Injustice: Ground Zero Vol. 2

Injustice: Ground Zero #2

by Christopher Sebela

From the world of the hit video game Injustice: Gods Among Us.

The New York Times best-selling series, written by Christopher Sebela (SUICIDE SQUAD MOST WANTED) with talented artists including Tom Derenick (INFINITE CRISIS: FIGHT FOR THE MULTIVERSE), Pop Mhan (HE-MAN: THE ETERNITY WAR) and Daniel Sampere (GREEN ARROW), takes readers deep inside the mind of Harley Quinn in this can't-miss collection of INJUSTICE: GROUND ZERO VOL. 2 stories.

Harley Quinn's twisted take on the world of the hit video game Injustice: Gods Among Us comes to a thrilling conclusion, setting the stage for the fighting game's sequel, INJUSTICE 2!

Harley and the Joker are back together at last, but all is not as it appears. Is she Joker's unwitting pawn, or is she actually setting an elaborate trap for her no-longer-beloved Mr. J and becoming the hero a world on the brink of mass destruction needs most?

And while the Joker and Harley Quinn work out their differences in typically explosive fashion, the war between the brutal despot Superman and the superhero resistance led by Batman and the heroes of the Justice League takes a savage toll!

How will this strange new world survive the battle between former friends and allies?

Collects #7-12!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book, Superheroes

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2017

Reviews

[Aldo Haegemans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't bad or boring.... I Just stopped caring

[Molly™☺ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The formula of Harley's personal story interspersed with the superhero action that's expected from the Injustice franchise doesn't work quite as well with this one. It's rather jarring to go from ground level antics to Superman fighting Lex Luthor on live TV. The Joker is extremely intolerable here, eating up way to many pages with the awful 'will they won't they' nonsense that he has going on with Harley. Unfortunately, the strongest part about this volume is the set up for Injustice 2.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume of the INJUSTICE: GROUND ZERO comic is an adaptation of the events of INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US by DC and Netherrealm Studio (i.e. the people who do Mortal Kombat) from the perspective of Harley Quinn. This is an odd person to do the story from as she is a fairly minor character in the story with Batman and Superman being the primary protagonists (and antagonists).

In general, the book spends most of the time with Harley either in love or in hate with the Joker. This has been the origin story of Harley for a long time and she has difficulty evolving beyond it. It was good in Injustice because it didn't dominate the story but here it completely dominates the story.

On the plus side, I loved Doctor Fate's talk about her and the Joker. "He will dominate your destiny and you will be entwined for all time until you say the magic word: no." The comic has an excellent coda but it doesn't actually finish Injustice: Gods Among Us' plot and I'm not sure what else there is to cover.

[RG · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again so different to the others. Some of the characters personality changed are confusing. Also was hard to tell at times which alternate character was who.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing the story of Harley Quinn's role in the time between Injustice and its sequel, this Volume mostly deals with Harley's interactions with Joker (including overthrowing his hold on her), the rescue of Bruce Wayne, and the continuing fight between the Regime and Insurgency.
Overall, it's a fine story, but I'm kind of over it.
Recommend, but with slight hesitation.

[Kris Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In which I am the Harley at the end of the book who was kinda, sorta paying attention. Not as strong as Tom Taylor's work on the prequel comic series/

[Alex E · Rating 4 out of 5]

So Harley comes out on top and alive, and with a new sense of self as she overcomes what may be the greatest downfall of them all, her own inner demons. Which are fueled by an outer demon, mainly the Joker.

In the last volume, we were left with the disappointment that Harley once again, had fallen in with the Joker. But everyone has their breaking point. And Harley's was when the Joker messed with her new "family" and killed her favorite henchman.

A bit convoluted, but it somehow worked. the interplay between Harley and.... well, everyone really, is a joy to read as you feel she can go from genuine troubled girl with a heart of gold to murderous psycho clown that will create chaos on a whim. She becomes integral to the plot towards the end of the game/book, and contributes to Superman's eventual defeat of evil Superman.

A good book that gives you a bit more than just a straight adaptation, this story will leave you satisfied and a little sad that it has ended...

...that is until Injustice 2 comes around.

