Developer NetherRealm fell into a fairly regular pattern with its video game releases in the 2010s. 2011’s Mortal Kombat brought the franchise back in full force, and the groundwork laid by it was used just two years later for Injustice: Gods Among Us, a fighting game centered around the DC universe. In 2015, NetherRealm released Mortal Kombat X, which continued to refine and add to the studio’s fighting game formula, and just like the first entry did before it, Injustice 2 carried that formula forward in 2017. But when Mortal Kombat 11 released in 2019, no third Injustice entry followed it.
Instead, Mortal Kombat 11 was followed by last year’s Mortal Kombat 1. However, since Mortal Kombat 1‘s release, NetherRealm’s Chief Creative Officer, Ed Boon, has teased a new Injustice entry a few times. In an interview with The Direct back in July, Boon stated that he “would be surprised if [NetherRealm] never did [Injustice] again.” This is far from an official confirmation that Injustice 3 is in the works, but it does suggest that it’s only a matter of time. And when Injustice 3 does launch, it could come with one big advantage that Mortal Kombat doesn’t get.
Injustice 3 Could Bring Back The Injustice Comic Series
The Injustice Comic Series Is More Than Just a Retelling of The Game’s Events
All the way back in January 2013, just a few months before the game’s launch, an Injustice comic hit digital storefronts. Written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Jheremy Raapack, this first issue of Injustice: Gods Among Us was just the start in a surprisingly long run of comics set in the video game’s distinct version of the DC universe.
Over the course of three years, five separate volumes of the Injustice comic were produced, each one detailing a year in the Injustice timeline. Injustice: Year One sees Joker killing Lois Lane and driving Superman to madness. Year Two sees Superman take on the Green Lantern Corps. Year Three introduces magic-users like Doctor Fate and Constantine and sees them joining the growing Insurgency led by Batman. Year Four shows Ares using the ongoing conflict between the Regime and the Insurgency to gain power, and Year Five has Batman and Lex Luthor trying to contact a different universe for aid, leading directly into the events of the first Injustice video game.
In the lead-up to Injustice 2‘s May 2017 release date, DC published another handful of comics based on the video game series. Running from December 2016 to July 2017, DC released Injustice: Ground Zero, a comic that retold the events of the first game from Harley Quinn’s perspective. A prequel comic that filled in the gap between Injustice and its sequel, simply titled Injustice 2, also ran from April 2017 to October 2018.
The most recent Injustice comic series is its most bizarre, with Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe running from September 2018 to March 2019. This comic takes place after Injustice 2‘s Superman ending, where the Man of Steel reforges his Regime. To try and stop Superman, Batman and the Insurgency recruit He-Man and the rest of the Masters of the Universe.
Injustice 3 Should Resurrect The Injustice Comic Series
While the Injustice comics have their slower moments, they’ve generally been worthwhile reads for fans of NetherRealm’s fighting games, fleshing out the world and characters a bit more thoroughly than the games’ story modes. If/when Injustice 3 happens, it would be great to see another comic run revolving around NetherRealm’s bleak DC universe, with the developer using it as a way to fill in some story gaps between entries.
