Injustice: 9 things that must happen for this DC Comics movie to succeed

In order for Injustice to succeed, the DC movie must accomplish these things. 

The Injustice video games were a success. NetherRealm Studios and the creative team took some of the DC Comics characters and turned them into the antithesis of themselves. More than anyone, it was Superman who evolved the most.

After The Joker tricks Superman into killing Lois Lane and their unborn son, Supes kills Joker and becomes a tyrant. After that, he reveals his secret identity to the world and declares war and violence are over. What started with good intentions, however, resulted in him and the superpowered beings of the Justice League becoming despots. The only people going against him were Batman and the Insurgency.

After the game was released, Tom Taylor wrote a comic book series that filled in the gaps. After the comic book series was a success, fans wanted a movie. Now, that’s exactly what they’re getting.

It may not be a theatrical release, but Injustice is becoming an animated film released straight to DVD, Blu Ray, and digital download. It shouldn’t take much for the project to be successful. Especially considering DC Comics animated features almost never fail. Nonetheless, these are needed for the project to be a success.

Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn was the breakout star of the Injustice comic book series. It’s unfortunate that she didn’t have a bigger role in the game. However, not everyone can shine. Thankfully, she shined bright in the comic book series.

As the series progressed, Harley came to terms with how abusive The Joker was. It took her relationship with Green Arrow and Black Canary (we’ll get to the later), but it happened. Harley showed how smart and tough she is. It also proved that The Joker and Harley Quinn have never been relationship goals.

Injustice may not get to Harley’s evolution in the first project. But, if the creators want to keep fans happy, this has to be part of the story. Particularly because Harley is one of the most well known characters in pop culture. Some people will view it just for her. If she’s not represented well, they will undoubtedly be unimpressed by it.

Wonder Woman must be more aggressive

The Wonder Woman of this world is scarier than any you’ve seen. She doesn’t care about humanity or peace. Meeting a different Steve Trevor (who worked for the Germans in this universe) changed that. She viewed the world differently. She felt that justice had to be dealt with a more aggressive touch.

When Superman decided to rule the world, Diana was all for it. She was his biggest supporter and partner in more ways than in ruling. As Injustice progressed, she ended up becoming responsible for the deaths of multiple heroes and innocent people along the way. She regretted them, but never stopped fighting or killing.

Like Superman, we have to see her in a different place in life. Wonder Woman should flat out dominate everyone she fights. People forget that she’s one of the few people that can beat Superman in a fight. This Diana Prince will show everyone how dangerous she can be when she isn’t held back by morality.

Damian Wayne’s betrayal

Damian Wayne leaving Batman’s side was one of the biggest blows to The Dark Knight. On the flip side, he was one of the strongest additions to Superman and his Regime. Damian believed that some of the villains deserve to be killed, especially The Joker.

Fans of Damian Wayne shouldn’t have been surprised by this. Damian has always felt this way. The shocking part was him successfully getting Superman to tell the world that his Batman is Bruce Wayne – and when he accidentally killed Dick Grayson.

Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Harley Quinn

As this writer mentioned earlier, a lot of Harley Quinn’s redemption was due to her relationship with Green Arrow and Black Canary. They were a positive influence on her. They made certain she never fell back into bad habits (like killing random people). More importantly, they cared about her.

Part of the reason Harley was so messed up was Joker’s idea of “love”. He would abuse her and then say he loved her, trying to manipulate her into staying by his side. She even admitted that she knew he was wrong for her. Without the love of Black Canary and Green Arrow, Superman would’ve killed her for reverting back to a killer.

Harley telling Green Arrow that the Arrow Cave being a dumb name has to be brought up.

Other heroes are scared into working with Superman

As much as the members of the Regime will say they believe in what Superman is doing, that isn’t the only reason some of them are with him. Most of them are scared of him – The Flash especially. As the story progresses, Flash starts to question things and it takes someone being decimated by the Man of Steel for peacefully protesting to make him definitively see that.

We have to see how much fear Superman inspires. It adds to the idea that maybe his new way of thinking is wrong – a concept that people may not get. The Injustice comic book does a fantastic job showing both sides of the argument. Flash is the perfect example of how someone can believe in their leader and be too scared to defy them.

Superman uses his heat vision

The Superman we know rarely uses his heat vision. It’s strong enough to cut through steel and kill people from a distance. Because of this, he’s reluctant to use it on people. In this universe, however, he uses it without restraint.

This may seem like a small thing, but it will drive the point home that Superman is more than willing to kill by any means necessary.

The U.S. Government and Mirror Master’s involvement

The United States Government didn’t take Superman’s worldwide ceasefire seriously. After Supes stopped a U.S. missile, the military and the president decided something had to be done. They came up with a plan that set the Regime in motion.

The U.S. Government hired Mirror Master to capture Superman’s parents (Martha and Jonathan Kent) as a message. The message was to stop involving himself in their affairs or Mirror Master would start torturing them. Having failed that, Batman went to the president and told him that he did the one thing he didn’t want. He inadvertently united the heroes with Superman.

Other than the death of Lois, their unborn son, and the Joker, this was the most important moment of Injustice. There was still a chance that Superman may not have become a tyrant. Unfortunately, this is where some of the heroes agreed with his actions and it drove him towards his new goal. If the U.S. Government would attack and capture Superman’s parents, what else would they do? There was no turning back after this moment. And it’s important we see it in the movie.

Batman’s stubbornness

Batman being stubborn is not shocking to anyone. We’ve seen him defeat the terror that comes from fear toxins, keep fighting through an untold amount of pain, solve puzzles that need a keen eye and steady hand, and never give up. It’s part of what makes him great. Nonetheless, this Batman’s obstinate nature is on another level.

Maybe it was because the Regime is the greatest threat he’s ever faced in this universe. It could also be that he’s watching his best friend become something he’s not. The latter hurt him more than anything. Bruce has always said that Superman is the world’s greatest hero. Now, he’s its greatest enemy. Because of this, he has to stand firm when no one else will.

More Injustice movies after this

There are more examples that can and should be used to make Injustice a success. This is only the beginning. In order to tell a full and thoughtfully-paced story, Injustice needs to be followed by multiple sequels. There is so much more that needs to be seen, such as the pills that make humans stronger, Lobo fighting Harley Quinn, and the deaths of well-known heroes.

Yes, Injustice must be part one of a much larger story.

What do you think? Are there other things that need to happen to make Injustice a success? Let us know in the comment below.