[Chad · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, that was awful. The book is told first person from Harley Quinn which get's tedious real fast. Batman brought over the JLA from another dimension and I couldn't tell them apart. Their costumes weren't different enough for me to differentiate who was from which dimension. I with they'd given the bad guys all goatees or something like Star Trek. Half of the book was devoted to Harley and Joker's twisted relationship. Who cares about that, as part of this story?

Superman was COMPLETELY out of character. In the original Injustice series, what made it so great was that Superman wasn't exactly wrong. He was doing the wrong thing, but for the right reasons. He at least was morally conflicted. Here, Superman straight up murders his friends and couldn't give a shit. Direct quote from world dictator Superman, "Wait here, Hal. Killing them will only take a second." Superman's characterization infuriated me.

[Abdollah zarei · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

So the whole thing ended up being just Harley's dull rehash of the events of the video game. Only vaguely worth it in the scenes Harley actually had a direct part in, and I'm not at all sure what the point of was of having her narrate, say, Superman fighting Batman when she wasn't even around for it. There's slight payoff when her audience is finally revealed, but only slight.

[Rolando Marono · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seguimos con la segunda mitad de ésta historia.
Lo que no me gustó de ella fue que la narración de Harley es cansada a veces, y la historia se llega a tornar repetitiva en varias ocasiones, tenemos la misma fórmula de Injustice pero en un sólo tomo unas tres veces, tenemos a Harley enfrentándose a Nightwing dos veces, a Shazam, a Lex contra Superman a Batman contra Superman dos veces, etc.
La escena final de la guerra compensa un poco eso al mostrarnos escenas de acción exageradas pero no me encantó. También la aparición de los "dobles" o como los llama Harley: versiones Hot cakes, de la otra tierra es un recurso trillado que además se torna confuso aquí y tienes que poner atención en el caso de las WW y de los Aquaman y de los Cyborgs para distinguir sus dos versiones.
La aparición de Joker en repetidas ocasiones de la historia tampoco me gustó porque aparece varias veces causando el mismo desastre en Harley y su pandilla. En al menos dos ocasiones Harley comete el mismo error. Entiendo que así es su personaje, que está obsesionada de manera enfermiza con el Joker, pero el autor pudo haber variado las narraciones en primera persona y los sucesos para que no tuviéramos los mismos resultados.
Si me gustaron los momentos dramáticos de Shazam y Lex. Y de nuevo me encantaron las interacciones de Harley con su pandilla.
En general, habiendo leído todo lo que había que leer del universo Injustice, ignorando claramente Injustice vs masters of universe; ésta historia me entretuvo bastante y se me hace muy entendible incluso para alguien que no leyó los cinco años anteriores, eso me lleva a pensar que quizá los cinco años anteriores de Injustice no son muy útiles para la historia del videojuego que es la central y es la que se narra en este tomo en realidad.
Si quieres leer algo de injustice leería año uno y luego este.

[Will Cooper · Rating 1 out of 5]

WOOF.

Spoilers below!

Now that the other dimension's Justice League and Lex and Deathstroke is here, I have no idea which character is from which dimension at any point in time and that is not played for any sort of plot like a switch'em'up.
Still told from Harley's point of view, which is very boring because all she does is make a gang and deal with whether she likes the other dimension Joker or not. Pointless to the main story.
Also, the amount of pills anyone can take at anytime is ludicrous, especially since earlier in the series it was said they were low on them, and there are no negative side effects to ingesting that many Kryptonite pills that make you as strong as Superman? I was on board at the beginning, but now I have jumped from this board.
In the previous volume, Flash talks with Iris, the love of his life, and decides that he IS doing what's right even though Iris doesn't think so. Interesting choice, but it was a choice. Then Shazam is killed and he immediately changes his mind? Nah.
Apparently the only reason Batman brought over the other Leaguers was for a Superman weapon which they never even used because it got broken?
And then Superman comes over and is like, "Please don't do this, Superman." And they fight for...4 pages and other dimension Superman captures WORLD DESPOT SUPERMAN and that's it. Looks like the good guys win I guess!

