Injustice is a DC Comics Fighting Game franchise that began with the release of Injustice: Gods Among Us. It was followed by Injustice 2 and several comic book tie-ins.
Games:
- Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013)
- Injustice 2 (2017)
Comics:
- Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013 - 2016)
- Injustice: Ground Zero (2017)
- Injustice 2 (2017 - 2018)
- Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe (which is a sequel to He-Man/ThunderCats) (2019)
- Injustice: Year Zero (2020)
- Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent (2023)
Animation:
The 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice features a scene confirmed to take inspiration from the first game, and 2021's Zack Snyder's Justice League delves further on said Bad Future.
This series provides examples of:
- Allegedly Free Game: The mobile versions of the games are free to play.
- Alternate Timeline: The majority of the plot takes place in an alternate reality of the DC Universe, officially designated in the multiverse as Earth 49.
- Avoid the Dreaded G Rating: Averted. Since the franchise isn't deliberately intense as Mortal Kombat, the games got away with a T-rating.
- Beware the Superman: The main focus of the series, as it revolves around a universe where Superman became a fascist tyrant who reorganized the Justice League into a police force following the death of his wife and the destruction of Metropolis. The main conflict of the series revolves Batman leading a group composed of badass normals, vigilantes and novice heroes against both the new authoritarian Justice League and other threats such as Braniac and Gorilla Grodd.
- Bloodier and Gorier: Downplayed. Compared to Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, it is bloody but not as much as Mortal Kombat.
- Crapsack World: The Injustice Earth becomes one after the Joker successfully detonates a nuclear bomb in Metropolis, killing millions of people and tricks Superman into accidentally murdering his wife, Lois Lane. Soon, Earth becomes a dictatorship under Superman and his cohorts in the One Earth Regime.
- Darker and Edgier: The franchise is considered as this compared to other DC franchises. With The Paragon himself, Superman turns into a horrible tyrant who takes over the entire world and sets up an oppressive dictatorship.
- The Dictatorship: After the Superman of an alternate universe loses Lois and his city to a truly cruel scheme set up by the Joker, he kills Joker and starts resorting to harsher and harsher measures to prevent another such tragedy from ever happening again, and for this purpose sets up the One Earth Regime, a totalitarian one-world government ruled by Superman and those members of the former Justice League that have rallied to his banner (along with several villains such as Sinestro) that takes over the entire world. The Regime regularly tortures and murders criminals and anyone who opposes them to continue enforcing their rule across the world. The Regime also crushes democracy and freedom of speech, with all the nations having to obey the Regime under the threat of extreme action.
- Guest Fighter: As with Mortal Kombat, there are guests ranging from Hellboy to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
- Hated by All: EVERYBODY despises Joker for what he did, including the other villains who aren't fallen heroes. Though admittedly, a few in the latter category aren't repulsed by Joker for moral reasons, but because he was a madman who killed For the Evulz.
- Kneel Before Zod: Superman, General Zod and Gorilla Grodd force their foes to kneel before them.
- Lighter and Softer: Downplayed. While the story isn't exactly light-hearted, compared to Netherrealm Studios' Mortal Kombat, it doesn't rely on Gorn.
- Live-Action Adaptation: The "Knightmare" segment of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder's Justice League is heavily inspired by the premise of Injustice and is the closest a DC Comics live action entry has gotten to it so far.
- Replay Mode: In both Injustice: Gods Among Us and Injustice 2, any chapter you've cleared in Story Mode can be replayed via a chapter select menu. You can also choose a specific fight between two characters.
- Team Mercy vs. Team Murder: The franchise's main conflict between Batman's team and Superman's team is this; Batman and his team adheres to Thou Shalt Not Kill while Superman's team advocates Pay Evil unto Evil.
- Vigilante Injustice: In this scenario, Superman loses Metropolis to a nuke planted by the Joker. Superman turns vengeful, and puts the Earth under his thumb, ruling like a dictator. Those few Justice Leaguers that dare to question him get put down hard. He takes the maxim "The wages of sin is death" to its practical extreme, becoming a Nigh-Invulnerable Well-Intentioned Extremist with a zero-tolerance policy.
