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sweets_reads's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ndizz87's review
4.0
Well, it’s certainly been a long four years. However, after finishing this graphic novel I will say that year four, in my opinion, was slightly better than year three. In the end, I certainly have higher hopes for year five than when I finished the last graphic novel. Don’t get me wrong, the magic we saw in year three was great, but it certainly pales in comparison to bringing in the big guns such as the old Greek gods. I’m starting to see the pattern now. It’s good that year five will conclude all this because it is starting to become a little tedious. Batman brings in some new power to crush Superman’s authority. Conflict erupts, but in the end we’re back to square one. In year one Batman and his insurgents attempt to crush Superman’s reign and they fail spectacularly. In year two they try to bring in the Green Lantern Corps. Superman disposes of them fairly easily. In year three, Batman throws magic at them which doesn’t do much good. Now, in year four, he makes a pact with the old gods to intervene. Spoiler alert, it goes as well as in previous years.
Superman’s reign is still as strong as ever and Batman is quickly running out of cards to play to turn the tide against the forced peace on Earth that Superman has imposed. Batman’s insurgency has been hit time and again. Their numbers are quickly dwindling. He needs someone who can stand a fighting chance against Superman. So, he calls in the old gods by making a pact with Ares, the god of war. What comes after is a war against Superman’s regime and the old Greek gods who attempt to reestablish themselves as the power that humanity should worship. Due to Wonder Woman’s lineage, this strains her allegiance between Superman, who she pretty much secretly (or not so secretly) loves, and her father, the god of the old gods, Zeus.
One of the strongest parts of year four is definitely the strain that’s placed on Wonder Woman. She loves and believes in what Superman is attempting to do, even if she suspects that he’s starting to go a little too far in how he goes about accomplishing his goals. When Batman gets the old gods involved in the affairs of men, she’s called back to stand against Superman and fight for her father and mother alongside her Amazonian warriors. I loved the scene where she attempts to stop the Amazonian warriors from laying siege to the Justice League by requesting a trial by combat. It blows up spectacularly in her face and she’s forced to pit herself against Superman. I honestly had no idea that the only person who could really stand up to Superman was Wonder Woman. I just didn’t see them as equals in that respect. I hope that doesn’t come across as misogynistic, I just didn’t assume that she could go toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly she kicked his ass. I mean, she breaks his arm fairly easily. I also didn’t realize that the old gods were comparable, and in Zeus’ case, stronger than Superman. If things went how Batman had intended, the old gods could have easily vanquished Superman and his regime fairly easily.
Speaking of the old gods, clearly whatever Batman has planned never goes the way he intends. Instead of them strictly coming down to remove Superman from Earth, they intend to reestablish themselves as the true deities to worship on Earth. I was surprised when Zeus basically lays siege to all other religions, using his lightning to destroy churches and mosques around the world. Obviously, Batman wasn’t expecting that to happen. He made a deal with Ares, but he should have known that Ares had plans of his own. He had his own agenda of creating chaos and destruction on Earth, fueling his own primal desires along with his partner, Darkseid, who is seeking revenge for Superman killing his son. I had just read Mister Miracle not that long ago and was pleasantly surprised to see the new gods and their involvement. It was pretty cool to see the Highfather step in between Superman and Zeus. I would have honestly loved to have seen the Highfather and Zeus duke it out, but the Highfather makes it pretty clear that it would be mutual destruction.
This year there certainly weren’t as many people dying as there have been in past years. The only real one of any consequence (and really that’s stretching it) that comes to mind is Hercules which Superman is able to dispatch. Harley and Billy seem like they die, but Zeus just sends them to the underworld and they’re able to get out of there fairly easily once they steal Ares’ mother box. Oh, Montoya, who to me was always a tertiary character, ends up taking too many of the green pills and ODs, but that’s about it.