What a TERRIBLE ending to a sprawling moral quandary since the beginning that devolves into bad writing.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entonces, amigos, Injustiça: Deuses Entre Nós, a adaptação em quadrinhos do famoso videogame da DC Comics em que o Superman se torna um tirano fascista e começa a matar heróis e vilões à torto e direito, começou muito bem com Tom Taylor à frente dos roteiros. Quando mudou para o roteirista Brian Buccellatto, as histórias deram uma bela de uma decaída. Neste volume 13, em que um terceiro roteirista assume o título, Christopher Sebela, a coisa fica bem pior. Este volume traz a última parte da minissérie Injustice: Ground Zero, que faz a ligação entre os jogos um e dois de Injustice. Ela é contada a partir da perspectiva da Arlequina. O problema é que os personagens são mal construídos, diferente da fase de Tom Taylor. Aqui, a Arlequina uma hora odeia o Coringa, depois o liberta e se alia a ele, depois o trai, o prende, o tortura e o entrega para o Batman. O bom disso tudo é que essa minissérie acaba aqui abrindo as portas para Injustiça 2, essa sim, já escrita novamente por Tom Taylor. Mas depois de tantos sobes e desces do primeiro jogo, será que os leitores brasileiros terão saco para ler o segundo? Eu tenho minhas dúvidas...

[AlienorHardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This review is for Injustice Ground Zero as a whole because it is only letting me look at individual volumes unsure why)

I enjoyed the comic overall but the narration from Harley was often a bit grating. Nearly every panel was filled with some kind of banal/unnecessary commentary. I mean the whole first volume was more or less recapping Injustice Years 1-5 which you've presumably already read if you got to this point. I like Harley as a character but she's usually better in a more minor role particularly in a story like where her perspective is just frankly not the most relevant. This really feels like a product of that time period where DC decided for some reason they just had to insert Harley Quinn into every little thing no matter how random. So glad she got free of Joker though. The ending was nice, loved seeing the real good Supes take down the bad guy. It seemed pretty wrapped up which is why I'm quite confused as to why everyone says you need to read Injustice 2 to have completed the Injustice series. Does the evil Superman escape or something? This kind of just feels like a cash grab at this point, but I guess I'll still read it.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of liked the first volume of this series - seeing the story told from Harley's point of view offered an interesting perspective. That didn't carry over to the second volume. Instead, it's like a Cliff's Notes version of the story, trying to summarize everything from multiple volumes in single issues, and jettisoning any semblance of context or depth for poor jokes and a cast of characters whose presence wasn't missed in the first place. And it all builds up to one of the most anti-climactic climaxes I've ever seen. While there's some attempt at a thematic resolution, it feels tacked on, just like the entire series ultimately did. At least some of the art is good, even if the action and story they're used for isn't particularly. Just read the main series; it's much better written and worth the extra volumes of reading.

[Gautam Surath · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fantastic series. Injustice raises the bar on Justice league comics to a totally new level. Its complicated, witty, soulful and action pack across the whole of year one and the progression of Superman across the years superbly developed. Harley Quinn is a brilliant POV in this edition and its impossible not to fall in love with her. The Ground Zero volume though could have done with more of a JL story line than such a large Harley POV just so that we could have a more satisfying end when the two earth meets. All in all it was a fantastic ride and all thanks to Tom Taylor. He should have finished it! Highly recommended!

[Andrew Galbreath · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume of “Injustice: Ground Zero,” a spin-off series covering the events of the first Injustice game from Harley Quinn’s perspective, is significantly stronger than the first, packing more emotional impact. The highlights are the Harley/Shazam moments, though it would’ve been nice if the comic had shown more of her reaction to Superman murdering him, an emotional scene we were sadly deprived of in both the regular Injustice comics and the first video game. Overall, it’s delusional, crazy, violent, yet endearing, which is pretty much what one could ask for a Harley Quinn-based comic. I look forward to the "Injustice 2" series.

[Michael Rivas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This vol showed how a smaller person can do a great deed threw the smallest action. It showed how to end the decision poor decision making process and how even the most random of people could be the hope someone needs to change the direction of the future. There was a good deal of action but I couldn’t go with 4 stars. A can go with a little more then 3 but not 4. It just wasn’t there. But it was a solid three and I think it got there because of the back story of vol 1. It would still be solid action without but the philosophy of one decision, the “domino effect” exemplified itself here and that’s a good way to lead into the second series of Injustice.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Injustice: Ground Zero Vol. 2

As Harley Quinn faces off against the Joker, Superman finally crosses a line that the Flash can no longer ignore. Talking with Batman and the Insurgency, Flash is captured, but not before a hero is pulled over from the parallel universe: Superman himself.

