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Mild Mannered Reviews - "Injustice: Gods Among Us" Comics

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Annual #1

Released Digitally: November 13, 2013

"The Hunt for Harley"

Writer: Tom Taylor
Penciller: Xermanico
Inker: Jonas Trindade, Mike S. Miller, Bruno Redondo
Cover: Juan Jose Ryp

Reviewed by: T.A. Ewart (aka liheibao)

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The story opens to Lobo fighting off outstretched hands, which are revealed to be replicas of himself. It turns out that the action is in Lobo's mind, as in reality he's secured to a floor and about to be treated to a therapy session as only Harley Quinn can provide. After a flashback to an "earlier" time, we see Lobo has attacking the Justice League Watchtower for no damn good reason. He says as much when Regime Superman questions him. Then he tells Regime Superman that a bounty is on his head, and is trying to decide whether or not it's worth the trouble collecting it. Superman decides to ignore Lobo, but the Main Man throws a building at him. Superman responds by flying Lobo to the sun and back, explaining that while Lobo can regenerate from even a single drop of blood, there wouldn't be anything should he drop Lobo into the sun. Lobo decides to decline the bounty, but Superman offers him another: find Harley Quinn and bring her to him. Before accepting Lobo demands one of the super-pills from Lex Luthor, who just happens along with one. Lobo quickly finds and secures Harley Quinn, but she gains her release just as quickly, and helps herself to the super-pill. Harley steals Lobo's motorbike, and crashes in on Green Arrow and Black Canary. Together they defeat Lobo and then we return to the present. Harley convinces Lobo to go after a better target than her, and he decides to go after the one who gave him the hit on Superman, Darkseid.

Story - 1: This was just bad. Injustice, like the New 52, wants to have it both ways. The reader has characters thrust into their midst, with little or no explanation of who that character is, so it's left to a default or proxy understanding, which most readers have about comic characters, as they've been in use for 30-75 years. However, we then have that default understanding challenged with a recognizable character doing things that are contrary to his established core. When Lobo was first introduced, he wasn't the parody that most readers are familiar with. He was more sinister and less a tongue-in-cheek jab at Wolverine. The retcon of his origin changed him from a Velorpian whose race had been exterminated, to a Czarnian who exterminated his own race. However, the latter is the character that readers are most familiar with. The Lobo who has beat Superman, and can regenerate better than Wolverine. In this annual, he's not that character. He's not a parody. He's the butt of a foul joke.

To see Lobo strapped to the floor and be analyzed by Harley Quinn, may be humorous to some or even most, but it defeats the story as Lobo isn't a one to be taken down by the likes of Harley Quinn. It defeats the story when we see Harley pop off Lobo's head, putting her in a realm that makes her another character altogether. It defeats the story when we don't know when it's occurring in conjunction with the last published issue.

Art - 4: Great, but can we decide on how Superman's outfit is going to look?