Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five Chapter #19 Review

Daddy Issues

Written by: Brian Buccellato
Art by: Mike S. Miller, J. Nanjan and Wes Abbott
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: April 26, 2016

Poor Bizarro, my little backwards hero.  The clock is ticking on one of my favorite characters and all he wants to do is get his friend all better.  Of course, "getting better" means bringing Trickster back from the dead...a death that was caused by Bizarro's new found hygene.  His naivety is his charm, but also his downfall.  Last chapter ended with Bizarro heading "home" to get help from Lex Luthor and if you've been reading the series, that spells a whole lot of trouble for Lex.  All of this is why I couldn't wait for this chapter and now that I've read it, was it worth the wait?  Let's find out...


The issue opens with Superman trying to track down the imposter and he's not sparing any expense.  Wonder Woman and Hal Jordan are helping out, even if Hal does not seem very happy to be doing so.  In fact, Hal seems to be on board with Cyborg's criticism of Superman's ways of taking care of things, but Superman is less harsh to Hal which is interesting.  I liked seeing this in the quick beginning scene as Buccellato continues setting up trouble amongst the ranks that would naturally come after Superman's actions.

We then shift to Bizarro who has crashed the Lex Luthor party which is cute and horrifying depending on who you love.  If you are a Lex fan, you have to be worried sick even as Lex starts spinning lie after lie about Bizarro's origin...or "orange in what".  I know that Bizarro is easy to fool, but I knew what he was up to immediately with his "tests".  The only thing that shocked me was that Lex didn't kill him right then and there, though he did the next best thing.

As if Lex's day wasn't going bad enough already, he gets word that Flash is on his way back to finish their little project.  So, he sends Bizarro away on a wild goose chase and meets with Barry (who is totally oblivious to Lex's way obvious distraction).

The chapter ends with poor Bizarro heading into a trap that is so upsetting as a fan of the big lug, but so, awesome as a fan of awesome things that are totally awesome!  The cliffhanger is a mixed up, upside down version of one of DC Comics' biggest events and something the video game this series is based on should have allowed players to play out.  I might have even played it...who am I kidding, I'm too lazy for that.

This was a setup issue, but we needed it to get to (what looks like) the final stand of Bizarro.  Lex is one smart cookie, but even he was caught off guard by Bizarro and hopefully, Bizarro can battle his way out of his situation, but I have some serious doubts.  In the meantime, I like that Buccellato continues to show that not everyone is on the same page in the Regime which will have to be resolved sometime soon.  Year Five might be lacking in Batman and over-the-top action, but I do like the character driven stories Buccellato has been giving us.

Mike S. Miller is on art this chapter and does a pretty damn good job.  His Superman is a bit older looking version which fits the stress level he has been under.  I really like his Bizarro and Lex Luthor and since they are such a big part of the chapter, that means that I like how it looks.  Hopefully, he's on the next couple of chapters so he can cut loose on the big battle coming up.

Bits and Pieces:

This chapter of Injustice is a big setup, but it's a big setup to something huge and maybe the end of good, old Bizarro.  I might want him to stick around, but Lex does not and sets things up to make sure he doesn't.  The cliffhanger is worth the price of admission alone and I can't wait until next week to see what happens...even if it makes me cry.

8.5/10