Injustice is a series of superhero fighting video games developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, featuring characters from the DC Comics universe. The games were directed by Mortal Kombat creator and industry veteran Ed Boon, whose team had previously developed Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe for Midway Games, and written by Brian Chard, Dominic Cianciolo and John Vogel and Jon Greenberg. The series features the voice talents of Kevin Conroy, George Newbern, Susan Eisenberg, Phil LaMarr, Alan Tudyk, Grey Griffin, Fred Tatasciore, Tara Strong, Khary Payton and Richard Epcar, reprising their roles from various DC Comics media.
| Injustice | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Developer(s) | NetherRealm Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment |
| Writer(s) |
|
| Platform(s) | |
| First release | Injustice: Gods Among Us April 16, 2013 |
| Latest release | Injustice 2: Legendary Edition March 27, 2018 |
| Parent series | DC Universe video games |
The series' plot and premise take place within an alternate reality to the main DC Universe continuity, where Superman becomes a tyrant and establishes a new world order after the Joker tricks him into killing Lois Lane and destroying Metropolis by a nuclear bomb, causing Batman to form an insurgency in an effort to stop his regime. The first game, Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013), focuses on Batman receiving aid from an alternate universe where he summons counterparts of the Justice League's members from another universe to join his insurgency and end the regime. The second game, Injustice 2 (2017), follows the same narrative five years later after the events of the first game set in the same universe of the Regime where Batman's insurgency rebuilds society after Superman's fall while dealing with a Society of Super Villains led by Gorilla Grodd and the alien collector Brainiac, forcing Batman to consider freeing Superman to help combat the threats.
Games
| Title | Year | Platform(s) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS3 | PS4 | PS Vita | Wii U | Win | X360 | XOne | Android | iOS | ||||||
| Injustice: Gods Among Us | 2013 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Injustice 2 | 2017 | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
Injustice: Gods Among Us
In the first game of the series, set in an alternate reality, Superman establishes a new world order after the Joker tricks him into killing Lois Lane and destroying Metropolis with a nuclear bomb. In an effort to stop this, Batman summons counterparts from another universe to end the regime.
Injustice 2
Set five years after the events of Injustice: Gods Among Us, Injustice 2 features a bigger cast of characters and set in the same universe where Batman and his Insurgency rebuilds society after Superman's fall while dealing with a Society of Super Villains led by Gorilla Grodd and a collector of worlds called Brainiac, where Batman has no choice but to consider freeing Superman to even out the odds.
Characters
- A light grey cell indicates the character was not in the video game or the animated film.
In other media
Comics
The Injustice: Gods Among Us comic book series serves as a prequel detailing the events leading up to the game, as well as those that happen in the interregnum between Superman's murder of the Joker and the discovery of the primary universe. The series was first written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by a number of artists, including Jheremy Raapack, Mike S. Miller, Bruno Redondo, Tom Derenick, and others. The comic was released digitally beginning on January 15, 2013. The series was later issued in regular comic book form, and eventually a collected edition. Tom Taylor left the series after writing Injustice: Year Three #14, with Brian Buccellato replacing him by continuing the story into Year Four and Five. The final chapter of the series was released in September 2016, leaving the story incomplete; another comic book series, titled Injustice: Ground Zero, followed afterwards, which picked up the story and concluded the retelling of the game's events from Harley Quinn's perspective.
Injustice 2 comic book series serves as a prequel to the events of the game. The series is written by Tom Taylor, who had previously worked on the tie-in comic books for Injustice: Gods Among Us. Bruno Redondo is its lead artist, with contributing artwork from Juan Albarran, Daniel Sempere, and Mike S. Miller. Beginning on April 11, 2017, the series was released in weekly chapters through various digital retailers, including ComiXology, Google Play Books, the Kindle Store, and DC Comics' own mobile app. Print versions became available for purchase in the following month on May 3, each containing multiple digital chapters.
A miniseries known as Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe featuring a crossover with Mattel's Masters of the Universe franchise was first published on July 18, 2018, by DC Comics. It is written by Tim Seeley with art by Freddie Williams II, and follows the second game's alternate ending, where Superman wins out over Batman. After killing Braniac and combining himself with Braniac ship, Superman has turned Batman with the help of Braniac technology into the Black Oracle, who can predict crimes before they happen. Damian Wayne, who has become an adult, teams up with Cyborg and seeks the help of the Masters of the Universe in stopping Superman for good. Damian manages to free Batman from Superman's control but is killed by Wonder Woman for his betrayal which triggers Batman's release from Superman's programming. After Darkseid and Skeletor forces invade Earth and Eternia, they need to co-operate to save the world.
The universe of Injustice returned in the Dawn of DC miniseries Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent, written by the original Injustice writer Tom Taylor.
Film
An animated Injustice film was released in October 2021 as part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. The film is an adaptation of the Year One comic series, featuring a different voice cast instead of the regular cast from the games. The film was released for digital and physical formats.
Reception
| Game | Metacritic |
|---|---|
| Injustice: Gods Among Us | (WIIU) 82/100 (X360) 81/100 (PS4) 80/100 (PC) 79/100 (PS3) 78/100 (iOS) 69/100 |
| Injustice 2 | 87/100 (PS4) 88/100 (XONE) |
The series has been a critical and commercial success, with praise going to its story, gameplay mechanics, presentation, an abundance of in-game content, character customization options, and use of the DC Comics license.
The animated Injustice film, however, received mixed reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 60% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.60/10. Criticism was leveled at the unceremonious character deaths, poor character development, unfaithfulness to the source material, and overstuffed plot. Some reviewers, however, praised the voice acting and animation.
See also
- Marvel vs. Capcom: A fighting game crossover between the heroes of Marvel and the characters from Capcom's various video games.
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe: A 2008 video game developed by Midway Games, with similar gameplay, aesthetic, and many of the same characters, that served as the inspiration for the Injustice games.