I did like year four better than year three, but at the same time, this felt more and more like filler. After four years you begin to see a pattern. Batman attempts to find a different power (Green Lanterns, magic, old gods) to pit against Superman. There is obviously conflict that arises, but in the end they’re back to square one with Superman still maintaining his hold on Earth. Batman basically only has his Bat family at this point. He’s got Catwoman, Batwoman, and then the Oracle, who, with Lex Luthor’s help, gets her legs back to become Batgirl again. I mean, there’s Alfred as well, but that’s about it. Damian’s still pissed at his father and wanting to be the one that takes him down. There aren’t very many out there still attempting to help Batman. Lex Luthor secretly assists Batman, but I still can’t figure out his end game. It all feels like he’s a good guy in this which is still extremely weird to me.
The end of year four leaves you with some questions that still need to be tied up in the final year. Where is Raven and what is she doing? Will she come back and how will she do so? The Lex Luthor/Superman clone escapes so how will he factor into year five? The epilogue with Plastic Man which felt tagged on is clearly setting up who Batman will bring in to fight Superman in the final year. How will the villains that are now free from the Trench factor in? Will they assist Batman’s insurgency or end up making things worse? I guess there’s only one way to find out!
All in all, I ended up appreciating this year a little more than the previous year. It was cool to see the old gods come into play. It was also interesting to watch how Wonder Woman gets pushed and pulled in her allegiances. However, I’m starting to get a little tired of the clear formula that has been established by now throughout the years. Here is hoping that year five shakes things up a bit and ends in a spectacular fashion. I’ve always been a bigger fan of the comic book villains than I have been of the heroes. I’m super excited to see how they all factor into the final year.
Superman’s reign is still as strong as ever and Batman is quickly running out of cards to play to turn the tide against the forced peace on Earth that Superman has imposed. Batman’s insurgency has been hit time and again. Their numbers are quickly dwindling. He needs someone who can stand a fighting chance against Superman. So, he calls in the old gods by making a pact with Ares, the god of war. What comes after is a war against Superman’s regime and the old Greek gods who attempt to reestablish themselves as the power that humanity should worship. Due to Wonder Woman’s lineage, this strains her allegiance between Superman, who she pretty much secretly (or not so secretly) loves, and her father, the god of the old gods, Zeus.
One of the strongest parts of year four is definitely the strain that’s placed on Wonder Woman. She loves and believes in what Superman is attempting to do, even if she suspects that he’s starting to go a little too far in how he goes about accomplishing his goals. When Batman gets the old gods involved in the affairs of men, she’s called back to stand against Superman and fight for her father and mother alongside her Amazonian warriors. I loved the scene where she attempts to stop the Amazonian warriors from laying siege to the Justice League by requesting a trial by combat. It blows up spectacularly in her face and she’s forced to pit herself against Superman. I honestly had no idea that the only person who could really stand up to Superman was Wonder Woman. I just didn’t see them as equals in that respect. I hope that doesn’t come across as misogynistic, I just didn’t assume that she could go toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly she kicked his ass. I mean, she breaks his arm fairly easily. I also didn’t realize that the old gods were comparable, and in Zeus’ case, stronger than Superman. If things went how Batman had intended, the old gods could have easily vanquished Superman and his regime fairly easily.
Speaking of the old gods, clearly whatever Batman has planned never goes the way he intends. Instead of them strictly coming down to remove Superman from Earth, they intend to reestablish themselves as the true deities to worship on Earth. I was surprised when Zeus basically lays siege to all other religions, using his lightning to destroy churches and mosques around the world. Obviously, Batman wasn’t expecting that to happen. He made a deal with Ares, but he should have known that Ares had plans of his own. He had his own agenda of creating chaos and destruction on Earth, fueling his own primal desires along with his partner, Darkseid, who is seeking revenge for Superman killing his son. I had just read Mister Miracle not that long ago and was pleasantly surprised to see the new gods and their involvement. It was pretty cool to see the Highfather step in between Superman and Zeus. I would have honestly loved to have seen the Highfather and Zeus duke it out, but the Highfather makes it pretty clear that it would be mutual destruction.
