Constantine and Trigon in Year Three, and it happens again with Zeus and Ares. Another repeated story is Superman willing to sacrifice one of his regime friend’s allies / associated armies for the sake of maintaining his rule. This happened in Year Two with the Green Lantern Corps and it happens again in Year Four with the Amazons.
Also, for some idiotic reason Buccellato decides to continue the Harley sub-plot with her crush on Shazam and it’s just… so weird and creepy. It takes up way more time in Year Four and is often used for laughs but it’s just really… bad. This better vanish in Year Five.
However, the biggest failure from this last year of Injustice is definitely the failure to properly develop Wonder Woman.
Diana is the character that is focused on the most inside Superman’s regime during Year Four. This is a great idea for Year Four’s focus considering she had been absent from the series for a year and a half. She came out of a coma after Superman reached a deeper low than he did in Year One — embracing fear and adopting the usage of a yellow ring and aid from the Sinestro Corps. This year should have done what Year Two did for Hal Jordan. It should have developed Diana’s beliefs further and the book should have thrown her through tests which end in her falling to her absolute low like Hal and Clark — where she would betray the gods, and disregard the hopes and beliefs of her mother. The conflict that’s set up brilliantly forces her into an ultimatum that should cause heaps of change as she must fully decide if her loyalty lies with the Greek Gods or with Superman.
However, what makes this decision not impactful whatsoever is that the gods are straight up villains that are actually worse than the Regime and Diana’s mother actively stands against the gods and is regularly threatened and harmed by Hera, wife of Zeus. By the half way point of the book, the reader just feels bad for Wonder Woman because… she has little to no agency in any of her actions in the story and she’s somehow one of the more moral characters in the story even though she basically pushed Superman into becoming a tyrant in Year One.
Superman plays chicken with the Amazons’ lives, and the Greek Gods threaten the rest of the world with a 48-hour ultimatum to abandon their faith and worship them instead. It’s hard not to root for her when she’s just trying to keep her mother and Amazonian sisters alive. To make matters worse, the direction that this book takes with Diana should naturally lead to her leaving man’s world altogether to protect her sisters on Themyscira. Batman drew the gods into his fight against the regime which directly affects the Amazonian army, so she wouldn’t join him. However, Superman showed the same lack of care for her people when he held a tidal wave over the Amazon’s’ heads and refused to surrender to protect Diana’s mother. Logically, she would hate both Superman and Batman and leave the main conflict altogether to protect her people from the conflict.
However, throughout this entire ordeal, she just resets after the events of Year Four to how she started. She’s still by Clark’s side but isn’t dating him; she’s still on good terms with her mother; she’s still confident in her stance with the Regime; the Amazons still like her. She doesn’t change and the world doesn’t change around her, which is a massive failure on this book.
It made me wonder… what is the purpose of Year Four even existing? This is especially the case when I realized that the Plastic Man epilogue, which sets up the final year of the series, was really great and the best part of the entire Year by far.
It just also happens to be the only issue written by Tom Taylor from this entire year of the book. This only concerns me more as he doesn’t have any writing credits for the entirety of Year Five.
I’m not going to say all of this was bad. It had some high highs. I really love the showdown between Clark and Diana at the Hall of Justice, as well as Green Lantern’s analysis of the roles that Willpower and Fear played in the fight. I love the early moments of Superman telling Batman that the fight is over at the Washington Monument after Renee Montoya dies of a green pill overdose. I love that Clark has maintained enough respect for Bruce to let him leave with his dead friend. I like the premise of a Wonder Woman / Amazon / Greek God focused year of Injustice. I like Batman confronting the Highfather of New Genesis. I like Aquaman making Poseidon get eaten by a shark in the same style as is seen in the video game.
There are really fun and great moments. However, it’s not enough to replace the lack of plot progression and blatant issues in character development. I’m hoping that Buccellato pulls it together for the final book in the series as the main thing he seems to struggle with is character work. The potential is there. I hope that he takes the time to get it right.
Year Three ended with Superman apologizing for obsessing over Bruce and Year Four ends with Diana telling Clark that he is still obsessing over Bruce. Year Four begins with Clark feeling paranoid and distrustful of members and friends within the regime but that plot thread dissolves and vanishes with no real noticeable change in Clark even though this year is ultimately filled with characters betraying Clark (Diana, Lex, Ares, and even Sinestro to an extent).
