Update on Injustice Roster and My Picks + Thoughts on Injustice Battle Arena

So it’s been a while since I made that video talking about my personal picks for the roster of Injustice: Gods Among Us. Since then, the roster has only managed to increase by A LOT, including some of the people I picked, so let’s look at the fighters that are confirmed to be playable in the game right now, as well as discuss their achievements in the Injustice Battle Arena tournament currently going on.

Man, am I glad this guy got in. As I predicted, Aquaman has some awesometastic and unique moves centring around his trident and control of the sea and all that exist within it, and in the first round, he knocked off Cyborg. Granted, he’s since been defeated by Hal Jordan, but he put up an excellent fight. I suspect him to be one of the more interesting fighters to play as in the game.

Like I said before, there was no way they could possibly NOT include Bane in this game, given that Knightfall was reprinted and he was in The Dark Knight Rises. Of course, he’s also the man who broke that Bat, a move he tried to replicate in the first round of the Battle Arena…only to later find himself getting rammed across the hood of the Batmobile…again. But regardless, I suspect Bane to be one of the biggest powerhouse characters. In fact, there’s only one other I can think of that does brute force better, and we’ll get to him later…

Because he’s BATMAN! XD No, seriously, I’m stuck for a single DC video game since Arkham Asylum, the game famous for breaking the Bad Bat Game Jinx, came out that didn’t include, reference, or in any other way include Batman. Naturally, he’s armed to the teeth with gadgets, he can summon bats to help him in combat, and he can even call his Batmobile to run people down like I mentioned he did to Bane. Also, he uses his grapple gun on airborne opponents while yelling “Get down here!”…Nice, Ed. How’d I KNOW you’d find some way to get Scorpion in there? lol Anyway, I suspect Batman to make it to the finals at least.

Frigging knew she’d make it in. Catwoman seems dedicated to fast, relentless attacks that just cut away at the enemy’s health, as I suspected she’d be. She’s a ravager, no doubt. She’s also highly acrobatic and can keep stronger opponents away with that whip of hers. For some reason, she’s not in the Battle Arena. Not really sure why. However, we have since gotten to see a great fight from her outside the tournament, and I’ll get to that later…

I just got one word for this guy being in, and I know I deserve to get smacked for it, but I’m gonna say it anyway: BOOYAH! Cyborg is packing some serious heat in this game, as I guessed he would be. Unfortunately, he got beat rather soundly by Aquaman, but we got to see some awesome action out of him before losing. And again, SO glad his Teen Titans voice actor is voicing him here. I can’t help it, it’s just the voice I hear when I read stuff with Cyborg in it nowadays.

Again, so glad I predicted this guy getting in. Deathstroke is just one of those DC characters you want to see in a fighting game like this, which is likely why he was in Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. Anyway, Slade comes packing with his massive sword, plenty of useful gadgets, and lots and lots of guns. Also, like Catwoman, he wasn’t in the tournament, which is disappointing. He likely would’ve kicked all kinds of ass.

Here’s one that people kind of knew about being in the game for a while, but it’s still an awesome addition. As I alluded to before, Doomsday is probably the only character with more brute power than Bane, and his place in DC history was cemented in The Death of Superman, where he and Superman both struck each other so hard they both died from the blows. As it turns out, however, even death isn’t enough to put either one of them down forever. Since he was just recently confirmed, he wasn’t involved in the tournament, but he was shown off in a battle against Shazam, who he literally pummelled through the Earth itself.

Red streak speeds by, too fast for the naked eye…Oh, sorry, wrong speedster. 😛 The Flash is another of those fighters you completely expect to be in a game like this. Naturally, his incredible speed has made him a force to be reckoned with, blowing past both Shazam and The Joker to make it to the semi-finals, though something tells me he isn’t getting past Batman. Still, I suspect it to be a great fight, though not as great as the OTHER semi-final match…

Tally ho, mother frakkers! XD Okay, I’m not exactly a big Green Arrow fan, but I’d be an idiot if I didn’t acknowledge his place in this game. His swiftness, trickery, and wide arsenal allowed him to beat Hawkgirl in the first round, but then he lost to Superman in the quarter finals, and I’ll get to THAT later. Still, Arrow proves why he deserves to be here, and I would imagine he’s likely a character a lot of people will be playing as.

Well, I said this would be a no brainer, and I was right: Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern. His attacks seem to be based largely around the constructs he creates with his ring, and if his bouts in the tournament are any indication, he seems to be able to take TERRIBLE beatings and keep going. Thus far, he’s managed to beat both Solomon Grundy and Aquaman, but on both occasions (in particular against Grundy), he took severe amounts of damage before finally managing to come out on top, though his next opponent in the semi-finals could be the most dangerous in the entire tournament…

Well, this should make Linkara happy. lol Harley Quinn seems to be going it alone in this game with the Joker’s apparent death…although considering Joker is also playable, I somehow doubt he’s really dead. She lost in the first round to Wonder Woman, but she did manage to hold her own against the Amazonian warrior princess for quite some time. I suspect her wacky arsenal will give her an edge over opponents who foolishly choose to underestimate her.

Dammit, I wish I’d thought to predict this one. Hawkgirl is admittedly really only one of my favourites due to her presence in the Justice League cartoon, but her Earth 2 counterpart is pretty cool too. Her strategy is pretty simple: Fly fast and hit hard with that frakking mace of hers. Seems simple, anyway, but it works more often than not. Unfortunately, Shiera lost in the first round against Arrow, but she showed off enough of herself to demonstrate why she deserves to be here.