This year there certainly weren’t as many people dying as there have been in past years. The only real one of any consequence (and really that’s stretching it) that comes to mind is Hercules which Superman is able to dispatch. Harley and Billy seem like they die, but Zeus just sends them to the underworld and they’re able to get out of there fairly easily once they steal Ares’ mother box. Oh, Montoya, who to me was always a tertiary character, ends up taking too many of the green pills and ODs, but that’s about it.
I did like year four better than year three, but at the same time, this felt more and more like filler. After four years you begin to see a pattern. Batman attempts to find a different power (Green Lanterns, magic, old gods) to pit against Superman. There is obviously conflict that arises, but in the end they’re back to square one with Superman still maintaining his hold on Earth. Batman basically only has his Bat family at this point. He’s got Catwoman, Batwoman, and then the Oracle, who, with Lex Luthor’s help, gets her legs back to become Batgirl again. I mean, there’s Alfred as well, but that’s about it. Damian’s still pissed at his father and wanting to be the one that takes him down. There aren’t very many out there still attempting to help Batman. Lex Luthor secretly assists Batman, but I still can’t figure out his end game. It all feels like he’s a good guy in this which is still extremely weird to me.
The end of year four leaves you with some questions that still need to be tied up in the final year. Where is Raven and what is she doing? Will she come back and how will she do so? The Lex Luthor/Superman clone escapes so how will he factor into year five? The epilogue with Plastic Man which felt tagged on is clearly setting up who Batman will bring in to fight Superman in the final year. How will the villains that are now free from the Trench factor in? Will they assist Batman’s insurgency or end up making things worse? I guess there’s only one way to find out!
All in all, I ended up appreciating this year a little more than the previous year. It was cool to see the old gods come into play. It was also interesting to watch how Wonder Woman gets pushed and pulled in her allegiances. However, I’m starting to get a little tired of the clear formula that has been established by now throughout the years. Here is hoping that year five shakes things up a bit and ends in a spectacular fashion. I’ve always been a bigger fan of the comic book villains than I have been of the heroes. I’m super excited to see how they all factor into the final year.
shadybanana's review
3.0
If I may, I would call this book as unnecessary. I mean it does nothing except highlighting the ass-holery of Wonder Woman and Damian. Aqua-mans entry is badass and Harley too is a total badass throughout. Batman was shown to be struggling and was also shown to go to more extents to bring down Supes. One thing I particularly not liked about this comic was the meekness of the gods. I mean in Greek mythology and other places, we see these gods to be mighty and undefeatable but here we see Hercules die, Zeus being easily corrupted and Ares being so not subtle. Flash and Shazam seem to be blind as they still haven't joined Insurgency. The plot and art all takes 2 stars but one special star for the Supes VS Darkseid duel. That was well up to the mark
robotswithpersonality's review
What truly blows my mind about this epic schmozzle is that Harley keeps surviving! Somehow the stakes kept getting greater, though I'm glad the next book is the last because I think at some point the notion that one side doesn't reach a final victory, for good or ill, strains credulity. This is an interesting way to get introduced to characters I've heard of but never read about. The Source/Orion connection is intriguing, and Plastic Man is...an entertaining change of pace.
spellsandmonsters_'s review
4.0
So I didn’t like this collection as much as the other 3. However it was still really enjoyable. I’m definitely excited to read year five and see how everything ties together and the conclusion to Injustice: Gods Among Us.
whatthefawkes's review
5.0
This might just be my favourite one out of the series?!? It was honestly batshit but I love me some Greek mythology.
jhouses's review
1.0
Si involucrar a los personajes mágicos fue un poco truño, estirar la saga forzando a los Dioses del Olimpo a intervenir ya es desbarrar completamente. Pufo.
sfletcher26's review
4.0
I just love this series. For me its genuinely done something different with the DC universe.
Can't wait to get my hands on the complete Year 5.
Can't wait to get my hands on the complete Year 5.