Still obsessed with the outlaw Batman and worried about having enough troops to police his world, The Man of Steel begins to recruit some of Earth’s deadliest villains to his side. Does the Dark Knight have any chance of ending the Man of Steel’s rule?

We’re finally getting to the final stretch where the comics end and the game begins.  Most of the story the Regime is kicking the Insurgency’s ass. It’s a great battle of resources and wits between the two sides which fuels the character driven narrative. There’s plenty of tragedy that help cement where the characters stand. There are plenty of subplots that help build the mounting tension with the stakes for the characters becoming more evident. 

Superman bringing villains into the fold is actually a really good twist that definitely changes the dynamic of the characters: some characters who’re heroes turned villains, as well as villains turned heroes.  One of my favorite storylines involves Lex’s creation of Bizarro and his role in events.  Some characters actually express doubt in Superman’s actions, mainly Shazam, Flash, and Hal.  There’s a lot of depth to the story and I can appreciate the direction leading up to one of my all time favorite games.  (3 out of 5)

There’s a lot to appreciate when it comes to the characters who I think are done really well thanks to Buccellato’s writing.  The war continues to wage between Batman and Superman with the two continuing to try and one up the other.  One of my favorite additions to the cast is Bizarro and Trickster. Trickster is this villain who doesn’t believe in killing people who teams up with Bizarro who’s an incomplete clone of Superman. I like that Lex Luthor isn’t just sitting in a corner twirling his thumbs.  He’s got a really important role, being a “friend” to Superman all the while helping Batman.  It’s a delicate balance. (5 out of 5)

Thumbs up to Mike S. Miller for his art style. He’s been pretty consistent with his style and it’s been greatly appreciated with the character designs and layouts.  I’ve really enjoyed the costume designs and how well they appeared. (4 out of 5)

I think Brian Buccellato is a great writer. He’s impressed me with what he’s done with the ensemble of characters and overall theme of the series. The writing does suffer a little due to how the creative freedoms expressed in previous volumes are now being limited because Buccellato has his hands full trying to tie up all these loose ends to sync it up with the video game. A lot of characters are written to be killed off so that way their lack of appearance in the game makes sense. (3 out of 5)

In the end, Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five is good but honestly a bit of a disappointment. I like the direction and how well it ties its stories to the video game, though it does affect the overall story and Buccellato’s writing (which is still good). I really enjoyed seeing Miller’s work and how well he kept the scenes deep and engaging. Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five gets 3 out of 5.