Injustice 2 #9 Review

Scarab Fever

Written by: Tom Taylor
Art by: Bruno Redondo, Juan Albarran, Rex Lokus and Wes Abbott
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: June 6, 2017

Before taking over the reviews for Injustice 2 I wanted to do some catch-up on the two issues Jim was “too busy” to review. I figured it’d help to get the feel for the different flow and format of the comic and how to review it with two issues that were already previously released rather than trying to cut my teeth on the newest issue. So find out after the jump how I’ve felt about the series to this point and how my general feelings have been about this second iteration of the Injustice series including issue number 9.

I came into the series pretty late as it was during the start of year 5 of Injustice:Gods among us. I gathered all the trades and quickly ran through the entire series. By the end of it I think Year 3 was my favorite while feeling it had the weakest ending. So far with Injustice 2 I’ve been really happy with where it’s gone so far and I’ve been happy with having Tom Taylor back on the book after leaving mid year 3.

We come into this issue meeting Jaime Reyes training as the Blue Beetle with the guidance of Tim Kord. We get some hints of some upcoming events by way of Skeets, Booster Gold’s usual AI robot sidekick, before Jaime makes his exit and Tim is met by Batman.

Although not a lot happens in this short exchange, Tom King has always been amazing at injecting a lot of character into these small moments. We learn a lot of the dynamic between Tim and Jaime in a world where he had not seen them to this point.

Coming from the Batman and Kord exchange we get some more insight into his relationship with Jaime and a little of how he views the previous conflicts with Superman. Beyond that we learn more of what Batman is working toward and of his desires to get Tim on the team. This little section comes off a little more as set up required for what eventually comes, but it’s all worth it for possibly the single greatest panel in comics with Batman silhouetted amazingly by a painting of Booster and Blue Beetle poking fun at his dour demeanor.

With Batman eventually moving on we get to the meat of the issue as Booster Gold comes to Kord with bad news. With these issues being short I’d rather not spoil them all as a lot of times the read is really worth it and the end of the issues almost always pay off.

Overall I really loved this issue. Taylor is absolutely amazing at introducing characters to the story while injecting a lot of heart and feeling and this intro does not disappoint. With some of the issue feeling a bit like filler it’s easily excusable for the amazing moments we get from it. Between the character moments or the Batman painting gag there is more than enough to make up for what barely feels like down moments.

Bits and Pieces:

Taylor continues to be amazing at character moments and unforgettable gags that easily makes up for what minor gripes I have with the pace of the issue.

9.2/10