Injustice: Year Four #12 Review

Written by: Brian Buccellato
Art by: Mike S. Miller
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: July 21, 2015

Kill the Messenger

It's no secret that Year Four hasn't been my favorite year of Injustice so far.  Maybe my expectations were too high, but the "Year of the Gods" has been far from heaven sent.  Jokes aside (if you can call that one), Year Four has had numerous problems, but I am a fan of the book and Brian Buccellato and I know in my heart of hearts that he will eventually turn things around.  Is this the issue where the comeback begins?  Let's find out...



This week picks right up with Wonder Woman still ticked off that Zeus demanded she join with Team Batman and the other Amazons.  She can't really argue with her father, though, because he up and left.  He is such a deadbeat god!  I guess Wonder Woman hasn't heard the phrase "don't kill the messenger", because she...tires to kill the Messenger!  She beats the tar out of Hermes and probably would have finished the job if Hercules didn't step in.

As far as openers go, I really liked this one.  It wasn't just Wonder Woman raging out, but the reactions of both sides of the fight.  Superman and Hal look so concerned, while you can tell that Batman's crew hope that Diana and Hermes rip each other to shreds.

Back to the action, Hercules is besting his half-sister so Superman has to step in.  While Cyborg charges him up (which I can't totally explain, but loved anyway), Flash and Damian jump head first into the fray, but it's Hal that gets the most face time.  That is a good and bad thing.

I love Hal Jordan (though Guy is my Lantern), but I wish he would have kept his mouth shut this issue.  He delivers lame jokes and one-liners that just felt off from the beginning.  It may be me, but the lines would have been better served coming from Flash.  However, Buccellato finally gives us a
good Harley this week.  She has a fun little scene, mid-fight, that made me laugh.  I may get my favorite character back after all.

All this takes place as Hal fights Hercules and while it's a cool fight, it's also pretty one-sided in favor of Herc (I can call him that, right?) until Superman joins in. When Diana joins in as well, we get the best battle of Year Four.  It's not only action packed, but did a great job of mimicking the game this book is based on.  It really started looking like this issue was going to turn it's predetermined story on it's ear, but the last promises the return of a character that's been tied up for a bit.

This issue wasn't perfect, but it was one of the best parts of Year Four so far.  This kind of action filled romp is what I thought the Year of the Gods would be all about and while I am upset it took this long to get around to it, at least we are finally there. I hope that Buccellato can maintain the momentum because there is still plenty of time to make Year Four into something special.

I said that last week was Mike S. Miller's best work on Injustice and I still feel that way.  This issue is good, but Superman looked off in a bunch of panels.  It wasn't a deal breaker, but it kept it from equaling last week's awesome looking issue.

Bits and Pieces:

This week's Injustice gets the book closer to it's former glory with an action filled slugfest that I enjoyed reading.  Sure, the characterizations still aren't perfect, but the story is interesting and the cliffhanger promises more fussin' and a fightin'.  Frustrated fans (like myself) may finally be getting a glimpse of better times coming soon.

8.0/10