Injustice: Gods Amongst Us Year Five Annual

January 2017

Writer: Brian Buccellato

Artist: Mike S. Miller

Colours: J. Nanjan

Letters: Wes Abbott

Cover art: David Yardin

Secret tales of the final year! The only thing I don't like about this cover is the weird ripped crop top Harley Quinn's wearing. I know it's the Insurgence outfit from the Injustice game but it just doesn't seem to be meshing with the rest of her outfit. It's like she got up one day, coordinated the ever loving heck out of her outfit, like she really put some thought into it and was nailing it... but then the shirt that went with the outfit was in the wash and she couldn't wear it so she just grabbed some scrappy reject of a shirt and drew a smiley face on it saying 'yeah, that'll do.'

Which is just absurd to me. In my heart I know that it's just an excuse to show off her cleavage, midriff and show off her g-string and that pains me because this is the outfit she has chosen to wear into battle. I mean, her previous costume was pretty impractical but it seems like it was just her everyday outfit. This particular rag - the kind that you'd probably use to wash your car with and looks like it would tear irreparably after a light breeze.. is what she's chosen to fight in.

Did this in turn 'inspire' the shitty torn shirt from Suicide Squad or did they JUST steal it from Blondie? It's just weird.

Anyway - the actual comic features a few different stories from the perspective of different characters. The first one, and the one I'm going to be looking at is of course the Harley Quinn arc.

We open on her flashback - she's reflecting on the time that's passed since Superman went nuts. Look - I had problems with her original Injustice outfit when it was first shown but since then it's grown on me. It's unique and jestery and the character fits it well.

That said... this opening shot of her tits about to fall out and the fact that each one... is about as big as her head... plus the fact that her outfit would not offer ANY protection should there be an accident.

Hey, I cringe when I see dudes zip by on motorbikes wearing naught but flip flops, boardshorts and a T-shirt but this.. thinking of extreme gravel burn on boobies puts me in places I don't want my mind to go, DC!
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That said, it's a nice page, the Gotham cityscape looks fantastic, the headlight is well done as while she drives along stoic as heck you see a wide array of emotions over her flash backs.






While the first page is more about how she lost the Joker the second page focuses on dealing with her grief, showing how she survived by her wits as well as the friends she's made, and then the further painful losses caused by their untimely demises, unfortunate vanishing or their betrayals.

It's particularly poignant for Harley because she has had a complete metamorphosis through this series.
She went from being a flat out villain helping Joker murder Superman's lover - doubts crept in when she realises Lois was pregnant. We get a hint that she may not be as bad as Joker as she clearly would not have gone through with the plan had he filled her in on all the details. Her own partner is killed by Superman - prompting Green Arrow to squirrel her away for her own safety.







She has a few more adventures but mostly keeps to herself although later on becomes allied with Green Arrow and Black Canary, and is inducted into the Insurgence alongside most of the Bat-family and others. This series did such a good set up of Harley Quinn being an villain turned hero that it makes Harley's actual monthly series look like a steaming pile of shit by default.

Injustice Harley has personality, development and she adds a bit of humour to the often grim realities of life under the new regime. She uses her wits as well as her fighting skills and even helps others by encouraging them or inspiring them.

We see Harley arrive back at the abandoned shell of Arkham Asylum - where it all began for her as Harley Quinn.

In her own words - she's tried to scrape every ounce of puddin' from the cup of life... the fat lady has sung and folks are heading for the exits.... the ball game is over... and so is Harley Quinn.

She then removes all of her make-up and removes the red/black dye and goes back to blonde with Colour me Blonde dye (and also washes with Awesome Sauce shampoo - for extra crazy good looking hair and stuff) she also discards her costume and puts on regular clothes.....coming back as Dr. Quinzel!







There's an instant change when she leaves the bathroom, unlike she first few pages where we saw her in this comic she's smiling and looking positive about not having to fight anymore but instead can go on to help people with her head shrinking.
Unfortunately, she gets knocked out because the asylum isn't as abandoned as she thought.


When she awakes she's surrounded by a crowd of purple hoodie wearing Joker faced guys - who question her about why she's there. She in turn questions them as to why they're wearing Mr. J's stuff. She warns them about super-jerk going around killing people like the Joker but the leader strikes her down.

They argue about who she is and who they think they are - not believing that she's Harley Quinn. Understandably, this riles Harley up.

The last straw is when they raise a crowbar to her as well as their voices. She disarms them, and swiftly gives them a beat down to the tune of her own origin story.

Head honcho seems to realise what he's done and tries to stop but is too late  because Harley has absolutely taken him out.



The remaining Joker Clan goons talk amongst themselves with terrified eyes and a permanent grin. They realise that she could be telling the truth and stop fighting her. Head Honcho tells her that they were inspired by her teaming up with the insurgents which pleases Harley.




Turns out the Clan is comprised of former Joker henchmen who became lost once Joker was killed. They had heard stories about Harley Quinn joining up with the good guys to combat the regime and it caused them to change their ways for the better. They ask her to be their leader but there's someone she needs to consult before she answers and comes out of 'retirement'...

The someone with pointy bat ears doesn't want to organise a Joker resistance but the bat ladies agree with Harley saying that these people are mercenaries - not naive college kids like the last Joker themed mob and that Superman wanted a war.. he's getting one.

Batman isn't swayed and advises Harley he can't give his blessing but she takes that as a maybe and gears up to lead her team.

This comic leads into the events of Injustice: Ground Zero.

I really like this version of Harley Quinn. I know I've said it before, but the writer has just done such a good job with this character that it's a breath of fresh air compared to the fare we normally get.

This one issue has her going from losing her direction to finding purpose again - whether that was in her role as Harley Quinn or as a practising psychiatrist - she defends herself but isn't overly violent/revenge driven like her solo comic counterpart. She's had to come to terms with losing her Puddin' and some of her friends while being unable to grieve properly due to the constant threat of Regime/war.

She's switched sides from bad to good but none of it feels contrived or has altered her character in anyway. I've mentioned I'm not a fan of the white cropped top but can I just say how awesome the little bell is on the back of her red boot?

If you haven't read any of the Injustice comics I highly recommend you do. Even if you're not a fan of Harley Quinn - they don't push her in your face all the time, and the story and art are enough to keep any reader entertained.