Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five Chapter 25 Review

Batman and Nightwing’s confrontation over the fate of Victor Zsasz leads to the appearance of Superman and a dilemma for the Dark Knight. There’s a chance Batman could end this war once and for all, but it would require Batman to cross a line he’s previously never crossed.

Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five Chapter 25

Writer – Brian Buccellato
Artist – Mike S. Miller
Color Artist – J. Nanjan
Editor – Jim Chadwick
Publisher – DC Comics

Finally, readers have received what they have been patiently waiting for through 25 issues. Writer Brian Buccellato alongside artist Mike S. Miller has finally delivered the first part of an epic battle between Batman and Superman in Chapter 25 of Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five.

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In Chapter 24, Superman sent serial killer Victor Zsasz to kill Alfred Pennyworth—also known as the heart and humanity of the Bat family. Zsasz murders Alfred quickly and gets away. Chapter 25 starts off with Batman catching up to Zsasz and handling the insane murderer swiftly. When the opportunity arises for Batman to kill Zsasz, he sticks to his code of not killing.

However, Damian Wayne arrived shortly after, stating that if Batman did not kill Zsasz, he would. When Batman tried appealing to Damian’s sincerity, it fell on deaf ears. Why? Because the only thing driving Damian was the goal of killing the man who murdered the person he considered a second grandfather.

Like through most of this chapter, Buccellato does a terrific job of drawing out the conflict. It’s noted that even though Damian is hurting, Batman is torn as well. Alfred was Batman’s caretaker when no one else was there for him. He raised Bruce to be the man he is today. Batman is suffering, and the reader can truly feel the anger, passion, and the hurt that Batman is feeling through the dialogue between him and his son.

The second act of the chapter is what readers have been patiently waiting for since chapter one of this year—a showdown between Batman and Superman. Superman arrives to apprehend Batman and immediately calls the Dark Knight out for his weakness—something that Superman claims holds him back from real power.

He also adds that Batman is the only member of the original Justice League to not to side with the Regime. Superman figures that by killing Zsasz, the truth of the world will finally be revealed to Bruce, making him come to his senses and join the rest of the Justice League.

However, the contrary happens. Batman officially snaps and the Dark Knight finally gets his hands on the Man of Steel. Not only does Batman go toe-to-toe with Superman (with the help of a green pill), he easily defeats the ruler of the world and calls out to Damian that he may even kill his former best friend.

It’s interesting to see throughout this entire series that Batman is the only hero who has not been afraid of Superman. Everyone else has walked on eggshells around the Last Son of Krypton, worried that they may feel his wrath. But Batman has never feared Superman and this fight proved it.

The Bottom Line: After waiting through 24 chapters, the battle between Superman and Batman finally happened. Buccellato has done an excellent job of bringing these two iconic heroes face-to-face in this war. The first battle between the two may have been short-lived, but it is far from over.

Buccellato has done an excellent job as the writer for this series, but credit must also go to artist Mike S. Miller. For this chapter, it seems like Miller has indeed brought his A+ game when it comes to the illustrations of this saga. Miller’s work feels like the reader is watching an animated visual instead of glancing through the pages of a comic book.

With this chapter coming to an end, it’ll be interesting to see how Buccellato closes out this story arc. Will Batman finally overcome the great Superman? Or will Superman battle back against Gotham’s favorite hero and things will return to business as usual? Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five has been a phenomenal series. Every person who was a fan of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice would enjoy this series thoroughly.

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