Yeah, dead my ass. Joker either used some kind of duplicate or got put in a Lazarus Pit. Either way, I knew damned well Superman didn’t finish him off in the comics. Joker is so hard to predict that he managed to get past Lex Luthor in the first round, though he unsurprisingly got beat by Flash in the second. I suspect the truth of his continued existence to be a plot point in the story mode.

Speaking of Lex Luthor, the runner up for Colin Mochrie’s title as Captain Hair has shown up with another of his mech suits, and I swear these things just keep getting more and more insane with every one he débuts. He also recently had his own trailer, hinting at his role in the story, though it remains ambiguous as to which side he’s taking this time around. Normally I’d say “the bad guys”, but perhaps not now since the villain for this story appears to be Superman.

Thank God, they remembered to put Nightwing in BLUE (except for the alternate costume which I’m not counting since it’s just that, an alternate costume). Again, not sure why Dick wasn’t in the tournament. I get the feeling like they just didn’t have enough slots for everyone and simply HAD to cut some people, but still, Nightwing would’ve been great. I would’ve LOVED to see him go head to head with Batman. He seems to be able to switch between his escrima sticks and his staff as his primary weapons, both of which he can send electrical currents through. He can also use electrified blades on his gauntlets while riding past on his motorcycle…Huh. So he uses electricity…he has a bird-like emblem on his chest…*imagines him green instead of blue, with red hair and a green cape*… … …Aww, dammit…lol

Once again, Azarath Metrion ZINTHO-WTF is up with her voice?! o.O Okay, voice aside, VERY glad Raven is in. Not really sure why she’s blue skinned, but hey, her skin turned lots of different colours in the comics, so no biggie. Her telekinesis and teleportation are both key components to her fighting style, but she also has the ability to go dark and pound the shiitake mushrooms out of opponents, like she did with Catwoman as I alluded to earlier, even able to summon FRAKKING TRIGON! She’s probably gonna be one of the more awesome fighters to play as… … …Seriously though, NetherRealm Studios, why that voice? You HAD Tara Strong IN THE STUDIO to voice Harley Quinn, why couldn’t you get her to voice Raven too?

SHAZAM!!! Yep, they decided to include Mr. Don’t-Call-Me-Captain-Marvel in the roster. He seems to be the game’s answer to Raiden, blasting opponents with magical lightning, though sadly without the random screaming. Unfortunately, Shazam got his arse beat by Flash in the first round of the tournament, and then Doomsday made an example of his strength by pummelling him straight down to the core of the planet and then back up to the surface again. Still, Shazam showed why he’s not exactly a pushover, and should be a good fighter to play as in the game.

There’s only one man in the DC universe who can claim he is the lord of fear above Scarecrow, and that man is Sinestro. He can use his Yellow Lantern Ring to create sharp claws, bindings, and power cannons. His super move is that he grabs hold of two meteors and sandwiches the opponent in between them, something no ordinary man can survive. Unfortunately for him, his first opponent in the tournament was no ordinary man, he was Superman, who crushed Sinestro afterwards. Nonetheless, Sinestro showed serious power and intimidation in that fight. My only question is, why the hell wasn’t he scheduled to fight Hal Jordan instead? o.O

Born on a Monday. Christened on Tuesday. Married on Wednesday. Sexual harassment charges on Thursday. Divorced on Friday. Restraining order broken on Saturday. Alimony on Sunday…Wait, that’s not right…Ah, whatever. One of the first fighters shown in action after the game’s announcement, Solomon Grundy was considered to be the powerhouse of the game…Then Bane showed up…and then Doomsday…and while I don’t think he’s playable, it wouldn’t surprise me if Darkseid’s in…Well, whatever. Grundy is interesting in that he’s not JUST blunt force used excessively. He uses the various cutlery stuck in his back to slash at opponents, proving that if you’ve got it, you should flaunt it…This is a WEIRD frakking paragraph. lol

Okay, I’m just gonna say this right now: I’m not bringing up the comics here. The game’s story wisely seems to be downplaying the certain stupid move involving Superman that makes me wish the comic would rot in hell, so I’m not going there. Anyway, most of Superman’s more famous powers are intact here, giving him enough power to first defeat Sinestro in the first round, then defeat Arrow in the quarter-finals in 52 SECONDS! Why do I get the feeling that’s revenge for the cheap shot in The Dark Knight Returns? lol Anyway, a lot of people have predicted that Superman will probably meet Batman in the finals, though for that to happen, Supes has gotta beat Green Lantern, and the Dark Knight has to get past Flash.

Because again, how can you have a DC fighting game without Wonder Woman? Her fighting style centres around her incredible strength, her sword and shield, and the Lasso of Truth. All of these things made her more than a match for Harley Quinn, but sadly couldn’t get her past Batman, which a lot of people are calling foul on since they’ve made it clear in various comics that Batman is no match for Wonder Woman. Still, I suspect her to be one of the best fighters in the game, and wouldn’t be surprised if she shows up a lot in tournaments.

So yeah, of the fifteen characters on my wanted list for the game, seven have made it in. Not bad, considering. I’m kinda hoping there’ll be a sequel and we can get some of the other characters I suggested in, plus some others I didn’t think of. There probably won’t be one any time soon, if at all, since obviously the priority for NetherRealm Studios HAS to be Mortal Kombat. Still, something to think about.

As for the Battle Arena, my prediction is that Batman will face Superman in the finals. Naturally, if this were a real fight, Superman would win (unless Batman used Kryptonite or the like), but since the battles are determined by votes from the fans and we all know how Bat crazy fans are, for better or for worse, whether it makes any sense or not, I suspect that Batman will win the tournament. Either way, be sure to keep checking out the new battles as they come out, and I will let’cha know what the game’s like when I manage to get ahold of a copy. Ja né!