Written by Tom Taylor.
Art by Rogê Antônio; Cian Tormey; Rain Beredo; & Wes Abbott.
Collection Cover Art by Julian Totino Tedesco.
SUMMARY:
In 2021, DC Comics released this 152-page hardcover publishing 2020’s digital fourteen-chapter prequel to the video game: Injustice: Gods Among Us. Just twelve months before Superman’s fateful corruption, terminally ill inmate Andre Chavard makes a devil’s bargain to escape Gotham’s Blackgate prison to finally meet his adult grandson. In exchange for his help, the Joker demands from Chavard a long-lost mystical amulet that can mind-control anyone, even gods.
The Justice League, meanwhile, celebrates their illustrious predecessors: the surviving (and now-elderly) members of the Justice Society and their heroic legacy. Elsewhere, Superman and his wife, Lois Lane, poignantly contemplate starting their own legacy. Possessing the jewel-like amulet, the Joker unleashes a reign of terror on both the JLA and JSA, as the JSA’s worst failure comes back to haunt them. The motivation for the Joker’s final vengeance months later is revealed.
Notes: This title is also available in digital and paperback formats. Continuity-wise: 1. Wonder Woman is a dual member of the JLA and the JSA; reflecting DC’s post-Rebirth shift, this Alan Scott/Green Lantern is gay; and Inza Cramer (also called Inza Nelson) is this reality’s Doctor Fate.
REVIEW:
As one might anticipate, the art squad’s visuals are consistently this franchise’s best asset. The storyline, however, is a mixed bag, despite writer Tom Taylor’s initially promising homage to classic JLA/JSA team-ups. Expecting the cover’s inference of a JLA/JSA civil war isn’t what one gets, as far as the Joker’s amulet possibly decimating both rosters.
While Taylor concocts some intriguing plot twists, such unpredictability tends to be negated by his reliance on shock value violence (i.e. brutally killing off or maiming characters for supposedly dramatic value rather than the sadism it simply is). For that matter, spelling out exactly why a pregnant Lois Lane is targeted a year later isn’t welcome entertainment. In a nod to good taste, leaving Joker’s motivation as ambiguous would have been a better creative choice.
For Injustice’s long-time fan base, Year Zero will likely be a satisfying and action-packed read. More casual readers, however, may find the storyline’s violence quotient not explicitly graphic but still disturbing.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
In a full-page cover gallery format, Julian Totino Tedesco’s covers for Chapters One, Three, and Five are included. Shrunk to half-page images are his cover sketches for these same chapters.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5½ Stars
Note: Another DC title worth considering is Elseworlds: JSA – The Liberty Files where the book’s second half has the team facing the Nazis’ ultimate weapon: a Zod-like Superman.