The manic narration and presentation hides some extremely dark plot points, which Sebela is unafraid to tackle and, after all the years of seeing a Superman corrupted by grief and anger, it is such a relief to see the arrival of his counterpart who helps bring this dreadful saga to a well earned conclusion.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. it seems like the author doesn't really want to commit to telling Harley's "story" (somewhat minimal) and the main story from the videogame (already pretty well fleshed out.)

Like a lot of other media, it treats a serious problem as simply a matter of will. If only people in abusive relations said "No?" Really?

I'm not sure if there's a better way to resolve this. Universally acknowledged, the Harley-Joker relationship is really problematic once you understand that Harley is more than an accessory.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

So things finally wrap up and we see an end to the war. I still find it odd this was told from Harley Quinn's POV, especially since this was the big wrap up of the series. The ending was very simple and pretty obvious, but for some reason I never thought of it until it happened.

Now, I'm curious to see what happens in Injustice 2 since this was a pretty good ending. I have an idea what happens next, but really, this would have been a good place to end things. But maybe I'll think differently once I read Injustice 2.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

So volume one was frustrating. At first I had trouble with Harley Quinn perspective and it got confusing around the time that Deathstroke and Cyborg are on the Watchtower. Then Harley going from a real badass to punching bug was really lame, but the second volume made up for all of that.

Volume two packed a lot into a small amount of pages when volume one dragged out very little plot over what felt like an unedning amount of pages.

Skim Volume 1, read Volume 2.

[MURAT BAYRAKTAR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yine Harley'in gözünden ve ağzından devam ediyor ve son buluyor hikaye. Biraz karakterlere ayrılan sayfa sayılarında sorun var bana göre.. Superman' e çok az zaman ayrılmış gibi duruyor gerçi hikayeyi aslından tamamen Harley üzerine kurmuşlar tercih olarak, işte ben bu tercihlerini beğenmedim. Çok güzel ve heyecanlı uzun uzun anlatılacak hikayeyi kısa kısa geçmişler özellikle de en heyecanlı yerlerini. Vasat bir hikaye, okunabilir..

[Tony S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall a good entertaining graphic novel. Having not read volume one it was, in places, hard to pick up the pieces, That being said it has a good story line with all the characters you would expect in this series. The premise is a good one and as it is told from the point of view of Harley it does have its odd moments.
The graphics are good and the story moves along at a good pace.

[Jerrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 2nd volume of Ground Zero is just as unimpressive as the 1st. Once again Harley is the narrator and while she reconciles her feelings about the Joker, Superman and his Regime are fighting duplicate heroes from a different dimension. Because of the disjointed story telling 2 really important deaths lose impact.

[Graham Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

So it was the finale of Injustice as told by Harley. It helped refresh my memory of what happened in the game and prepared me to play and read Injustice 2.
However it just felt a bit lack luster, the big Supe vs Supe fight just seem too quick, 3 punches boom, bad supe done.
Harvey's Horde however was fantastic, loved that crazy weirdo doing good with her little family 🥰 .

[Ishwarya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, conflicted.
4/5 because it's got a beautiful message.
3/5 because it's definitely not the ending we deserved. Everything was from Harley's POV, so we miss out on a lot of the main action and the interactions between the main characters.
But in hindsight now that the series is complete, this isn't the end, we've got Injustice 2.
So, going to stick with 4/5.

[Mark Lucas-Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Injustice: Ground Zero Volume 2

Seeing the Injustice saga from the POV of Harley Quin was a very refreshing take from the usual A team heroes. Harley has a unique approach to her world view and the way(s) she deals with it. She has grown from a villain’s sidekick to a fully fledged person in her own right.

[Koen · Rating 2 out of 5]

not seeing the point so clearly anymore with this continuation...
It seems like the story is all over the place...
I'm seeing this through till the end, but I hope the ending has more to offer than this .

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harley Quinn's view of the Injustice conflict continues. She has to finally overcome her obsession with the Joker before she can protect those she cares about. And in the end she does play an important part in ending the conflict.