An Injustice: Whatever Happened To the DC Universe?

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Posted by Frazier on February 18th, 2014

I know what you’re thinking, “This is going to be another fan boy discussing how much he hates DC comics New 52.” but actually this is the opposite. Instead I am offering something to all those who have stuck with DC comics and have been continuously let down.

In 2011 DC comics revamped and relaunched their line of comic books. Everything was reset in some way or form. When this happened many fans were disappointed, most thought it was a publicity stunt that would end in a few months time, however for better or worse the New 52 has been with us for about three years and shows no signs of going back. If it wasn’t the reset of issue numbering or ending mid story line that upset some of the fans, it was the drastic changes to the characters. I can say this much for DC’s new 52, they are willing to take chances. Superman was now colder and less human, and no longer with Lois; Batman had four different Robins in the span of five years; Batgirl was never shot and paralyzed eliminating the strong character Oracle that she had become; And don’t get me started on the death and rebirth of Superman, people still don’t know what happened there. Even recent changes have caused huge controversies with DC’s fan base. Red Robin, Tim Drake, is no longer actually Tim Drake; The Green Lantern Guardians were destroyed; Superman killed another superhero; Lobo, the once badass rocker, now looks like he walked off the set of Twilight; And most shockingly everyone’s favorite Robin is now no more than a memory. But alas it looks like the New 52 isn’t going anywhere, and has even seeped into the DC Animated Universe.

So where can fans of the old universe turn to now that their beloved heroes have been retconned? Where can you find out what happened to your favorite characters before they became these ‘new edgier’ versions for a new generation? I have one word for you, “Injustice”. Perhaps you’ve heard of the video game, created by NetherRealm Studios (the makers of Mortal Kombat) and published by Warner Bros. But it’s grown into more than that due to their comic book line, and could very well be the answer you’re looking for.

Injustice was announced in May of 2012, less than a year after DC had relaunched their comic book series into the New 52. This is important because most of the changes to the New 52 weren’t in stone yet, and were still being written. That’s only about eight months (equal to eight issues) of comic books. The basic story is that in an alternate universe Superman has had the tragedy of all tragedies. The Joker has pushed Superman to the edge, and forces Superman to ask the question “Why is he still around?” This may seem out of character to the pre-52 Superman that we all love, but when you see what happened it all actually fits. He goes to Batman and asks why Batman has done nothing throughout the years to permanently stop Joker. Of course this question eventually applies to every law breaking baddie in the DC universe and from there Superman’s reign reaches even those who oppose him, including Batman. The game’s story-line involves many other characters throughout the DC universe, even the big bad Lobo that fans are now demanding to be kept in the New 52.

Five months after the video game came out the Injustice: Gods Among Us comic book was announced. This is where you loyal pre-52 fans may want to jump on. The comic takes a look at the events that led up to the world seen in the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game. You get to see the emotional decent of Superman as he not only has to deal with the repercussions of Joker’s actions, but also of his own. But one of the best parts about this series is that the universe created is almost a pre-New 52 universe. Superman is married to Lois, Doomsday is still around, even Damian Wayne is alive. The series is written by Tom Taylor (@TomTaylorMade) who is well know for his Star Wars comics and most recently his work on the New 52′s Earth-2 series.

So if you want an idea of what could have possibly happened to all your favorite characters, and where their adventures finally took them I recommend INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, and it’s predecessor INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US Year 2

-F

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/

http://www.newsarama.com/

One Response to “An Injustice: Whatever Happened To the DC Universe?”

hexdsl says:

February 21, 2014 at 5:51 pm

New 52 a side as a reader of all Publisher I feel like DC have no driving vision or unity between books at the moment, and yeah, that started showing with the N52 launch.

Marvel have this way of tying up all the stories in a way that make me feel like everything is connected where as DC have a collection of characters who occasionally cross paths in forced ways.

Compare the battle of the Atom event from marvel to the Death Of The Family event in from DC:

Marvel have it clear which titles you need to read for the event and bookended it with a special (BotA core title) at each end wrapping it up nicely, they are even releasing a stand along graphic novel this month that fills in the ‘gap’ that it caused in the timeline and shows how the fallout was dealt with, this volume can be read or ignored by readers as its designed as a retrospective from the characters point of view. all good stuff.

The Death of the Family event was a brilliant read on its own however DC fell into the trap of putting ‘Joker masks’ on EVERY remote tie in at the start, pretty much EVERY Bat-book had one for no good reason. Then, we had the reading list, I brought every book on that list and they were all unrelated save for a few panels at the end. Cat woman being the only really trenched in issue (but one you can ignore as it has no real impact the the actual events but was a good joke/cat story anyway) but all in all you could ignore everything and stick to the Batman core book. If i had have realised this i would have skipped all those tie in titles. this is what happens every time with DC, no real continuity between writers or books and no driving destination for the universe as a whole.

With all that said Batman is still a brilliant monthly and well worth your attention, but what do i know, i read the Flash too

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