At the same time, Year Four will even recycle arcs and story ideas from previous years. For instance, the main story from this book ends with the Regime and Insurgency working together to stop a world ending event that ultimately became a problem because Batman’s plans spiraled too far out of control after he relied on untrustworthy individuals in his fight against Superman. This is what happened with Constantine and Trigon in Year Three, and it happens again with Zeus and Ares. Another repeated story is Superman willing to sacrifice one of his regime friend’s allies / associated armies for the sake of maintaining his rule. This happened in Year Two with the Green Lantern Corps and it happens again in Year Four with the Amazons.
Also, for some idiotic reason Buccellato decides to continue the Harley sub-plot with her crush on Shazam and it’s just… so weird and creepy. It takes up way more time in Year Four and is often used for laughs but it’s just really… bad. This better vanish in Year Five.
However, the biggest failure from this last year of Injustice is definitely the failure to properly develop Wonder Woman.
Diana is the character that is focused on the most inside Superman’s regime during Year Four. This is a great idea for Year Four’s focus considering she had been absent from the series for a year and a half. She came out of a coma after Superman reached a deeper low than he did in Year One — embracing fear and adopting the usage of a yellow ring and aid from the Sinestro Corps. This year should have done what Year Two did for Hal Jordan. It should have developed Diana’s beliefs further and the book should have thrown her through tests which end in her falling to her absolute low like Hal and Clark — where she would betray the gods, and disregard the hopes and beliefs of her mother. The conflict that’s set up brilliantly forces her into an ultimatum that should cause heaps of change as she must fully decide if her loyalty lies with the Greek Gods or with Superman.
However, what makes this decision not impactful whatsoever is that the gods are straight up villains that are actually worse than the Regime and Diana’s mother actively stands against the gods and is regularly threatened and harmed by Hera, wife of Zeus. By the half way point of the book, the reader just feels bad for Wonder Woman because… she has little to no agency in any of her actions in the story and she’s somehow one of the more moral characters in the story even though she basically pushed Superman into becoming a tyrant in Year One.
Superman plays chicken with the Amazons’ lives, and the Greek Gods threaten the rest of the world with a 48-hour ultimatum to abandon their faith and worship them instead. It’s hard not to root for her when she’s just trying to keep her mother and Amazonian sisters alive. To make matters worse, the direction that this book takes with Diana should naturally lead to her leaving man’s world altogether to protect her sisters on Themyscira. Batman drew the gods into his fight against the regime which directly affects the Amazonian army, so she wouldn’t join him. However, Superman showed the same lack of care for her people when he held a tidal wave over the Amazon’s’ heads and refused to surrender to protect Diana’s mother. Logically, she would hate both Superman and Batman and leave the main conflict altogether to protect her people from the conflict.
However, throughout this entire ordeal, she just resets after the events of Year Four to how she started. She’s still by Clark’s side but isn’t dating him; she’s still on good terms with her mother; she’s still confident in her stance with the Regime; the Amazons still like her. She doesn’t change and the world doesn’t change around her, which is a massive failure on this book.
It made me wonder… what is the purpose of Year Four even existing? This is especially the case when I realized that the Plastic Man epilogue, which sets up the final year of the series, was really great and the best part of the entire Year by far.
It just also happens to be the only issue written by Tom Taylor from this entire year of the book. This only concerns me more as he doesn’t have any writing credits for the entirety of Year Five.
I’m not going to say all of this was bad. It had some high highs. I really love the showdown between Clark and Diana at the Hall of Justice, as well as Green Lantern’s analysis of the roles that Willpower and Fear played in the fight. I love the early moments of Superman telling Batman that the fight is over at the Washington Monument after Renee Montoya dies of a green pill overdose. I love that Clark has maintained enough respect for Bruce to let him leave with his dead friend. I like the premise of a Wonder Woman / Amazon / Greek God focused year of Injustice. I like Batman confronting the Highfather of New Genesis. I like Aquaman making Poseidon get eaten by a shark in the same style as is seen in the video game.
There are really fun and great moments. However, it’s not enough to replace the lack of plot progression and blatant issues in character development. I’m hoping that Buccellato pulls it together for the final book in the series as the main thing he seems to struggle with is character work. The potential is there. I hope that he takes the time to get it right.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2021
I've revised my original view of this volume, and added one more star. On second read-through I found it far more entertaining than the first time.
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