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Let’s break down the key narrative beats in DC’s Injustice movie adaption and why it should have been a TV series as opposed to a convoluted flick.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Injustice, now available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray and Digital.
DC’s Injustice movie adaption sticks to the main beat of the video game as Superman kills Joker for tricking him into taking the lives of Lois Lane, his unborn baby and all of Metropolis. It creates a civil war, as Batman wants to stop the Man of Steel’s fascist regime. As their rivalry gets bloodier by the second, however, it becomes clear that Injustice should have been adapted into a TV series, not a movie.
The reason is that the cast is simply too big, which makes the narrative feel very rushed. It leads to many characters being underplayed or simply tossed from the plot at key junctures. This gives the impression that the property may have been better off charting out a series that’d have lasted a couple of seasons rather than condense everything into a single film.
It’s already worked in the animated field with Young Justice, while live-action takes on Titans and Doom Patrol are doing well with expansive stories. And the thing is, this narrative is made for long-form storytelling because there’s so much going on in terms of politics, differing superhero philosophies and how everyone chooses a side.
It’s quite obvious in how the Injustice film shunts magical heroes like Shazam out of the picture, with this supernatural faction not wanting to fight. It reduces their roles, as well as the role of the Spectre, who played a major part in driving Superman’s vengeance in the source material. A series also could have shown more of Diana’s motivation in egging Kal-El on, why she loved him and also provided more resolution to her turning on him, as the film just lets him punch her away in the finale. The movie never brings her back for accountability despite her redemption, as it clearly doesn’t want too many heavy-hitters involved.
Had the story been adapted into a series, things like Flash’s death, Green Lantern losing his ring, Green Arrow not having Black Canary and opting to redeem Harley Quinn and Superman pummelling Captain Atom could have all been done justice. Another key arc that required a lot of exposition is Mister Terrific exploring multiverse portals since he creates the Hail Mary for a Man of Steel and pregnant Lois from another reality to step in and convince this evil Superman to stand down in the end.
All of these things are sadly chucked in with no rhyme or reason. Other things that could have been fleshed out include why Aquaman and Atlantis sat out, and why an undersea prison was built in the Mariana Trench without them batting an eye. These threads could have been connected to add more nuance to the tale, but the Injustice movie didn’t have time to address them in its less than 90-minute runtime.
It’s wasted potential and given that Tom Taylor and co. added more backstory in the comics, the likes of Nightwing resurrecting as Deadwing, Damian’s feud with the League of Shadows and such could all have gotten their time in the limelight. As it stands, Injustice is convoluted, moving at an unnecessary breakneck speed, not even having a cliffhanger or setting up a sequel. And because it lacks character development and emotional resonance, it ends up feeling like a bogged-down mess.
Injustice is currently available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray and Digital.
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